Dear all,
If you happened to get the copy of the 2008 version of “The Study of Fiction: an Introduction”, Here are the copies of two short stories not included in the module.
A Long Walk Home
(Jason Bocarro)
I grew up in the south of Spain in a little community called Estepona. I was 16 when one morning my father told me I could drive him into a remote village called Mijas, about 18 miles away, on the condition that I take the car in to be serviced at a nearby garage, Having just learned to drive and hardly ever having the opportunity to use the car, I readily accepted. I drove Dad into Mijas and promised to pick him up at 4 p.m., then drove to a nearby garage and dropped off the car. Because I had a few hours to spare, I decided to catch a couple of movies at a theatre near the garage. However, I became so immersed in the films that I completely lost track of time. When the last movie had finished, I looked down at my watch. It was six o’clock. I was two hours late.
I knew Dad would be angry if he found out I’d been watching movies. He’d never let me drive again. I decided to tell him that the car needed some repairs and that they had taken longer that had been expected. I drove up to the place where we had planned to meet and saw Dad waiting patiently on the corner. I apologized for being late and told him that I’d come as quickly as I could, but the car had needed some major repairs. I’ll never forget the look he gave me.
“I’m disappointed that you feel you have to lie to me, Jackson.”
“What do you mean? I’m telling the truth.”
Dad looked at me again. “When you did not show up, I called the garage to ask if there were any problems, and they told me that you had not yet picked up the car. So you see, I know there were no problems with the car.” A rush of guilt ran through me as I feebly confessed to my trip to the movie theater and the real reason for my tardiness. Dad listened intently as a sadness passed through him.
“I am angry, not with you but with myself. You see, I realize that I have failed as a father if after all these years you feel that you have to lie to me. I have failed because I have brought up a son who cannot even tell the truth to his own father, I’m going to walk home now and contemplate where I have gone wrong all these years”.
“But Dad, its 18 miles to home. It’s dark. You can’t walk home.”
My protests, my apologies and the rest of my utterances were useless. I had let my father down, and I was about to learn one of the most painful lessons of my life. Dad began walking along the dusty roads. I quickly jumped in the car and followed behind, hoping he would relent. I pleaded all the way, telling him how sorry I was, but he simply ignored me, continuing on silently, thoughtfully and painfully. For 18 miles I drove behind him, averaging about five miles per hour.
Seeing my father in so much physical and emotional pain was the most distressing and painful experience that I have ever faced. However, it was also the most successful lesson. I have never lied to him since. (556 words)
Retrieved from: http://membres.multimania.fr/unile2/g7/didacticunit.htmGrandfather’s Coins
(Pedro Pablo Sacristan)
Every month, Julia and her cousins would go for the big family meal at their grandparents’ house. They would always wait excitedly for the moment their grandfather would give them a few coins, “so you can buy yourself something.” Then all the children would run off to buy chewing gum, lollies, or wine gums. The grandparents, aunts, uncles, and parents commented that, behaving like this, the children would never learn to manage their money. So they proposed a special test, in which the children would have to show, over the course of a year, just what they could manage to get with those few coins.
Some of the children thought that they would save their money, but Ruben and Nico, the two smallest kids, paid no attention, and they continued spending it all on sweets. Every time, they would show off their sweets in front of the other children, laughing and making fun of their cousins. They made Clara and Joe so angry that these two could no longer stand to keep saving their money. They joined Ruben and Nico in spending whatever they had, as soon as possible, on sweets.
Monty was a clever boy, and he decided to start managing his money by exchanging it: buying and selling things, or betting it with other children, in card games. Soon he had surprised the whole family. He had accumulated a lot of money for little effort. The way he was going, he would end up almost a rich man. However, Monty was not being very careful, and he got involved in more and more risky deals. A few months later he hadn’t a single penny left, after placing a losing bet on a horse race.
Alex, on the other hand, had a will of iron. He saved and saved all the money he was given, wanting to win the competition, and at the end of the year he had collected more money than anyone. Even better, with so much money, he managed to buy sweets at a reduced price, so that on the day of the competition he was presented with enough sweets for much more than a year. And even then, he still had enough left over for a toy. He was the clear winner, and the rest of his cousins learnt from him the advantages of knowing how to save and how to wait.
