Week 12 Storytelling: Siddhartha's Diary

Hey, Diary!

I have exciting news! Dad finally decided to let me leave the palace! It’s so exciting I've been waiting to do this for years. I’m glad he realizes that I’m mature enough handle what’s out there.

I am so excited!

                                                     Siddhartha

Dear Diary,

I know it’s been a while since I've talked to you. I've just been so heart-broken. It’s been hard to figure out what to say. Dad finally let me leave the palace about a couple weeks ago and explore the city. I know it should have been fun and exciting but the things I saw….. I will never be the same…

Let me explain. So you know that I've lived a pretty sheltered life. I know that Dad just wants to protect me and keep me innocent but so much exposure all at once… It scared me.

Each trip started out great. The guards opened the gates and off we went into the streets of the city. It was so cool to see the land that we rule. We traveled down the road seamlessly until I saw this weird looking- man and turns out he’s sick. Not only is he sick, but anyone can become sick. Anyone can suddenly be stricken with complete disaster.

I got over it the first time. I just accepted that there is sickness out in the world and took another trip into the city. That trip started out well until I saw a beggar and the next trip an old man. I put my disappointment and pain aside and took another trip into the city today and this time someone was DEAD. People DIE. I just don’t understand how everyone can go on about their life knowing that it’s all for nothing. Why are we living if we are just going to die? Why am I living if I’m just going to die?

Until next time,

Siddhartha

Hi, Diary,

I know I promised I would talk to you again, but I have been so busy trying to figure out what to do. There is just so much despair in the world and here I am living a lavish life in the palace. I have to do something about it. I can’t just sit back and live my life without purpose. I have to find the end of death and suffering. I have to.

Siddhartha

Diary,

Today is the day. Today is the day I've figured out what to do to end the world’s pain. I have to leave the palace. I know Dad and Gopa are going to be so heart -broken, and Rahula is going to grow up without a father, but I just can’t take it anymore. I have to leave and find the answer to my questions. I’m not sure where I’m going, and I’m not sure what I’m going to encounter but I have to go. I have to leave tonight. Gopa and Rahula are asleep. The chariot is ready. I have to go now.

I hope to be able to talk soon, Diary.

Siddhartha

Image of Siddhartha Leaving His Family Provided by Imgarcade

Author's Note: I wrote this story based off of The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold Translated by Paul C. Blum. In this story, Siddhartha is finally able to leave the palace but because of his sheltered life, he is completely shocked by the pain that exists in the world. He cannot believe that everyone continues to live knowing that sickness and age and death are just around the corner, ready to truncate life at any moment. Siddhartha becomes convicted of his lavish life and goes on a pilgrimage to find "True Knowledge" and end the world's suffering. In this story, I took the thoughts expressed in the book and elaborated into a further detailed narrative of what is going through Siddhartha's Mind.

Bibliography: The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold (1922) Translated by Paul C. Blum (1927)

The Life of Buddha 

Siddhartha is Eager to Know the Great Truth

Siddhartha Leaves His Father's Palace

Week 11 Storytelling: The Fate of the Disobedient

“Dad, I’m so sorry! I didn't mean to be out that late!” began Ferra as she was startlingly confronted by her father who was posted waiting in the living room.

“You KNOW that you have to be home for dinner. Do you have any idea what time it is?” her father sternly stated, attempting in vain to hide his anger.

"I'm sorry! It won’t happen again! I promise!" she said with sadness.

“You’re going to have to prove yourself,” he said trying to be understanding. “If this ever happens again, you’re going to be in some serious trouble."

“I promise! This is never going to happen again,” Ferra said as she gave her forgiving father a hug.

A few months went by and Ferra was the usual good child that she had been her entire life. She feared what would happen if she disobeyed her father and knew better than to cross him. 

Ferra managed to keep her promise, that is, until this incident happened again. 

"THAT'S IT!" her father screamed as she, once again, attempted to sneak into her home without her father noticing.

"You're in serious trouble, Missy. I gave you a second chance and you blew it. What were you even doing? It's midnight! Dinner is at 7 o'clock every day. I was patient until 8 o'clock.... and then 9 o'clock came and went and then 10 o'clock rolled by, and you NEVER answered your phone. Do you know how worried I was? Do you have ANY idea what that feels like? To have no idea where your kid is?"

"Well, no. I'm not a parent," Ferra thought as her father looked at her with angry eyes. She suppressed her sarcasm and expressed another apology.

"Really, Dad. I'm sorry. What do you want me to do? How do I make it up to you?"

