Week 5 Storytelling: The Folly of an A(purrr)entice

My pupil, well he's my apprentice really, came to me one day and asked, "Wizard, what is the trickiest thing you've ever done?" And I told him to call me Harry ,as that is my name, and not "Wizard" as he said and then I whispered in his ear, for that is the best way to share secrets, that the trickiest thing I'd ever done was change myself into something else and sell myself for money. I then change back into myself and escape long before the fool that bought me has any idea what's going on.

My apprentice, Josh, the young lad, thought this was great fun and wanted to see me in action. I didn't see any problem with a bit of show and tell, after all, I am supposed to be teaching him the tricks of the trade, as his mother pays me to do, so why not?

I told him I'd show him something simple, something he could copy later if he wanted to. I decided to turn myself into a guitar but I told him to hold onto the talisman that I had transformed into a pick as that would be the thing that called me back to humanity after a short while. If anyone else possessed that talisman during the time of my Change, I would not be able to Change back and come home. He said he understood and looked at me very reverent like so I changed into a guitar and watched him place the pick in his pocket.

He sold me at an auction down the road and I stayed with the fool that bought me till he fell asleep that night. He was still mad that the boy hadn't sold him the pick as well and had grumbled all day about having to wait till tomorrow to go buy one. I quietly Changed back into a human, crept from his house and returned home safely.

Well Josh was excited to see me safely back the next morning but I think he was even more impressed that we were a couple hundred dollars richer. He asked me if I could do it again and I said I reckoned I could so we drove to a neighborhood close to a college campus and advertised a couch for sale. I turned my talisman into a couch pillow and myself into said couch and Josh sold me for a good sum.

I endured several hours of partying before I was finally able to leave. The drunk couple that had fallen asleep on me probably woke up on the floor the next morning a little confused and a lot hung over.

By this time, Josh and I had gotten used to the inflow of cash so he suggested I turn myself into an iPhone and he'd keep the talisman as a charger. I thought it was a good idea so that's what we did.

Well, when I came back from that adventure, Josh was gone, my talisman carelessly tossed in the floorboard of the van we'd been living in for the past while. All our cash was gone so I scratched my head and wondered if something had happened to him or if he'd just run off.

I decided I needed to at least check around for him so I hopped in the van and headed into town. Almost immediately, I had to stop because a line of people blocked the road. It didn't seem to be moving very quickly so I left the van and walked to the front of the line to see what all the fuss was about.

Well you wouldn't believe it but there was a huge, brand-spankin-new Coffee Houz filled to capacity occupying a corner that had been a vacant lot only yesterday when I'd passed through town as an iPhone.

There was a girl sitting at a table all by herself, crakin' pink bubble gum and smiling to beat the band, an empty Coffee Houz cup with the name TIFFANY in front of her. She was twirling a set of keys around her fingers and seemed to be counting customers as they came in. I could practically see the dollar signs in her eyes.

Well I thought I'd heard Josh mention something about a girl, something about a Tiffany a long while ago. It didn't take me long to put two and two together. This coffee shop was none other than my young apprentice and those keys were his talisman.

I didn't think that was right, taking all the money I'd Changed myself for and then thinking he could go on and make more money without me, so I Changed myself into an attractive surfer dude and made my way over to Tiffany. Well she all but threw those keys at me when I asked to buy the place for more money than she'd ever seen and take her to my "condo in Miami" where she would never have to lift a finger in her life.

Josh felt his talisman change hands (it wasn't the smartest decision to give it to Tiffany, he should have seen this coming, really) and I guess he began to panic because, suddenly, the Coffee Houz disappeared and a bright little sparrow practically rocketed across the sky. Well he wasn't getting away from me that easily so I Changed into a hawk and quickly caught up with him.

I had just about closed my talons around his small body when he Changed into a donut and fell into a business man's lap. The man seemed to be on a diet based on the empty salad bowl, apple core and water beside him on the bench and was very pleased to receive a donut from the sky.

I quickly landed and Changed myself into a homeless man and shuffled over.

He seemed to be a pretty agreeable fellow with a good heart so I told him I hadn't had food in days and could sure use something to eat if he had something to spare. He didn't really want to give me the donut (Josh did make an incredibly good looking donut, I'll give him that) but he finally relented and tossed it over to me.

I nearly dropped him (the business man wasn't the most coordinated fellow) but I finally got a firm grasp on him and held him close. I moseyed on over to my van, the donut still in a death grip, and hopped in. I pulled his talisman out of my pocket and said a spell over it.

Josh changed into a grey and white cat (I'd always wanted a cat) and his talisman became his leash and collar. This would be a permanent spell, one he could not escape from. His mother would not be able to pay me enough to make up for his foolishness so now I had a life companion.

I allowed for him to talk because every Wizard needs a magical talking pet (it's probably in the job description somewhere). I reckon for the rest of our days, I've got me cat that'll warn my future apprentices about the dangers of defying me. What a future I've got ahead of me!






(Angry Apprentice Cat: Image Source)


Author's Note: 
I had a great time writing this (it's a lot more fun if you read it in an old man's rambling and vaguely southern voice). The original story deals with a wizard and his apprentice who cheat several people out of money by changing into things that are sold. I kept the element of something being left behind to come back to because I felt that fit into my story well. The apprentice eventually thinks he can outsmart his teacher and turns himself into a bathing house and leaves the keys with his mother. His mother doesn't realize the importance of the keys so when the wizard finds out what's going on, he is able to convince the woman to sell him the bathhouse and give him the keys.  In a panic, the apprentice flees and seeks refuge with the Padishah by turning himself into a rose. The wizard comes in as a minnesinger and eventually convinces the Padishah to give him the rose. Before he can grab it, however, the apprentice changes again into a millet pulp so the wizard changes into a rooster and eats him up but misses a piece so the apprentice changes back into himself and wrings his teacher's neck and kills him. He then goes back home and him and his mother live happily ever after and make all the money they want. 

I didn't think the ending was very fair, neither the wizard or the apprentice seem to be the best guys but the apprentice was shadier and a brat so I thought he should be punished. I made the things the wizard changed himself into a little more modern to relate to the current time period and, like I said, changed the ending. I also changed it from a story telling style to a first person stream of consciousness narrative from the wizard's point of view. I feel like this helps the reader get even more into the story. I hope you enjoyed!!


Bibliography:

This story is in the Turkish Fairy Tales unit. Story source: Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales: The Wizard and his Pupil by Ignacz Kunos, with illustrations by Willy Pogany (1913).