Stories from Rory's Story Cubes

In the stories below, I'll bold the words that correspond with each cube.

Storyteller #1:

Once upon a time, there was a business man walking along the street, talking on his cell phone. He was asking his travel agent questions about taking a trip to Egypt to see the Pyramids of Giza. He wanted to travel the world.

It was during this conversation that a bee flew by and stung the man on his other ear--the one not listening to the phone. The sting really hurt, but at first the man thought he was okay and kept walking. Minutes later, though, he suddenly began having an allergic reaction and passed out.

While he was out, the man dreamed that he turned into a sea turtle and swam across the ocean to Egypt. Then he was awakened when he was licked by a sheep. He'd walked into a field while talking on the phone, and it was there that he had passed out. The man got up, wiped the sheep spit off his face, then began searching for his keys and cell phone, which had been taken from him, possibly by a sheep, while he was unconscious.

The end.

Storyteller #2:

Once upon a time, a man in Missouri got a call on his cell phone while he was milking a cow. The caller, who had a heavy foreign accent the man couldn't identify, said, "May I ask you a question?"

"Uh, sure," said the man, who stopped milking his cow.

"My name is Tutankhamun, but you can call me Tut. I'm calling from my pyramid in Egypt. That's on the other side of the world from where you are."

"Yes," said the man sitting under his cow. "I know where Egypt is. Now, what's your question?"

"Well, I have bees for making honey. I've made a batch of honey, and I want to store it before I go to sleep for many thousands of years. Then, when my sarcophagus is found by Howard Carter and George Herbert, they will also find the honey, because honey lasts a very long time. I want to know how I can store my honey so it will be protected. I have no jars in my pyramid."

"Okayyyyy," replied the man, now leaning against his cow. He looked over at the pond and saw something that gave him an idea. "Why don't you use turtle shells. Put the honey in the shells and then seal two of them together."

"Turtle shells?" said Tut. "Now, how am I going to get turtle shells, may I ask? It's a long walk from here to the ocean, you know."

"Look," said the man in Missouri, getting annoyed, "I have a cow to milk here, sheep to tend to, and a field to plow. I don't have time for this."

"A cow? Sheep?" Tut was confused. "Who is this? Isn't this Winnie the Pooh? I need to speak to Pooh, please."

The man in Missouri sighed. Not again. "Pooh's number is 2886. You dialed 2887."

Just then, Tut's cellphone went dead. He was out of time. So he poured the honey over himself and locked himself in his tomb.

The end.

Storyteller #1:

Once upon a time, I (get it, eye?) saw a shooting star. Or it might have been a comet, I'm not sure. But it made me smile, as I sat there next to the campfire, looking at the night sky. The firelight created creepy shadows, which made me think that something scary was sneaking up from behind me. I looked around, but there was nothing and no one there.

Suddenly, a bee flew up out of nowhere and buzzed around my head and in my ears, startling me. A bee buzzing around at night? That was very strange.

I swatted at the bee, but it wouldn't leave, so I ran to my car, jumped in, and slammed and locked the door.

Then a bright light shone down on my car from above. I looked up and saw a flying saucer hovering over my vehicle and an alien looking out the window at me. I knew it would have been a better idea to stay with the bee.

The end.

Storyteller #2:

Once upon a time, I looked into a beautiful woman's eye (she had only one, in the middle of her forehead) and I saw a shooting star. She smiled at me, and I nearly fainted. My heart was burning with desire.

Then I kissed her, and she suddenly turned from a petite, pretty lady into a big, hairy monster. Even the bee in the nearby flower I was going to pick for her was afraid and flew away. Oh, what to do? I wanted my beautiful lady back.

Then it came to me; I held the key! I alone could turn her back to a one-eyed lady by kissing her again. So I kissed her hairy monster lips and ... oila! Oh ... but then the monster that was once my true love turned into an alien.

Bright idea that was.

The end.

Storyteller #1: Once upon a time, a young couple from Kentucky flew to Paris for their honeymoon. This was the first time they'd been out of the South let alone out of the country.

Storyteller #2: On their first day in Paris, they walked all over the place. It was very hot, so when they saw a big fountain in the middle of the Government Square traffic circle, they spontaneously decided to wade around in it to cool off.

Storyteller #1: So they took off their socks and shoes, and rolled up their pants, and climbed into the fountain. The wife stepped up onto the edge of the fountain and walked around it like on a balance beam, leaving wet footprints behind.

Storyteller #2: The newlywed couple got a little carried away, splashing each other in the fountain, and the man accidentally splashed an old woman passing by. She got very angry and hit him with her cane, yelling all sorts of things in French, which the couple thankfully didn't understand.

Storyteller #1: The couple noticed that the old woman wasn't the only one who was annoyed with them, so they decided to get out of the fountain. Before they did, though, they saw a goldfish swimming around in it, which they thought was very odd.

Storyteller #2: Anyway, the happy couple put their socks and shoes back on and continued their walk around Paris. They visited the Eiffel Tower, the Moulin Rouge, the Opera House, the Arc de Triomph, and many other sites they'd read about in their guidebook. They walked and walked, late into the night.

Storyteller #1: When they got back to their hotel, they were lying in bed, talking about the wonderful day they had and all the things they were looking forward to doing in Paris, like touring the Louvre museum, for example. But all of a sudden, the wife started wiggling. "What's wrong, dear?" Her husband asked.

"I don't know," said the wife, swiping at her neck and arms. "I feel like things are crawling all over me."

Then the husband started to feel the same thing. He switched on the light, threw back the covers, and they both screamed. Cockroaches, everywhere!

Storyteller #2: "That's it!" the wife exclaimed. "I'm not staying in this hotel another minute. I'd rather sleep in the park." And that's what they did. They grabbed extra blankets from the closet and the pillows from the bed, which they pounded to make sure there were no cockroaches on them, and went outside. They walked down to the River Seine and found a big tree by the water. They slept under the tree for the rest of the night.

Storyteller #1: The happy couple stayed in Paris for the rest of the week, each night returning to the tree by river, where they had candlelit dinners and toasted with wine before sleeping under the stars. At the end of their honeymoon, they returned home to Kentucky with many wonderful memories.

The end.