Ferra's father was silent as thought for a moment before he came up with the perfect solution. Suddenly, it came to him. His eyes lit up and Ferra saw evil wash over his face. Her father smirked as he looked at his daughter and dictated her punishment.

"So….Ferra…” he maliciously began.

"Think of your most HATED task. You know, one I never make you do because you hate it so much? The one that I always do because I'm just such a nice father? Now dig deep," he arrogantly and teasingly stated. 

Ferra's face dropped and her eyes filled with terror as she realized what was happening. 

"Oh God. No. Dad, ANYTHING else. PLEASE. Please, don’t make me do it. Dad! Anything!" she begged.

Her father giggled as he realized the genius of his plan.

"Come on. Why don't we start right now?" he said as he walked toward the back door.

"Dad! No! PLEASE! Anything else! Don't make me pick up the dog poop!" Ferra wholeheartedly begged as she hesitantly began to walk toward the back yard.

"How long are you going to make me do this?" she asked already dreading the answer.

“Every weekend,” her father replied.

“Forever?!” Ferra gagged as she filled with fear of the impending doom of dog poop.

"Oh, no, of course not forever,” he said, hardly settling Ferra’s worry.

“Then how long?” she hesitantly asked.

“Oh, you know... We will see, but I'm thinking until, well, you're married!" he said teasing her as he grabbed his sulking daughter's hand.

Image of Father and Daughter
Provided by Pixabay

Author's Note: I wrote this story based on the story of the Eleventh Goblin in the story of The Twenty-Two Goblins translated by Arthur Ryder. In that story a King falls in love with a Fairy and asks her to marry him. She agrees to marry him as long as he lets her disappear four times a month. The King cannot hold back his curiosity and follows her. The Fairy is swallowed by a giant and the King nobly saves her, or so he thought. The Fairy was punished to this fate of being eaten because of an issue she had with her father long ago but she does not remember the pain of being eaten until the King "saves" her. I found the back story so incredibly interesting. In writing this story, I explain the series of events that led to her fate with her father in a modern-day situation. I changed the Fairy to "Ferra" and used a different story-line but the plot stays similar. Both the Fairy and Ferra were late and needed to be punished. While it may not seem so to Ferra, the severity of the is drastically reduced in this modernized story. The end of my story hints to the fate of the Fairy in the Twenty-Two Goblins when she meets her King and is married.

Bibliography: Twenty-Two Goblins by Arthur Ryder (1917)

Week 9 Storytelling: Loving a Crazy Lady

Santanu’s Story

Have you ever been in love? Well, I have, and let me tell you...it is NOT worth it.
You might ask "why?" Good. Let me tell you my story. Let's begin by introducing myself. Hi, my name is Santanu, and I am a hopeless romantic. AA-meeting-style introduction aside, let's jump into my tragedy. 

It all started out swell! I was born as heir to an absolutely beautiful kingdom. I was happy; my people were happy. We were flourishing! Absolutely everything was perfect… except for one little detail of my life; I was single.  In my defense, running a kingdom is really time-consuming! I didn't have time to date! A few years passed and I was starting to realize just how old I was getting and couldn’t help but begin to consider ending my bachelor ways and settling down with a beautiful girl. I wasn’t searching but I definitely wasn’t going to stop myself from finding love if it happened to wander into my life. 

One day, I decided to go on a hunting trip. I absolutely love being outdoors and taking in the beautiful trees and grasses and animals. I get a stupid little smile on my face every time I think about it. It's just so calming!

Anyway, I went out hunting one morning. It was a normal hunting trip like every other trip I've taken. Near the end of the day,I was tired from all the action and decided to go to the river to sit down, take a drink and relax. Just as I was approaching the river, my eyes were trapped on the most beautiful woman I had ever seen! I simply couldn’t begin to think of how my life would be without her. I guess you could say it was love at first sight. As nervous as I was, I walked up to her and began to talk. You know how it goes; eventually one thing led to another and I asked her to marry me! I know, "Yay! Santanu, you're getting married!" But everything was NOT as I planned.

She agreed to marry me on one condition: I would let her do what she wants without questioning it. Okay, yeah, that’s reasonable. After all, I'm not a mean, controlling husband. She should have freedom to do what she wants! I trust her.