There was also Julia. Poor Julia didn’t enjoy the day of the competition, because even though she had had a wonderful secret plan, she had spent her money without giving her plan enough time to work. However, she was so sure that her plan was a good one, that she decided to carry on with it, and maybe change the expressions on her relatives’ faces, who had seemed to be saying “What a disaster that girl is. She couldn’t manage to save anything.”
When she was about to complete the second year of her plan, Julia surprised everyone by turning up at the grandparents’ house with a violin and a lot of money. What was even more impressive was hearing her play. She did it really well.
Everyone knew that Julia adored the violin, even though the family couldn’t afford to pay for her to have lessons. So Julia had got to know a poor violinist who played in the park, and she offered him all the coins her grandfather had given her, if he would teach her how to play. Although it wasn’t much money, on seeing Julia’s excitement, the violinist agreed, and he taught her happily for months. Julia showed so much desire and interest that a little after a year the violinist loaned her a violin so they could play together in the park, as a duo. They were so successful that gradually she managed to buy her own violin, with quite a bit of money to spare.
From then on, the whole family helped her, and she became a very famous violinist. And she would always tell people how it was possible, with just a few coins well spent, to make your wildest dreams a reality. (687 words)
Retrieved from: http://freestoriesforkids.com/children/stories-and-tales/grandfather%27s-coins
Universitas Kristen Indonesia 
Many way to achieve the dream and in motivation the reader Pedro Pablo by short story is crating a character namely Julia who became a inspiring example of success in the pursuit of her dream. Julia with a fairly strong effort to collect money from her grandfather’s coin, Provision to be use to pay a violin teacher with the hope someday she will become s famous violinist.
Lesson Learner from this story is not just how we should achieve the dream with the possibility of even the smallest of the hopes upon the success is great but the story is quite remarkable is how one can use the money not for her desire not spend anything but she buy and pay the science of violin teacher as the due to the high consciousness for the well-know that the special sciences. A high awareness that it takes special knowledge to the famous, That’s a lesson that we can get.
Dear Mr.Parlin
This my assigment
“ Grandfather Coin’s”
The story with tittle “ Grandfather Coin’s” tell how to manage money. Julia is one of person in this story who can make us how to keep money and make dreams will be come true. Julia keeping her money. She suprised everyone turning up at the grandparents house with a violin and a lot of money. The dream’s of julia was true , because she became a very famous violinist and she would always tell how to it was possible with just a few coins well spent make your dream reality.
“Grandfather’s coins” by Pedro Pablo Sacristán is a short story to teach children how to effectively manage their own money. This story giving a good message for the reader. All the people’s can make a dream come true but it’s all depends us. So, I think julia can be inspiration for us how to make the dreams come true. she has a good character. So, don’t you spent a lot of money if not important. Make your dreams come true like Julia and begin to learnt keep your money now.
Hello Mr. Parlin … This is my response about “Grandfather’s Coins”
“Grandfather’s Coins” is short story to teach children how to effectively manage their own money. Julia is one of the characters in this story would tell people how it was possible, with just a few coins well spent, to make our wildest dreams a reality.
A little money well spent can achieve a lot more than we had imagined, especially if it helps us to learn and develop ourselves.
This story also want to teach us, no matter how small our ability to achieve the dream, it can all happen with effort or hard work without ever getting tired and desperate. From this story, we can learn that you should never stop trying and never give up because it failed, and the brave step.
The character of Julia is also able to provide a very good inspiration for all people in the fight for their dreams.
“Grandfather’s Coins” by : Pedro Pablo sacristan.
This story reminds me of the Word of God that there is an employer provide some talent to his servant. Each get some talent and they use these talents in the best possible and get the success, but some of them are lazy. He did not use it for good talent. Finally, he got a failure.
“Grandfather’s Coins” is the story of a very educational and provide examples to the reader that you should never give up striving to realize our dreams. Because in dream, we will achieve success. Use what is given to us with the best. Like, the characters in this story, Julia is very confident that one day she could become a famous violinist. Poverty is not a barrier for Julia to realize her dream. By collecting coins given grandfather, she can pay someone to teach her the violin. And in the end she can buy own violin. With the effort will produce success.
Pedro Pablo Sacristan wants the reader can see the struggle of Julia to be the best with the little Grandfathers’s coins. And hope the reader having the same effort with Julia to achieve the dreams.
“Grandfather’s Coins” by : Pedro Pablo sacristan.
