Dear Diary,
I am so overwhelmed with joy! Today is the day I get to marry
the handsome Prince Toyonari. I have waited my entire life to meet a man of his
perfection and class. Everything about this marriage will be perfect. My soon-
to- be husband is handsome, courageous, generous and very wealthy. And my son
will be next in line to his status and fortune! Well, as long as I can get the
girl out of the picture. Did I tell you about the child he has? My goodness, he
is obsessed with her! Apparently his first wife couldn’t have children so she
is some miracle baby from the gods. She doesn’t seem very special to me, just an
obstacle in the grand scheme. But that is okay- I know how to handle problems.
XOXO,
Lady Terute
Dear Diary,
This child is so frustrating! I have tried to trick her into
being disrespectful so as to have her punished. But no matter what task I give
her or rude thing I say she just takes it with no complaints! Her abnormal kindness
is ruining all my plans! She is stealing my attention from MY HUSBAND. And she
is showing up my boy! She is a talented musician and poet and everyone swoons
over her every word. She was even asked to play at the palace! She puts on a
great front, showing everyone her grace and charm. But I know, deep down, that
she is an accident waiting to happen. She can’t stay this perfect forever. Her
dark past will catch up with her. No child makes it through the loss of a
parent unscathed.
XOXO,
Lady Terute
Dear Diary,
Well I have devised a plan. If she won’t show her true
colors now, it is best I do not wait around on her to explode. That could be
treacherous! For the sake of everyone around her, I feel it is best to get rid
of her now. I have decided to poison her. I went and got the concoction from a
friend today. I will mix it in her wine at playtime tomorrow. Wish me luck!
XOXO,
Lady Terute
Dear Diary,
I am writing today with a heavy heart. My son has passed.
And it is all the girl’s fault. How you ask? Well, let me tell you. I mixed the
wines accordingly, being careful to mark the poisonous cup. I took the wine to
the playroom for the children and handed them out. I looked away for one minute
and somehow the girl switched the cups! She must have known one was poison. She has to be a witch of sorts. This is even more of a reason for me to get rid of
her! She is a nuisance to society! First she takes my husband’s attention and now
she takes my only son’s life. She will be gone soon, mark my words.
XOXO,
Lady Terute
Dear Diary,
My husband left today, so it was the perfect time to strike.
With him gone, I am head of the household. So, today I ordered our servant to
take the girl to the woods and kill her. I explained her witchcraft to him and
how she is harmful to us if she stays here. He obliged and they left early this
afternoon. It was such a wonderful feeling watching her be escorted away. I
have never felt so powerful and free. And honestly, it needed to be done for
the good of the country. No child is that perfect without something being
wrong. She must be a witch, so she needs to be taken care of. I know I made the right decision.
XOXO,
Lady Terute
Dear Diary,
Bad news. When my husband returned to his daughter missing, I
told him she ran away. Naturally he went out to look for her. I, assuming she
was dead, wasn’t worried. Well, today I received word that he has found her!
That wretched girl must have pleaded for her life and that awful servant stayed
out there and kept her alive! You just can’t seem to find good help these days.
I should have taken her out there myself. Oh well, none of that matters now. He
is going to have me executed if I do not leave. So now I must make a run for
it. Hopefully my father will take me back in. It will probably be a while
before I can write again. So wish me luck and I will try and make the best of
this awful situation.
XOXO,
Lady Terute
Daughter being saved by father |
Bibliography: The Story of Princess Hase. Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki (1908).
Great story idea! I like how you used the diary theme. It was interesting to read. I need to try to use more creative storytelling idea like this. I like how you told the story form the evil stepmother perspective. It is usually told by a third person of the stepdaughter. I am glad you choose the viewpoint you did. It is always more interesting to the reader when reading from a new perspective. The rader never knows whats coming.
ReplyDeleteI really love the diary format for this story! I also really enjoy that you changed the perspective of the story. I like learning more about the backstories of characters. I thought it was interesting that you gave a reasoning for why the step-mom was trying to kill the daughter. I think it would be really cool to also see diary entries for the father to see what he was thinking through all of this. Overall, great job and good luck with the rest of the semester!
ReplyDeleteHey Ally,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting and great to story to read and indulge in. It was a very interesting story! The thing that caught my attention, at first, was the diary format of the story. It was a lot different storytelling style than anyone else has used for their stories. It was also great how you went ahead and changed the whole perspective of the original story. I really enjoyed learning about the background stories of characters in a in-depth sense, it helped the story. Also, I thought it was great that you gave a good reasoning behind why the step-mom was trying to kill her step-daughter. One thing that would of been interesting to see is an account from the perspective of the Father through all of this. You did a great job with this story and good luck the rest of the semester!
Ally,
ReplyDeleteI read the author’s note first and I have to say, wow this seems like a gruesome story! I think it is very telling for the evil stepmother to think the princess is a witch for her own moral stability. You did a great job of portraying the story through a series of diary entries, which gives a unique spin and perspective. The “XOXO” signature at the bottom of each entry is a great touch haha. I think that the first entry did a great job of explaining why the soon-to-be wife despises the daughter and it sets up well for the rest of the story to follow. Wow, I can’t believe she is resulting to poison the daughter, cruel! Haha the stepmother does not seem to in love with the king if she decides she can just up and leave and that he will kill her. I loved reading this story, it was funny! Great work!
Hey Ally, I really enjoyed reading your story! When I first read the title I thought the story was actually going to be about an evil stepdaughter, not an evil stepmother trying to get rid of her stepdaughter. You did a great job with character development and making the stepmother actually seem evil and crazy! I also like that you told the story from the stepmother's perspective, because we often only read about evil stepparents from the child's point of view! It added a great element to the story to be able to see what the stepmother was thinking and planning. The ending was great, but it might add something to the story if you mentioned a post about what happened to the stepmother after the man found his daughter and realized that his wife was tricking him? I think it could be cool to kind of know what happens in the end! You did a great job overall and I love this story.
ReplyDeleteHi Ally! The title of this story automatically caught my eye! Lady Terute is actually terrible! I can’t believe she wanted to kill her husband’s daughter in order for her own son to take the crown one day. It is so perfect that the girl is so kind and sweet, it totally is payback for Lady Terute! Karma is definitely prevalent here! It is definitely the best form of payback! I am sad her son had passed but am happy that not one of her evil attempts of murder was successful! This story kind of reminds me Cinderella, but definitely more intense! I loved how you told the story in a dear diary format! It is so simple, yet intriguing to read and follow. I definitely am inspired to write one of my future stories using this dear diary format! Great job on this story! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDelete