Author Archives: muncheri@usc.edu

The Story of “Die Guschger Sennenpuppe”

Nationality: German
Age: 21
Performance Date: 04/23/18

There’s a story called the Die Guschger Sennenpuppe. A Senn is like the people who tend to the fields Gusgher is the area where I’m from and puppe is doll… This is all in dialect though. This is like specifically from my area. So the Guschg is an alp in property of the town of Shawn where the shepherd’s and the alpine hill folk in there free time had fun. One day the made a doll out of old rags. She was life sized and the hill folk would speak to her and treat her like a real human. They would place her at the dinner table and feed her. She would even have to tolerate punches and being stabbed. Shortly before the Transhumans, which is a ritual of bringing cows down from the alps the doll was sat at the table and suddenly started to talk. All of the people that were working on the alps were so scared and they could barely contain themselves. The doll said “All of you except for one are allowed to go down the alp and leave with the cattle, but one of you has to stay with me” and she pointed to one shepherd and he was forced to stay. As the rest of the shepherds looked back from Valorsch, one more time, they saw the skin of the shepherd that stayed behind, stretched over the roof of the alp hut. Next to it sat the doll, laughing.

 

  1. Where did you first hear this story?

At school and at campfires, this is our folklore so we would just hear these stories. The first time I heard this was probably when I was in kindergarten.

My Thoughts

There’s a ton of scary stories about living dolls. Usually they deal with the life of a demon manifesting itself in the body of a doll. This however makes no mention of a demon. I am also slightly off put by the fact that as a kindergartner you would hear this story. This to me is like letting a five year old watch Saw.

The Girl Who Cried Wolf

Nationality: German
Age: 57
Performance Date: 04/22/18

When I was younger, my parents wanted to teach me a lesson about lying. The used to tell me the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” except as a girl they used to tell it to me as “The Girl Who Cried Wolf.” It was actually the same story… but with a girl instead of a boy. It really did help though, I don’t lie often haha. I suppose I’m glad they told me the story.

  1. Can you tell me the story the way you’re parents told you?

Ok sure.   There once was a little girl who lived by herself on a farm. Her neighbors were very friendly and would always help her when she needed it. If she needed a cup of flour they would give her a whole bag, if she needed some firewood they would chop down a tree and give her all the wood from it. One day, she was, outside tending to her farm animals when she heard a rustle in the leaves. “OH NO” she cried “WOLF WOLF WOLF.” They neighbors came running to help but when they got there, nothing was there. “Sorry” she said. “I thought there was a wolf.” The neighbors, being the nice people they were let it go and went back home. The next day the girl was out tending her crops, when she heard the barn door creak. “WOLF WOLF WOLF” she cried again. As could be expected the neighbors came running over to help the girl. “Sorry” she said, “I thought there was a wolf.” The neighbors were a little upset but the left and went home anyways. The following day, the little girl was outside gathering grain for bread, and she heard splashing in the stream. “WOLF WOLF WOLF” she cried yet again. The neighbors came running fearing that their neighbor and friend was in danger. When they got there… nothing. “Sorry,” she said, “I really thought there was a wolf.” The neighbors got fed up with this and vowed to come to her rescue ever again. On the fourth day, the girl was outside hanging up her laundry when she saw an actual wolf approaching her. “WOLF WOLF WOLF” she cried out. But no one came to rescue her… “WOLF WOLF WOLF” She yelled again. But still, nothing. The wolf came closer and ate the girl alive. And all along the neighbors never came to help her because they had been tricked too many times.

My Thoughts:

My parents told me the same story all the time (The Boy Who Cried Wolf). I think it’s an interesting way to teach the lesson about lying although to be honest, she might have been an overly cautions easily scared girl… or boy, I suppose. It’s interesting how violence can scare young children into doing the right thing.

The Beggar vs. The Rich Man

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Performance Date: 04/18/18
  1. Did your parents ever tell you any stories that taught you important lessons?

They weren’t really big storytellers but there was one from the bible. It’s the story about the poor man in the streets who gave a coin as a donation and a rich man who gave the same. The poor man had much less to give than the rich man and when he gave that coin, he gave so much more of what he had. When the rich man gave a coin, he gave only a small amount of his wealth.

  1. What lesson did this teach you?

Quantity is not necessarily what’s important, but gauging what you have to give is.   If you’re having a bad day, and you give someone a smile it means so much more than on any other day. This story originates from the bible and to be honest I don’t really know how or where. All I know is when I was younger my parents would always say remember the beggar with the coin. I don’t know what entirely they meant by that especially when I was little. But know I remember always the beggar with a coin… I think it might’ve been a lady.

My Thoughts:

I’m always interested in hearing a good moral story. I’ve also heard that in the bible, there are many comparisons to rich men and poor men. There’s something in the bible where they teach about how much money one should give to the church. It’s interesting how it’s very similar to a tax as opposed to a donation

The Day After Thanksgiving

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Performance Date: 04/18/18
  1. What’s A Holiday Tradition You Celebrate?

It’s kind of basic but every year after Thanksgiving my Mom and I decorate the house for Christmas. We turn on KOST 103.5 with all their Christmas songs. We start with a small fake tree that used to be in the kids room when we all shared a room. There are little mini ornaments that my grandmother gave us. They’re nativity scenes and they fit nicely on the small tree. My family is Christian, so the nativity is fairly meaningful to us. We even have this book that we put out every year detailing the Birth of Christ as told through the life of trees. My grandpa really loves trees… he loves to draw trees, so this book is super meaningful.

  1. How Long Have You Done This?

For sure since when we moved to where my parents currently live so that was like 2000. I know my parents have had some of the significant decorations for much longer. Also every year my grandparents give us coordinating ornaments every year so it’s cool to see them all on the tree each coming year.

  1. What Significance Does This Have?

Well like I said we’re Christian so the book and the nativity scenes are meaningful. But also it’s a good time to spend with my mom and bond. I don’t get to see her very often anymore since college so it’s a good time.

My Thoughts:

Family is an important value especially, in the Christian community. It’s a good experience to bond with them. Christmas is a time that I celebrate with my family and it’s always fun to celebrate doing something where you’re working towards a common goal.

The One About Ferrari’s and Fidelity

Nationality: Armenian
Age: 20
Performance Date: 04/09/18

So I know this joke that I was told by my dad when I was little… So it goes like this, it’s the one with the cheating and the Ferrari… it goes like this. So one man dies and is at the gates of heaven. He approaches St. Peter and St. Peter says, “you’ve been a good man, you’ve never cheated on your wife so to get around heaven you will get a Ferrari. The man then goes through the gates of heaven. Another man dies and is at the gates of heaven. He approaches St. Peter and St. Peter says, “you’ve been an ok man you’ve only cheated a few times, so you get a broken down Toyota. The man then goes through the gates of heaven. He see’s the first man in the Ferrari crying and approaches him. “What’s wrong?” he asks. And the man replies, “I just saw my wife on a skateboard!”

 

  1. Why did your dad tell you this?

I don’t really remember, but I think it was probably as a way to say don’t cheat. It’s a satire to teach a lesson about cheating like “oh if you cheat you’ll have to ride a skateboard in heaven” or something like that.

 

My Thoughts:

I appreciate that humor can be used to teach lessons. Fidelity is a very important thing to teach your children, but how do you do it without being too personal and detailed? A joke, obviously. It’s a good way to make an important point without letting out more information about the subject than necessary