Week 1 Storytelling: The Sneezing Man

IF you sneeze on Monday, you sneeze for danger;
Sneeze on a Tuesday, kiss a stranger;
Sneeze on a Wednesday, sneeze for a letter;
Sneeze on a Thursday, something better;
Sneeze on a Friday, sneeze for sorrow;
Sneeze on a Saturday, see your sweetheart to-morrow.

(Nursery Rhyme)

Monday - Sneeze for Danger

It was a frigid, rainy day in Munich when Herr Niesen came down with a cold. It was a tremendous cold with terrible sniffles and sneezes. As on older gentleman, Herr Niesen's body couldn't handle sicknesses like he did in his younger days. His sneezes caused him to be sent home early from work. Herr Niesen pack his briefcase and began his journey. The rain lightened to a gentle drizzle, making it an easier walk to his house, or so he thought. Sneeze here. Sneeze there. Sneeze everywhere. Herr Niesen sneezed so much that he didn't notice that he stumbled into a construction site on Deidesheimer St. A wrecking ball barely missed his head as he sneezed so harshly that he fell backwards. Pieces of concrete falling from the building landed just centimeters from Herr Niesen's feet as his sneezes moved his body to avoid any possible destruction. It was as if Herr Niesen was dancing with danger in a sneezing waltz. Miraculously, the sneezing gentleman survived Deidesheimer St. Approaching the end of the block, Herr Niesen let out a horrific sneeze that blew him to the ground. Mucus dripped from his stuffy nose until a dirty, black stray pranced to Herr Niesen's side and licked the mucus right off his face. Quite disgusted, Herr Niesen quickly brushed himself off and scorned the strange dog. Herr Niesen made his way home, sneezing every step of the way.

(The wrecking ball from the construction site)

Tuesday - Kiss a Stranger

Achoo! A sneeze disturbed Herr Niesen's sleep at the crack of dawn. He reached over to his night stand to grab his pocket watch when he realized it wasn't there. Herr Niesen never misplaces his pocket watch. He scanned his entire house, but it was nowhere to be found! He must have dropped it back at the construction site. He quickly dressed himself (with clothes mostly covered in snot). Arriving at Deidesheimer St., Herr Niesen found the same black stray dog chewing on his pocket watch. The mutt ran to Herr Niesen and licked his face. Herr Nisesen chuckled as the stray's licks tickled his chin. What an odd dog! Showing affectionate kisses to a stranger, Herr Niesen thought. The gentleman retrieved his pocket watch and took the dog home. A sneeze here. A sneeze there. Surprisingly, Herr Niesen was not sneezing everywhere.

(The black dog licking Herr Niesen's face - Personal Photo)

Wednesday - Sneeze for a Letter

Herr Niesen was walking his new friend around the neighborhood block when another sneeze storm shot mucus in the air! He caught a flyer that was drifting in the wind and soaked it with gooey nose slime. Then something caught his eye. On the flyer were bold letters that read LOST DOG with a picture of the same black stray. There was a number to call and an address to deliver the dog. The flyer continues with RESPONDS TO THE NAME BOOGER. "Booger?" questioned Herr Niesen and the dog wagged his tail in response. Although Herr Niesen didn't want to return Booger, he felt guilty if he kept his new friend. With much regret, Herr Niesen wrote the letter to the owner explaining that he found Booger. He sneezed once, then sniffled.

Thursday - Something Better

 By Thursday, Herr Niesen felt his health returning to a normal state so he spent his day playing fetch with Booger. Tomorrow was the day the owner would pick up Booger from his house. He felt sad that he would only have Booger for the next 24 hours... He didn't sneeze at all. In fact, he felt much better.

Friday - Sneeze for Sorrow

 It was another pitiful day in Munich with rain showers all afternoon, but Herr Niesen was not sneezing. He was curled up in the couch with Booger, waiting for his owner to retrieve the dog at 3:00 PM. Minutes appeared to be mere seconds as time flew by on the clock. 2:35 PM. Tick tock. 2:45 PM... 2:55 PM. Five minutes remained. Herr Niesen looked at Booger's furry face and hugged it close to him. The clock struck 3:00PM. There was a knock at the door. Herr Niesen open the door hesitantly and met a beautiful elderly woman named Frau Kleenex. She also had a terrible cold, and sneezed every second. She thanked Herr Niesen between her sneezes and left with Booger. After Booger's departure, Herr Niesen sneezed for the first time since his recovery. Achoo! He sneezed. Achoo! Achoo! He sneezed again. His sneeze attack came again with a rage. Herr Niesen sneezed all night, leaving him sleep deprived, but the most suffering came not from the sneezes, rather from the absence of his furry friend. For a few minutes, Herr Niesen felt tears streaming down his face. With every tear that fell for his sorrow, he sneezed.

Saturday - See Your Sweetheart Tomorrow

Herr Niesen stayed in bed all morning. His head pounded, and he was congested. He thought to himself I will NEVER leave my bed! Then he heard scratching at his door. Strange....I'm not expecting visitors...But he heard the scratches again. This visitor seemed persistent. Summoning all of his energy, Herr Niesen crawled out of bed and made his way to the door. The peephole showed no one. He opened the door and out came a familiar shaggy face with a wagging tail. Booger jumped on Herr Niesen and licked his face with such excitement. Herr Niesen noticed a letter attached to Booger's collar. It read Booger missed his new friend. Join us for brunch at 11:00AM tomorrow. Sincerely Frau Kleenex.Thrilled with his invitation, Herr Niesen spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Booger and planning his date with Frau Kleenex. He didn't sneeze the entire day.

Herr Niesen reunited with his dog

 Author's Note: "If you sneeze on a Monday, you sneeze for danger" is a nursery rhyme from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang (1897). The nursery rhyme discusses the consequences of sneezing during the week. It reminded me of old superstitions that my grandparents would tell me about sneezing or yawning without covering your mouth. So I imagined an old man who sneezed quite often. Since my grandparents always found happiness with their dogs, I decided to portray the dog as "the cure" to the old man's sickness. I picked Germany as the setting because as I was brainstorming ideas, my cousin was telling me about her first day in Beginning German. "Herr Niesen" translates to Mr. Sneeze and Frau Kleenex means Ms. Kleenex. I tried to relate each character by assigning them names that related to sneezing.