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Jake raised his hand, not sure if he was right at all. "Erm, well..." he bit his lip. "It's basically, long story really short, about three witches with problems and a knight that doesn't seem all that brilliant, all doing the journey to the fountain which gives you fair fortune... They overcome obstacles and get exactly what they wish, but the fountain didn't do it... they did themselves, so it's totally psychological..." Jake trailed off. Had he remebered correctly? "I think it just shows that not everything has to be gained like that... I can't necessarily explain what 'that' is... but it's... like a personal journey that does it... right?" Catching sight of a movement, Jake saw that cat that always showed up. Allie's cat or something? It was limping, and the motion made Jake suddenly remember the day in the hospital wing. He immediately tuned out and thought back, forgetting the cat. |
Evangeline had read and heard these stories for so many times, she didnt even have to think about it and immediately raised her hand. "This tale tells us of a fountain which once per year, one person may bathe to have their problems answered." The sixteen year old quickly and excitedly said. "That's where three witches meet. Asha - who suffers from a disease -, Altheda - who was robbed and lost everything she had - and finally Amata - who is heartbroken. They decide to try to reach the fountain together, and a knight joins them in their quest." Okay ... should she say more? Or was this all Truebridge was looking for? Bleh. "In their way there, they are faced with three challenges and, with eachother's help they manage to pass through them. In the end, they all find the solutions for their problem without needing the fountain. Asha is cured by Altheda, who brew a potion in order to help her. Then, she realised she could use her gift to make money. Amata realises that washing away her regret for her lover removed her need as well. And the knight, who bathes in the fountain, asks her to marry him. And she accepts." Oh dear. Surely that was too much. Her throat certainly was feeling dry enough. "I reckon that this tale is important because it shows us, wizards, that magic isnt the solution for everything. Most of the times, it isnt the solution for the majority of the problems we have. It doesn't cure a broken heart, nor some serious diseases and it certainly cant revive the death." The Prefect shrugged her shoulders, wondering if she was making any sense. Honestly, she had rambled so much she didnt even know what she was saying. "It shows us that magic has limits and it taught me that the solution is more often than not inside of ourselves." How cliché. |
"The fountain of fair fortune describes the topic of cooperation between Muggles and Wizards. The characters in the story are healed of their ailments and woes at the end but not because the fountain was magical," Vanessa spoke, whilst raising her hand, before pausing. "I think that the story has made wizards think more about the cooperation we have with Muggles, and maybe making us see them in a clearer light." |
Copernicus raised his hand, as this was his favorite of the stories. "The Fountain of Fair Fortune was believed to be imbued with magical properties that would bless the one person invited into its surrounding garden every year. The story follows three witches, each with their own misery, who hope to get in to the garden and to be blessed by the fountain. The first is ill with a terrible malady, the second has lost all her earthly belongings, and the third has a broken heart. They decide to pool their resources in getting into the garden, and when the garden accepts the first witch, she pulls along the second, who pulls along the third. The third accidentally brings along a Muggle knight with the name Sir Luckless, which pretty much gives you an idea of what HE is like." He paused a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing, trying to sum it up. "The three face a variety of obstacles, requiring them each to use the skills and experiences they already possess. The first witch satisfies a terrible worm thing that wants proof of their pain by crying. The second witch cheers her friends through the next task, providing the fruits of her labor. And the last witch drops memories of her lost love into a river as the treasures of her past." "Once they reach the Fountain, the ill witch is nearly drooping from exhaustion and sickness. The second witch, the one who lost all her belongings, mixes a potion to revive her ill friend, who now no longer needs the Fountain's powers. This clever witch realizes, too, that having the skill to brew this powerful potion means she will never be poor again. She no longer needs the Fountain either. The last witch, the heartbroken one, finds that when she removed the memories of her lost love, she could see how