Week 13: Storytelling -- The Land of No Death

The Land of No Death

I was just a humble barber who lived in a land where people never died. Instead, they left when they heard a voice -- though I'd never experienced it myself, I saw people get up and tell an unseen character that they would go with them. I'd never questioned it, nor thought to try and discover where they went.

That changed when, one day, I was shaving a man who suddenly started shouting at an invisible person. "Go away," he shouted. "Don't bother me, or you'll get it."

So I continued to shave him for a couple more minutes without any incident or noise, when he suddenly started to yell again. "I'll teach you a lesson!" he yelled, and, grabbing the razor in my hand, he proceeded to run after the invisible person.

Naturally, I was upset that he had stolen my razor (he hadn't even paid for my services yet) and chased after him. For an old guy, he was pretty fast, and I barely kept up with him, my attention mostly focused on getting my razor back and not where we were headed.

Only when we reached the place did I take a good look at our surroundings. We were at a dark and grayish kind of land, where little grew and the things that did were crooked and withering. A large pit stood in front of us, and before I could stop him, the man dove headfirst into the pit.

No! I thought to myself. That was my best razor! But one thing I was glad of was that I hadn't jumped as well, that I had escaped with my life intact. So, humming as I headed home, I quickly told everyone where I went and what I saw. Since people were extremely curious to visit the strange pit that the voice had led numerous people to, I proceeded to show it to them.

But when we got to the place where the voice had led my former client, there was nothing. There was no trace of the large pit; instead, I saw a flat plain of land, the place even more dry and desolate than it had been with the pit.

When we got back, days and months and years passed. Something had changed; perhaps because we had discovered the secret of the pit, it no longer existed. People started to die like they did in other countries.

Death

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Author's Note:
This story is based off of "The Voice of Death" story in the unit Lang's European Fairy Tales I. The main character in the original story is the client of the barber, who sought out a place where no one died and tried to resist the voice of death. He couldn't, and like in this retelling, grabs the barber's razor and chases after the voice. So in this retelling I made the barber the main character and decided tell the story from a first person point of view. I kept with the original tale's plot line and ending, though I reworded some of the dialogue.

Bibliography:
The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1890). Story Source: Project Gutenberg

Week 12: Storytelling -- As They Dared to Challenge Me

I hear them before I see them. Muffled footsteps beat in the heavy snow, belonging to a band of men traveling through the forest to confront me. As they near the clearing of the burial mound in which I had long since made my home, their footsteps slow and come to a final halt. Fear clings to the air -- I can taste it -- and a moment or two of silence passes among the men. For a moment I believe they have decided to abandon this foolish quest to take my life and raid my lair. And it seems as though my prediction is correct when I hear many pairs of footsteps run deep into the forest, cowering behind the trees. But it is only a partial truth, I learn to my surprise and anger, as a single pair of footsteps walks across the clearing and stop at the entrance to my lair.

A strong voice rings out in the air, whose owner dares to act as though I were his to command. The human even calls me ‘foul fiend’ so lightly.

I will not stand for this.

I open my eyes in anger and observe the arrogant human who insults me. The sight sparks a rage that steadily builds itself inside of me. How dare they send one meager human to try and defeat me? And an old man at that, judging by the grey in his beard and the slight stoop in his stance. Although this awakens my anger, it only spills out when I hear the sound of a laugh from another human in the clearing, who foolishly hasn't saved his skin like the rest of his dragon-hunting party.

I let out a furious scream that would terrify even my long-gone brethren, and exit the cave.

It has been awhile since I have stretched my wings and claws, and even the boastful rat that dares trespass my lair can see the power that I exude. Aside from my enormous size are a number of deadly weapons at my behest, from my large and virtually unbreakable scales to my tail spike containing poison. I am the king of beasts, and this mere human thinks he can break me?

He has made a grave, grave mistake.

