Story outlines & story “bones”
If you are a oral storyteller looking for the “bones” of a story, here are some of mine.
Looking for the bones of a story to tell orally? Wish granted!
Bread and roses
A tale of charity and miracles. The story of Elizabeth of Hungary.
Death in a Nut
A man visits a wise master and asks to become one of their students. The master pours a cup of tea and the student learns his first lesson.
The Mustard Seed
A man visits a wise master and asks to become one of their students. The master pours a cup of tea and the student learns his first lesson.
In your hands
A Zen tale that raises the question about the heavens and hells that we create for ourselves.
The barking mouse
A fun story about why knowing another language can be helpful.
Heaven and hell
A Zen tale that raises the question about the heavens and hells that we create for ourselves.
Joy of the sack (The)
When the esteemed Nasreddin Hodja meets a traveller seeking happiness, he goes out of his way to help.
Half a blanket
What do we owe our parents? This Irish tale, which is thought to have come from an old French fable, brings three generations together to answer the question.
Empty your cup
A man visits a wise master and asks to become one of their students. The master pours a cup of tea and the student learns his first lesson.
Lion makers (The)
Four friends head into the world to seek fortune and fame, but which will live to tell the tale?
The boatman and the scholar (The)
A Sufi tale that makes us wonder what skills are truly valuable. Are all skills equal, or is context everything?
Strawberry (The)
A Zen tale about how things taste when we feel most alive…
Gnat and The Bull (The)
A fable from Aesop that questions how important we are in the grand scheme of things.
Fate of three fish (The)
A tale from the Panchatantra about three very different ways of coping with life’s little challenges. When fishermen come to a lake, three fish choose their own fate.
Truth and story
A Jewish tale that illustrates how the truth can be more palatable when clothed in story.
Three pieces of advice
This tale appears to be Celtic in origin, and is classified by some as an Irish tale and by others as a Cornish tale. In it, a man has to choose between gold and good advice.
Animals’ Dam (The)
In this tale told in Southern Africa, tricky Jackal is able to relieve his thirst without having to dig a dam…