A Special Friend
A Story about France in the 1800's
retold by Nikki Anderson for 5th and 6th grade
Legend has it that once upon a time, about two hundred years ago, two little girls became very good friends. They lived on an island named Martinique, just off the coast of South America. Their names were Aimee and Marie, and they loved to spend time together.
Aimee lived on a plantation a few miles away from Marie, and every time they visited, they had great fun. Marie would make up stories about magical places far, far away, and pretend that she and Aimee were adventurerers exploring those lands, with special potions for their enemies. Aimee liked to sit spellbound, while her friend weaved these wonderful tales.
When Marie was ten years old, her father sent her to a convent school to learn reading, writing, dancing, and embroidery. Aimee's father decided to send her far away to the land of France for her schooling. The two girls were heartbroken, but they vowed to remain friends forever.
The day that Aimee set sail was bright and clear. Marie waved tearfully until the ship was only a speck on the horizon. In the following days, she thought about Aimee's trip constantly . . . until one day, when the nuns told her the awful news. Aimee's ship had been attacked and captured by pirates, and every passenger had disappeared. Marie was crushed that she would never see Aimee again, but she decided never to forget her special friend.
At age fourteen she graduated from the convent, and she wanted to see France for herself. Her father finally agreed, but only because he had wanted her to marry a young man named Alex. Marie made it safely to France, and married Alex about the time that the French Revolution began. She had two children, and then Alex was killed in the war. She then fell in love with a very important war hero. They were married, but sadly, he divorced her later because she could not have any more children, and he married a much younger woman. This big war hero had big ideas about winning new lands for France, and during one cold battle, he bravely marched out with his troops, only to suffer a terrible loss. For some mysterious reason, there were far more enemy troops there than he had expected!
How did this happen? No one knew . . . that Aimee was still alive. She had been captured and taken to Turkey, and she became the wife of the sultan there. When that sultan died, Aimee took over control of the country and of the army, and her people knew her as the mysterious sultana. This war hero was Napoleon Bonaparte . . . and Marie's full name was Marie Josephine Rose Bonaparte . . . She was Empress Josephine of France. Aimee, now queen of Turkey, paid close attention to the wars that Napoleon fought, because he was her friend's husband.
When Napoleon divorced Marie Josephine, Aimee was very angry, and she decided to get back at him. He asked Turkey to keep some of the Russian troops busy while he attacked . . . but at the last minute, Turkish troops withdrew, and the Russian troops went back to help their comrades fight against France. Aimee helped Russia defeat France, all because two girls had sworn to be friends forever.
This story was first retold by Mr. David Wallace, a high school history teacher at Colorado Springs Christian School, based on an article published by Mankind Magazine in the 1970's. Historians have debated the truth of it for years, and Ernest John Knapton makes a brief reference to this story in his book, Empress Josephine. Details about Josephine's life were drawn from this book. Further research is being done to locate the article and verify its sources and details. If it is indeed true, it puts an interesting light on the important impact that individuals and their relationships can have on history.
Comprehension Questions
1) What did Marie and Aimee like to do when they visited each other?
2) What did Marie study in school?
3) How might Marie have felt when her husband divorced her for someone much younger?
4) How did Aimee show her loyalty to Marie?
5) How can students in fifth and sixth grade show loyalty to their friends?
Ideas for Teachers
The Special Friend: A Story about the French Revolution
retold by Nikki Anderson
I. Aimee and Marie were friends.
a) Marie liked to tell stories.
b) Aimee liked to listen.
c) Marie enters a convent school.
II. Aimee sails to France.
(use a cut-out boat, a pirate hat and patch)
a) Her ship is captured by pirates.
b) Marie is very sad.
III. Marie sails to France.
(use a hero's medal of honor)
a) She marries Alex.
b) She marries a war hero.
IV. Marie gets divorced.
(use a map to plan the battle)
a) He remarries.
b) He plans a major battle.
V. Aimee shows her loyalty.
(use map again to show the connection)
a) She removes her troops from fighting.
b) More troops are free to defeat France.
Answers to the Comprehension Questions
1) Marie liked to make up stories about traveling to magical places.
2) Reading, writing, dancing, and embroidery.
3) Sad, hurt, jealous, angry, embarrassed.
4) Loyalty is good, but trickery is bad. (answers depend on student's reasoning of various factors)
5) They can defend their friend when others are unkind. They can keep that friend from hurting himself or herself. They can take notes when their friend is sick and has to miss class. They can save their friend a seat on the bus. (etc)
Special terms:
Legend, island, coast, plantation, magical, adventurers, potions, spellbound, weaved, tales, convent, embroidery, horizon, pirates, crushed, revolution, mysterious, empress.
Sources:
Empress Josephine, by Ernest John Knapton. Published in 1963 by Harvard University Press, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
"Women in History". Mankind Magazine. Further information not yet available.