Storigami: Storytelling and origami by Rachel Katz

STORIGAMI by Rachel Katz


THE WISHIN’ MAGICIAN by Rachel Katz On a day when the puffy white clouds seemed to be skating across the clear blue sky, there was a very unhappy little duck named Florence.* "Just look at me," said Florence the duck, " Here I am just stuck on this little square pond." When suddenly there appeared a strange little man. " 'Tis the Wishin' Magician, at your service," he said. "I heard there was a very unhappy little duck around here. Is that you?." "Well, said Florence, with all the birds and fish you see, no-one pays any attention to me. It's a much bigger creature I wish I could be. "No problem!" said the Wishin' Magician.
And so... With some holding And some molding Which was really paper folding...
		1 Fold and unfold.	2 Fold the sides to meet the center crease.

3 Fold points in.	4 Fold bottom up...	5 Pull out tail then flatten at dot.	6 Whale.
The Wishin’ Magician turned the startled duck into a giant WHALE. You’d think cur little duck would be trilled to be a whale but she wasn’t. Everyone swam away from her. Nobody liked the enormous whale taking up so much room in the little square pond. How unhappy she was! “No-one plays with me any more,’ said the whale. “They don’t notice my tail. And, I’m still stuck in this pond.” One day, Florence looked up and saw a bird fly by. She observed planes in the sky and even noticed kites flying high. “Now why can’t I fly?” she asked. And with that, the Wishin’ Magician made another appearance. “Did I near you make another wish?” said the little man. “I’m glad I came by, I’ll grant your wish to fly.”
And so... With some holding And some molding Which was really paper folding...
		Unfold.	Fold corners outward.
The Wishin’ Magician transformed her into a KITE and off she flew. She flew over school yards and farm yards, over backyards and barnyards dipping her tale to ware at the children below. But, she didn’t have control of where she flew. She was at the mercy of the winds. One day, the air currents had Florence flying in giant figure eights. She had no control over where she flew. She was at the mercy of the winds. Just then, she came crashing down - right between two trees. She could no longer fly…

1 Unfold corners.	2 Fold sides in.	3 Turn over for surfboard.	4,5 Turn over like this.
She looked like a giant SURFBOARD in the sky. “If only I could land in my little square pond,” thought Florence. “I’d never complain again.” But she didn’t land in the water. Instead, she landed with a lurch right next to a CHURCH. “I don’t like these scary adventures. Where oh where are you, Wishin’ Magician?” “You’re lucky you called me now,” said the magician. “This will be my last trick for I’m giving up this magic business. People are always changing their minds. Now what is it you want to be? This is your last wish, so choose very carefully.” “Can you just turn me back into a duck and put me in my little square pond? Please?
And so... With some holding And some molding Which was really paper folding...
		1 Fold top to bottom.	2 Fold “head” up to free “tail”..

3 Mountain fold. Turn sideways..	4 Lift “neck” up.	5 Pull out head, pull out tail. Squeeze flat at dots.	6 For movement: tap on back or open and close at the bottom.
The Wishin’ Magician turned Florence back into a Duck. And as he left, the magician spread his magic over everyone. And so, if you’d like to transform a piece of paper. With some holding And some molding Which is really paper folding... You can make a whale, a kite, a surfboard, a church, and of course a duck. Just get yourself a square of paper and follow the instructions and then you too can become a Wishin’ Magician and spread the magic of paper folding to everyone. Florence is named for Florence Temko whose model of the duck inspired this story. Copyright 1997 Rachel Katz* Diagrammed by Yuri and Katrin Shumakov