Now the hunter normally ventured out into the jungle as was his job. He came across people and animals now and then during his journey but one day it was like they kept showing up. The hunter came across three different people in need in one day. The first thing he came across in need of help was the tiger. She had been caught in a trap meant to capture another animal. Hearing the hunter come near her, she pleaded with the stranger to help her. The tiger promised that his kindness would be remembered. The hunter took pity on the tiger and released her from the trap. He bandaged her wounds and made sure that nothing was infected before giving the tiger the all clear. The tiger was so overjoyed and promised to the hunter to help him if he ever needed it. The two split ways and the hunter kept on his trek through the jungle.
Not long after his journey had started, he heard more cries for help. The hunter wondered why people were being so careless today but started walking in the direction of the voice. He finally found the voice belonged to an old man. The old man had fallen into a pit and could not climb out. The old man pleaded with the hunter to help him out of the pit. The hunter tied his rope from his bag around a tree and lowered it into the pit for the old man. The old man climbed out of the pit and hugged the hunter with joy. The old man revealed that he had power with the king and would help him if he ever needed it. Happy that he had found so many people to help the hunter decided to go home for the day.
A few days passed and the hunter remembered the promises that the two had made and decided to call upon the tiger. The tiger came to the hunter and had found a gift to give to him. The gift was a beautiful golden necklace. The hunter was very pleased and thanked the tiger for her beautiful gift to him. Then the hunter decided to go share the news of his beautiful new gift with the old man he had saved. Little did he know, the tiger had stolen the necklace from the palace, and from the queen's room.
When the hunter showed the prized necklace to the old man, he decided to trick the hunter. The old man told him that they must show the king the beautiful necklace. Not knowing that he was being led to his doom the hunter agreed. When the king saw the necklace that he was holding he became enraged. The king demanded that the hunter be jailed and killed for stealing such a precious item from his wife. Distraught by the new situation he had been led into the hunter pleaded with the old man. Asking for his debt be repaid for saving him, the hunter begged for the old man to explain the situation to the king. The old man had none of it and just wanted to be praised for finding the stolen necklace.
After some time, the tiger had not seen the hunter in the jungle. She began to wonder what had become of him since he had received the present she found. Following an old trail of his scent she came upon the palace. Confused the tiger went up to the jail inside the castle and called out to the hunter. The hunter told her of the situation and the tiger grew very angry that someone would treat his kindness in that way. The tiger threatened the old man with death if he didn't confess the truth to the king and set the hunter free.
Terrified for his life, the old man ran to the king and told him the whole story. From the first encounter with the hunter in the jungle to the deception the old man had gotten away with. The king was angry with his old friend and demanded the hunter be released at once. As penance the king declared that the old man and the hunter would trade places. The hunter would live a life of comfort in the palace and the old man would have to now engage in hard work for a living. The tiger was satisfied and went back to the jungle, never to be seen again.
Authors Note: The original story was from the reading section of Laos folklore. The original story is called to aid a beast by Katherine Neville Fleeson in the book called Laos Folk-Lore. The story had the same basic structure as mine but I wanted to change some things. In the original story the hunter saves three people and animals. The first being a goldsmith that is connected to the king. The second being the tiger, that brings him a beautiful gold necklace that was from the king's son that had been eaten. Lastly was a snake that ends up being the savior for the hunter's demise. The story plays out the same way with the goldsmith tricking the hunter. The snake is the one that comes to free him and gives him the king's favor when he heals his wife. The way he heals her is by giving her the antidote for the snake poison that the snake spat in her eyes to make her blind. The king then hears of the whole situation and puts the goldsmith to death. I didn't want any characters to die; so I had the tiger steal the necklace and the goldsmith character and hunter switch places.
(Caption: Tiger by Flickr)
Hey! The thing that stuck out the most to me is how you didn't want any characters to die. I share this same exact thought process when writing my stories. I can tell we both have a similar type of story telling: interesting, intense, and also a happy ending. I really enjoyed reading your version of the story and I think you changed just enough to make your story unique from the original! Great work!
ReplyDeleteHi Marissa,
ReplyDeleteI read a very similar version of this story with the three debtors and used it for my story, and I think it’s cool how you recast the story to have the tiger play both roles. It’s a much more optimistic take, and I like that, even though I think the darker version has its place too. You wrap everything up with the sort of poetic justice that these stories are famous for, and do it well — nice job!
Best,
A.M.
Hello again, Marissa! I enjoyed reading your version of “To Aid a Beast.” I tend to like happy endings, and I try to avoid stories where the main character dies for reasons that could be easily solved. That said, I liked how you told a story where everyone lives and gets placed in a win-win situation. Overall, thank you for sharing your story. I look forward to the next one!
ReplyDeleteHi Marissa! I really appreciated your retelling of this story from the Laos Folklore. I thought the way that you prefaced the hunter and the relationship with the townspeople before you told the story was a great approach. While it made the story more challenging for me because I was curious what it could be about and how it would imply. I did like how you kept the main characters from dying and just being jailed. Great story this week!
ReplyDelete