Story: Happily Ever After

https://www.pexels.com/search/couple/

“Welcome everyone and thank you for tuning it to America's number one reality show, "Happily Ever After" the show where real couples compete to see if their marriage can withstand the test of time. My name is Jimmy Weston and I'll be your game show host. Lets meet our contestants!" 

“Coming all the way from the west coast are Mike and Monica Jones. This couple has been married for three years and they want to make sure their relationship will last all of the bumps life throws at them. Mike is a professor at UCLA and Monica works in advertising. Can this high profile couple show that competitive nature is what it takes to make it to the top?”

 

                                Mike and Monica, Contestants on Happily Ever After. Web Source

“Our next couple comes from the rainy region of Seattle. Everyone welcome William and Jordan. These two lovebirds are avid adventures that enjoy hiking and yoga. William is a dentist and Jordan owns her own fitness studio. Can this couple show that different minds can work together?"

 

                              William and Jordan, Contestants on Happily Ever After. Web Source

“Our last couple comes to us from the plains of Texas. Everyone please welcome Daniel and Erica. Daniel and Erica both work in the agricultural fields and they both enjoy watching movies and going to concerts. Can this couple prove that opposites don’t attract?”

                               Daniel and Erica, Contestants on Happily Ever After. Web Source

“These couples will have to successfully complete each round in order to gain enough points to move into the finals. The challenges these couples will face today will show them whether or not they are destined to live their Happily Ever After”

Round One: Two Birds Sitting in a Tree

In round one the couples are taken to a local zoo where they were forced to answer riddles. These riddles acted as clues at lead them to the next location. Let me give you a rundown on what each couple did, remember in order to be successful in this challenge and in marriage the couples must learn to listen to each other and brainstorm together to complete the challenge.

Mike and Monica: The Powerhouse

Mike and Monica started out very strong in this challenge. They made it to the elephant enclosure where the first clue was hidden. When it came time to solve the riddle, rather than fighting they worked together and pulled their knowledge to find the finish line at the antelope enclosure. Overall we give their team work an 8/10.

William and Jordan: Tranquil Warriors

William and Jordan, the tranquil warriors, started out very strong. Their first clue leads them to the leopard pit. As they started to work on the first riddle they began arguing about which answer was right, should they go to the lion habitat or the antelope enclosure. In the end they listened to each other and made it to the antelope enclosure. For their rough start and fantastic ending we gave them a 6/10.

Daniel and Erica: Double Trouble

Team Double Trouble, Erica and Daniel started out on the wrong foot. This similar duo had a hard time even finding their first riddle. When they were torn between two choices, the split up and went different ways because each thought they were right. Neither of them made it to the antelope enclosure. Because of their failure to complete the course they are out of the running to have their Happily Ever After.

Round Two-Dinner for Two

As round two began the remaining two couples began to feel the pressure to win. The winning couple from this round will go home with the perfect honeymoon package for two, including first class tickets to Hawaii and an all expenses paid trip. For this round the couples really must listen to each other and work together to get the final prize. The couples were taken to a five star restaurant. Here they needed to work together to make a three course meal including appetizer, entrée and dessert. The couple with the highest score leaving this round will win the game.

Here’s a recap of what happened:

Mike and Monica: The Powerhouse

Mike and Monica had a rough start. They were unfocused about what they should cook, but quickly pulled a menu together using both of their favorite foods. Their tactic throughout the show has been to listen to each other about their ideas and wants. It was strong strategies that lead to strong results. At the end of the challenge they got a score of 9/10, which gave them an overall score of 17. They are by far the crowd favorites going into this last round.

William and Jordan: Tranquil Warriors

William and Jordan had an easy start. They were calm and collected when preparing the menu for tonight’s meal, however things quickly changed when William burned the entrée. Jordan, rather than being supportive blamed it on William. While the couple finished the challenge their burned entree and constant fighting gave them a low score of 5/10. Giving them an overall score of 11.

