Those Three Wishes

Judith Gorog(1938– ) has been traveling all her life. Born in Wisconsin, she has lived in many parts of the United States and also in Germany and Italy. She has travelled far and wide—to Peru, Japan, Europe, and Indonesia. All along the way, Judith wrote stories. She says, “I have always written, and began to write stories for children when I was a child, making up stories and plays and rewriting the Greek myths with myself taming Pegasus.”

You are about to read a short story called “Those Three Wishes.” In what kind of narrative do you generally find someone who makes “three wishes”?

Think about what you might wish for if you were granted three wishes:

  I Wish I had/were...

1.

2.

3.

While reading paragraphs 1-3, try to understand the character of the protagonist. Underline the positive aspects and circle the negative:

What aspect of her character is highlighted in paragraph 2?

Why is she nicknamed “Melinda Malice”?

Why never in her face?

How do you explain the fact she is always ‘included’?

Would you like to be her friend?

Those three Wishes

by Judith Gorog

1. No one ever said that Melinda Alice was nice. That wasn’t the word used. No, she was clever, even witty. She was called—never to her face, however—Melinda Malice. Melinda Alice was clever and cruel. Her mother, when she thought about it at all, hoped Melinda would grow out of it. To her father, Melinda’s very good grades mattered 

2. It was Melinda Alice, back in the eighth grade, who had labeled the shy, myopic new girl “Contamination” and was the first to pretend that anything or anyone touched by the new girl had to be cleaned, inoculated, or avoided. High school had merely given Melinda Alice greater scope for her talents.

3 The surprising thing about Melinda Alice was her power; no one trusted her, but no one avoided her either. She was always included, always in the middle. If you had seen her, pretty and witty, in the center of a group of students walking past your house, you’d have thought, “There goes a natural leader.”

                Read paragraphs 4-10:

Why did she leave home early?

Who did she meet on her way to school?

What was she going to do?

Why did she stop?

In traditional tales the protagonists are rewarded for their generosity: do you think this is the case?

4 Melinda Alice had left for school early. She wanted to study alone in a quiet spot she had because there was going to be a big math test, and Melinda Alice was not prepared. That A mattered; so Melinda Alive walked to school alone, planning her studies. She didn’t usually notice nature much, so she nearly stepped on a beautiful snail that was making its way across the sidewalk.

5. “Ugh. Yucky thing,” thought Melinda Alice, then stopped. Not wanting to step on the snail accidentally was one thing, but now she lifted her shoe to crush it.

6 ”Please don’t,” said the snail.

7. “Why not?” retorted Melinda Alice.

8 ”I’ll give you three wishes,” replied the snail evenly.

9 ”Agreed,” said Melinda Alice. “My first wish is that my next,” she paused a split second, “my next thousand wishes come true.” She smiled triumphantly and opened her bag to take out a small notebook and pencil to keep track.

10. Melinda Alice was sure she heard the snail say, “What a clever girl,” as it made it to the safety of an ivy bed beside the sidewalk.

Read to the end:

When do you think the story takes place?

 

11. During the rest of the walk to school, Melinda was occupied with wonderful ideas. She would have beautiful clothes. “Wish number two, that I will always be perfectly dressed,” and she was just that. True, her new outfit was not a lot different from the one she had worn leaving the house, but that only meant Melinda Alice liked her own taste. 

 

12 After thinking awhile, she wrote, “Wish number three. I wish for pierced ears and small gold earrings.” Her father had not allowed Melinda to have pierced ears, but now she had them anyway. She felt her new earrings and shook her beautiful hair in delight. “I can have anything: stereo, tapes, TV, videodisc, moped, car, anything! All my life!” She hugged her books to herself in delight.

13 By the time she reached school, Melinda was almost an altruist; she could wish for peace. Then she wondered, “Is the snail that powerful?” She felt her ears, looked at her perfect blouse, skirt, jacket, shoes. “I could make ugly people beautiful, cure cripples…” She stopped. The wave of altruism had washed past. “I could pay people back who deserve it!” Melinda Alice looked at the school, at all the kids. She had an enormous sense of power. “They all have to do what I want now.” She walked down the crowded halls to her locker. Melinda Alice could be sweet; she could be witty. She could—the bell rang for homeroom. Melinda Alice stashed her books, slammed the locker shut, and just made it to her seat.

14. “Hey, Melinda Alice,” whispered Fred. “You know that big math test next period?”

15. “Oh no,” grimaced Melinda Alice. Her thoughts raced; “That darn snail made me late, and I forgot to study.”

16. “I’ll blow it,” she groaned aloud. “I wish I were dead.”

 List Melinda wishes (paragraphs 9-16):

She wishes her …..

She wishes for…

She wishes she…

 Conclusions:

What was her state of mind after Fred reminded her of the math test?

Do you think she really meant her last wish?

Is there a moral in the tale? If so, explain it in your own words.

The end

Eighth grade is the term used for the eighth year of formal education in the US, and is typically the last year of middle school. In England, the equivalent is Year 9. Usually, students are 13–14 years old.

Inoculated: vaccinated

A: a mark that a teacher gives to a student’s work to show that it is excellent

Yucky: disgusting

Videodisc (or video disc) is a general term for a laser- or stylus-readable random-access disc that contains both audio and analog video signals recorded in an analog form. Typically, it is a reference to any such media that predates the mainstream popularity of the DVD format

Moped: a bicycle with a small engine

Homeroom or advisory is the classroom session in which a teacher records attendance and makes announcements. It can also be called Registration or Planning Period. The concept is used in schools around the world.

Stash: pile one on the other

Blow: fail

 

         Differences Between Fable and Fairy Tale

Is this story more similar to a fable or to a fairy tale? Why?

 

 🔻A bit of style: Story and plot

According to the Russian linguist Vladimir Propp in a piece of fiction story (in Italian fabula) is the chronological sequence of the events.

Plot (in Italian intreccio) is how the author decides to arrange the events in order to make the story more interesting and involving.

🔻In a plot we can distinguish different stages, according to the graphic below:

 🔻 Go back to Those Three Wishes: which paragraphs correspond to the various steps of the graphic?

 🔻 Are all the steps developed? What is the effect?

Write to Learn

Write a continuation of the story. Tell what happened to Melinda Alice and what happened to the snail.