Story: Dave and Vincent

The Dark Neighborhood and the Hill

There are many places around the city that I have explored. The one place that scares me to talk about is the dark neighborhood. It was the one place I have gotten lost and I hate talking about it. To tell about the good that came from the situation I must also tell the bad parts.

I was coming home from the park across town that I visit many times a week, only this time the street I always ride my bike on was closed. I don't know how I entered the neighborhood but when I reached the top of the hill, I saw the sun going down and the area was getting dark.

I started to get scared, I didn't know where I was or how to get home. I road around for hours. There were no street lights and nobody was out. I was starting to get tired and worried I would never make it home.

When I finally got the strength to turn around and go back the way I came, I ran into something very scary. There was a viscous guard dog in the road. Struck with fear, I stopped my bike and stared. I didn't know what to do. The beast would not let me pass but that was the only way I knew how to get home.

Sobbing, I turned around.

Dave meets Vincent

While I was turning around, the sun began to rise. And on the top of the hill, this time I saw a man.

"Sir, do you live her? Will you please help me get past the dog so I can go home."

He answered me: "I do not live here, I only pass by each day. You will not be able to get past the dog. You will have to take another route."

I answered him, "Will you show me the way? I have been wandering around for hours on end."

He answered me after he noticed I had been sobbing. "I will show you the way, but you must follow closely and quickly or I will be late."

Author's Note: My story is based off of the story of Dante and Virgil. In the original story a traveler gets lost, like in my story. He also runs into a beast but his is a viscous lion. Dante is lost in the woods and runs into Virgil, who then leads him out of the forest and to safety. 

Dave

Reading A: Dante's Inferno

I decided to read Dante's Inferno for my last reading unit because I remember reading a story from a student based off of this unit in the beginning of the year when we were encouraged to explore students works from past semesters. The story Dante and Virgil, begins with Dante being struck with fear. He seems to have just escaped death from the ocean. He starts to stop living in fear and decides to begin his travels. He is on the path he always goes on but is visited by a lion. Struck with fear again, he begins to weep. He is driven back from the path by the lion. Dante then runs into a man named Virgil. He asks Virgil to help him get past the beast and Virgil tells him he will have to take another path to escape. Virgil then guides him through to another path. This story was written very powerfully and I think it would be fun to try to recreate it. I feel like there are many way this story could be changed and it would be interesting to try.

Source: Dante and the Beast