Fire roars within me, surging from my insides and laying waste to all in my path. All except the human in front of me, who has put up his shield to stop the fire from incinerating him. I pause -- we both do -- trying to gage the enemy's strengths. I can see that this human is no weakling, which makes his impending demise all the more satisfying.

As if giving a clear indication of the victory that awaits me, he tries to attack my scales, but barely makes a scratch on them. He then switches to another tactic, and I deem him cleverer than I had originally credited him. Rather than trying to attack me with the force of his puny body, he swiftly weaves from side to side, exhausting me. But in my exhaustion I am angered, which gives rise to more energy. I again roar fiercely, concentrating my attacks on him harder than I had before. He in turn jabs everywhere along my body he can, likely determined to find my weak spot, the one that every dragon has.

As time passes with this interplay of fire and metal, he begins to grow exhausted, trembling with fatigue in the dark night.

I win, human, I think to myself.

But as the man is about to give up, I hear a shout from the distance. I deduce that it was this person who had laughed, and as I angrily plan to incinerate them both, his arrival somehow gives my first attacker strength and they fight with renewed vigor before I can send them to their deaths.

They are somehow able to push me back, forcing me to give them ground. But all isn’t lost for me, as I still have resources aside from my fire. I suddenly swing my tail and catch my attackers by surprise. And though I am unable to injure the second attacker, I have fatally wounded the first. This seems to anger the second human, who gives a loud cry and, to my disbelief, pierces my weak spot.

With that, no more am I living -- the darkness grows and my body collapses upon the ground.

Dragon

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Author's Note:

I based this off of Battle with the Dragon and The End of Beowulf in the Beowulf Unit. The hero Beowulf is now old, though he is still strong, and knows that this will be his last battle. Although the original story is written in third person past, I decided that it would be more interesting to see the battle from the dragon's eyes in first person. Even though the dragon is bloodthirsty and a scrooge, he still seemed to have some idea of what was going on aside from instinct when facing Beowulf. Aside from the perspective and tense change, this retelling sticks to the plot of the original.


Bibliography
The Story of Beowulf by Strafford Riggs (1933). Story Source: Sacred Texts

Week 11: Storytelling -- Arthur and Guyon

As Princess Britomart disguised herself as a handsome knight, trying to find the man in Merlin's Mirror, she met Prince Arthur and Sir Guyon along her travels. And though they kept each other company for awhile, running headlong into adventure wherever they could find it, that changed as they approached an eerie forest one day. For suddenly, an ivory colored horse burst out of the fog surrounding the place, its rider a woman with long blond hair and a frightened expression on her face. She kept glancing behind her, the reason made known approximately ten seconds later in the form of a man with a cruel expression and a spear aimed to kill.

As soon as they saw this, Arthur and Guyon turned their horses away from the forest and chased after the man and woman. Although both wondered why Britomart had made no move to help the girl being pursued, the thought was pushed in the back of their minds in favor of the more immediate matter at hand. The path they followed was twisted and turned, though the two riders ahead of Arthur and Guyon rode with ease along it. As they barely kept up with the sight of their guides, the girl suddenly veered to the left with her horse into a grove, still unable to lose her pursuer. Behind them, Arthur and Guyon tried to spur their horses to go faster, hoping that they could stop her pursuer before she was caught. But by the time they reached the grove, there was no sight or sound of either the woman or the man. Luckily, the ground was damp from nightfall's rain, and hoof prints were seen leading into the grove, trailing down, they soon discovered, to the opening of a large cave.

It was probably the largest cave mouth they'd ever come across, in fact, and it easily allowed them to ride on their horses side-by-side into the entrance. And if they were surprised at the measure of the cave mouth, it was nothing to their surprise at the magnitude of its insides. Stretched out so far that two small castles could easily fit, Arthur and Guyon stared around them for a moment in awe. The brown-gray rock of the cave was hidden underneath bright green moss, breathing life in an otherwise seemingly empty space. A halo of light stood in the corner of the cave, deep enough into the cave where they could make out its back.

