Stories to Cheer up the Sad Princess
The King and his Sad Daughter
Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled over a great kingdom in which lived also fairies. They lived in the vast forests, where they danced on the fairies meadows during full moon nights. They were invisible to the rest of the kingdom and possessed some magic powers. For example, they could transform into human beings. This they did especially when people needed their help. If a farmer's wife was ill, a fairy turned into a maid who offered her help without asking for a wage. Once a cow was lost in the forest, and a fairy transformed in shepherd brought her back to the farmer to whom she belonged. Therefore, they were friendly fairies – except for one who repeatedly played bad tricks. One night for example she opened the door of the chicken coop, so that the fox could walk in. The fox grabbed a chicken and brought it home to make a feast for his family. Another time, she relaxed the wheels of the horse-drawn wagon of a carter. The following morning when the carter left, the wheels came off the car; he fell on the ground and broke his arm. Worst of all was the following shameful act: the inhabitants of a village situated on both sides of a river had built a wooden bridge in order to visit each other without using a boat. One dark night, the evil fairy sawn the wooden pillars that carried the bridge and the next morning when the first inhabitants stepped on the bridge, it fell down. It was only with greatest effort, that the villagers could save themselves and reach the riverbank.
This came to the ears of the king and he said to his court marshal: “Enough is enough! I banish this evil fairy from my kingdom. From now on, she should stay in the desert land, where no people live, where she can play her shameful pranks.” When the evil fairy heard of the king's decision, she was very angry. Nevertheless, she could not resist the king's power. However, she used all her magic powers to seek revenge before disappearing from the kingdom. The king and queen had a daughter who was sweet and good-hearted. From her earliest days, she showed a happy, sunny mind. Now she was six years old and her laughter and singing filled the royal palace day after day. One day she went with her nanny to the market in the city. Suddenly a strange, irresistible scent touched their nostrils. They went after their noses and came to an old woman, who offered a chocolate cake that exuded this irresistible scent. The nanny bought the princess a piece and the old woman thanked her. As soon as they returned to the palace, the princess ate the big piece of cake. Then a big change happened with her: The red cheeks faded, the radiance of her eyes went out, her cheerful nature disappeared and she sank into great sadness. No song came from her lips, and instead of speaking aloud, she only whispered.
The old woman who offered the chocolate cake was none other than the evil fairy. Using all her magic powers, she had transformed herself into an old woman and in the night baked the saddening cake. After selling the piece of cake to the king's daughter, she disappeared into the desert land never to be seen again, as she was afraid of the king's wrath. The king and the queen engulfed in grief. No matter how the courtiers in the palace tried, none of them could cheer up the king's daughter, not even the jester with his funniest jokes.
The king summoned the fairy council. All the fairies of the kingdom gathered at midnight on the large forest meadow behind the royal palace. The full moon shone and all the fairies had turned into young girls.
“Dear good fairies of my kingdom,” the king began his complaint, “the evil fairy, whom I banished to the desert land because she has played the most vicious pranks on people, has enchanted my daughter. She was such a cheerful, bright princess before. However, after she has eaten the magic cake backed by the evil fairy, she is always sad. Nothing can please her heart. The most beautiful things leave her indifferent. Tell me, good fairies, how can the evil spell be broken?”
The fairies came closer to each other and deliberated what to do. Finally, the eldest fairy spoke to the king: “Majesty, there is only one way to do this: You must find a young man or woman who will tell the princess a story so funny that would cause her laugh. Then the spell will be broken.”
The king thanked the fairies who disappeared invisibly into the vast forests. That same night the king told his wife what advice the fairies had given them. The next morning, they sent heralds throughout the kingdom with the following message to all inhabitants of the kingdom:
“Listen everybody! Listen carefully and let you try! The evil fairy has enchanted our king’s daughter. She can no longer laugh and enjoy life. Only if somebody succeeds in making her laugh with a good story she can be released from the evil spell. Therefore, the king calls young women and men to come to the royal palace and tell such a story. Anyone who succeeds in cheering up the princess will be elevated to the court nobility and may in the future call himself or herself a “court story teller”.
Age level (s):
- 9-12
Number of participants per group:
- A school class in Austria has an average of 20 pupils; there should be five groups with four students each.
