Once Upon A Time

I have a fun game that I love because it inspires creativity.  It is simply called "Once Upon A Time."  I acquired my copy when I worked at The Gamekeeper (before it was bought out by Hasbro games).  The rules are designed for a group of people to tell a story together.  The story can be passed around by interruptions using the cards or if a person starts confusing the story from what has been told or if they get stuck and pass.  Everyone has a goal to use all of the cards in their hand and bring the story to their "Ending" card which makes the telling more fun.  The other rules to know are that each card must be significant to the story's telling and must have their own sentence in order to be added to the story.

Just for fun I will tell a story using the cards I have chosen randomly from the deck:

Once upon a time there was a very strong boy who grew up in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere.  He worked on a farm and could heft twice as much as any other boy his age.  Even some of the men could not lift the heavy loads he could.  He parents loved him and wanted to see him do well, but they also needed him to survive.  Their farm was very prosperous because of his great strength and they would have to hire out at least three people to do the work he could by the time he was 18.

One day, George, (the very strong boy) could no longer stand living in anonymity and insisted his father give him money to set out on his journey to make his own way in the world.  His father refused to give his son the money, but pleaded with him to stay one more year so they could bring the harvest in to pay for workers next year.  They argued back and forth and in his anger George struck his father with an awful blow.  His father collapsed from the pain and George cried out in agony at his own stupidity.  He carried his father to the doctor, who treated the wound swiftly but it was more than the father could bear.  He passed away in the night.  George discussed the matter with his mother who was more understanding and forgiving than he could have expected.  She insisted that they sell the farm to their neighbors who could jointly afford it and leave together.  George being her only child felt his duty to take care of his mother and promised that she would live comfortably no matter what job he found.

They set off together on a fine misty morning taking the only road they knew that led to another small town.  In the next town, George was able to purchase a pair of fine horses with the money from their farm and spared some for provisions as they traveled.  He also asked around for jobs that may need a strong hand, but the town was not in need.  One merchant that traded with the travelers said he heard a rumor that the king of the province was looking for a strong man for an odd job but he did not know much more about it.  The merchant shared that the road to the castle was through the forest east of the village and George and his mother, Marda, headed that direction.

The forest was thick and the path was hard to see.  They had no experience with forests having grown up in the plains, but George persisted.  Soon, they lost the path entirely and had to camp for the night.  In the middle of the night the croaking sound awoke George.  He opened his eyes to see a frog right in front of him.  The frog croaked insistently and George followed the frog's gaze to a knotted old oak behind him.  George got up and examined the oak more closely.  He found a rabbit hole beneath and something shining within.  George awakened his mother and she suggested they wait for daylight to see more clearly.  The frog leaped in and croaked loudly again.  George reached in and found coins.  He delightedly pulled a fist full of gold from the hole.  His mother was not delighted.  She feared they had found the hiding place of some stolen treasure and begged her son to replace the money.  George refused.  He dug all the money out and after doing so the frog came out of the hole and leaped upon the horse's saddle.  It was clear the frog intended to see them through the forest to George so he and Marda mounted and the frog led them back to the path they had lost.

The castle had a wall and moat but the bridge was open and George and his mother were permitted to enter to find out more about the job with the King.  George found a nice place for his mother to stay and left the money with her.  She did not want him to because she was still fearful, but George promised he could return to check on her.  The King did have a job for George.  It was not what George had hoped for though.  The king wanted many strong men to help build better roads to all the villages in his province.  George was sure he could find a better job that his strength was suited for.  When he returned to his mother he found her in a fit of tears.  The frog was continuing to croak incessantly at her and she did not want to stay in its presence a moment longer.  George took the money and asked the frog what it wished him to do.  The frog led them back to the horses and back along the road they had come.

The frog ended at the grave of George's father. It hopped maddeningly back and forth from the grave to the farm to George's mother.  Finally, George realized he must buy the farm back for his mother and run it as he had been raised to do, but he refused.  He tossed the coins at his mother and shouted, "Do what you will with them!"  Then he picked up the frog and ran away so she could be bothered no more by its croaking.  As for fame or fortune George's pride could never be satisfied with any work great or small.  He lived the rest of his life as a beggar...which was perfectly just.