As they neared the end of the cave, the back wall of the cave became clearer. Cut into the wall was a strangely triangular manmade opening, only wide enough for one person to go through at a time. And though Prince Arthur dismounted the chestnut mare and went deeper into the cave without hesitation, Sir Guyon paused for a moment before following the prince, wondering, quite perceptively, why no sound of the horses belonging to the two riders they pursued echoed within the massive cave.

For about an hour they silently walked, all the while hearing a dull roar become steadily stronger. As cave's narrow hallway reached its end, they found themselves at the edge of a pool of water, a layer of gray rock surrounding the half of the cave they were on. The other half consisted of a layer of ragged rock, part of which was smoothed over thanks to the waterfall at the end. But aside from the hole in the ceiling that allowed the water to flow into the cave's lake, there was no entrance into this part of the cave. Including the one they had just come from.

Suddenly, the woman and the man sprung out of the lake, and Arthur and Guyon were quite relieved that she was unhurt. But instead of fear, the woman wore an expression of complete calm. And instead of trying to run away, she held hands with the man, as though she trusted him completely. Guyon's eyes widened, and pushed Arthur away from the lake before he could enter it.

"Water demons," he whispered loud enough for Arthur to hear. Arthur's eyes widened, and his hand went to the hilt of his sword, prepared to fight. And then he narrowed his eyes, pulling out his sword. "I believe it is much worse than that, my friend."

Suddenly the cave began to shake, and the man and the woman were gone. In their place stood a gigantic two-headed water serpent. And at lightning speed they lunged at Arthur and Guyon.

Both Guyon and Arthur dove out of the way in the nick of time, and the creature smashed into the wall of the cave. But it hadn't given up yet. It seized the two men with each of its heads, trying to crush Arthur and Guyon to death. And though Guyon's sword had fallen out of his hands, Arthur's hadn't. Since his arms weren't caught by the coil of the serpent's neck, he was able to hack the serpent's head off, cutting the head from the base of the serpent's neck. Bleeding and hurt, the serpent loosened its grip on Guyon, who cut its other head off.

And when the serpent died, a tremble shook throughout the cave, and the cave entrance magically reappeared. That day, Arthur and Guyon walked out of the cave alive, killing the deadly serpent god who had resided there for a thousand years unchallenged.

Part of the Cave

(Source: Geograph)

Author's Note:

I based this story off of the second chapter of The Faerie Queene, How Britomart Fought Six Knights. In the original story, the chapter follows Britomart, the cross-dressing princess who pretends to be a knight to try and find the destined husband she saw in Merlin's mirror. But instead of following the main character and retelling the story of her adventure in this chapter, I decided I'd expound on what happened to Arthur and Guyon as they chased after Florimell, the girl. When they chased after Florimell without Britomart, I was curious as to what happened to them. So I decided to create an adventure for them. Since the entirety of the Faerie Queene is several volumes long, I'm sure you do find out what happens to Prince Arthur and Sir Guyon. But in the reading unit, you'll never know.

Stories From the Faerie Queene by Mary Macleod (1916). Story Source: Internet Archive

Week 7: Storytelling -- How the Crocodile Killer Got His Name

How the Crocodile Killer Got His Name

In an African town, there was a boy who wasn't like other boys. Rather than being small and weak he was strong, even from birth, and he carried with him a great iron hammer and a sack. One day his mother asked him what he wanted to be called. But instead of answering her question, he asked her to gather the town elders to meet at the bank of the river.

So she did, and they came, confused. The boy led them down the river to a deep lake filled with crocodiles.

"Who will jump into this crocodile-infested lake?" he asked them, but not one dared to volunteer. After a few heavy minutes of silence, the boy turned around. And he jumped in the lake himself.

Gasps of surprise abounded from the crowd. Such a pity, they thought; the boy had just ended his life right then and there.