Step-by-step description of activity:
- The teacher tells the entire class the fairy tale of the “King and his Sad Daughter”. He/she shows simple illustrations of the plot on flip-chards, in order to make it easier for students with week knowledge of German to understand.
- Brainstorming about collecting storytelling topics as well as ideas for non-verbal support (artistry, games, singing, gymnastics, instrumental music, masks, dance, magic tricks...)
- Forming of the groups: The students who are interested in the same topic form a group. In addition, a “theatre group” has to be created. This group will be the jury of the competition (king, queen, princess, court marshal...).
- Group work: Each group draws up one or two stories in writing, where everyone can and should contribute with his or her special talents. Contributions from students from other cultures are very welcome in order to make the possibilities of cultural diversity visible. The teacher helps when needed. The “theatre group” (king, queen, princess, court marshal...) prepares the screenplay for the competition: sequences, texts, costumes, props, spatial arrangement... Production of cards with stars (*, **, ***)
- Competition: king, queen, princess, court marshal... form the jury. They rate the storytelling by showing the numbered cards and add a verbal reasoning according to the following criteria:
* smile
** laugh
*** laugh aloud
Suggestions for follow-up activities:
- Rehearsing and performing dances of the fairies; Getting acquainted with castles, fortresses or palaces in the area; kingdoms and principalities in Europe; kings, queens and princesses – once and now...
Monument of a Famous Personality
Age level (s):
- 9-12
Number of participants per group:
- 4-6
Step-by-step description of activity:
- Establish contacts with Internet partners and agree on the common theme.
- Set schedule.
- Create list of 7-10 monuments available in a municipality, a small town, a rural community.
- Invite professionals, prepare questions about the monuments.
- select 4 monuments for a short video presentation:
- by the students (scoring) or
- by the teacher and the pupils together (assessment of excursion possibilities, legal questions, availability of equipment).
- Excursion to the monuments (photography, videos).
- Work in groups in order to:
- Prepare short biography of the depicted personality in written form.
- Prepare short information about the artist who made the monument (in written form).
- Edit the photos and the videos for the presentation.
- Develop of an accompanying text and prepare for reading it aloud.
- Create a musical accompaniment.
- Conduct a video conference.
Suggestions for follow-up activities:
- Represent other monuments in a similar way.
Our Dearest Song
Selection and Presentation of a Most Popular Folk Song
Age level (s):
- 9-12
Number of participants per group:
- 4-6
Step-by-step description of activity:
- Establish contact with Internet partners, agree on the common theme and set schedule.
- Create a list of previously learned folk songs.
- Obtain information about the origin and distribution of the folk songs (songbooks, internet, experts...).
- Students select the most popular song; reasons for selection.
- The class choir practices for the performance.
- Rehearsal with a simple song accompaniment:
- by one or more students who already can play an instrument, or
- invite musicians from outside the school.
- Send notes and text to the IT partners, so that they may rehearse the song.
- Perform the “Sing Around” video conference.
Suggestions for follow-up activities:
- Perform a similar action with school choirs.
- Participate in a school party.
- Organize a concert with other schools in the area.
Making portraits out of fruits, vegetables and other natural materials
Age level (s):
- 9-12
Step-by-step description of activity:
1. The Teacher presents the story: “King Rudolph and his painter”.
Long time ago lived in Italy a painter. His name was Giuseppe Arcimboldo and he painted such beautiful pictures that everybody who saw them was amazed. One day the king heard about this famous artist and decided: “I would also like to have a portrait of myself.” Therefore, he ordered the artist to come to his castle and to paint him. The painter came and opened his canvas. The King sat on his throne and kept still so that Arcimboldo could paint him. The painter kept looking at the king's face and then painted on his canvas. However, he did not paint what he saw! Instead, he painted glossy blackberries and cherries, the eyebrows were pea pods, the royal nose became on the canvas a yellow-red pear, and instead of a mouth, he painted cherries, and then the king got apple-cheeks and grape hair, and the painter pieced together the king's image of fruit and vegetables. When the king looked at the finished picture, he did not know whether to laugh about it or to get angry, so he first shouted, “What comes to your mind, I'm not a pumpkin head or a plum!” Nevertheless, the painter said “Your subjects are happy that there is always enough to eat in your country! Anyone who sees your picture will say: Our King is as good as the beautiful things in the painting.”