bad he truly had been. So SHE no longer needs the Fountain too. The three witches decide to let the Muggle knight use the Fountain. In a sort of humorous scene, he throws himself fully suited up into the water and then offers his heart to the third witch." "The power of the story is that the Fountain never had any real magic at all. These witches, and the knight, had all they needed all along. I always thought the story sort of made me think about what I thought I needed and whether or not I had the means to get it myself. My mother, who was Muggleborn, told me it was like this old movie she saw when she was very young. There is an epic journey by a motley crew of voyagers only to discover that they just needed to see their own potential all along. The Wizard of Oz?" |
Celandine shrugged, she hadn't been allowed to read that one. She listened to the desciptions and cocked her head thoughtfully, "So there's a witch that marries a muggle in it?" Eh. Probably that was why she wasn't allowed to read it, "Can someone lend me a copy of the nice version of Beedle's tales sometime? Please?" Celandine asked a bit planatively as she returned to her seat. |
Tobi raised his hand again, “Sir, on the very surface, the story is a love story, and an adventure too, it’s about 3 witches (one, Asha, who was ill and apparently uncurable, one, Altheda, who had been humiliated and had her wand stolen, and Amata, who lost her love and was heartsick for it) and a Muggle knight who wish to change their luck from a fabled magic fountain, which only one can bathe in once a year. The witches were thrown together by their pity for each other, the knight was added by accidental circumstance. “On their way to the fountain, they meet with three obstacles, first a worm that asks for proof of their strife, so Asha cries tears for it to swallow. And then a rut that won’t disappear until it is given fruit of their labour, the sweat of Altheda’s brow provides it, and they pass. And then the last obstacle is a river they cannot cross without a ‘treasure of their past.’ Amata figures out the clue and plucks all the fond memories of her former love from her head and casts them into the river, and they can cross to the fountain. “Shortly before they get to the fountain, Asha collapses from her illness, but Altheda acts quickly and makes her a potion, which not only revives her, but cures her, and they carry on to the fountain, where they have to decide who of the four will bathe in the fountain and receive the better fortune promised. “Asha decides, being cured, she doesn’t need it. As does Altheda, as she’s discovered she’s quite useful even without a wand. And Amata also decides she doesn’t badly need the waters of the fountain, because without the good memories of her former love, she has no grief, but she is quite glad to be rid of him. In the end they had the knight bathe in the fountain. As soon as he had done, he threw himself at the feet of Amata, proclaiming the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She accepted, not encumbered by the grief of her last love, finding him quite a worthy man, and the four walked away from the fountain quite content. “What they didn’t know was that the fountain bore no magical properties. So really this story might have caused an uproar in that A) it has the mixing of Muggles and Witches, B) it shows that positive thinking, hard work, and determination to be happy can really be equal to all the magic we can ever devise. I imagine that rocked a few wizards RIGHT off their foundations, and few of us would have thanked Beedle Bard for it at the time.” |
Anna sighed, thinking maybe she should pick up a copy of the Beedle Bard tales sometime after class. It had been years since she'd last heard the tales, and her memories of them were sadly a bit foggy. Nevertheless, she raised her hand and said, "From what I can remember, this fountain---the Fountain of Fair Fortune---is a place where one person may come once a year to have his or her problems answered. It is at this fountain where three witches, Asha, Altheda, and Amata, meet. Asha suffers from a disease, Altheda suffers from poverty and powerlessness, and Amata is suffering from a broken heart. The three witches, along with a knight, decide to try and reach the fountain together," Anna explained. "They are met with three challenges along the way, though. The first challenge is a worm that demands they provide proof of their pain. The second challenge is a steep slope where they have to bring proof of labor. The third challenge is the crossing of a river, where they must pay using treasures from their past. When they finally reach the fountain, Asha collapses, and is saved by Altheda, who brews a potion which ends up curing Asha of her disease, as well as the need for the fountain," Anna continued. "Altheda also cures her own need of the fountain, too, as she realizes her skills can earn her money. Finally, Amata, who previously washed away regrets of her ex-lover, realizes she no longer needs the fountain either. The tale ends with the knight bathing in the water and then offering Amata his hand and heart, which she happily accepts. In the end, all of their problems are answered and taken care of," Anna finished. |
