Smoking Tigers and Birds in Flight: The Power Behind Great Story Intros
The opening line of any story can have a magical effect. Consider “Call Me Ismael,” in Moby Dick, Madeleine L’Engle’s, “There are dragons in the twins’ vegetable garden,” from A Wind in the Door, or even the Bible’s Book of Genesis, which begins powerfully with “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.”
When done right, the first string of words of any good yarn acts as an incantation for the reader, casting a mesmerizing spell over the audience that draws them deeper into its waiting pages.
Many fairy and folk tales often begin simply with “Once Upon a Time,” setting the stage for fantastic and wondrous adventures. These beginnings are meant to prepare the reader or listener for what is yet to come. Each opening line hints at the compelling narrative that hopefully follows, asking the audience to suspend disbelief and leave their doubts and suspicions at the door, at least for a little while.
There are many variations on the classic “Once Upon a Time” opening, stemming from various countries and cultures. Each beginning has its own subtle message and magic, beckoning the audience to join the storyteller on a marvelous journey to a different time and place.
In Algeria, they say:
Hajitek ma jitek (حجيتك ما جيتك) –
I’ve told you what’s coming…
In classic Arabic, you will hear:
kân yâ mâ kân fî qadîmi zzamân wsalifî al`aSri wal’awân…
(كان يا ما كان،في قديم الزمان، وسالف العصر والأوان)
There was, oh what there was (or there wasn’t) in the oldest of days and ages and times…
Around the Czech Republic you may find:
Za sedmero horami a sedmero řekami…
Beyond seven mountain ranges, beyond seven rivers . . .
In Hungary, you might listen to:
Hetedhétországon is túl, az Óperenciás tengeren is túl, az üveghegyeken is túl, hol a kurtafarkú malac túr
Cross seven countries, through the sea of Operencia, through the glass mountains, where the curly-tailed pig delves…
While in Korea, you could hear:
호랑이 담배 피우던 시절에 (holang-i dambae piudeon sijeol-e)
Back when tigers used to smoke tobacco…
Or in Benin, West Africa, the Fon People might share:
My story takes flight over countries and kingdoms of long ago, alighting on the shoulder of (the main character)…
In the Folktellers Universe, we begin each story with “Incipit,” explaining to our readers:
Back, long ago, when the ancients first put their words and pictures on paper, there were no title pages, prologues or introductions. Instead, every book started simply with the word — INCIPIT.
This old Latin term meant, “It begins” and marked the start of a journey that could move forward or back, inside or out, all at the blink of an eye. This was how the Folkteller Universe sprang to life.
At the end of each of the ancients ‘stories, was the word — EXPLICIT.
This final text meant, “It has been unfolded.”
For Folktellers, the beginnings and endings speak to days when books were folded into Quartos and Folios instead of being bound like modern tomes. That meant that as you read, you literally watched THE STORY UNFOLD, opening each quartered page until the entire text was revealed.
In a world of noise, distraction, and the constant sensory bombardment on our five senses, the storyteller knows that they need a spellbinding incantation to grab your attention quickly and firmly. Thus the tactics and techniques from long ago still serve raconteurs and bards everywhere.
For who wouldn’t prick up their ears at the mention of crystal mountains, ancient peoples, or tigers simply enjoying a mild puff of tobacco?