“Yes, if it is so,” said the king, “then your painting deserves a place of honour in my gallery, and by the way, I think this vegetable king really looks like me!”
2. The pupils produce portraits in partner work (groups of two).
Version 1:
Fruits, vegetables, leaves, twigs, etc. Nature is introduced on the portraits on coloured paper and then photographed. The photos are edited with a Photoshop, printed, glued to cardboard, possibly foiled and shown in an exhibition. Fruits and vegetables should possibly be used afterwards in the school kitchen.
Version 2:
Fruit and vegetables are made of plasticine and glued on colourful cardboard; additional natural materials are glued to it too, cover colours can be also used as supplement. The resulting “objects” are also to be exhibited.
Version 3:
Fruit and vegetable faces as a slide show.
The teacher downloads freely licensed fruit and vegetable images from the image database Pixabay and places them on the school network. The pictures are then assembled into faces in a PowerPoint presentation. This takes place in partner work, so that two children share a computer. In doing so, the teacher ensures that children of different levels share a job so that the more knowledgeable children can help the weaker ones.
The first step is to find the pictures in the correct folder on the school network. In the presentation program, these must then be inserted, scaled and arranged. Some pupils can also set up animations: first, an apple flies into the picture, then an avocado and so on. This process is quite quick, after just half an hour of work, the fruit and vegetable faces are finished. They are then saved with the appropriate student names and can be exhibited. Alternatively, the teacher can combine them for a PP or video presentation. This can be highlighted with suitable music. Concerning the pictures, free licenses have to be respected, especially if the results are to be presented publicly. This is also a good opportunity to discuss the basics of copyright.
Suggestions for further activities:
- Exhibitions in the schoolhouse or elsewhere.
- Demonstration of the PPP at parent evenings and other school events.
- Exchange with partner schools.
- Excursion to the Kunsthistorische Museum, Vienna, to the original paintings of Arcimboldo.
Historical Comic Book
(In this case about gladiators. In the Roman City of Carnuntum in Austria, there was a school of gladiators, which is now being restored. The gladiators were the sport stars or the pop stars of the antique world).
Age level (s):
- 11-12
Step-by-step description of the activity:
- Set schedule.
- Look for Roman remnants in your country and select one (in this case the Gladiators’ School in Carnuntum).
- If possible, organize excursion to one of the Roman monuments with a guided tour, or invite a specialist to make a presentation of a Roman monument and of the life of the gladiators.
- Get information from Internet, books or films about the gladiators; discuss in the classroom the life of the gladiators.
- Make research in Internet about the clothing of the time, about the armament, the buildings, etc.
- Divided in groups, students invent stories about gladiators and present them to the others.
- Then select one of the invented stories and make new groups according to the interests of the students: one group will make the composition of the story; the second group will make the paintings, based on the knowledge acquired from Internet; the third group will prepare the short texts to put in the balloons. The groups will create a comic book in a collaborative way.
- Present the ready comic book in the school: use different opportunities like school festival of creativity, or the day of reading, the day of history or of languages, etc.
Suggestions for follow-up activities:
- Use a similar way to present historical events in a comic book.
A Puppet Theatre Performance About Environment and Natural Sciences
Age level (s):
- 11-12
Step-by-step description of the activity:
- Selection of children books (preferably picture books) about environment and natural sciences; reading and discussing them in class; agreement on one story after which to prepare a puppet theatre performance.
- Set schedule.
- Visit a Kasperltheatre (or another puppet theatre performance).
- Invite professionals to make a workshop and to discuss with the students the possibilities of a puppet theatre; the experts show the students how a performance after a book could be made.
- Make groups according to the interests of children:
- One group creates dialogs using the selected book.
- The next group makes the puppets.
- The third group makes the scenography.
- The fourth prepares the music for the performance.
- The fifth receives roles, rehearses and perform the story.
- A sixth group takes a video of the presentation.
- A seventh group makes advertisements about the performance.
- In this way, a whole class can take part in the activity.
- Students present the performance in the school during a festivity.
Suggestions for follow-up activities:
- Continue to make class puppet theatre with other books and on other topics.