Joanne raised her hand to answer the professor's question " I think the Fountain of Fair Fortune is a tale with many types of stories in it. There are three witches, Asha, Altheda and Amata. These three witches are introduced to us as being the three persons that pass the barriers that 'protect' the magic fountain, that is said to purify the person that bathes on it's water, but that only happens one time per year. But along the way a Knight joins them too. But on their way to the Fountain of Fair Fortune, the four of them encounter three challenges." Joanne stopped to regain her breath, she never enjoyed long speeches in front of the class, she could feel her cheeks hot. "At the first one is demanded for them to show how hurt they are, the second one they must give the fruits of their labor, and the third one, the one that makes them cross a river, demands them to pay with a treasure from their past. They help each other on these challenges and together they move forward towards the goal, the Fountain of Fair Fortune." Joanne made a pause " Here in this part I think that is when the cooperation part enters, alone non of them could have reached the Fountain, but together they did. " Continuing, when they DO reach the fountain, Asha faints, that needed the Fountain because she was very ill, and Altheda saves and cures her with a potion realizing that she no longer needed the Fountain, as well as Asha, that is now cured. Amata that payed the third challenge by giving away her memories with her dead fiance, realizes that she no longer needs the Fountain too, because her sadness has gone away with the memories, so the Knight takes a bath in the Fountain and ends up asking for Amata's heart. So they all resolve their problems and don't really realize that the magic was not in the fountain, but in their choices." Joanne smiles at the professor after she ended up "so, to resume it, the power was never on the fountain, but on the witches they just needed the guidance , that was given by the challenges, to make the right choices" Joanne ended up her speach with a grin on her face, I think that covers it all up. |
Merlin. These people all really liked to hear themselves talk. The answers were so simple, really. Plymouth raised his hand, "This one is easy. A dude finds himself not one, but THREE ladies to BFF with." With that, Plymouth pointedly looked to Cela, Anna, and Daphne. "And he got luuuuuuuuuucky in the fountain. The moral is simple: Surround yourself with pretty, successful, funny, smart girls and you'll be lucky." Plymouth would have probably been more present in class prior to this, but he'd been recovering from his near-death-tarantula attack. The boy was a sweating fool. |
Miles raised his hand. He liked this story. Hehe. "The foutain of fair fortune is aout three witches, who go to look for the fountain of fair fortune, Asha, suffers from a disease. The second, Altheda, endures poverty and powerlessness due to a robbery. The third, Amata, is distraught after being left by her beloved. Along the way, they are accompanied by a Knight." "In the end, they all realize they don't need to use the fountain, as Asha is cured by Athelda, who realizes she can earn money from this, and Amata's memories of her beloved are gone as she used to magic to take the memories from her to drop in a river which needed the treasure of their past." Miles breathed, he needed to pause for a minute. "And so, the fountain didn't really do much." |
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Calm yourself Avalon, Ohm.... |
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"Thank you, Miles." Truebridge nodded. Truebridge posed another question, "Which character do you like best? Why? What can we learn from them? What did they learn? What do you think Beedle was trying to tell us by including them? He stroked the cat gently and waited for Copernicus and Tobi to begin the notes on the board (ooc: take your time) and for everyone to share their answers to the next question. ooc: Going out for a while... again, do not edit your posts, Prefects |
"I thiiiiink that my favourite character of the tale miiiiight be Altheda." The sixth year old girl replied after raising her hand. It was a tough question, but still. "Yeah, I think so. She's not a quitter, no matter how hard things look. During the second challenge, they weren't moving an inch and she still kept on struggling to overcome it." Not quitting was a very important thing. Evangeline would have done homework ages ago if she was a quitter. Oh yes. "And, of course, she learns that imagination can often be the solution for our problems, just like talent .. and by making his character learn that, Beedle must try and teach us that too, right?" |
