The Last Leaf

Narrative Text

BIOGRAPHY : General Sudirman

Vanity, What Is Thy Price?

Vanity, What is Thy Price?

 Vanity and Pride 

Madame Loisel was a pretty girl born into a poor family. She had no expectations  and she felt so trapped by her situation that she married a little clerk in a goverment office. Her tastes were simple because she had never been able to  afford any other, but she was as unhappy as though she had married beneath her  status; for women have no caste or class, their beauty, grace, and charm serving  them for birth or family. She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury. She suffered from the poorness of her house, from its bare  walls, worn chairs, and ugly curtains.

Scene 1

MONSIEUR LOISEL: Sweetheart, I have a surprise for you. MADAME LOISEL Really, what is the surprise?

MONSIEUR LOISEL: See for yourself.

(He places the invitation on the table.)

Swiftly she tears open the envelop and draws out a printed card and reads out

"The Minister and Madame Ramponneau

request the pleasure of the company of Monsieur and Madame Loisel

at the Ministry on the evening of Monday, January the eighteenth."

MONSIEUR LOISEL: Isn't it wonderful?

MADAME LOISEL :What do you mean? What can I do with it?

(She tosses the invitation onto the table.]

MADAME LOISEL I have nothing suitable to wear to this glamorous occasion.

MONSIEUR LOSEL : Why.. Why, you can wear your theater gown, of course. It's really quite suitable.

[Madame Loisel breaks into tears.]

MONSIEUR LOISEL: What's the matter? Why are you crying?

MADAME LOISEL : I'll be humiliated in that old gown. It's so tottered and completely out of style. I can't go to the ball wearing that rag.

[Monsieur Loisel paces and thinks.]

MONSIEUR LOISEL: There must be a way! How much do you think a suitable gown would cost? Something very simple but elegant as well, of course.

MADAME LOISEL : I'm not too sure, but maybe 400 francs. I've been saving and I think I have just about 400 francs, you could take it to buy a gown.

Scene 2:

MONSIEUR LOISEL : You make any dress come to life, my dear How ravishing you look!

MADAME LOISEL : [Pouting and whining] But I'll be disgraced!

MONSIEUR LOISEL: Disgraced? What can you possibly mean? You will be the most beautiful woman there!

MADAME LOISEL: You just don't understand! It's so annoying! I don't have a single piece of jewelry to wear with my gown.

MONSIEUR LOISEL:  There is one thing, one possibility that you've forgotten

MADAME LOISEL : [sniffs.] What's that?

MONSIEUR LOISEL : Your old classmate! Madome Jeanne Forestier! She is really well off. I'm sure she would be willing to lend you some of her jewelry!

MADAME LOISEL: [Her sniffs turn into laughter and joy.] Of coursel I can borrow something suitable from Jeanne Thank you, darling

NARRATOR::

Madame Loisel was absolutely smashing! She was prettier than any of the other women: elegant, graceful, smiling and wild with joy. Everyone noticed her, and her husband's boss seemed to want every dance with her!

Scene 3:

MADAME LOISEL : (Looking in mirror.)

Oh my God! Oh no, oh no I have. Oh my God, this can not happen!

MONSIEUR LOISEL:  What?What is it?

MADAME LOISEL : I have lost Madame Forestier's necklace

MONSIEUR LOISEL: can't be truelt's impossible!

[They begin frantically searching through their coats and clothes, and on the floor.)

MADAME LOISEL: Oh God, help us!

MONSIEUR LOISEL : It must be here somewhere Necklaces don't just evaporate.

[Madame Loisel begins weeping and sobbing as she searches.]

MONSIEUR LOISEL: I shall go back on foot, over the entire route to see whether or not I can find it. 

[He rushes out. Madame Loisel sinks into a chair, sobbing. After more than an hour he comes back.]

MADAME LOISEL: Did you find it? Tell me! Did you?

MONSIEUR LOISEL : [Remains silent]

MADAME LOISEL : Did you find it or not?

MONSIEUR LOISEL:  I am afraid not.

Scene 4:

NARRATOR:

Madame Loisel didn't tell Madame Forestier that she lost her necklace and she chose to replace it. The replacement cost them everything. Madame Loisel came to know the ghastly life of abject poverty. Their previous life seemed downright luxurious compared to what they had now.

MONSIEUR LOISEL: Matildo, my love. I have made the last payment on our debt. We have nothing left for ourselves, but at least we are free from the loan of 20,000 francs.

MADAME LOISEL : Free at last.

MONSIEUR LOISEL: Look! Isn't that Madame Forestier over there? You have not spoken to her since that day. 

Go talk to her. : Uh... Hello. Good day.

MADAME FORESTIER: You must have mistaken me for someone else. Excuse me please... 

MADAME LOISEL : Jeanne, don't you recognize me? It's me, Matilda.

MADAME FORESTIER: Matilda? But it can't be. You look so worn and old. 

