Everwilliger’s A Serie of Fortunate and Unfortunate Events

Funfiction based on ‘The Story-teller’ witen by Alice Munro (Saki)

By Romina A. Gonçalves

 

It was a wet sticky afternoon. The deserted station looked like a blured picture. Noisy voices were heard coming from the distance. Soon, the silhouettes became clear enough to be identified. Three children and their aunt, Miss Edna Crabapple, were running towards the train when it was leaving the station were r. The compartment was shared with Everwilliger, a mime. The children Peter, Penelope and Frederich were eager to learn and to experiment everything, that catched their tireless curiosity. The aunt was ready to give what was supposed to be proper education. The children started to jump from sit to sit. Miss Crabapple was perspiring. Then, she said to herself, in an imperceptible low voice, that she would like to kill them. Instead of that, she peacefully started to tell them a story. Meanwhile, Everwilliger looked at them as if watching his favourite movie.

Unfortunately, it was the most awful story never imagened. In vain, the aunt tried to catch the attention of the little angels. For her amazement, Everwilliger invited her to try again. But this time, an acting would be performed.

 Everwilliger was used to express ideas with movements, gestures and some acrobatics. He knew the art of saying things without talking. Everwilliger knew how to love the subtle, weightless and gentle worlds like bubbles.

In this occasion, Everwilliger was going to make his miming at the time the aunt was going to tell the story. Each part of it was acted out by the mime. Peter, Penelope and Frederich loved it now. The story was about a little boy who was very obedient. He went to school every day. He always had his homework done before going to play. He ate his vegetable without saying a word even when they were unsalted and tasteless.

The mime acted the child’s steps stumbling and staggering as if he were tipsy. The moment the aunt mentioned the boy doing his homework, the mime act as if he were a monkey that could write. Instead of miming the child eating his vegetables properly, Everwilliger act as if he were going to do it, then he changed the direction of ‘the invisible fork’ throwing ‘the invisible vegetables’ on the head of Ms Crabapple. Although, she was fed up with him, she had to admit her children were extremely absorbed by what she considered, the worst performance of the world

Finally, the aunt sang ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,’ a song very well known by many generations of children, including the children’s generation.

Everwilliger perfomed the song touching the parts of the body in the wrong way. The aunt had been singing ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes...,’ but the mime touched his toes, knees, shoulders and head. The aunt had been singing ‘eyes and ears and mouse and nose...,’ but he touched his nose, mouse, ears and eyes.

They continued in this way during the whole journey.  The aunt continued telling the story,  the mime miming the story and the children enjoying the time.

When the group was getting off the train, the mime became sad. His face was both grey and dull. He shrugged his shoulders and ducked his head very slowly.

Fortunately, the children always had good ideas. They invited Everwilliger to their aunt’s house. The mime agreed immediately with the wonderful idea.

Unfortunately, Ms Crabapple was now the one that started to be sad. Her face became grey and dull. Then, she shrugged her shoulders and ducked her head.