John raised his hand. "I think that Altheda would have to be my favorate charecter." He smiled. "Because no matter how hard things where she never gave in, she always tried her hardest to make things work." He stopped then continued. "she also used her imagination to solve some of her problems." |
Plymouth leaned forward and well, he rubbed his nose in Cela's hair. Sure, oddness, but it was a nuzzle. "Take my book, CellBell. I don't need it." Clearly, he was a history buff. Up his hand went again, "You only need to marry one. But, it took all the lovely ladies to make it work. The dude - the knight - by far my favorite. He was a smart cookie, had it all figured out. Girls make the best friends. The Beedle, the knight, and me, we're all saying the same thing: Surround yourself with pretty, successful, funny, smart girls and you'll be lucky. And happy. And don't include step-brothers in that mix. I notice no step-brothers in the happy-ending mix. " |
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"I like the knight, Professor," Jake explained. "Because at first he kind of steps down, all hopeless, but then after a bit of... persuading he goes with the witches. And basically, he is really selfless, because he goes to help the others, and then it turns out he gets to go in the fountain. I think, subconsciously, that that is the reason he is my favourite... that and the witches scare me a little. The guy is the only muggle, and he is totally brave... I think he might have been put in to show the whole 'don't have to be magic to be important' kind of thing." After more thinking, Jake continued. "We learnt from him, after we find out the fountain isn't magic, that his own deeds made him 'lucky' again. Oh, and he learnt... well, I'm not sure. Perseverence? Chivalry? I mean that's what they called him, chivalrous." After remembering a certain incident to do with chivalry or lackthereof, Jake lowered his arm and gazed down at his notes, wishing they would write themselves. Nevertheless, he submitted to picking up his quill and getting on with it. |
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"I suggest you not manhandle Miss Toussaint in class, Plymouth, or Ravenclaw won't thank you one bit." With that, he headed for the board, hoping that Tobi would smack Plymouth upside the head as he walked past. Imagine the nerve of rubbing on Cela during CLASS and then making snide comments in front of everyone. It was RUDE. Quote:
The Fountain of Fair Fortune * Premise: Once a year, one person is allowed to enter the garden and make their way to the Fountain. If they bathe in the water, the unfortunate person is promised fair fortune for life. * Characters: Asha (the sick witch), Altheda (the broke witch), Amata (the heartbroken witch), and Sir Luckless (the hapless Muggle knight) Plot: * The three witches decide to join forces to get to the Fountain. * When the garden opens, a creeper vine grabs Asha, who drags along Altheda and Amata into the garden. Amata accidentally brings Sir Luckless with her. * They face three challenges, and each witch contributes to overcoming one of the challenges. * Asha defeats a giant blind white worm that demands the proof of their pain with her tears. * Altheda assists her team in making it up an endlessly long hill by cheering them on and encouraging them to the point of sweating, which is accepted as the fruit of her labor. * Amata overcomes a stream that is impossible to cross by dropping the memories of her lost love into the water, which are accepted as treasures of her past. * They reach the fountain and must decide who will bathe. Conclusion: * Asha is exhausted to the point of near death, and she is only saved when Altheda quickly brews a potion. Once healed, she realizes she no longer needs the fountain. * Altheda realizes she can sell this potion, and she no longer needs the fountain. * Amata finds that when she dropped her good memories into the water, she could see how awful and beastly her former love truly was and didn't miss him anymore. She no longer needed the fountain. * They let Sir Luckless bathe in the fountain. * He offers his love to Amata, loving her for being so kind to him and letting him join this quest. * They all leave happily, never realizing the Fountain has no real power. |
Kayla raised her hand, "My favourite in the story would have to be Sir Luckless, the knight. He was prepared to help the three witches reach the fountain even though he knew that he stood no chance at actually getting into the fountain himself. And it turned out that he wasn't so luckless at all, he did after all get the girl in the end." |