Everything was great! She was exactly the wife I was looking for! She was loving, and caring and oh, so kind. She took such wonderful care of me. Marrying her was the best decision I had ever made... that is, until she went absolutely psycho. We finally were going to have a baby, again "Yay Sanatu!" but no. This crazy lady took the baby as soon as she gave birth and ran to the river. And I mean AS SOON as the baby was out, she was gone. Not only did she run to the river RIGHT after giving birth (can I just say ouch?) she DROWNED our child. She MURDERED our kid. I didn’t want to report her. She had been such a wonderful person. She had to have a perfect answer as to why she did such a thing. I wanted to understand, but I vowed to never ask questions. I had to keep my promise! 

I simply put my pain aside and let it be. I grieved and accepted our child's death and kept moving forward. Our marriage soon recovered and things were going well. Or so I thought. It kept happening. Every time she gave birth she would get up and run to the river (again, can I say OUCH?) and drown our baby. WHO DOES THAT?

This happened seven times. SEVEN TIMES before I couldn’t take it anymore. After the birth of our eighth child, I had to confront her. I could not stand being with this crazy lady anymore. I HAD to know why she kept doing this. I asked her why she did it and she immediately went on and on and on with this crazy crap about how she’s the river.

Uhm…. You’re standing right in front of me… how can you be a river? 

We kept fighting and fighting until she agreed to give me the child, Devavratha, after he grew up. AFTER HE GREW UP! She drowned our children and I am supposed to let her RAISE Devavratha? Before I could do anything, once again she was running to the river. She was gone. She was gone with our kid. I was so heartbroken, I didn’t know what to do. I tried my hardest to move on but I just couldn’t do it. She didn't kill him, but she took me away from me. Knowing he's out there somewhere being raised by a CRAZY LADY worried me so much.

Yesterday, fourteen WHOLE years later, Ganga just shows up at my doorstep to drop off Devavratha like this is planned out and okay. And just like that, I had my son back and she was gone forever. Again. I have no idea what he’s like. I don’t even know if we will get along. What if she raised him to be just as crazy? What has she taught him?

Now, guys, I’ve gotta run and get to know my son, but I will tell you this: STAY AWAY FROM CRAZY LADIES. Seriously. Don’t do it. It's not worth it. 

Image of Ganga Running away with their child
Provided by Wikipedia

Author's Note: I wrote this story based on the story in the very beginning of the Mahabharata-the story of Ganga and Santanu. In this story, Santanu fell in love with a beautiful woman who only had one request: do not question her. They were married and had children. Each time Ganga would give birth, she would drown the child in the river. This happened seven times before Santanu questioned her actions and, in turn, ironically still cost him his child. The whole series of events was rather crazy and very quickly discussed in Mahabharata. Upon reading this story I was quite literally shocked at not only the story, but how casually it was told. Narayan's version of the story was told as a bit of background to set the scene. It was such a huge and bold way to begin a book-- I couldn't help but elaborate. I wrote this story in the point of view of Santanu and his thoughts and feelings looking back on the birth, and death, of his children. Being such a dark topic to discuss, I wrote this story in a humorous, dramatic dialogue to lighten the mood without having to exclude information. I found this image earlier in the week and used it, but I included it in this post as well because it so accurately depicts the story in its entirety all in one image. 

Bibliography: Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata.

Week 6 Storytelling: Chatterbox's Worst Day EVER

 Just a few years ago there was a happy little family just outside of town. This family lived a wonderful life. They had everything they ever could need. The mother and father had only had one child, and this child was a very quiet child. The father often being gone on business and the mother busy with housework, the poor little boy learned how to play nice and quietly by himself. The mother often went to check on him just to make sure he was still there he was so quiet! This family was very calm and collected and happy…. But that was soon to change.

One snowy winter day, the time came for the mother to give birth to a beautiful little girl. The parents were so in love with their new child. They were sure she would make a wonderful addition to their quiet family.

Everything was well. The siblings played and laughed, filling the mother and father’s souls with joy. They lived such a peaceful life, that is, until the little girl began to talk. She slowly picked up words taught to her by her family and loved it. Her family was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to stop talking! The older she got the more words she learned, and the more and more and more she talked!

The peaceful, quiet brother was becoming quite annoyed with this. He liked his quiet time by himself and his rambunctious little sister kept pestering him.  She would barge into his room, asking him questions. He wondered if he would ever experience quiet again! He just wanted one day to be alone.

One afternoon, the brother being much older and manipulative, came up with an idea. He would trick the little girl into thinking she would lose her voice forever if she talked at all for the entire day tomorrow.

“You’ll never talk again if you say even one word tomorrow,” said the brother to his poor gullible little sister.

“What? Nu-huh. You’re lying!” the little girl retorted.

