STORY 4 - CHRISTIAN STORYTELLING HONOUR
REQUIREMENT 6
STORY
Story title
Details of Your Story
Survivor of the Storm
Theme/Aim
Perseverance
Category
Nature
Main Audience
13-16 yr olds
Other Audience
Intergenerational
Introduction:
[set the ‘stage’]
be concise
Outline of your Story
A few years ago a massive hurricane called Katrina struck some of the
southern states of America. One of those states was Louisiana. During the
storm, many people had to abandon their homes and get to a safe place.
Many animals were also left behind as owners were unable to take them to
the refuges or they had no way to transport them. In the weeks and months
after Hurricane Katrina there was a massive rescue operation for the
animals left behind This story is about one of those survivors
Body
[the main part]
Be clear, simple,
orderly
Molly is a grey speckled pony, her owners abandoned her during the
Hurricane and she wandered for weeks through the floods, the stinking mud
and the abandoned houses. Finally someone rescued her and took her to a
Animal Rescue Farm where abandoned animals were cared for. There she
was safe, or so they thought. One day she was attacked by another rescue
animal, a pit bull terrier. The dog badly damaged her right front leg. Molly
became sicker and sicker as the exposed bone became badly infected. She
nearly died. The Vet at the Rescue Farm tried everything he could to treat
her. He finally went to the Louisiana State University Veterinary School for
help. But they were overwhelmed with other surviving animals that had an
owner to pay for them. The Rescue Farm Vet saw Molly was special and he
desperately wanted to save her, he saw how Molly was careful to turn and
lie first on one side and then on the other to avoid getting sores. Molly also
allowed the carers at the Farm to handle and care for her raw and very
painful infected leg. When she stood up she was very careful to look after
the damaged leg. Molly was a very smart pony with a serious survival ethic.
The Farm Vet kept pestering the Veterinary School, but there was no one to
pay the large amount of money it would take to save her, she was just one
pony among tens of thousands of abandoned animals after Hurricane
Katrina. At a time when hundreds of thousands of people were living
without proper housing or essential services.
Climax
[the key part]
Short, dramatic
Finally a University Veterinary Surgeon, Dr Moore came to see Molly, he
was really impressed and agreed to amputate her leg below the knee. He
said ‘she was the right horse with the right owner, she knows she’s in
trouble and is willing to cope with pain, she very tough’. Two animal rescue
charities on the other side of America heard about Molly and decided to pay
for the operation. At last Molly would get the chance she deserved.
Conclusion
[application of aim]
Be brief, don’t moralise
Date told
The operation was successful and Molly got her first prosthetic leg [show
picture] designed by someone who made prosthetics for humans! Molly still
lives at the Animal Rescue Farm and lets them know when she wants her
prosthetic put on and she can be difficult to catch even on three legs! Molly
now has a job, visiting rehabilitation centres and shelters where human
Hurricane Katrina survivors live, anywhere that people need hope after
losing so much. An award winning children’s’ book written about her is very
popular, giving hope to children around the world. Part of the book price
goes toward ‘Molly’s Fund’ which pays for her ongoing care.
We can learn a lot from Molly, she never thought it was too hard, or gave up
and neither did the people at the Rescue Farm. This is called perseverance.
Whenever you are tempted to give up, think of Molly the Pony.
Where told