What they didn't know, however, was that the moment the boy had jumped into the river, time around him had stopped. The pool was enchanted, for here lived the King of the Crocodiles, ruler of the seas and user of magic. He could affect anything that touched the water for at least a day, and he had planned to use his time magic on the boy.

But the boy, by sheer strength and will, broke through the spell before any of the crocodiles of the lake could tear him apart. And with his hammer he swiftly killed all of them, finally reaching the King of Crocodiles himself.

The King of Crocodiles knew who he was, and without warning, sprang upon the boy when he saw him. But the boy, though surprised, countered easily. They fought for three days, neither letting up ground for the other. But the strength of the Crocodile King waned, for he was old and tired from using magic, and the boy won.

After the boy killed the King of Crocodiles, he rose from the lake, no one the wiser for what had happened. Everyone was amazed that the once-considered dead man had risen triumphantly from the lake waters.

And from that day on, he was known as Makoma, 'The Greater.'

Crocodile

(Source: Wikimedia)

Author's Note:

I based this story off of Makoma in the Africa (Lang) unit. At the beginning of the original story,  he does call the leaders of his town to the lake and challenges them to jump into the pit of crocodiles, for the same reason in my story. However, in the original story it just says that he comes out of the pit, killing the crocodiles, and it never goes into detail as to how. So I decided to make that moment of his challenge with the crocodiles a bit more detailed. 

Bibliography:

The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1903). Web Source: Project Gutenberg 

Week 6: Storytelling -- My Journey to the Nether World

My Journey to the Nether World

It had been a long day, so naturally I was tired. I decided to take a nap after eating a sumptuous dinner, placing my magically shrunken staff inside my ear. I hadn’t thought I would need it as I fell into a slumber.

I was wrong. As I started to dream, two men appeared, carrying a card that bore my name on it. And then they grabbed me, cuffing me and forcing me to go with them. They took my spirit to a city, the likes of which I had never seen before. Until this point, I had been completely confused as to where I was going; that changed as I saw the city’s gate, which held the words ‘The Nether World’ on its arch.

“Ah!” I realized. “This must be Death’s home. But I’ve already gained immortality. How dare Death bring me here like this!”

I reached out for my staff, which was still in my ear. After it grew to full length, I hit both of the two envoys imprisoning me. I then freed myself from my shackles and made my way into the city.

In the midst of the city, I found the ten princes of the dead. With terrified faces they bowed before me, asking who I was.

Annoyance flared inside of me at the question, and I answered harshly, “If you don’t know who I am, then why did you bring me here? I was born under the heavens, the saint known as Sun Wu Kung, on the Mountains of Flowers and Fruits.

Now,” I asked with impatience, “who are you? If you don’t tell me, I’ll hit you with my staff!”

At my threat, they each said who they were. And after hearing their names, I demanded the Book of the Living be shown to me. A minute or two later, their scribe came, carrying with him the Book. I looked at the words that tried to determine my life’s end, saying that I would die without illness at three hundred and twenty-four years old.

Further angered, I took one of the brushes on the table and crossed myself and my family of apes out of the Book of the Living. “Now we're even,” I said smugly. “And never bother me again with this sort of thing!”

With that, I left, using my staff to clear a path out of the Nether World. Eventually, I walked outside the city’s limits, where I tripped and fell. The jolt woke me up, and I realized I had been in a dream, which I had since forgotten.

“Friends!” I called to the four baboons who lived with me. “Guess what happened today? I was forcibly taken to Death’s castle in my dream and chaos ensued because of me. And because they were  intimidated I was able to cross our names out from the Book of Life!”

From that day, none of the apes of the great Mountain of Flowers and Fruits died.

Sun Wu Kung

(Source: DeviantArt)

Author's Note:

This is a retelling of The Nether World, a chapter in the Monkey King unit. The original was written in third person, which I changed it to first person (in Sun Wu Kung's point of view) in my retelling. I didn't strictly keep the dialogue as it had been in the book -- instead, I tweaked and reworded it. I even converted part of the dialogue into narrative. But I did stick to the storyline. I didn't add anything important that didn't happen in the original, nor did I take anything important out. 