 “MOO—“

“SHUSH! If you tell mom, you’ll never EVER be allowed to talk. Tomorrow is a special day, and you can’t talk. There once was a turtle that couldn't keep quiet and he tomorrow is the day he DIED because of it,” the brother continued, slowly convincing the little sister.

"Anyone under 10 has to keep quiet the WHOLE day or they won't talk again," the brother added, conveniently excluding his 11-year-old self.

The brother hardly ever lied to her; in fact, he often looked after her like another parent. 

"Surely he isn't lying about this," she thought.  "Surely he would lie about something this serious." 

The little sister thought about the things her brother told her and realized that she must not talk tomorrow. After all, she couldn't imagine losing her voice forever!

The next morning, everything seemed to start well. The little sister was, however, unusually quiet.

“It’s working!” thought the brother. “I can play the WHOOOLLEEE day by myself without any noise!”

A few hours passed by, and the little girl became rather frustrated. She had so many new things she wanted to talk about!  The mother, too, became suspicious of the unusual quietness.

“Honey, what’s wrong? You seem rather down today,” the mother said to her poor, frustrated, quiet child.

The little girl just shook her head and looked away.

“You can tell me,” the mother went on…

The little girl gave no response.

“Well, alright, I’ll be in the kitchen if you change your mind,” the mother said as she continued to worry about her child.

 A couple more hours passed by and the little girl couldn't stand it anymore! She began to cry as she walked up to her mom, pointing at her mouth. Thinking something terrible had happened, she asked her son if he had seen her do anything.

“Uhhh nooo! She’s fine. I don’t know anything!” he said nervously.

 He would definitely get in trouble if his mother found out of his little trick.

The little girl cried and cried as the mother tried to figure out what was wrong. Feeling guilty, the brother finally confessed.

“Uhhhh Mommy…” he began, “I kinda tricked sister into not talking… I told her she would lose her voice forever if she talked today.”

Instantly, the mother ran to her crying daughter informing her of her brother’s trick.

“I have an idea…” the mom said trying to cheer the confused little girl up. “Why don’t you go take your new book to your brother’s room? I’m sure he would LOVE to hear ALLLL about the things you read this morning.”

“OKAY!!!” the little girl screamed, grateful to be able to talk again.
 She instantly ran to her brother’s room chatting the evening away.

Image of my family. 
(Provided by Chon Henderson, my mother)

Author’s Note: This story was inspired by the story “The Talkative Tortoise” in the collection of Indian Fairytales by Joseph Jacobs. In that story, a tortoise needs to be transferred to another pond. Two birds offer to help him by carrying a stick he has held onto with his mouth. In order for them to successfully carry him he must not talk or else he will let go of the stick and fall to his death. The Tortoise ends up cracking in half because he cannot force himself to stop talking long enough to be taken to another pond. While I found this story a bit brutal it is such a good reminder that sometimes silence is the best form of speech. Upon reading this story, I was immediately reminded of my childhood; being nick-named “Chatterbox,” I couldn't help but laugh at the memories of being told that “Someday your words are going to get you in trouble” by my father.  This story, while I may not exactly remember, is more than likely to have happened to me growing up.  Being the pampered gullible baby of the family, growing up with a brother who is seven years older than me, he often managed to trick me into doing things even if I had no idea why I was doing them. The image I chose may seem a little random, being that it is a picture of my family but it is actually one of the few family photos that we have that I don’t have my mouth wide open trying to say something (being the little chatterbox that I am), so I found it quite fitting for the story.

Bibliography: Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, with illustrations by John D. Batten, (1912). 
Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Week 5 Storytelling: That Darn Ravana

Chapter 1

“Heeeyyy Maricha!” Ravana called out, “Wanna do me a huuuggee favor?”

“What is it this time?” asked Maricha, rolling his eyes.

“You know about that dude Rama…?” Ravana began.

“Well, uh…. I want you to help me take his wife.”

“WHAT?” Maricha asked, certain he had heard his crazy nephew wrong.

“You want me to help you STEAL someone’s wife. Are you crazy? And of all people, Rama’s wife?! Don’t you know how powerful he is? He’d kill us all!” Said Maricha as he tried to convince his foolish Nephew

“He can’t hurt us. He’s only a human. I am THE demon god. I get what I want when I want it.”

“I will help you, but you need to know that it will end my life.” Maricha said with sadness.

“Whatever. You’re just being dramatic.” Ravana said as he walked out of the room. “Let’s go”!”

Maricha followed Ravana to his chariot in sadness, performing a little funeral on his way, accepting his fate.