Our winners tonight are Mike and Monica. They worked together and used the power of communication and listening to win their Happily Ever After. We have no doubt that they will go on to live happy lives together, now for the other two couples, we aren’t so sure. Well, that is it for tonight’s show, remember anyone can have a Happily Ever After it just takes work.

Author’s Note: My story was based on Richard Dennett’s story, “Folklore of the Fjort.” His stories are comprised of little mini stories that originated out of the Congo. In the stories, they use animals to show lessons on marriage and wealth. Each of the challenges my couples faced represented challenges that the characters endured in the original stories. I wanted to make an modern retelling of the lessons to help people in relationships learn how to communicate and work together.

Bibliography: Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett (1898).

Reading Notes: Stories from the Congo Part B

For this reading I really enjoyed the story of, The Antelope And The Leopard. I really liked that it gave a reason for why leopards eat antelopes. While part A of these stories dealt with the struggles of marriage, part B focuses on the different challenges the animals must go through. These challenges have inspired me for the challenges in my couple game show. I think it would be interesting if the couples had to, on their first location, go to the zoo and answer a riddle about the leopard and the antelope (Hint! the answer comes from the story!) The next place they would go is to a local pond with turtles. At the pond they must learn to work together to build a fire with the items they find in the park. This comes from the story of the Turtle and the Man.

On their next location they will go is to a restaurant where they will learn to cook a meal together. I got this idea from the story of the Gazelle and the Leopard. My story has a less grotesque ending than the story did, because in my story the wife will not eat her murdered husbands head (I swear this is what happens!) This cooking class will teach them how to work together as husband and wife just as the making fire challenge taught them how to use innovation and teamwork in their marriage.

In the story of the Fetish Sunga. The main character has his power of speech taken away as punishment for lying. In a healthy relationships, spouses should not lie to each other (unless its about birthday gifts!) For this task the couples run over to the local police department where they give each other polygraphs. The couples are then scored on how many lies they tell, more lies equals a lower score.

For the final tasks the couples have to go searching for the perfect home. While this might not seem like a hard task, the couples will need to stay within budget and complete the task without arguing. The scores will be tallied at the end and the winning couple gets to keep the house for free!
A lot of these stories from the Congo involved a house and its importance, so i knew it would be the best challenge to end with.

This is one of the logos from the show that helped inspire my story. Web Source 

Bibliography: Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett (1898).

Reading Notes: Stories from the Congo

The stories from the Congo were more of a collection of stories, rather than a continuous story. I really enjoyed the story of How Nsassi Got Married. During the story, a Prince, Nsassi wants to marry two girls. In order to get their hand in marriage their father says that Nsassi must guess their names. His dog stayed behind to get their names and time and time again forgot the names when he got distracted by food or water. The same happened when Nsassi heard the names, he forgot them when he stopped to drink. I really liked this story because it reminded me of a saying my mom use to say. She would tell me not to stray from the path (in regards to my writing) she said this to help me keep my story flowing.

With the story of the Vanishing wife I really liked the story it told. The story suggests that because Buite didn't listen to his wife, his wife and house disappeared. I think this is an important lesson for marriage. When spouses don't listen to each other the marriage can dissolve and vanish. With the dissolving of a marriage the house disappears as well as the wealth. I think it would be interesting to write a story where the main character had to undergo certain challenges to get married. To be fair both the wife and the husband would have to complete these challenges and in the end they will have to complete the final challenge together. I want the story to be a type of game show for the couples.

Overall the main themes throughout these stories are about the cooperation of marriage. This is an age-old concept and makes a great conflict for my story. Couples don’t always get along and some disagreement is healthy but in order to make a marriage work both of the couples must be wiling to compromise! For my story I really want to look at what happens when characters (spouses) compete together in a series of tasks. The wining couple at the end of this “Amazing Race” esq. story, will be the couple who will last until the end.

This is a picture of the Gorges De Diosso in the Congo. Web Source

Bibliography: Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett (1898).