Storytelling, Week 14: The Baker of Bankwood

     There is a small town called Bankwood that lies just past the rolling hills surrounding Ridge Mountain. Bankwood is known for some of the fascinating phenomenons that occur within it. Maybe this is due to the amount of innocent townsfolk living in the town. There hasn't been a single crime in Bankwood since 1782. So I guess one could call Bankwood the safest place on Earth. This might be why some strange hidden creatures have called Bankwood their home.

     In the small town of Bankwood lives a baker and his wife. The baker is known for the fantastic bread he creates. The entire town adores his bread. However, one Sunday ago, the baker broke his arm hiking the famous Ridge Mountain. The baker could not bake his famous bread with only one arm! His wife tried to help him, but the bread did not have that famous taste it is known for. Saddened, the baker decided to close his shop until he is well.

     A week passed and the baker grew insane from boredom. He attempted to make his bread again, but became unsuccessful. Frustrated, the baker left all his equipment and ingredients in the kitchen before going to bed. The morning came and the baker walked into the kitchen. To his amazement, over two dozen loafs of bread had been made! The bread tasted fantastic! He asked his wife if she did this, but she nodded no. Instantly, he baker sold his bread that day.

     That night he again left out his ingredients and went to bed. The baker was ecstatic that the bread was once again made by the morning, but this time there were at least four dozen loafs! The baker did not understand this phenomenon, but kept leaving ingredients out every night. Sure enough, each morning more bread was made. After a few weeks the question of, "what is baking the bread," flooded the baker's mind.

     One evening the baker and his wife agreed to stay up all night to see what was baking bread in their home. They stayed up for hours until a noise was heard around two in the morning. Four small gnomes, that appeared skinnier than the storybooks, came into the kitchen and began baking. They sang and baked for hours. The couple was so astonished by this fascinating sight.

     The next day, the baker's wife asked him if they could cook for the helpful gnomes as a gift for all their hard work. The baker thought this was a wonderful idea. The two of them spent the rest of the day cooking a fantastic meal. The evening came and the two left out the magnificent meal. As the clock chimed two-o-clock, the gnomes walked into the kitchen. Happiness covered all four of their faces as they ate the wonderful food. Immediately, their bellies became large and they appeared too look like the gnomes within the storybooks. After their meal, they baked bread one last time.

     The baker and his wife never saw the gnomes again. Even though the couple was sad that their hard-working friends disappeared, they were grateful that the little creatures helped them in their time of need. The baker continued to happily cook in Bankwood for the rest of his days.

Loafs of Bread

Author's Note:

     This is an adaption of the story, "The Elves", within the Grimm (Ashliman) unit. I chose this story because I enjoyed the tone of the first. In the original, a shoemaker is astonished that something is making perfect shoes for him during the night. One night, he stays up and discovers that there are two elves making the shoes. The shoemaker is grateful for this deed so he makes them some clothing. The elves never returned after the shoemaker's kind gift. In my adaption, I thought it would be interesting to change the shoemaker to a baker and make the creatures gnomes instead of elves. I really know nothing about gnomes, but I couldn't think of another human-like creature that would be small like elves.

Ashliman, D.L. The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales. 1998-2003.