Story Cue Card

Bibliographic Information (best version for telling): “Tailypo.” Short and Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales. Retold by Robert San Souci. New York: Doubleday, 1987.

Ethnic Origin: African-American or United States – Tennessee & West Virginia. Conflicting information given by sources.

Running Time: About seven minutes ~

Power Centers: The Fear caused by the creature after it appears at the man’s bed.

Characters: Man, Creature, and the man’s dogs.

Scenes: Introduction, the man hunting, the man in his house eating, the creature appears, cutting of the tail, eating the tail and sharing with dogs, man getting into bed, sound of the creature calling, sending out the dogs, and then the creature’s return and revenge.

Synopsis: An older man living in the woods can not catch or kill any meat for dinner. He and his dogs return home to a depressingly light dinner. The creature appears, probably in hunger itself, and is scared, the man cuts its tail off and the creatures runs in fear, the man goes to bed and his dogs curl up around him as it was a chilly night. Soon there are noises outside the cabin and then the call of “Tailypo” comes through the door. When there are scratches at the door the man sends out one of the dogs. The dog does not return and so the man sends out another two dogs, they also do not return. When the scratches on the door get louder the man sends out another dog, which does not return. Then the creature enters the house through the hole that the dogs used. The man sends his last dog at it and the creature throws it aside. Then the creature is at the end of the bed. He shakes the bed and cries out over and over for the man to “Give him back his Tailypo.” He then attacks the man, shaking him and scratching him, and eventually biting him. No one knows what finally happened…the scene ends there…the man was never seen again nor where his dogs.

Special Phrase: “Tailypo,” and “Give me back my Tailypo”

“Flavor”: A backwoods story of why it is best to leave alone the things one does not understand.

Audience: This is a story for a young adult group. Prior to this age children might not be prepared for the frightening nature of the story. As Konopka addresses the adolescent need to feel needed, this story reinforces the safety in numbers idea. It also lets them give vent to their fears in a safe and cathartic manner. The creature and the woods are as much symbols for the great unknown that invades a youngster’s life and “safe” zone, as they are elements of the story. The story also supports Joseph Moore’s perspective by showing that to be ‘one with creation’ a person must not hurt things that one does not understand and not volunteer others to do something that one would not want to do oneself. And like the Carnegie Council points out, this is the time when young adults should be learning that it is good to form strong human bonds. This story shows that the solitary man in the woods had no one to call upon because he was not close to others.

Bibliographic information on other versions:

Cole, Joanna & Stephanie Calmenson. “Tailypo” The Scary Book. New York: Doubleday, 1991.

Smith, Jimmy Neil. “Tailypo” Why the Possum’s Tail is Bare and Other Classic Southern Stories. New York: Avon Books, 1993.

Brief Comparison:

The Cole tale was arranged more for children than it was for the young adult set. With this in mind it had a simplified vocabulary and was a calmer telling of the tale. The words were short and easy to understand. The story was also set to make the listener think about how they would feel if something was ‘stomping’ across their roof. The dogs were also named in the story to give the listener more of a connection to them. Also in this story the dogs were just shown as chasing the thing away and returning. The man in this younger adapted version was also said to have survived and still be there to visit even now. With the language and happy ending to the story it made it too young for the more adult audience I want to tell the story for. This version of the tale would suit most children age 7-12.

The Smith story was more of a young adult tale. It, however, had its own specific location and that was Tennessee. I wanted a tale that could be set near the local I am telling at. The language in this tale was also highly accented by the area from which it was taken (for example: sittin’ room rather than sitting room). Some of the language was also not even accent or dialect related, but bad English all together (curiousest). The words used to describe the animal were more along the lines of varmint, rather than the more misunderstood monster style that I was trying to portray. All in all I want a less backwoods telling of the tale and spookier than this version ended up being. This tale was also more moderate than my version and more for a 12-13 age group.