If you're wondering who Sun Wu Kung is, he's the Monkey King in Chinese mythology. He was born out of a stone egg on the apex of a mountain (the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits). He learns magic and has adventures, and his main goal to become immortal (which he clearly does in this story). 

Bibliography:
"The Ape Sun Wu Kung" by R. Wilhelm (1921). Web Source: Project Gutenberg

Week 5: Storytelling -- When I Met Raja Rasalu

When I Met Raja Rasalu

As I was sitting by my holy fire like I had been doing for the last twenty-two years, a beautiful youth passed through the streets. He may have been young, but his eyes were sharp with intelligence and his countenance was that of royalty. Indeed, he sat atop a prince’s steed and had armor likely worth a couple thousand rupees. Ah, I thought suddenly. It must be Raja Rasalu. Though I had expected him to pass me, he stopped and came up to me, asking a question.

“Why do you sit here, father?” he said with curiosity.

“My son,” I replied, “I have been waiting here for twenty-two years to see the beautiful Sundran, and I haven’t even seen her once!”

“Make me your disciple,” he demanded in response. “I’ll wait too.”

“Why do you care about being a Jogi?” I asked, surprised at his request. “You’ve already achieved so many wonders in this world.”

Nevertheless, the boy was persistent. I finally gave in, piercing his ears and putting in the Jogi’s sacred earrings. He changed into a loincloth after discarding his armor, waiting with me to see Queen Sundran.

As night fell over the town, I rose from my seat at the fire and left, intent on bringing food for my new disciple and myself. Begging food from four houses, I then came back and split the food evenly between us.

This was less food than I was used to having. And when the same thing happened the next night, I became irritable.

“I made you a disciple so that you could beg for food and feed me, not the other way around. Look at me! I’m starving!” I frowned at him.

But the boy only laughed. “You didn’t tell me I could. And how am I supposed to do something without your permission?”

“Well, I’m telling you now! Go get enough food for the both of us.”

So my disciple left. A while later he returned, carrying a large plate full of jewels. I was taken aback. What was I supposed to do with this?

“Ask for food instead,” I cried, and sent the boy back to where he had just come from. An hour passed, and this time he did well; he arrived with freshly baked sweets and I ate them with delight. But as soon as he gave me food he left, taking his horse and his armor and discarding the earrings and clothes of a Jogi. To where he went, I didn’t know. Nor did it particularly concern me.

But it did concern someone. The next day, the dignified and beautiful Queen Sundran came to my holy fire, demanding to know where my former disciple was.

As you can imagine, it made me a little mad. I’d been sitting out here for twenty-two years trying to get a glimpse of Queen Sundran and the only reason she came out was to inquire the whereabouts of my disciple, who had been able to see her after a day of waiting with me. She hadn’t paid the slightest attention to me in those twenty-two years either; she never answered my call for alms nor had given any indication she had heard me.

Payback time.

“Oh, him?” I answered her query. “He didn’t beg for enough food, so I ate him.”

Her eyes widened. “Monster!” she cried. “How could you do that? Didn’t I give you jewels and food? Were those not enough? Could only eating beauty sate your hunger?”

“I don’t know,” I replied casually. “Though I do know this; I cooked him on a spit and ate him. He was delicious!”

“Then eat me too!” she wailed. And she threw herself into my holy fire without a moment’s notice.

I sat for a minute, stunned at what had happened. Then I shook my head. What a waste of a life. She wasn’t even married to him.

Yogi

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Author's Note:

This story was based off of How He Became a Jogi (he referring to Raja Rasalu) in the Raja Rasalu unit. I thought it would be interesting to see things from the Jogi’s point of view, since his wish of seeing Sundran comes true only after he meets Raja Rasalu. By the way, Raja Rasalu is a famous and accomplished prince who lived underground for eleven years (read How Raja Rasalu Was Born if you’re interested as to why) and continuously goes looking for adventure. This is just one of the many strange and random things that happens to him.