MADAME LOISEL: No really, it's me. I' ve changed because I have had to endure ten hard years of manual labor, scrubbing floors and taking in laundry.

MADAME FORESTIER: My dear, what could have happened to make you do that?

 MADAME LOISEL :It was your necklace, or rather my desire to be elegant, that caused this.

MADAME FORESTIER: But how is that possible? I have the necklace. I wore it to the theater just the other night.

MADAME LOISEL :The necklace you have is actually just a replacement. I'm afraid that I lost yours. We borrowed money to purchase a replacement and have spent the past ten years paying off the debt, but today, we have made the last payment. off the amount needed to replace the necklace?

MADAME FORESTIER: Ten years? Surely it could not have taken that long to pay

MADAME LOISEL :What do you mean? 

MADAME FORESTIER: Mine was a fake; the replacement should have cost you nothing more than 500 francs. Oh, my poor, poor, dear Matilda

Hopes and Dreams

Stop Bullying

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems.

Narrative Text

Narrative Text; Definition, Purposes, Generic Structures, Language Features

Enchanted Fish

Enchanted Fish

"Enchanted Fish"

There once was a fisherman who lived with his wife in a small hut close by the seaside. The fisherman used to go fishing every day. One day, as he sat in his boat with his rod, looking at the sparkling waves and watching his line, all of a sudden his float was dragged away deep into the water. He quickly started to reel in his line and managed to pull out a huge fish. "Wow! This will feed us for days." Much to his surprise, the fish started to talk and said, "Pray, let me live! I am not a real fish; I am an enchanted prince. Put me in the water again, and let me go! Have mercy o' kind fisherman." The astonished fisherman quickly threw him back, exclaiming, "I don't want to hurt a talking fish! Go on! Go where you came from." 

When the fisherman went home to his wife, he told her everything that had happened and how, on hearing it speak, he had let it go again. "Didn't you ask it for anything?" said the wife. "No, I didn't, what should I have asked for?" replied the fisherman.

"I am surprised you don't realize what you should have asked for. We live very wretchedly here, in this nasty dirty hut. We are poor and I am so miserable. You should have asked for a nice cozy cottage. Now go back and ask the fish that we want a snug little cottage," said his wife.

The fisherman wasn't sure about this but he still went to the seashore, sat in his boat, went to the middle of the sea and said:

"O enchanted beautiful fish!

Hear my plea!

My wife wants not what I want,

and she won't give up till she has her own will,

so come forth and help me!"

The fish immediately came swimming to him, and said, "Well, what is her will? How can I help your wife?" "Ah!" said the fisherman, "she says that when I had caught you, I ought to have asked you for something before I let you go. She does not like living in our little hut, and wants a snug little cottage." "Go home then," said the fish, "She is already in the cottage!" So the fisherman went home, and saw his wife standing at the door of a nice trim little cottage. "Come in, come on in! Look at the beautiful cottage we have." Everything went fine for a while, and then one day fisherman's wife said, "Husband, there is not enough room for us in this cottage, go back to the fish and tell him to make me an emperor." "Wife," said the fisherman , "I don't want to go to him again. Perhaps he will be angry. We ought to be happy with what the fish has given us and not be greedy." "Nonsense!" said the wife; "The fish will do it very willingly, I know. Go along and try!" With a heavy heart the fisherman went to the middle of the sea and said:

 

"O enchanted beautiful fish!

Hear my plea!

My wife wants not what I want,

and she won't give up till she has her own will,

so come forth and help me!"

 

"What would she have now?" said the fish. "Ah!" said the fisherman, "she wants to be an emperor." "Go home," said the fish; "She is an emperor already."

So he went home and he saw his wife sitting on a very lofty throne made of solid gold, with a great crown on her head full two yards high. And on each side of her stood her guards and attendants in a row. The fisherman went up to her and said, "Wife, are you an emperor?" "Yes," she said, "I am an emperor." "Ah!" said the man, as he gazed upon her, "What a fine thing it is to be an emperor!" "Husband," she said, "it is goof to be an emperor." They were happy for a while.

Then a time came when she was not able to sleep all night for she was thinking what she should ask next. At last, as she was about to fall asleep, morning broke, and the sun rose. "Ha!" she thought, as she woke up and looked at it through the window, "after all I cannot prevent the sun from rising." At this thought she was very angry, and weakened her husband, and said, "Husband, go to the fish and tell him I must be Lord of the sun and the moon." The fisherman was half asleep, but the thought frightened him so much that he fell out of the bed. "Alas, wife!" he said, "cannot you be happy with being such a powerful emperor?" "No," she said, "I am very uneasy as long as the sun and the moon rise without my permission. Go to the fish at once!" "I don't think this is a good idea," said the fisherman but his wife wouldn't listen to him. "Why don't you just go and ask the fish to make me the Lord of everything," she said.

