Project 1

Brittany Cunnien Molly Daniel ENC1145 Hearsay and Her Quest For The Truth There once was a seemingly ordinary girl who lived in a seemingly ordinary forest, the Rumoribus Forest. Her name was Hearsay. She lived a typical life of someone not born of royalty. Her mother was a seamstress and her father a stable hand. Although they were but peasants in a world of wealth and riches, as a young girl Hearsay would visit her father at work and would fantasize of owning her very own horse one day.

Knowing Hearsay’s desire to own a horse, her father’s boss offered a proposition of exchange. “John, I have a proposal for you…”, said the boss. “Ah, very well. I will discuss this with my wife and come to you with a decision tomorrow”, exclaimed Hearsay’s father.

Hearsay’s parents agreed to offer their daughter’s hand in marriage when she turned eighteen to the horse owner’s son, Harold, in exchange for the horse of her dreams. Unknowing of her parent’s covenant, Hearsay received the horse in what she thought was an honest transaction. Day in and day out she went about her domestic duties and dreamed of a better life.

Over the river and through the woods there lived a dashing young prince named James. James was heir to the throne of Slanderville. Hearsay heard stories upon stories of James’ nobility, compassion, and wealth. One that happened to stand out to her was the one time James offered the less fortunate of Slanderville food from his very own pantry.

From these stories she had formed an image of James in her mind that trumped any of her potential suitors and she hoped one day she’d marry him, in all of his perfection.

The only problem was, Hearsay wasn’t told of the arrangement her parents made until the eve of her eighteenth birthday. Her parents gave her a birthday card like every other year: in the card was written a longer message than the usual “Happy Birthday, our Dearest Hearsay”. She was perplexed and began to read. She was caught so off guard with her parents’ news that she made a rash decision to run away. “How could you do this!”, she cried. She gathered up her most prized possessions, hopped on her horse, and rode off toward the life she had planned for herself before she was given one she has told herself she did not want.

Hearsay rode her horse from dawn until dusk for three days until she finally reached the outskirts of Slanderville. Meanwhile, gossip had begun brewing back in the Rumoribus Forest. The townsfolk living in the forest with Hearsay and her family had begun to spread rumors that she must’ve had a child out of wedlock and her “running away” was just a cover up to keep the family’s good name from being tarnished. The only person who didn’t believe these rumors was Harold. Although Hearsay was quick to judge, mainly because now being eighteen she felt independent enough to make her own decisions, she was unaware of the genuine traits Harold possessed. Back in the Rumoribus Forest, Harold was applying to work with the stable as a volunteer even though his dad owned it, and he could be making money for his services. He also offered underprivileged children free horseback riding lessons in his spare time. She ran away before they had a chance to meet. Deep down, Harold knew the rumors weren’t true. He was determined to make Hearsay know the true him, and not pass judgment based on

things she had heard from others. Harold decided to go to Slanderville to find Hearsay, in hopes that once she meets the real him, she will fall in love.

The next day Hearsay decided to make her way into town. She remembered that last week she had heard about James volunteering with the soup kitchen on Tuesdays, which made her love him and his compassion for others even more, and with it coincidentally being Tuesday, she figured that there was no better time than the present.

When Hearsay finally reached the soup kitchen she was disappointed to find James’ younger brother Jeremy volunteering. “Where is James?”, she asked. Jeremy told her that James actually hates volunteering, but people mistake him for his brother and word has gotten out that James is the one helping others when in reality it is Jeremy. Hearsay was disheartened. She really thought the stories were true, and now after being in Slanderville for a few hours has come to realize you can’t believe everything you hear.

As these realizations washed over Hearsay, she hazily walked out of the soup kitchen into the street. So deeply lost in her muddied thoughts, Hearsay walked directly into a tall man in the middle of the street and nearly fell to the ground. However, this man caught her in his muscled arms just before she completely lost all her balance. As she looked into his eyes, she was struck by the kindness that seemed to radiate from them. Only after he helped her to her feet, did she realize that he was grasping a beautiful bouquet of flowers. “I am so incredibly sorry for almost ruining those!” exclaimed Hearsay. She subsequently introduced herself and the man then said something that almost caused her to lose her balance yet again. “Hearsay, these flowers are for you!” he said.

The man introduced himself as Harold. Harold! Harold was the man she was

supposed to marry. The man she was talking to is her supposed-to-be husband whom she thought she had despised. However the more they conversed, the more she realized just how nice and caring and funny he was, and she wondered how this could be. Hearsay decided to go back to the Rumoribus Forest with Harold. She realized gossip had made her want something far different from what she had in front of her all along. If only she hadn’t believed the stories she heard around the forest about James she wouldn’t have built him up in her mind to be this extravagant human that was almost too good to be true.

Upon arriving from their three-day trek back to the Rumoribus Forest, the townsfolk were shocked to see who was riding into town. It was none other than Harold and Hearsay. The rumors were quickly dismissed when the townsfolk came to the realization that Hearsay really wasn’t bearing a bastard child after all. Hearsay was so overcome with joy when she finally realized what she had all along. Not only did she receive the horse of dreams, but the man of her dreams as well.

Process Memo: Before writing this fairy tale, my basic understanding of gossip was that it functions as a way in which others either hear or tell rumors that are generally untrue.

The moral of this story can be clearly summed up in one sentence, “If only she hadn’t believed the stories she heard around her town about James she wouldn’t have built him up in her mind to be this extravagant human that was almost too good to be true.” I decided to go with this moral because people tend to believe a lot of what they hear to be true and are often disappointed in the end.

The plot of this story is that a girl, Hearsay, is supposed to enter into an arranged marriage, but due to the stories she hears of a nearby prince she decides to runaway, to be with him. Her future husband knows he’s a good guy and goes after her to show her he can be what she wants. In the end the prince turns out to be unlike what people say about him and she falls for the man she should’ve been with all along. I used this plot because growing up reading fairy tales it is easy to identify with.

The characters in this fairy tale all have a special role. Hearsay is a bit of a complex character. First off, her name is a play on words since the fairy tale is about gossip. She is very influenced by the stories she hears. This plays into the stereotype that 18-year-old girls are gullible and believe everything they hear before finding out the truth on their own. The townsfolk also gossip about her reason for running away which also play into her name. Harold plays the part that helps Hearsay finally realize the “moral” of the story. He is a vital piece in putting everything together. James portrays gossip in the fact that the only things you know about him are stories told by others. For all we know as readers he might not even exist. He does in fact exist in the mind of Hearsay based on

solely what others have told her. I used these characters because they all play off one another, and fill in the gaps where each happens to be lacking.

Word Count: [ 1,501 ]