Short stories to paraphrase. Tips?

[Tangleweed]

Hey. So, I am playing a bard. When they perform I like to give a little summary what the story or song they are performing is about. I am now looking for more stories. So far I have used a lot of Aesop’s Fables and some short folk tales. Those are good as they are short and to the point and work good as a condensed summary of what the performance is about. But I am looking for more. Does anyone have any recommendations for such collection of tales? Preferably free online, and short. And dark or a bit cheeky. I don’t want for my fellow players to sit through me telling long stories. Just give enough info that we can role play about it.

Please and thank you!

[Psyren]

Haiku? Limericks? Doesn't get much shorter than that, and there are tons of them.

[Silly Name]

If you want to be a bit sillier, nursery rhymes could work even just by speaking the first couple lines, since your fellow players would recognise them on the spot. You'll find tons of collections for free online.

I second the idea of Haikus for less silly moments: they're short and evocative by nature, and can end up very flavorful.

Something that requires a bit more effort on your part may be taking inspiration from well-known myths and historical events and changing the names around: so you tell the tale of how [Insert Odysseus], King of [Ithaca-knockoff], spent ten years at sea facing monsters and perils before he could return home from the [Totally-Not-Trojan] War.

[jayem]

If you want to be a bit sillier, nursery rhymes could work even just by speaking the first couple lines, since your fellow players would recognise them on the spot. You'll find tons of collections for free online.

I second the idea of Haikus for less silly moments: they're short and evocative by nature, and can end up very flavorful.

Something that requires a bit more effort on your part may be taking inspiration from well-known myths and historical events and changing the names around: so you tell the tale of how [Insert Odysseus], King of [Ithaca-knockoff], spent ten years at sea facing monsters and perils before he could return home from the [Totally-Not-Trojan] War.

Something from Chaucher/Decameron/1001/The Parrot one?

Chaucher already has rhyme. Decameron is fairly condensed.

[Coventry]

The Collected stories by Brothers Grimm can be a cool resource. I used "Sweet Porridge" as an adventure arc, once.

[Kesnit]

Hey. So, I am playing a bard. When they perform I like to give a little summary what the story or song they are performing is about.

(SNIP)
I don’t want for my fellow players to sit through me telling long stories. Just give enough info that we can role play about it.

I may be misunderstanding, and if I am, I am sorry.

Is your Bard telling stories as a lead-in to adventures for the party? If so, great and disregard the rest of this post.

Is your Bard telling stories (as tavern performance or a variant of Bardic Music)? If this, do the other players want you to do this? Personally, I would be frustrated if another player took up time telling even a condensed story in the middle of combat or during in-game downtime. A simple "I go to the tavern to perform" or "I'm chanting part of the Mahabharata" is a lot better (IMO) than spending 5 minutes summarizing a verse of Beowulf.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

You could start sneaking in modern movies and songs.

"I tell a tale about a man who visits another plane of existence in his dream. But then he meets a three breasted woman and everything changes. When the evil wizard cabal is defeated he is left to wonder though: was this indeed all a dream?"

"This is the ballad of Stanley, who locked his wife in the luggage compartment of his coach, so he could drive himself and her off a cliff."

"I captivate the audience with the tale of a druid's animal companion. Permanently enlarged in an encounter that left his mistress dead he was abandoned on a remote island, where he wasted away until a new adventure party visited, one of them a woman who looked just like his previous mistress. No matter the cost, he had to have this woman."

The upside of this method is that while summaries are very hard to make entertaining, this way the players get a fun guessing game to compensate.

[Tangleweed]

Hey all. Thanks for the replies. They are really helpful. I thought I had responded to this a couple of days ago, but just realized I must have messed up when posting it.

I do indeed intend to read these out during games. They are intended to be used as a summery of what my bards tales or songs are about. Like in a normal tavern or, as relevant in this characters case, a reading at a grand hall or one of the bigger temples or libraries. Nut, just as Kesnit pointed out, this can be very boring for the other players. Most of the times just saying "I head to the temple to do my daily prayers and sing there" or similar is enough. This is for when the players want a little info to just get a bit more into the scene. 5 mins is way to much. Im thinking 1 min, tops. And not for combat, that would be silly.

I found a lot of stories from the game The Messenger. Awesome stories and awesome game.

I have looked at Haikus, but the ones available in out local language is very modern and I cant make any good translation from English. Also, refrigerator. the grim stories are a bit to well known, but I am looking for similar stuff. But they are also a bit long. Same with Norse mythology. But I will check out Chaucher and The Parrot, never heard of before.

At first I disliked the idea with the modern movie references, as I thought I would find them immersion breaking. But I actually enjoyed figuring out what they where. And if subtle enough, it should be fun. I recently made an action hero character for a modern day game called "Johan Wickman" and my friends had a blast when they got the Jon Wick reference. So yeah, Ill probably prepare some of these. Also, the first one lvl2 Expert writes is Total Recal. The Second is Atan by Enimem ft Dido. But the last one? No idea and I refuse to google. Got any hints for me?

There is some cool Aboriginal stories that arenot very well known over where I live, but they all get a bit long to tell right.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

But the last one? No idea and I refuse to google. Got any hints for me?

The beast is captured and taken from the island to a large city, but when he sees the woman show up ones more he breaks free, grabs the woman and climbs the castle tower.

Saying the companion is a dire ape is probably too obvious, so is any reference to biplanes or fights against Godzilla.

(The original quote was mostly background for how to explain the story of King Kong happening in D&D, rather than the story itself. So that was kind of cheating.)