Storytelling Week 12: Rio and Solo's Adventures

Authors Note: This week for my reading diary I decided to read some nursery rhymes from the British unit.  To me most of these stories are random and short. In three of these rhymes it goes down the days of the week. One of the rhymes that really got my creativity flowing for this story is the unit in Reading A, named Proverbs.  In Proverbs there is a story that goes over what happens if you sneeze on certain days.  For example:

"If you sneeze on Monday, you sneeze for danger;

Sneeze on a Tuesday, kiss a stranger;

Sneeze on a Wednesday, sneeze for a letter;

Sneeze on a Thursday, something better;

Sneeze on a Friday, sneeze for sorrow;

Sneeze on a Saturday, see your sweetheart to-morrow."

This is how I created my story for this week: dealing with the days of the week.  The British nursery rhymes also have a lot to do with animals and this is also why I incorporated animals in my story.  Growing up I used to play outside in my neighborhood with all the other kids every chance I got.  I always had curfews on different nights of the week.  This memory of mine helped me think of this story about Rio and Solo.  I even used the same neighborhood name that I had growing up, Johnson Woods.  

Rio and Solo’s Adventures

(Photo Source) 

In a small Texas town deep in the south there is a neighborhood known as Johnson Woods.  Johnson Woods is home to many different animals.  Mostly owls, squirrels, cats, dogs, and frogs live in Johnson Woods.  These animals for the most part kept to themselves.  The dogs only interacted with the dogs and the owls only interacted with the owls and so on.  It works out this way because all the animals have different lifestyles.  The owls only come out at night, the dogs stay out of the cat's way, and the frogs keep clear of everyone by staying in the ditches throughout the neighborhood.  The squirrels were the most sociable animals of the neighborhood.  They were never spotted in just one spot, but all over the neighborhood.  At nights they would stay up in the trees with the owls.  During the day they would run around playing with the dogs.  The squirrels and frogs would have races alongside the creek to see what was faster hopping or running.  The cats were the only animals in the neighborhood that the squirrels wouldn’t socialize with.  This is because the cats were mean and spiteful, so no one ever messed with them.

            One day a baby kitten named Solo ran into a baby squirrel named Rio.  Solo and Rio instantly hit it off and became best friends.  Rio knew to stay away from the cats,  so he told Solo that they had to be secret friends.  Solo understood and promised to keep it a secret.  Well, it didn't take long until they were caught playing in their secret spot by Solo’s father.  Solo’s father instantly hissed at Rio and Rio ran away out of fear.  Solo was angry with her father and told him that Rio was his best friend!  But Solo’s father didn't care.  Solo thought she would never get to see Rio again and that he hated her.  Little did she know Rio was jumping from tree to tree watching Solo wishing he could play with her.  Rio decided to tell his father that he wanted to be friends with a cat and he needed his help.  His father being one of the most social squirrels decided to go talk to Solo’s father to see if he could figure something out. 

            Rio’s father was quite nervous at first walking into the ally where all the cats lived.  Finally Rio’s father tracked down Solo’s father.  While Solo and Rio’s fathers were talking they started to notice that they had many things in common.  It didn’t take them long to enjoy each other’s company. Solo’s father apologized to Rio for hissing at him and agreed to let Solo play in the neighborhood together with Rio.  Rio and Solo’s father planned out a schedule to work out where they could play everyday together. 

On Mondays: 2:00pm -5:00pm

On Tuesdays: 10:00am-12:00pm (Including lunch)

On Wednesdays: 5:00pm-7:00pm

On Thursdays: 3:00pm-6:00pm (Including Dinner)

On Fridays: 7:00pm-9: 30pm

Weekends: Free

(Photo Source) 

Bibliography: British Unit: Nursery Rhymes by Andrew Lang with illustrations by L Leslie Brookn (1897) . Focusing on the story Proverbs in Reading A