I also updated the language of the dialogue a little bit. There's a lot of 'quoth he' and 'thee' and 'thou', so I decided to transform it into a more modern and readable format. I kept all of the dialogue and even added a line of my own (it talked about him speaking, but didn't actually have him speak, in the original story). And I didn't change anything of the events that happened in the original story. 

Also, you might be wondering about the last couple of lines, and it has to do with sati. Back in the day in India, when the husband of a woman died, she often threw herself into the funeral pyre. Not always, but it was definitely not uncommon in India to practice sati.

Bibliography:
Tales of the Punjab by Flora Annie Steel (1894). Web Source: Project Gutenberg

Week 4: Storytelling -- The Ballad of the Giant

The Giant (From the Third Voyage of Sindbad)

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

With these ears of mine
That are elephant-like

I heard a disturbance

I came with a spike

I went to the courtyard

To there I ran fast

And opened the gates

And I saw there at last

A feast in the making

Two dozen men dead

Who sat on my doorstep

And to myself, I said

What a glorious thing!

I don't need to hunt

My meal came to me

Though these humans are runts

And just to be cautious

I'll sit here and wait

And if one of them stirs

He'll have an unlucky fate

So I sat there and waited

But none of them moved

So I looked at the fattest

And thought: he's the one I'll choose

Twice more passed my evenings

With cooked human flesh

But things changed on the fourth night

My food wasn't dead

How it burned! The hot poker

That they stabbed in my eye

I roared and I screamed

Then promptly dragged myself outside

I would get my revenge!

And I planned to get it soon

Though now I howled in pain

In the morning they’d lose

Those fools didn’t know

That although I was blind

I had help in the mountains

My kindred; my kind

I ran as fast as I could

Though I tripped and I stumbled

But who wouldn’t, blind?

Within this island’s jungle

Since my eyesight was lost

I used my nose and my ears

To steer through the thicket

While the pain caused me tears

I knew I was close

When the voices I heard

Of my brothers and sisters

Were easily discerned

Joy leapt in my heart

And I called to them in a shout

Come avenge me, my friends

Let’s wipe those humans out

Look what they did

To my poor, single eye

They’ll drown in the ocean

They pay for their crime

And though I can’t see

My hearing is clear

So while you attack in my name

Force out their cries of fear

Lead me to those vile creatures

Lead me near, close to the fight

Let me hear their voices pained

Let me feel their terrible fright

Time seemed long in my anger

But soon they said it was time

To strike at those humans

In the morning light

And so we set out

My comrades and I

To one edge of island

Where the humans would die

I soon smelled the sea salt

Felt the sand in my toes

Heard my kindred ahead

Throwing rocks with loud bellows

There! The many, satisfying crunches

Of tiny, crushed bones

That sounded my way
I laughed at the destruction sown



Author's Note

This was based on the Third Voyage in The Voyages of Sindbad. Since each voyage of Sindbad's is told by Sindbad himself, I decided to change it from his perspective to a character in this particular voyage: the giant that tries to eat (and later destroy) Sindbad and his companions. The giant isn't a particularly complex character or anything, but I decided it would be interesting to see what happened from his perspective. As for the poem...I was in the mood to write poetry rather than prose.  

And if you're wondering what happened, Sindbad didn't die. In the scene, Sindbad's entire crew tries to escape the giants in rafts, but the giants (who happen to have really good aim) sink all the rafts with rocks except the raft Sindbad is in (with two other people). And although that's the last of their run-in with the giants, the third voyage doesn't actually stop there. They end up running into a man-eating snake; Sindbad's the only person to survive the encounter, however.

Bibliography:
The Voyages of Sindbad by Andrew Lang (1898). Web Source: The Arabian Nights Entertainment