STORKPARET
by Wilhelm Hey · from Femtio fabler för barn
Adapted Version
Spring is here! The sun shines warm and bright. The cold winter ice melts away. A soft breeze begins to blow. The air feels fresh and new. Winter is truly gone. Spring has come.
Trees get their green leaves. Small buds open up. The leaves look very fresh. They are a bright green color. Spring makes the trees green again. Nature is happy and alive now.
Herr Stork flies home. Fru Stork flies with him. They come from a warm place. It is very far away. They have missed their home. They love their home very much. They are happy to be back now.
They fly closer to their nest. It is a very big nest. It sits high up. They land softly in it. It is their old home. They know it well.
The nest needs fixing after winter. Herr Stork brings straw. Fru Stork brings soft hay. They both work. They make the nest soft inside. They make it strong and safe. It is a cozy home for them.
Fru Stork sits down in the nest. She feels very comfy and warm. She will soon lay her eggs. Soon she will have little babies. She waits for them.
Fru Stork sits on her eggs. She sits very still. She sits for a long, long time. Three weeks pass by slowly. She is very patient. She keeps her eggs warm.
One day, the eggs begin to crack. Little babies come out of the shells. They are small, fluffy chicks. There are five tiny chicks. They are very, very hungry. They want food right now!
Herr Stork brings food. He finds tasty things for them. He brings small fish and frogs. The five chicks see him coming. They open their mouths wide, wide, wide. They are very excited to eat. Cheep, cheep, cheep! they cry.
The storks are very happy. Their big nest is full now. Herr Stork brings food each day. Fru Stork watches her five little chicks. She keeps them safe and warm. Life is good at home for all.
Original Story
STORKPARET.
u skiner sol och vårens milda flägt
Har smält en obarmhertig vinters is,
Och träden kläda på sin gröna drägt
Och åter nu, från söderns paradis,
Det hem vi nått, som aldrig vi förglömt,
Hvarom vi under smärta palmer drömt.“
Nu fylla storkarne sitt gamla bo,
Och sen med halm och hö de gjort det tätt
Fru Stork helt makligt slår sig ned i ro,
Och bidar der en tillväxt af sin ätt,
Tre långa veckor inom skål och vägg
Hon ligger tåligt der på sina ägg.
Af äggen blef det ungar fem, ett mycket hungrigt slägte,
Som öppnade fem stora gap, då far dem födan räckte.
STOCKHOLM,
TRYCKTE HOS BERGSTRÖM & LINDROTH
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Story DNA
Moral
null
Plot Summary
As spring arrives, melting the winter ice, a pair of storks returns from their southern paradise to their old, cherished nest. They diligently prepare their home, and Fru Stork patiently incubates her eggs for three long weeks. Eventually, five hungry chicks hatch, and the father stork busily provides them with food, fulfilling the cycle of life and family.
Themes
Emotional Arc
anticipation to fulfillment
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Wilhelm Hey was a German fabulist and poet, known for his fables and children's stories, often with a moralistic or nature-focused theme. This particular edition is a Swedish translation from 1868.
Plot Beats (9)
- The sun shines, and the mild spring breeze melts the winter ice.
- Trees begin to wear their green foliage again.
- The storks return from their southern paradise, having dreamt of their home.
- The storks fill their old nest.
- They make the nest tight with straw and hay.
- Fru Stork comfortably settles down to await the growth of her lineage.
- She patiently lies on her eggs for three long weeks.
- Five hungry chicks hatch from the eggs.
- The father stork brings food to the five chicks, who open their large beaks.
Characters
Herr Stork
A tall, slender white stork with long, thin red legs and a long, pointed red beak. His primary plumage is pure white, contrasting sharply with the glossy black flight feathers on his wings. He has a dignified, somewhat lean build.
Attire: Natural plumage of a white stork: pristine white body feathers, black primary and secondary flight feathers on his wings, and bright red legs and beak.
Wants: To provide for his family, ensure the survival of his offspring, and maintain the comfort of his home.
Flaw: Potentially over-focused on providing, which might make him less attentive to emotional needs (though not explicitly shown in this short text).
The story captures him at the beginning of his family-rearing arc, establishing his role as a provider and protector.
Responsible, diligent, protective, provider, traditional.
Fru Stork
A tall, slender white stork, similar in build to Herr Stork, with long, thin red legs and a long, pointed red beak. Her plumage is also pure white with black flight feathers, perhaps slightly softer in appearance than her mate.
Attire: Natural plumage of a white stork: pristine white body feathers, black primary and secondary flight feathers on her wings, and bright red legs and beak.
Wants: To successfully hatch and raise her offspring.
Flaw: Her vulnerability during the long period of incubation, relying on her mate for sustenance and protection.
Her arc is focused on the successful incubation and hatching of her eggs, transitioning into a mother.
Patient, nurturing, calm, enduring, dedicated.
The Stork Chicks
Five small, downy stork chicks, likely covered in sparse white or greyish down feathers. They would have disproportionately large, dark eyes and developing, shorter red beaks, and thin, wobbly red legs.
Attire: Natural downy plumage of newborn stork chicks.
Wants: To eat and grow.
Flaw: Complete dependence on their parents for survival.
Just beginning their lives, their arc is one of growth and development within the nest.
Hungry, demanding, vulnerable, dependent.
Locations
Stork's Nest on a Rooftop
A large, old stork's nest, meticulously reinforced with straw and hay, perched high on the chimney or gable of a traditional Northern European house, likely in a village or town setting. The nest is a substantial, bowl-shaped structure.
Mood: Cozy, safe, expectant, a symbol of new life and the return of spring.
The storks return from the south, rebuild their nest, lay eggs, and raise their hungry chicks.