The Magic Fish

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Tell It Again”

In this activity, students will retell a story but change the ending.

Two of the three fairytales in The Magic Fish have different endings than the traditional stories, as first Hiền’s aunt and then Hiền herself tries to communicate a larger message to their listener about the story to help them in their journey. For Hiền, it helps her believe in happy endings and find closure after her mother’s death. For Tiền, Hiền’s decision to change the ending of the little mermaid’s story lets him know that she accepts him for who he is, no matter what.

Part A

Think of a story where you were dissatisfied with the ending. Did the hero not get a happy ending? Was there a character who you felt was neglected or ignored? Is the ending not believable? In pairs or a small group, take turns sharing a brief 1-minute summary of the story and why you don’t like the ending.

Part B

Using the time allotted by your teacher, rewrite that story but change the ending. As you change the ending, think about the following questions:

• Why did you change the ending?
• In changing the ending, did you change the message of the story? How?

Present your story premise to the class and share your new ending. Then, as a class, discuss the decisions made in changing endings. Are there points of commonality? How do the class stories and endings represent the importance of storytelling? How might the ending of The Magic Fish have been different, and what impact would that difference have on the themes of the story?

Teaching Suggestion: Students should think about Hiền’s decision to change the ending of the little mermaid’s story as they partake in this activity. You can also prompt students to devise different endings and allow the class to vote on which they like best. If time is a limiting factor, students might also work as a class to create a list of stories with unsatisfying endings and then work in groups, where each group chooses a different story from that list.