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Tobi walked to the front of the class his ears a little pink. Good thing I didn’t let Mum cut my hair, he thought. When Copernicus joined him there, he nodded to him. There seemed to be an immediate unspoken agreement the Copernicus would take the story outline, and that suited Tobi just fine. He rather liked to pick apart things like stories and songs. When he was seven years old, he asked his Great-Grandmother to explain a song from her youth, something called Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, she had said he was too young to understand and to go jump in the creak. Since Tobi hadn’t yet learned how to swim, that was maybe not the best turn of phrase she could have used. Tobi focused on the details of the story and began to write: Messages of the Story
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As Tobi finished writing he heard ‘Mouth-Off’ Morgan babbling his itty bitty brains out again. It took all his self restraint not to turn around and whip his piece of chalk at the foolish child. Had he really thought Copernicus was the problem once? At least he could take his lumps. Tobi turned slowly to face the class, envisioning calm, peaceful streams, wide open valleys, and Plymouth Morgan bound and gagged, hanging upside down from the Great Hall ceiling. He smiled serenely. |
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"I learned from them that no problem is too big that you can't solve it on your own, and that sometimes it isn't the destination but the journey that is inportant. Asha had a disease no healer could cure. She almost made it to the fountain when her illness overtook her. Asha could have begged the others to let her bathe in the fountain, but she didn't. Asha told the others to leave her where she was. I think she realized the fountain could not cure her after all. In her sacrifice, she found salvation. Altheda wouldn't let her new friend die without trying to help her. She gathered the herbs that grow near the fountain and mixed them with Sir Luckless's water. The mixture not only saved Asha's life; it also saved Altheda as well. She was penniless, and wandless. Atheda had lost hope. When she saw what the herbs could do, she found a means to make a living. She no longer needed the fountain's help. Altheda found a way to help herself. Amata was haunted by memories of the man she loved who had left her. She could not let go of the memories good and bad of him. Amata needed to let go and move on with her life. She sacrificed these memories so they could cross the brook and make it to the fountain. In doing so Amata achieved her goal and found love with Sir Luckless. Sir Luckless had had a run of bad luck. He thought he was jinxed. Ironically, Sir Luckless ended up being the one who bathed in the Fountain of Fair Fortune. As he soaked in the water, Sir Luckless realized how lucky he was to be where he was. Out of hundreds of people, he, the muggle, had managed to win the coveted prize. His luck had certainly changed. Sir Luckless left the fountain a changed man. He had the courage and confidence to ask Amata for her hand and heart. Amata also found a man worthy of her love. I like all of them because the four character are intechangable. Each had a need they hoped the fountain would fix. Each knew only one of them could bathe in the fountain, and instead of fighting and sabotaging the other three, each of them helped the other get to the fountain, and gave up their chance so the other could bathe in it. I don't know of a lot of people that would be that selfless. In the end each had their problem solved without magic." I learned that the old saying 'It is better to give than receive is true.' Each gave up their chance to bathe in the fountain, and still found a solution to their problems. I also learned that magic can not solve our problems, and we should not believe magic can. Each of the characters had the means inside themselves to solve their problems, they just needed the journey to the fountain to enable them to find it." "I would like to think they learned that by helping others we help ourselves, or to quote a couple of old sayings: 'it's better to give than to receive' and 'God helps those who help themselves.' The characters thought the fountain would solve all their woes and guarantee them a life of good fortune. They solved their problems on their own. The means to solve their problems lied withn themselves. They didn't need magic to make everything alright. I'd also like to think they learned that we tend to put too much stock in magic. It is inportant to learn and remember that every witch and wizard can learn to survive and flourish without magic. It's a great tool, but it take us to make it work." I think Beedle the Barb was telling his readers no to put too much stock in magic. It cannot make you wealthy. Magic cannot create the love of your life, nor give you confidence when you have lost it. It cannot give immortality, bring wizards back from the dead, nor cure all that ails us. Beedle was probably also trying to show young wizards that they should not become too wrapped up in or dependant on magic. It cannot give us everything we want nor can it solve all of our problems. We must take responsibility for our lives and find the answers to life's problems within ourselves." |
