A ragged beggar walked in the streets holding an old wallet in his hand, asking people for a few coins to buy something to eat. He grumbled at his misfortune and kept wondering why it was that people who had so much money were never satisfied but always wanted more and more.
It so happened that he passed by an imposing building, the owner of which, he used to know. He posed, looked at the mansion and thought of the wealthy owner of the house and how he had lost it all.
And it so happened that a friend, another poor beggar, came by and our main character started a conversation about the master of this house, who had made so much money selling merchandise, but decided to go bigger. He bought ships to open up new business. Our protagonist narrated:
“Had he been wise. he would have stopped then. He would have turned over his business to someone else, and he could have spent the rest of his life at ease. But what did he do instead? He built ships and sent them to sea to trade with foreign lands. He believed he would get mountains of gold. But his ships were wrecked in the storms, and his riches were swallowed up by the waves. His hopes lie at the bottom of the sea. His great wealth has vanished”.
With this, our beggar moved on leaving his friend behind. But he kept mumbling.
- "Men seem to never be satisfied unless they gain the whole world. As for me, if I had only enough to eat and to buy clothing, I would not want anything more."
Just at that moment, and as it so happens in tales, Fortune appeared out of nowhere, looked at our story character and said to him:
- "I wish to help you. Let me pour a few gold coins into your wallet. Hold it for me and remember there is one condition. What falls into the wallet shall be pure gold, but if one piece drops on the ground every coin will become dust. Do you understand?"
Our character was so glad that he could hardly wait. He quickly opened his wallet, and a stream of yellow coins poured into it. The wallet grew heavy. Fortune warned:
- "Your wallet is old. We should not load it too heavily. I think this is enough"
- "Not yet." replied the man
- "But your wallet is cracking?" warned Fortune.
- "Never fear. It is still strong enough to hold some more" replied the beggar.
His hands began to tremble. Oh, how much he liked the gold. If only the gold would pour forever!
- "You are an extremely rich man now. This is too much now!" added Fortune
- "Just a little bit more" insisted our protagonist.
Another piece was added, and it was then that the wallet split. The coins crashed on the ground and turned to dust. The beggar now had an empty wallet, torn from top to bottom. He was as poor as before and more desperate than before. Fortune gave him an understanding look and turned round the corner and disappeared.
The impact
Storytelling is the oldest form of teaching. Most of the world’s religious texts are stories rather than bullets points. It is beyond evident that wisdom stories have been honed through many tellers and many circumstances and beg to be retold to remind us of human greed. Remembering this particular story can define us and shape our reactions because at a subconsciously level we are warned when “enough” is “enough”. Of course, there are more benefits and here are some:
Talking points & opportunities to get personal
- Does this story remind you of a time when you tried to get much but basically lost all?
- If Fortune, in whatever form, appeared & offered to fulfill one of your wishes, what wish would you have asked Fortune to fulfil?
Writing points with a grammar touch
Ask students to write a paragraph entitled “That reminds me of”. Thisactivity gets students to get personal, authentic, expressive, and communicative.
Ask students to write 3rd conditional sentences regarding the story.
Ex: Had the beggar stopped at the right time, he would have indeed become rich.
Ex: Had Fortune not appeared, none of the story would have happened.
Use of critical thinking
Ask students if the story says bitter and hidden truths or if it sugar coats them?
Ask them if this story is to them a kind of intellectual travel to experiences and different points of view and why.
To answer these question and justify their answers with logical arguments, students use their critical thinking and practice their justification skills.
Respond in the A. E. I. O. U. manner activity
A.E.I.O.U A stands for the adjective we retrieve to describe our character.E stands for the emotions the story spawns. I standsfor an interesting detail we find in the story. O stands for an Oh! moments, something unexpected happening in the story andU for the questions that are left in our mind after hearing the story.
| A | Adjectives to describe the main character | Immature, hypocritical, desperate, etc. |
| E | Emotions the story brings | Regret, greed, pity, pretense, sorrow, etc. |
| I | Interesting details in the story | Fortune’s appearance and outward looks. |
| O | Oh! moments in the events | The appearance of Fortune which is clearly Godly intervention. |
| U | Questions which stay with you | Would I have stopped? Would I have been as reckless as our character? |
Involving students in oral and written word of the kind and asking them to role play or act out or narrate the story, helps their attention fall on words, phrases and grammar points, students might have a problem with.
We can highlight certain points of the story through further elaboration to make sure that the kids have indeed grasped all the details. However, students pick the language stories contain implicitly, not explicitly. They harvest language when they experience the story with retelling &activities inspired by it. When students have absorbed the stories we tell them, they branch out with their own reactions and explorations. So, it is implicit learning that we really are after with stories, not explicit. But then again we need compelling stories to which our students relate and key in.
Our takeaway
Storytelling and all the activities branching out of it, makes this a participatory, interactive tool which ties in with language learning. It helps us connect and inspire young and older students alike. This is why some of us claim that stories define us, shape us, control us and make us.
Zafi Mandali holds a BA in English Language & Literature, Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics, University of Essex. Retired from
Director of studies, Department of English, Ellinogermaniki Agogi, she works as
an active educator, teacher trainer, storytelling coach, educational consultant and
serves on the Tesol Greece Board. She is a presenter, article contributor,
published author of four E.A. Publications. Her soft point is Storytelling in
Education with samples of work uploaded on www.eltstorytelling.com and her
Eltstorytelling facebook group.
