Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney Digital Story

A retelling of Miss Rumphius told using poetry, music, and sounds for LIS409 Storytelling.
She lives in a small house beside the sea
Surrounded by flowers, that Lupine Lady
She's little and old, but it wasn't always so
For she's my great-aunt and that's how I know
Once upon a time, she was a little girl
Her name was Alice and the sea was her world
She'd watch the big ships, her eyes full of wonder
Her grandfather had come on one when he was much younger
Now he was an artist, with a shop in his home
He made figureheads for ships, carving wood on his own
He also painted pictures of places that surprise
And when he was busy, Alice helped him put in the skies
In the evenings, he would tell Alice stories of faraway countries
Alice told him she would travel there and then come home to live by the sea
That's all very well, he said, but there's a third thing you must do
You must do something to make the world more beautiful
"All right," said Alice, but she didn't know what that could be
So Alice grew up and she moved away to a city far from the sea
But there she worked at a magical place -- at a library
Dusting and sorting and finding, she helped one and all
And they called her Miss Rumphius now
She often went to the conservatory inside the park
The warm air and smell of jasmine lit up a spark
Of a dream she had been feeling for a long while
To travel to a real tropical isle
So Miss Rumphius went to an island with beaches and shells to spare
She met Bapa Raja, the king of the village, who welcomed her there
He gave her coconut water to drink and their friendship did start
And when she left, they both said you will always remain in my heart
Miss Rumphius crossed deserts and jungles and climbed mountains, so vast
And everywhere she went she made friendships that would last
When she hurt her back on a camel, she was done with her journey
And she knew it was time to find her place by the sea
From the porch of her house, she would watch the sun rise on the sea
She planted a little garden and was almost perfectly happy
But there was still something that she had to do, she knew
She had to do something to make the world more beautiful
But she thought the world already is pretty nice, so what else could she do?
The next spring Miss Rumphius's back caused her great pain
So she had to stayed in bed most of the day
But the flowers she had planted bloomed and made her pain fade away
These flowers were lupines in blue, purple, and rose shades
When summer came, she wanted to plant many more seeds
But while she was unwell, it was not to be
Finally, that spring Miss Rumphius was feeling well and so took a walk up the hill
And she saw a sight that gave her quite a thrill
A huge patch of lupines was just up ahead
The wind and birds had helped the seeds spread
And that's when a wonderful idea stirred in her head
She bought the best lupine seeds that money could buy
And pockets full of seeds, she sowed lupines, low and high
She scattered them on highways, fields, and country lanes
Around the schoolhouse, the church, and all over the place
She found that her back didn't cause her any trouble
But she was called That Crazy Old Lady by some of the people
The next spring lupines bloomed everywhere you could see
The village was surrounded in shades of beauty
Flowers bloomed on highways, fields, and country lanes
Around the schoolhouse, the church, and all over the place
Now Miss Rumphius had done the third, most difficult thing of all
She had made the world more beautiful
My great-aunt Alice is now called the Lupine Lady
My friends and I stand outside her gate, hoping that we will see
The old, old woman who planted the fields of lupines
When she sees us, she invites us in
Then she tells us stories of faraway countries
I tell her I will travel there and then come home to live by the sea
That's all very well, little Alice, she says, but there's a third thing you must do
You must do something to make the world more beautiful
All right, I say,
But I do not know yet what that can be
Images from original text
Music:
Circle of Life by Adrian von Ziegler
• Celtic Music - Circle ...
E Kreiz Hag Endro by Alan Stivell (from Celtic Crossroads)