The Three Little Gnomes

Long, long ago, a tree stood strong and its top branches reached far above any of the other trees in the forest, but the tree had grown so old. It began to shiver when the storms howled through the branches. Finally in one of the fiercest storms, it tumbled to the earth with a great crash.

There, the tree laid for centuries, and vines and bushes grew until it was almost hidden from view.

Smoke curled up over the trunk of the old tree and floated away through the forest. Tiny voices came from beneath the trunk of the old tree.

Now, down beneath the trunk of the fallen tree, lived three little gnomes. It was the smoke from their fire which curled up over the trunk of the old tree and floated away through the forest.

They were preparing dinner and laughing and talking together. Suddenly, they heard the sound of a horn.

“What can it be?” one asked.

“It sounds like the horn of a huntsman!” another cried.

As the sound came nearer, the three little gnomes put the fire out so that no one would discover their home. Then, they climbed upon the trunk of the tree and ran along it. From there, they could see across the forest without being seen themselves. When the sound of the horn drew very close, they saw a little boy climbed through the thick bushes.

As the little boy came out into the open space, the three little gnomes saw that he was crying.

“He must be lost!” said the first little gnome.

“He looks very tired and hungry!” said the second little gnome.

“Let’s go and ask him!” said the third little gnome.

So the three little gnomes climbed down from the tree trunk and went up to the little boy. They stood about the boy and watched him. He was crying. Finally one of the little gnomes sat down in front of the little boy and spoke to him.

“I am lost!” the little boy said. “My father went hunting yesterday with all his men. When they were out of sight, I took my little horn and followed them, but I soon lost their track, and I have wandered about with nothing to eat. Last night I climbed a tree and slept!”

The three little gnomes wiped the little boy’s eyes and led him to their home under the fallen tree. There they finished preparing the dinner and sat about until the little boy ate and fell asleep. Then, the three little gnomes carried him and placed him upon one of their little beds.

Narrative Text

What is narrative text?

Narrative is a type of writing that tells stories, and it relates to a series of events. The events are given in chronological order.

The purpose of a narrative text is to entertain or to gain and hold a reader's interest. It can also aim to teach or to inform readers.

The narrative text writing could be fiction or nonfiction. The previous type is a made up story and based on imaginative events, such as novels, poems, short stories, science fiction, romance, and many more. The later, however, is based on the real fact like memoirs, biographies, or news stories.

Here I will focus more on the fiction type of narrative text.

The elements of narrative text

Characters

There are two kinds of characters in a narrative text, main and supporting characters.

Setting

Setting tells about places, where the story takes place. It is also about time, when the story takes place.

Plot

It is all of the events in the story that is organised in a chronological order.

The plot of a story can be divided into three parts. 

Orientation

It is the beginning of the story. It tells who the story is about, where it takes place, and what the problem is.

Complication

In this part, characters attempt to solve the problem or to find a solution.

Resolution

This is how the story ends. The problems is solved, the mystery is revealed, or the quest is accomplished.

Below are examples of narrative text.

A Crow and Red Ant 
The Wolf and the Crane 
The Three Little Gnomes 
The Ants and the Grasshopper

The Wolf and the Crane

A wolf had been eating so much and so greedily that a bone stuck crosswise in his throat. He could not take it out either up or down, and of course he could not eat anything. This situation really scared the greedy Wolf off.

So, he went hurriedly to see the Crane. He was sure that she, with her long neck and bill, would easily be able to reach bone and full it out.

"I'll give you a bunch rewards," said the wolf. "If you can pull the bone our for me."

The Crane, as you imagine, was very uneasy about putting her head in a wolf's throat. But, she was grasping in nature, so she did what the Wolf ask her to do.

When the Wolf felt that the bone was gone, he started to walk away.

"But what about my reward!" called the Crane anxiously.

"What! snarled the Wolf whirling around. "Haven't you got it? Isn't it enough that I let you take your head out of my mouth without snapping it off?"

Moral: Expect no rewards for serving wicked.

A Crow and Red Ant

Once upon a time there was a crow which liked to perch upon a branch of a tree that grew by a river. One noon, the crow perched upon the branch as usual. Suddenly, when she was overlooking, she saw a red ant was floating in the middle of the river. The red ant needed her help. Soon, she pecked of a leave at the branch, and took it to the red ant who was struggling for the safety of his life. Quickly the red ant climbed up the leave, and he was safe.

"Thank you, Mrs. Crow," said the red ant. "You saved my life. I owe you."

"You're welcome," replied the crow and flew back to the tree. 

Then, the red ant sailed on the leave and landed at the riverside near the tree where the crow usually perched.

A few moments later, a hunter came. He was carrying a gun  in his hand. As he saw the crow perching upon the branch, he took aim at the crow. He was going to shoot the crow. To see the crow was in danger, the red ant which was saved by the crow earlier, immediately crawled closer and closer to the hunter. At the very short moment before the hunter fired his gun, the red ant was successful to reach the hunter's foot and then he bit it very hard. The hunter shouted so loudly that he shot the crow a few centimeters in the wrong direction. The crow was surprised to hear the gun-shot, then quickly flew away to the sky. After the hunter went away, the crow came to the red ant. 

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Ant. That's very kind of you. Thank you very much," said the crow. 

"Never mind. I'm glad you're safe. So, I've repaid your kindness. That's what friends are for," replied the red ant.