← Speeches & Workshops

Telling Tales Tall And True

One of my favorite mottoes is “though there is truth in every story, not every story is true.” Decide which parts of "The Rattlesnake that Tamed a Boy" are true and not true. Make a chart. Make three columns: one for the truth, one for the lies, and one for the parts that you do not know. Later, you could research the parts you do not know and add them to one of the other columns.

THE TRUTH THE LIES I DO NOT KNOW

Retell a story you heard today, but change some of the names and places so it sounds like it really happened to you! There are two kinds of tall tales: some begin with a lie and only get bigger; others start with the truth and slowly stretch it until it breaks. Let’s take a closer look at how you create both types of tales.

1. The tall tales that start with a lie are often stories about people like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, John Henry and Annie Oakley. Check your library for more stories about these characters. These may be real people, but that is where the truth ends. To write a story like this: Start by describing a superhuman character who can perform amazing feats of strength and agility. Write two or three sentences about your character. Describe both his or her physical appearance and what kind of person they are. Write two sentences describing the setting for your story, including both time and place. Write one sentence describing some fantastic problem. Write two sentences describing how ordinary people try to solve the problem and why they fail. Write two sentences describing how the hero saves the day using his or her special powers. These sentences together add up to an outline of your story. Reshape these sentences into a story. Rewrite, revise and edit these stories then collect them into a class book. Take turns telling these stories to your class.

♠♣♦♥Though there is truth in every story, not every story is true! ♠♣♦♥

2. Tall tales that start with the truth are my favorite stories to tell because it is a lot of fun to watch the audience get tangled into the net of lies - but still believe the story. These are the hardest stories to write because it is difficult to get the listener to believe you and then maintain that trust as you stretch the truth to its breaking point. It helps if you start with a true event from your life that is very believable yet somewhat unusual. Think back to some amazing thing that really did happen to you. Close your eyes and relive it in your memory. Use all of your senses to make the memory come to life. Write several sentences describing the event, the people and the setting. How can you stretch it into a tall tale? Start with little facts: exaggerate the numbers, talk about believable things that could, but did not happen. Pull on it a little more. Add information that is barely possible but could still happen. Finally, wrap it up with things that are impossible. I like to end with a line like: "It was just lying there like I have been lying to you the whole time." or "She was yanking on my leg just like I am pulling your leg now." If you gently bring the listener along they will take it hook, line and sinker! For added fun you could have a tall tale contest to see how many people you could fool. Tell your story to your class and see if they believe you. Do a survey of your class to see how many you fooled. Type your story and send it to me. I may use it on my webpage.. Excerpted from Learning From the Land: Teaching Ecology Through Stories and Activities, Brian “Fox” Ellis, Libraries Unlimited, 1997

Brian “Fox” Ellis* Fox Tales International* P.O. Box 10800 * Peoria, IL 61612 * Phone 309-689-8000 www.foxtalesint.com