Booktalking Colorado - Full Booktalk Record

Booktalking Colorado Full Record:

	Title:	A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales
	Author:	Datlow, Ellen
	Date Published:	2000
	Genre:	Retold Fairy Tales
	Grade Level:	6 - 12
	Booktalker:	Sam Marsh

Booktalk:
It was Conrad’s fault. The Queen had borrowed the human child, as Elves are wont to do (until they become bored with the troublesome tykes), and spoiled him rotten. At eight years of age, she had tired of his tantrums. She put him on my back with instructions not to throw him off. Naturally, Conrad misbehaved and ended up yanking on my mane so hard that I felt a clump of my beautiful, silver hair actually being torn out. Of course, I threw him off…what else could I do to the ungrateful little brat?! I mean, how many humans are allowed the privilege of riding a fairy horse in the first place. Conrad was sent straight back to his mother (lucky lady), and I was given a task among humans. If I did it well, I might be allowed to return. My task was to carry the princess Belinda to her future husband in the next kingdom. Of course, in the human world (the ‘real world’), I was only a gray non-magical normal horse (who could speak to humans). Belinda turned out to be a kind, happy girl which would have been fine, except for her serving maid Dagmar, a nasty, rude goblin on a fine handsome black horse who, out of sight and sound of the royal parents, showed her true colors. She refused to cook, wash dishes, make beds, or even to get Belinda a drink of water. Instead, the next morning, she made Belinda switch clothes with her and smeared Belinda with mud. Further, she threatened to chop us into little pieces if we told of her antics. So it was that the prince, Humbert, was introduced to Dagmar as his future bride. Dagmar insulted the prince as well, but he seemed to be the sort that liked to be pushed around, and he fell madly in love with her. Belinda was relegated to a goose farm, and I was chained to a millstone grinding grain into flour. Then Conrad showed up and tried to harass me! Being a fairy horse does have its advantages, and I caused the geese to flap their wings and nip Conrad until he ran off screaming. As time passed, Belinda learned many things from the goose farmer and his wife. She began to gain confidence. I even taught her some elementary magic to help her get rid of Conrad. Finally, Conrad got angry enough to complain to the king about Belinda’s magic tricks and her talks with me. Then he tried to convince the king that she was a witch. The king came by the next day dressed as a farmer but I, having grown up in Elfland, knew a king when I saw one. When Belinda came by with Conrad bouncing with glee, I had the geese hiss and chase him off again. The king laughed to hard, he almost fell off the stone. Then he asked how two such unusual creatures as ourselves came to be in his land. We were both afraid of Dagmar and hesitated to speak. Finally Belinda straightened herself and told the entire story to the king. The king strode off to his palace calling for his soldiers and executioner, but Dagmar was gone, along with the handsome black horse and the Prince, who still loved her and liked the way she ordered him around. So, Belinda married his little brother who had a much better character and I was allowed to return to Elfland. As I crossed the border, my silver hair returned with my beauty. Dagmar reverted into her pea green goblin self, the handsome black horse and Humbert were with her. “Things worked out after all,” I told the black horse. “Well, of course,” he snorted. “Your job was to take the princess to her new kingdom. My job was to see she got some sense before she became a queen. You weren’t the only one who was given a task.” From the short story Falada by Nancy Farmer.