The story of Grandfather’s Coins reminds me about my experience I had when I was young. It was such a wonderful thing when I got some money from my grandfather.
I think, it is same as the children in this story, in which they are happy having their freedom to buy anything they like using the money they get from their grandfather. As children, they never consider a good way how to spend the money. Thing that they only want to have is their happiness when they can get something with it. As in common, they like to buy something that relates to the kids food such as kinds of sweets. Since their ways do not bring positif value for them, their parents then come out with the ideas how to educate them with the money they get by giving a chance to have competition among them about how is the best way to use their money.
Pedro Pablo Sacristan brings this short story in a simple way by giving the samples of how the children use their money and the result of the use of it. It gives us an educational value about how to educate the children to effectively manage their own money. A little money well spent can achieve a lot more than we had imagined, especially if it helps us to learn and develop ourselves.
The story of Grandfather’s coin is about the hope and the dream of a little girl who hasn’t known about what will be in the future. She just believe that her dream become true when she has a believe. She don’t know what she has to do the coin but she is still hoping the best till she finally meet the dream, become a violinist. Day by day she has practiced with the teacher even the teacher doesn’t know about her ability to play the violin, the teacher still teach her how to play and also play the song then practice together everyday. Till oneday she become a famous violinist she still do the best and she still believe that her dream come true because of a very little thing hope and best effort.
This story teach us about believe in dream because with the dream we can be better and we can reach it with our hands. never say give up for every challange that come in front of us …. just do our best and keep trying on and on.
I thinkthis story was talking about confidence.
when granpa gave some coins of money to his grandchildren,they use it only for bought something that they like, but their parents didn’t like it, so they make a change how the children use the coing well.
some children (ruben, nico, clara and joe) cann’t use it well, because I think they are still children and childist
Monty is clever boy but he was willing to spend money just for his hobby
Alex too clever in managing its finances, he still buy his favorite but he also could save money
it’s diffrent with Julia, she knows how to use coins of money correctly, so she gets what he wants include her talent to play violin.
the conclusion is if someone believe you to do something, you must do it well, because anything that you do increase your future ( fate is your future) and will have its benefit for yourself and other people. like Bible said in Matthew 25 : 21 ” his lord said to him ‘well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’ ”
so, you have to do it dilligently,so that we can see our talents.
I think of Julia as a child he had lied to his father simply because he wanted to go watch out. Ultimately, he said dishonest. Julia wants to use his father’s car but he did not know, not thinking long used the garage if it would be telling the truth if a call from his father and his father will scold her. but now the situation, his father was angry and did not believe anymore in Julia.
that trust must be maintained so that every act, we can be liked and respected others and our parents. we must not lie to our parents, they are representatives of God. if we want to ask for something we should be honest and ask for permission. we must not lie to our parents, they are representatives of God. do not determine their own opinion if we are not able, if it can be a big test we also hard-nothing helped.
Grandfather’s coins : I think Julia and her cousin has a different character. Julia has a frugal nature and has a remarkable talent. Julia was born in the family economy is less capable. but she remains grateful and he tapped his expertise in playing ball for the money. on the contrary, his cousin Julia, who named Ruben and Nico. if they can but they spend money to buy candy and spending it on useless. so the grandfather and grandmother angry with them. why small since they already tidah sparingly. but Julia is different, he’s a smart frugal in managing money, and he also worked to find money to menggunakkan talent in playing the violin. and now she became a successful person and be able to buy the violin itself and has a house and now live with their families are very pretty.
so messages can be drawn from this incident, we have to save since his youth. of the nominal value of coins in the currency’s smallest but if we are saving too long will be a lot. therefore respect the money, although nominally small but we can save it. and never give up when troubles come, but God’s wonderful about providing His plan. we each race are given talents, foreign-masing.jadi talrntamu use while you are still alive, and start saving early. in order to be successful later.
Name : Gracia Oka Marcela
Nim : 0812150014
Fak : Keguruan Bahasa Inggris
Thanks a lot !
Dear Mr Parlin.
This is my response about “Grandfather’s Coins”.
I think the story of Grandfather’s Coins is a one of a good short story which I have ever read. This story teaches us how to manage our money for something that values. Besides that, the story give us the inspiration that all things are possible if we believe. No matter how hard it seems. One of the character in this story who gives me inspiration is Julie. She is a good girl. She knows how to manage her money for something that values and she always fights to get her dream will be come true.