Which character do you like best? Why? What can we learn from them? What did they learn? What do you think Beedle was trying to tell us by including them?, the professor asked. Joanne sat quietly in her sit for a moment, deliberating on that question. She raised her hand to speak " Well the character I like best is the Knight. I like the Knight because he's there mostly for the adventure, to get to the Fountain and pass all the mythical beings that guard it, or at least he hopes he gets there because the truth is he knows he stands no chance getting there alone. He has no special talent or what-so-ever. But he has the courage, he makes team with the three witches and with them pursuits the goods of the fountain. I think that with him, he learn that magic isn't everything. Even though we wizards have our powers, there are other ways to get what we want, and he, the Knight is one of the main reasons for the witches to resolve their problems without needing the fountain's power. So by adding the Knight Beedle is showing the other side of the story too, the non-magical side and I think he adds it too to make the ending perfect, so Amata gets her happly-ever-after." |
I like Atheda cause even as a wandless witch she discovers over the journey she is not worthless like she thought she was, there was so much she could contribute to others including the potion she made for Atheda which cured her from her malady, she could truly help others and make a living even without her wand, she discovered loosing one thing is not nessesarily the ball end all, people have many talents and even without that one thing you can always find you're worth in other ways if you are trying. |
Tobi poked his hand a little ways into the air and spoke up, "Professor, if I may answer this as well, I personally prefer Altheda to the others, simply because she learned to rely on herself without magic. She learned to respect herself as a person first and as a witch secondary. It might be a worthwhile exercise for some of us who have never lived without magic to try and go twenty for hours without using it, and see what we're made of. Now a days, if you lose your wand or destroy it, you can buy another or have another made for you. Or, if you are truly cunning, win won from another without magic. Back when the story was written, this might not have been known about wands, or it may have been omitted to make the story flow better. At any rate, we see from Altheda that being without a wand or magic does not make us powerless. Altheda was not weak though she was wandless, she was perhaps the most determined and quickest to encourage the others, that counts for a lot in a person's character." |
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Finally, Anna raised her hand. "I liked Altheda the best, because parts of her remind me of myself. I've always been one to use my skills and what I know to try and solve situations around me. Not only that, the career field I've chosen to go into deals with the art of potion-making, which is how Altheda cured Asha's illness," Anna explained. "However, Asha taught us to never give up and to always work hard to reach our goals. Although exhausted by the time she reached the fountain, Asha never gave up on her quest to cure her illness. Altheda taught us to use what we know and what we possess inside of us to bring us further along in the world. She teaches us that sometimes the answer to our biggest problem lies deep within our own selves. She did this, of course, by realizing her own true inner strength when curing Asha. Amata teaches us that when one door is closes, another door opens for us. She also teaches us that often times we look so long and so regretfully upon closed doors that we don't end up seeing the wonderful opportunities that lie ahead." "As far as what Beedle Bard was trying to teach us, I think the common theme is to never give up. I think we're meant to learn that no matter what curveballs may be thrown to us, we must keeping working hard, as Asha did, build upon our inner strength, as Altheda did, and learn to let go of the past, as Amata did," Anna finished. |
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"Thanks, Cope." Cela answered him a bit uncertainly as he offered to share his book. Waiiiiit. Manhandle? Miss Toussaint? Cela looked between Plymouth and Copernicus uncertainly for a moment before following Copernicus' progress as he moved to join Tobi at the board. Cela sighed in confusion and copied down the notes. Quote:
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