The Story of The Fary and the Todstool
Today, clearing some ancient junk, I found again a little book containing the moment when I realised that writing was pretty cool.
I'd learned to talk early, at just one year old - this may, perhaps, be no surprise to you.
Anyway, my mother read to me a lot and I was really keen to learn to read and hence was an early reader, too, and an early writer. I started school at four, because I was held to be ready, though I didn't like it much.
When I was five, the teacher gave me a little booklet, about four inches square, with paper cut from an exercise book on the outside and lined paper stapled in the middle. She invited me to write a story. I remember thinking hey, this is fun, I know how to do this. And I remember struggling with the word "jam" which just wouldn't come right no matter what I did.
As for all other spellings, I remember being supremely confident that I had this spelling lark well under control. No other words gave me any trouble.
So I wrote The Story of the Fary and the Todstool, and drew some illustrations too.
And here it is, in full, for your perusal, exactly as I wrote it.
This is the Story of the fary and the Todstool
by Daphne.
one up on a time their was a fary who livd in a todstool. one day she lookt out of her hours and it was Snowing oh bother She sied now I canot go to the Bacors to get sume Bred and thears Nothig for dinner. now what shall I do. are yes Ill order my things
Now what is their to be orderd. a pound of butter some eggs and some Boyld ham. Now what else.
I No some gam and some peunuts and some sosigies. you are my Best pet he seid to her gould fish. as she put her coult and hat on.
She bout the eggs the boyld ham and the gam and the butter. and went home to wayt for the food to arive.
But it Never came what is the matter Now she seid. for she was getting rather tierd of thing going wrong. oh well I spose I will hav to go out agane. she seid as she went to put her coult and hat on. oh oh ooooh she seid.
--------------------
And there it ends. I had run out of time. I remember it attracted quite a lot of attention - I was only five after all - and I had to take it round the other classes to show it off, though I felt this was undeserved as it was unfinished.
Looking at it now, I rather admire the consistency of the spelling in Little-Daphne-World - such as the repeated "coult" for coat - and the brave struggle to spell "jam". Not to mention the truly inspirational one-off of "sosigies".
There are some plot inconsistencies - the fary can't go out because it's Snowing: and yet she does go out, to order the food to be delivered. In those days - yes, I'm afraid we are talking 1961 here - the grocer's boy would, of course, bring your order round on a bike and I would have known that. Sadly, we never get to hear of what crucial part the todstool would have played in the plot.
Because there was so much fuss about it in the school at the time, I think, the phrase "the fary and the todstool" has passed into family history.
"Yes, this writing lark's fun," thought the five-year-old Daphne, "and when I grow up I'm going to write a blog. Provided they've invented the internet by then, of course."
I'd learned to talk early, at just one year old - this may, perhaps, be no surprise to you.
Anyway, my mother read to me a lot and I was really keen to learn to read and hence was an early reader, too, and an early writer. I started school at four, because I was held to be ready, though I didn't like it much.
When I was five, the teacher gave me a little booklet, about four inches square, with paper cut from an exercise book on the outside and lined paper stapled in the middle. She invited me to write a story. I remember thinking hey, this is fun, I know how to do this. And I remember struggling with the word "jam" which just wouldn't come right no matter what I did.
As for all other spellings, I remember being supremely confident that I had this spelling lark well under control. No other words gave me any trouble.
So I wrote The Story of the Fary and the Todstool, and drew some illustrations too.
And here it is, in full, for your perusal, exactly as I wrote it.This is the Story of the fary and the Todstool
by Daphne.
one up on a time their was a fary who livd in a todstool. one day she lookt out of her hours and it was Snowing oh bother She sied now I canot go to the Bacors to get sume Bred and thears Nothig for dinner. now what shall I do. are yes Ill order my things
Now what is their to be orderd. a pound of butter some eggs and some Boyld ham. Now what else.I No some gam and some peunuts and some sosigies. you are my Best pet he seid to her gould fish. as she put her coult and hat on.
She bout the eggs the boyld ham and the gam and the butter. and went home to wayt for the food to arive.
But it Never came what is the matter Now she seid. for she was getting rather tierd of thing going wrong. oh well I spose I will hav to go out agane. she seid as she went to put her coult and hat on. oh oh ooooh she seid.
--------------------
And there it ends. I had run out of time. I remember it attracted quite a lot of attention - I was only five after all - and I had to take it round the other classes to show it off, though I felt this was undeserved as it was unfinished.
Looking at it now, I rather admire the consistency of the spelling in Little-Daphne-World - such as the repeated "coult" for coat - and the brave struggle to spell "jam". Not to mention the truly inspirational one-off of "sosigies".
There are some plot inconsistencies - the fary can't go out because it's Snowing: and yet she does go out, to order the food to be delivered. In those days - yes, I'm afraid we are talking 1961 here - the grocer's boy would, of course, bring your order round on a bike and I would have known that. Sadly, we never get to hear of what crucial part the todstool would have played in the plot.
Because there was so much fuss about it in the school at the time, I think, the phrase "the fary and the todstool" has passed into family history.
"Yes, this writing lark's fun," thought the five-year-old Daphne, "and when I grow up I'm going to write a blog. Provided they've invented the internet by then, of course."
posted by Daphne at 11:21 pm
4 Comments:
Dere Fary, Yoo aar sum wot older than fyve Now and yoo aar stil tierd of things going rong. Lyf can be such a bich.
Still you were an F'ing good riter even then, so thats wun good thing. Mor par to your bilbow.
Oh Daphne, I do adore sosigies. Especially when they're wrapped in lovely pastry!
I too started school when I was 4, but alas, we didn't learn to write until a few years later.
I've got a 'thing' for farys. I am thinking of getting a tattoo of one in fact.
I loved this! Thank you for sharing.
I luvd the Fary and the Todstool! Wot a wundrfol store, Dafne! If I dident no betr I mit thingk yew wur a grajuit uv thu Jorj Burnard Shawl Skewl uv simplfid spelng. Evn at 5.
Those Chaucer and Shakespeare chaps had nothing on you.
In Albanian, once you know the alphabet you can spell every word in the language correctly, because the alphabet has 36 letters (including dh, gj, nj, and xh) and each one sounds the same way every time it appears in a word, unlike our glorious English.
Here's a link to my grandson Sam's very short, essay (with comments before and after from me, naturally).
http://rhymeswithplague.blogspot.com/2008/05/sam-age-7-blogger-to-be.html
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