Week 1 Storytelling: Traveling to meet Charley

OVER the water, and over the sea,
And over the water to Charley;
Charley loves good ale and wine,
And Charley loves good brandy,
And Charley loves a pretty girl,
As sweet as sugar-candy.

Over the water, and over the sea,
And over the water to Charley;
I'll have none of your nasty beef,
Nor I'll have none of your barley;
But I'll have some of your very best flour,
To make a white cake for my Charley.

(Traditional Nursery Rhyme)

Traveling to meet Charley

I had never met Charley but my father had told me that he loves the finer things in life, he loves good ale, he loves good wine, he loves good brandy, he love pretty girls. I was traveling across the large, large sea to take on the new world with my new husband, the soon to be husband whom I had never met. As I stared out over the deck, all I could see was water and waves; I felt as lost as I ever had in my entire life. My father had told me that this would be a new life and a better life for me, but how was I supposed to just leave my life behind for a man I had never met? 

The Soren Larson Ship

Source: Wikipedia

I stopped my negative thinking and I pulled myself up by my bootstraps; I would make the best of this situation and I would be happy. As dinner was served, I turned my nose to the gray looking beef and I turned my nose to the barley we were supposed to wash it down with. If Charley loved the finer things in life, so would I. I stomped my way to the kitchen and I looked the cook in the eye and said, "Give me your best flour and your best milk and eggs; I am making a cake for my husband and I will be happy." He gave me a sour look but handed me the ingredients I would need and left me be. 

As the ship pulled up to the harbour in some part of the New World, I am not even sure where, the nerves began to set in. What if Charley wasn't there? What if he didn't like me? What if he is mean? The "what if's" would not stop so i took a deep breath and clutched my cake tight. I got off the ship and a man stared right at me and half-whispered, "Hello Charlotte, my name is Charley." 

Author's Note This story is based off the traditional Nursery Rhyme "Over the Water to Charley," which can be found in The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang in 1897. The beginning of the rhyme talks about crossing a large sea towards a man named Charley. When I read this excerpt, it seemed like the speaker did not know Charley, as she only named characteristics were ones that you hear about a person, not personal experiences with him. I decided that the speaker was traveling to meet a man she had never met to marry and the cake was to impress him since she had heard that he enjoyed the finer things in life. The nursery rhyme goes on to tell the story of Charles II and his two sons, however, I drew inspiration from the first stanza and chose to write over just that stanza. 

Bibliography "Over the Water to Charley" from The Nursery Rhyme Book edited by Andrew Lang (1897). Web Source: The Project Gutenberg