HUSHY baby, my doll, I pray you don't cry,
And I'll give you some bread and some milk by-and-by;
Or perhaps you like custard, or maybe a tart,—
Then to either you're welcome, with all my whole heart.
And I'll give you some bread and some milk by-and-by;
Or perhaps you like custard, or maybe a tart,—
Then to either you're welcome, with all my whole heart.
"WAAAAAAAAA," cried baby Davis as his mother, Liza, attempted to feed him her famous chicken biriyani. She worked all day to make her husband's, Anson, favorite dish and decided that it was Davis's turn to try Southern Indian food. "Hush baby, my moneh. You have to eat your food." Liza tried to make airplane noises and choo-choo trains to enter Davis's mouth but he refused to eat his lunch.
"I told you, honey, that food is too spicy for him," commented Anson. "Why don't you tried feeding him some paaluh?" Liza ignored her husband as she tried to coax baby Davis to eat solid food. "He needs to start eating traditional Indian food. I can't breast feed him for the rest of his life," retaliated Liza. Then Davis began to fuss and pull Liza's hair. "Ugh! He won't eat! You feed him, Anson!"
"Come here, Davis-kutty, let's feed you some cake or custard," Anson said sweetly as he stuffed Davis's tummy with somosa and mango lassi. Davis grinned a wide smile as he licked the sugary sweets from his finger tips. Liza became concerned with her son's diet. He has been consuming way too many desserts. "Davis needs to eat nutritious meals, Anson. We can't feed him sweets when he won't eat," sighed Liza. Anson placed baby Davis on his shoulders and turned to Liza,"But look at him, sweetie. He's so happy." Davis giggled and cooed to his Mother. Oh his laugh brightens my day thought Liza. She picked up baby Davis and bounced him in the air which made him laugh even more! "You're welcome, Davis-kutty. You're as sweet as ever because of all the sweets you eat." Liza cradled baby Davis in her arm where he fell into a gentle snooze. She couldn't believed how much her life as changed ever since Davis was born last summer. She looked at her son's little nose, soft cheeks, and tiny fingers. "I love you, my moneh, with all my heart," whispered Liza as she kissed her sleeping
baby.
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| Mother and child. Source. |
Bibliography: The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang and L. Leslie Brooke
Author's Note: I chose a nursery rhyme because it was short, sweet, and simple. I think the nursery rhyme is about a mother feeding her child anything the child desired because she just wanted to please him. I asked my friends what kind of story I should write based on the nursery rhyme, and they advised me to tell a story about a mother feeding her baby who wouldn't eat regular food. Since my friends are Southern Indian, I decided to twist the story a bit by adding some Malayalam terms.
Hi Nicole! I really liked how you added a completely new culture to your story. During the assignment, I really struggled to think of ways to add to the story since the nursery rhymes are so short and tend to convey a message. I think adding a new culture, new names, and even new words from a different language was a great idea! I’m looking forward to reading more of your work!
ReplyDeleteI love that you added the Southern Indian element to the foods the baby won't eat, as well as the dialogue. It really spices up the story--no pun intended. :p Your writing was also very clean and easy to read, which is refreshing. haha. One suggestion I would make would be to break up the paragraphs a little more, especially if a new person is speaking or acting; that makes it less confusing for the reader.
ReplyDeleteOverall, it was a great story! And relatable, since I've seen plenty of parents do what the father in your story did... give the kid what he wants just to shut him up. Haha.
I liked how you twist the story and the adding of details to it. It is so enjoyable to read. When I read the first few sentences I really wanted to keep reading to see how the mother would convince the baby to eat his food. Also I was wondering if the mum will be able to let the baby eat the biriyani. What if the dad was agreeing with the mother and wants his baby to eat from his favorite spicy dish instead of saying to his wife “I told you, honey, that food is too spicy for him” and what could be the ways that they tried to let him eat the biriyani, in my opinion that is will add a lot to story because it always fun when you succeed to reach your goal after several times of failing of doing it right. But I really like your adding of new words from different culture. It was great story!
ReplyDeleteI really love how you incorporated your friends' culture into this story! It really made the story come to life. This was a struggle that I could see actually happening, and I appreciated the believability of it. I could really picture the parents scooping up their little baby with lots of love and affection. Thank you for writing this beautiful story.
ReplyDelete