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Week 13 Story: Leopard Cake


There once was a little boy who lived with his mother and father. The little boy was celebrating his birthday, and his mother asked him what type of cake he wanted. The little boy said he wanted a cake shaped like a leopard. The mother put the cake in to bake and told the little boy, "Your father and I are going to the market. Keep an eye on the oven while we are gone."

The mother and father left, and the little boy sat in the kitchen staring at the oven. He got very bored, and decided to go outside to play. When the little boy got tired, he went inside and found the oven door wide open! He went to the front door, only to see the leopard cake running away! The little boy chased after the cake, but got very tired and had to sit down.

The leopard cake kept running and kept running, until it came across two mice. The mice asked, "Where are you going, leopard cake?" The leopard cake responded, "I just outran a little boy. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too." The mice tried chasing after the leopard cake, but they grew weary and gave up the chase.

The leopard cake kept running and eventually found two dogs. The dogs asked, "Where are you going, leopard cake?" The leopard cake responded, "I just outran a little boy and two mice. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too." The dogs tried chasing after the leopard cake, but eventually they ran out of breath and had to stop.

The leopard cake kept running, eventually finding a deer. The deer asked, "Where are you going, leopard cake?" The leopard cake responded, "I just outran a little boy, two mice, and two dogs. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too." The leopard cake took off and the deer tried running after it, but gave up quickly.

The leopard cake reached a horse, and the horse asked, "Where are you going, leopard cake?" The leopard cake responded, "I just outran a little boy, two mice, two dogs, and a deer. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too." The horse ran after the leopard cake, but got tired and sat down.

The leopard cake continued running and saw a fox laying down. The fox asked, "Where are you going, leopard cake?" The leopard cake responded, "I just outran a little boy, two mice, two dogs, a deer, and a horse. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too."

The fox said, "What was that? I can't hear very well. Come closer." The leopard cake moved closer to the fox and said louder, "I just outran a little boy, two mice, two dogs, a deer, and a horse. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too."

The fox said, "I still cannot hear you. You have to speak up." The leopard cake moved right in front of the fox and yelled, "I just outran a little boy, two mice, two dogs, a deer, and a horse. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too." The fox said, "You can, can you?" and ate the leopard cake in one bite.
Fox from USFWS Photo

Author's Note: I wrote my story based on "Johnny-Cake" from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. I decided to keep the plot almost identical to the original, in which a cake runs and finds many people and animals that it outruns. I changed the characters the cake encounters along the way so they are all animals, rather than some people and some animals. I thought this might make the story feel a bit more like a classic fairy tale. I also changed the type of cake that is running. In the original, it is a Johnny-cake that is running; I choses to use a leopard to explain why the cake brags to the characters it encounters about being able to outrun them. The one character the cake encounters that I kept the same is the fox. I thought it was really fitting to have a fox be the one to outsmart the cake. I also kept the fox's last line the same, because I thought it worked well as a "gotcha" moment. 

 Story Source: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1890).
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Comments

  1. Cat ElkinsNovember 25, 2018 at 5:41 PM

    Hi Shea!
    I thought this was a really fun story! Laura, our professor for this course loves chain stories, and I have been reading hers throughout the semester. So it was fun to see that you chose one for your story and to see how you changed it. I think that changing the cake to a leopard cake made a lot of sense and I liked that you left the fox character, considering their traditional trickster roles. I hope I get to read some more of your stories before the semester is over!
    -Cat

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  2. Cody BlackNovember 26, 2018 at 10:58 AM

    Hi Shea,
    I enjoyed reading your story about the adventures of the living leopard cake. I'm glad you kept the same basic layout of the story. I think the change you made to the story does make more sense than the original, although making sense probably doesn't matter too much in a story about a cake that's running away. Overall, this was a fun, lighthearted story.

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  3. UnknownNovember 26, 2018 at 11:50 AM

    Hey Shea!

    What a fun story! I am glad you kept it true to the original but added a few of your own changes to it. I feel like it made the story more cohesive. It is definitely a silly story but it was enjoyable to read and see where the cake was going next. I feel bad for the little boy though!

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  4. Jacob TrentDecember 4, 2018 at 10:22 PM

    Hi Shea!

    I had a feeling as soon as the fox character was introduced there at the end that this story would have an ending that made me chuckle, and I wasn't disappointed! I suppose if you're a tasty cake you can only get so far until someone decides to eat you instead of listen to you gloat. I love the fox character-type so I found this story very creative and fun to read. Great writing!

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  5. UnknownDecember 5, 2018 at 11:07 AM

    Hi Shea! this story was very fun to read! i liked that i knew the story this was based off of but how yours had a very different twist to it. I would have never thought of a leopard cake but i love how creative this was! your use of dialogue was great and i felt like through your storytelling i was able to get to know the leopard cake. It had a different ending than what i expected which made it interesting. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownDecember 6, 2018 at 2:22 PM

    Hi, Shea! First off, I have to say that I really enjoyed reading your story and seeing how you were able to take the original version and turn it into something of your own. I like that yours definitely had some similarities to the original version, but you put a very different twist on it. Your use of dialog was wonderful and it really helped me connect to the characters in your story. Overall, I think you did a great job!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rachel WidnerDecember 6, 2018 at 7:37 PM

    Hi Shea! I really enjoyed this take on a familiar tale. Though I haven't read it recently, I read this story as a child, and your re-write paces and explains it really well. At the beginning, readers feel the same confidence as the cake, and though there's a bit of anxiety as the animals in pursuit get faster, you set it up perfectly for the "uh-oh" moment at the end. Really well done!

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownDecember 7, 2018 at 12:00 AM

    Hey Shea!
    I really enjoyed reading your story! I liked how you still maintained the overall plot from the original, but changed the characters to all animals. I never read such a story about a cake just running away, but it was nice and fun read. Overall, great job on your story! I hope your semester goes well and good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  9. CathyDecember 7, 2018 at 12:10 AM

    Hey Shea, I really liked your story. It is funny and cute. I can only imagine seeing a cake run away. I wouldn't know if to be sad cause my cake is leaving or scared because its not supposed to. The leopard cake at least made a good attempt to leave and was outwitted by the fox. Poor cake! God luck with finals and enjoy the rest of your semester.

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownDecember 7, 2018 at 7:53 AM

    Hey Shea! I really loved reading your story. It is very clever and cute. I have never read the original story, but I can only imagine the rest of those fairy tales if this one was included. You really wrote this well and brought everything to life. Good luck on finals and enjoy your break.

    ReplyDelete

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