Then the man went shivering with fear. As he was going down to the shore a dreadful storm arose. The trees and the very rocks shook and the sky became black with stormy clouds. There were great black waves, swelling up like mountains with crowns of white foam upon their heads. Unfortunately the fisherman did not have any choice, so he got onto his boat and rowed to the middle of the sea and cried out as loud as he could:

 

"O enchanted beautiful fish!

Hear my plea!

My wife wants not what I want,

and she won't give up till she has her own will,

so come forth and help me!"

 

"What does she want now?" said the fish. "I am truly ashamed of my wife's greed but I can't do anything. She wants to be Lord of the sun and the moon." "Go home," said the fish, "to your small hut." And it is said that they live there to this every day.

"Enchanted Fish"

There once was a fisherman who lived with his wife in a small hut close by the seaside. The fisherman used to go fishing every day. One day, as he sat in his boat with his rod, looking at the sparkling waves and watching his line, all of a sudden his float was dragged away deep into the water. He quickly started to reel in his line and managed to pull out a huge fish. "Wow! This will feed us for days." Much to his surprise, the fish started to talk and said, "Pray, let me live! I am not a real fish; I am an enchanted prince. Put me in the water again, and let me go! Have mercy o' kind fisherman." The astonished fisherman quickly threw him back, exclaiming, "I don't want to hurt a talking fish! Go on! Go where you came from." 

When the fisherman went home to his wife, he told her everything that had happened and how, on hearing it speak, he had let it go again. "Didn't you ask it for anything?" said the wife. "No, I didn't, what should I have asked for?" replied the fisherman.

"I am surprised you don't realize what you should have asked for. We live very wretchedly here, in this nasty dirty hut. We are poor and I am so miserable. You should have asked for a nice cozy cottage. Now go back and ask the fish that we want a snug little cottage," said his wife.

The fisherman wasn't sure about this but he still went to the seashore, sat in his boat, went to the middle of the sea and said:

"O enchanted beautiful fish!

Hear my plea!

My wife wants not what I want,

and she won't give up till she has her own will,

so come forth and help me!"

The fish immediately came swimming to him, and said, "Well, what is her will? How can I help your wife?" "Ah!" said the fisherman, "she says that when I had caught you, I ought to have asked you for something before I let you go. She does not like living in our little hut, and wants a snug little cottage." "Go home then," said the fish, "She is already in the cottage!" So the fisherman went home, and saw his wife standing at the door of a nice trim little cottage. "Come in, come on in! Look at the beautiful cottage we have." Everything went fine for a while, and then one day fisherman's wife said, "Husband, there is not enough room for us in this cottage, go back to the fish and tell him to make me an emperor." "Wife," said the fisherman , "I don't want to go to him again. Perhaps he will be angry. We ought to be happy with what the fish has given us and not be greedy." "Nonsense!" said the wife; "The fish will do it very willingly, I know. Go along and try!" With a heavy heart the fisherman went to the middle of the sea and said:

 

"O enchanted beautiful fish!

Hear my plea!

My wife wants not what I want,

and she won't give up till she has her own will,

so come forth and help me!"

 

"What would she have now?" said the fish. "Ah!" said the fisherman, "she wants to be an emperor." "Go home," said the fish; "She is an emperor already."

So he went home and he saw his wife sitting on a very lofty throne made of solid gold, with a great crown on her head full two yards high. And on each side of her stood her guards and attendants in a row. The fisherman went up to her and said, "Wife, are you an emperor?" "Yes," she said, "I am an emperor." "Ah!" said the man, as he gazed upon her, "What a fine thing it is to be an emperor!" "Husband," she said, "it is goof to be an emperor." They were happy for a while.

Then a time came when she was not able to sleep all night for she was thinking what she should ask next. At last, as she was about to fall asleep, morning broke, and the sun rose. "Ha!" she thought, as she woke up and looked at it through the window, "after all I cannot prevent the sun from rising." At this thought she was very angry, and weakened her husband, and said, "Husband, go to the fish and tell him I must be Lord of the sun and the moon." The fisherman was half asleep, but the thought frightened him so much that he fell out of the bed. "Alas, wife!" he said, "cannot you be happy with being such a powerful emperor?" "No," she said, "I am very uneasy as long as the sun and the moon rise without my permission. Go to the fish at once!" "I don't think this is a good idea," said the fisherman but his wife wouldn't listen to him. "Why don't you just go and ask the fish to make me the Lord of everything," she said.

Then the man went shivering with fear. As he was going down to the shore a dreadful storm arose. The trees and the very rocks shook and the sky became black with stormy clouds. There were great black waves, swelling up like mountains with crowns of white foam upon their heads. Unfortunately the fisherman did not have any choice, so he got onto his boat and rowed to the middle of the sea and cried out as loud as he could:

 

"O enchanted beautiful fish!

Hear my plea!

My wife wants not what I want,

and she won't give up till she has her own will,

so come forth and help me!"

 

"What does she want now?" said the fish. "I am truly ashamed of my wife's greed but I can't do anything. She wants to be Lord of the sun and the moon." "Go home," said the fish, "to your small hut." And it is said that they live there to this every day.