Week 1 Storytelling: The Stork With A Downfall

There once was a stork, his name was Henley. Henley the stork was an honest being, one that followed the rules, however, he had a very big downfall. This downfall of his was one caused by the good inside. This downfall of his was trying to find the good in everyone.

One day a flock of cranes came along with intent to get him in trouble. The cranes came along and began talking to Henley and they had a plan. Henley was wary of the cranes saying, “You are no good,” and “I know that you cranes do nothing but cause trouble.” Henley had no intentions of doing their bidding, but the cranes were smooth. They used their words and manipulation to target Henley; they knew exactly what they were doing. It did not take long before Henley’s downfall starting playing its role. As the cranes kneading away at him with their smooth words, Henley began to falter. He began asking them questions, the questions they knew exactly how to answer. It was a trick of their trade; the cranes knew how to talk to get Henley to fall. After minutes of conversation Henley began to think that maybe the cranes were not all that bad, maybe people had been far too harsh about them. Henley was about to find out how wrong he was.

Upon the end of the conversation the cranes asked Henley if he would come along with them. Although he was hesitant, he decided to go. The party of birds went to visit a newly planted field. Upon arrival, Henley saw that he was very wrong. The cranes began to steal and plunder everything that they could. When Henley decided that he could not be a part of this, it was too late.

As he tried to fly away he realized he was stuck in the farmer’s net. He begged and pleaded with the farmer pointing out that he was a stork, which he was honest and of good character and that he did not realize what the plan of the cranes was. Though the farmer knew, he told Henley this, “You are a good bird, but your company is not. Though you are a good bird, people believe you to be what you surround yourself with. Because of this, you must suffer the consequences all the same and hopefully next time you will think twice.”

(The Stork With A Downfall)

Author's Note. This story comes from a fable titled "The Farmer and The Stork" which can be found in the book The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke (1897). The fable is about a stork who learns that you are perceived to be the same as who and what you surround yourself with. However, in order to make the story my own, I included parts that were not in the original such as background information between the cranes and the stork.