"A diller, a dollar
a ten o'clock scholar,
what makes you come so soon?
You used to come at ten o'clock
But now you come at noon."
a ten o'clock scholar,
what makes you come so soon?
You used to come at ten o'clock
But now you come at noon."
(traditional nursery rhyme)
"a diller, a dollar, a ten o'clock scholar"
From a young age the boy felt that he was destined for great things. Perhaps this was by way of his parent's grooming, for they believed that their son was a gift to the earth. While they had little money his parents made great sacrifice in order to send their son to the Diller School for Young Scholars.
"a ten o'clock scholar, what makes you come so soon?"
Due to his parent's busy work schedule he was dropped off early to the Diller School for Young Scholars everyday at 10:00. His grandmother would drive him daily, and he so cherished the time they would spend together. She would gently encourage him to value more than his brains, for he was more than that. He was brains, yes. But he was heart, and guts, and soul. He loved his Granny, because she saw the best parts of him.
"You used to come at ten o'clock but now you come at noon"
The boy's grandmother was beginning to forget. Forget to buy milk at the grocer. Forget to routinely paint her long, fragile nails. One day the boy sat idle on the front porch. The morning sun began to grow warmer and warmer as he checked his digital watch. 9:30 slowly ticked until it was 10:00, and then 10:00 turned to 10:18, then 10:18 turned to 10:45, and it wasn't until 11:11 that his dear sweet granny was seen strolling to the house. "What are you doing out here?" she asked sweetly. With a sigh the boy swung his backpack over his left shoulder and gently took her arm in his right. "Come granny," he said, "it's time to go to school."
From a young age the boy felt that he was destined for great things. Perhaps this was by way of his parent's grooming, for they believed that their son was a gift to the earth. While they had little money his parents made great sacrifice in order to send their son to the Diller School for Young Scholars.
"a ten o'clock scholar, what makes you come so soon?"
Due to his parent's busy work schedule he was dropped off early to the Diller School for Young Scholars everyday at 10:00. His grandmother would drive him daily, and he so cherished the time they would spend together. She would gently encourage him to value more than his brains, for he was more than that. He was brains, yes. But he was heart, and guts, and soul. He loved his Granny, because she saw the best parts of him.
"You used to come at ten o'clock but now you come at noon"
The boy's grandmother was beginning to forget. Forget to buy milk at the grocer. Forget to routinely paint her long, fragile nails. One day the boy sat idle on the front porch. The morning sun began to grow warmer and warmer as he checked his digital watch. 9:30 slowly ticked until it was 10:00, and then 10:00 turned to 10:18, then 10:18 turned to 10:45, and it wasn't until 11:11 that his dear sweet granny was seen strolling to the house. "What are you doing out here?" she asked sweetly. With a sigh the boy swung his backpack over his left shoulder and gently took her arm in his right. "Come granny," he said, "it's time to go to school."
 |
| waiting for grandma.... |
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
"A diller, a dollar
a ten o'clock scholar,
what makes you come so soon?
You used to come at ten o'clock
But now you come at noon."
"A diller, a dollar
a ten o'clock scholar,
what makes you come so soon?
You used to come at ten o'clock
But now you come at noon."
This old english nursery rhyme is a cautionary tale of the value of punctuality. It's a classic rhyme, so I wanted to put my own spin on it. I began to think about childhood and when a parent was late to picking you up, or dropping you off, and it's a situation completely taken out of your control.
The story comes from the nursery rhyme book.
The story comes from the nursery rhyme book.
I liked it! You kept it very succinct. I had to look up what a diller was. I'm always happy to learn a new word. It seems my spell check also needs to learn what a diller is. The red squiggles are making my brain itch.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you took the core idea and changed everything around it. You also did a great job-making grandma seem like a real person. She was more dynamic than she could have been. She could have just been late for no reason. You gave her a backstory and we saw her 'motivations' for being late. It was kind of tragic but in a good way.
Unrelated to anything, but the old-timey phone you have in your background image - yeah, I have one of those. It's just for decoration at this point, but I love it.
This was fantastic! I love the spin you put on it. I don't think I could have conjured up a story like that from this nursery rhyme (impressive points allotted to you).
ReplyDeleteI like how you named it the Diller School for Young Scholars very very clever. One part that really stuck out to me was the part about his Granny. "He was brains, yes. But he was heart, and guts, and soul. He loved his Granny, because she saw the best parts of him." I think that line was so simple but packed with so much meaning.
I think that you did an exceptional job with your first story!! I loved it.