Narrative text is a kind of text to retell the story that past tense.
The purpose of the text is to entertain or to amuse the readers or
listeners about the story.
The generic structure of Narrative text :
Orientation :
It set the scene and introduce the participants (it answers the question : who, when, what, and where).
Complication
Tells the problems of the story and how the main characters solve them.
Resolution
The crisis is revolved, for better or worse.
Re-orientation
The ending of the story.
Evaluation : The stepping back to evaluate the story or the moral message of the story
Example of Narrative text :
Sleeping Beauty
Long ago there lived a King and Queen who said every day, “If only we had a child!” But for a long time they had none.
One day, as the Queen was bathing in a spring and dreaming of a
child, a frog crept out of the water and said to her, “Your wish shall
be fulfilled. Before a year has passed you shall bring a daughter into
the world.”
And since frogs are such magical creatures, it was no surprise that
before a year had passed the Queen had a baby girl. The child was so
beautiful and sweet that the King could not contain himself for joy. He
prepared a great feast and invited all his friends, family and
neighbours. He invited the fairies, too, in order that they might be
kind and good to the child. There were thirteen of them in his kingdom,
but as the King only had twelve golden plates for them to eat from, one
of the fairies had to be left out. None of the guests was saddened by
this as the thirteenth fairy was known to be cruel and spiteful.
An amazing feast was held and when it came to an end, each of the
fairies presented the child with a magic gift. One fairy gave her
virtue, another beauty, a third riches and so on — with everything in
the world that anyone could wish for.
After eleven of the fairies had presented their gifts, the thirteenth
suddenly appeared. She was angry and wanted to show her spite for not
having been invited to the feast. Without hesitation she called out in a
loud voice,
“When she is fifteen years old, the Princess shall prick herself with a spindle and shall fall down dead!”
Then without another word, she turned and left the hall.
The guests were horrified and the Queen fell to the floor sobbing,
but the twelfth fairy, whose wish was still not spoken, quietly stepped
forward. Her magic could not remove the curse, but she could soften it
so she said,
“Nay, your daughter shall not die, but instead shall fall into a deep sleep that will last one hundred years.”
Over the years, the promises of the fairies came true — one by one.
The Princess grew to be beautiful, modest, kind and clever. Everyone
who saw her could not help but love her.
The King and Queen were determined to prevent the curse placed on the
Princess by the spiteful fairy and sent out a command that all the
spindles in the whole kingdom should be destroyed. No one in the
kingdom was allowed to tell the Princess of the curse that had been
placed upon her for they did not want her to worry or be sad.
On the morning of her fifteenth birthday, the Princess awoke early —
excited to be another year older. She was up so early in the morning,
that she realized everyone else still slept. The Princess roamed
through the halls trying to keep herself occupied until the rest of the
castle awoke. She wandered about the whole place, looking at rooms and
halls as she pleased and at last she came to an old tower. She climbed
the narrow, winding staircase and reached a little door. A rusty key
was sticking in the lock and when she turned it, the door flew open.
In a little room sat an old woman with a spindle, busily spinning her
flax. The old woman was so deaf that she had never heard the King’s
command that all spindles should be destroyed.
“Good morning, Granny,” said the Princess, “what are you doing?”
“I am spinning,” said the old woman.
“What is the thing that whirls round so merrily?” asked the Princess and she took the spindle and tried to spin too.
But she had scarcely touched the spindle when it pricked her finger.
At that moment she fell upon the bed which was standing near and lay
still in a deep sleep.
The King, Queen and servants had all started their morning routines
and right in the midst of them fell asleep too. The horses fell asleep
in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the doves on the roof and the flies
on the wall. Even the fire in the hearth grew still and went to sleep.
The kitchen maid, who sat with a chicken before her, ready to pluck
its feathers, fell asleep. The cook was in the midst of scolding the
kitchen boy for a mess he’d made but they both fell fast asleep. The
wind died down and on the trees in front of the castle not a leaf
stirred.
Round the castle a hedge of brier roses began to grow up. Every year
it grew higher until at last nothing could be seen of the sleeping
castle.
There was a legend in the land about the lovely Sleeping Beauty, as
the King’s daughter was called, and from time to time Princes came and
tried to force their way through the hedge and into the castle. But
they found it impossible for the thorns, as though they were alive,
grabbed at them and would not let them through.
After many years a Prince came again to the country and heard an old
man tell the tale of the castle which stood behind the brier hedge and
the beautiful Princess who had slept within for a hundred years. He
heard also that many Princes had tried to make it through the brier
hedge but none had succeeded and many had been caught in it and died.
The the young Prince said, “I am not afraid. I must go and see this Sleeping Beauty.”
The good old man did all in his power to persuade him not to go, but the Prince would not listen.
Now the hundred years were just ended. When the Prince approached
the brier hedge it was covered with beautiful large roses. The shrubs
made way for him of their own accord and let him pass unharmed.
In the courtyard, the Prince saw the horses and dogs lying asleep.
On the roof sat the sleeping doves with their heads tucked under their
wings. When he went into the house, the flies were asleep on the walls
and the servants asleep in the halls. Near the throne lay the King and
Queen, sleeping peacefully beside each other. In the kitchen the cook,
the kitchen boy and the kitchen maid all slept with their heads resting
on the table.
The Prince went on farther. All was so still that he could hear his
own breathing. At last he reached the tower and opened the door into
the little room where the Princess was asleep. There she lay, looking
so beautiful that he could not take his eyes off her. He bent down and
gave her a kiss. As he touched her, Sleeping Beauty opened her eyes and
smiled up at him.
Throughout the castle, everyone and everything woke up and looked at
each other with astonished eyes. Within the month, the Prince and
Sleeping Beauty were married and lived happily all their lives.