Chapter 2

“What a beautiful day!” Sita said to Rama as they were walking in the meadow.

“It truly is such a wonderful day.” said Lakshama to the couple.

“Oh LOOK!” shrieked Sita with excitement. “It’s a deer! A golden deer!”

“Wow! That’s a really pretty creature.” said Rama as he inched toward it to get a better look.

“I don’t know….” Lakshama began, “A golden deer. That has to be a trap…”

“Oh quit being so negative!” Sita said, “It’s a wonderful, rare animal. The gods sent it to us, for us to keep!”

“No! Look at it. It’s like…… hazy. Last time I checked, animals weren’t supposed to be holographic.” Lakshama said, realizing the truth. “It’s a Rakshama. We shouldn’t get near it!”

“Catch it honey! I want it! It’s so beautiful!” Sita said over Lakshama’s warning. “It’s SOO Pretty. Let’s keep it as a pet!”

“It really is pretty; I’ll try to catch it. I’ll just be careful.” Rama said as he picked up his bow and arrow.

Off into the forest he went, after the beautiful golden deer.

Chapter 3

“I knew it would work!” Ravana said in excitement.

“My fate has come. I hope I die quickly.” Said Maricha as he ran further into the forest, enticing Rama

“Man, this deer is fast. He keeps weaving through the trees. It’s almost like it wants me to get lost!” Rama thought as he continued after the deer.

Maricha stopped, as Rama’s bow finally hit his side. He screamed in pain, but his voice was replaced by Rama’s.

“OWW! Help!” Maricha screamed as he took his final breaths.

“It’s Rama!” screamed Sita, “GO help him! He’s been hurt!”

“No, Rama cannot be hurt, it must be that stupid Rakshasha furthering his trick! Why can’t you see that!”

“HELP HIM!” Sita screamed, “How can you not help your own BROTHER. Go after him!”

“Fine, fine. You stay here. I’ll go make sure everything is okay like I’m sure it is.”

Chapter 4

“Ugh. Sita is so stupid. It’s obviously a trap but whatever.” mumbled Lakshama as he walked into the forest.

“Dude. What are you doing here?” asked Rama as he bumped into Lakshama. “You should be watching Sita. You know how she tends to get into trouble.”

“HELLLPP!!!! NO! DON’T TOUCH ME!” Sita screamed in utter terror as Ravana captured her and carried her to his chariot. 

Image of Sita, Lakshama and Ravana with the Golden Deer
Provided by Wikipedia

Author's Note: I took the story of the golden dear in a more modern twist. In Ramayana, Maricha and Ravana plot to take Sita from Rama. While technically they succeed it causes death to Maricha, who has taken the form of a golden deer, and complicated a war against the Raksashas and Rama. In my story, I inserted dialogue between characters to add more personality, as well as modernize the story. I also incorporated a theme and message at the end of inevitable death and karma.

Bibliography: Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 

Week 4 Storytelling: The Songbird's Fate

          Many years ago, in the heart of the forest lived a family of happy little songbirds. These songbirds were undeniably beautiful. Each bird of the family was a different vibrant color. Some members of the family were green, some yellow, some red; some were even a mixture of the colors. Other creatures of the forest argued that they were the most magnificent birds on earth.

          These birds were known throughout the forest not only for their beautiful feathers but also their song. They sang each day filling the forest with their warm, joyful songs. These creatures were exalted by everyone near and far. These birds were a blessing to the forest.

          Time went by and the songbird family continued to be loved by every creature in the forest, and beyond. One day, something strange happened. A mother was ready to have children. She laid her eggs, incubating them diligently and carefully, but one of the eggs was simply unlike the others. Unlike the usual bright, blue color of the eggs, this egg was a dark blue-purple. Some even thought it was black.

          This made no difference to the mother. She loved her children equally and incubated them all the same, until the day they hatched! The mother was so proud of her children as they each one by one began to break through their shells. Every single egg was beginning to hatch but the dark little egg. The mother, worried that she might lose a child, began to examine the egg. She gently rocked it in hopes to encourage this little baby songbird to hatch. A few days went by, and the mother mourned, assuming her child was dead.

          The mother few off to get food for her other children only to be shocked upon her return; the dark little egg was no longer, but instead replaced by a beautiful, multicolored little songbird. The mother rejoiced as she saw that her child was alive. This little bird was the most wonderfully beautiful bird anyone had ever seen. He lived its entire life being praised and loved, and all this praise began to get to his head.

          “I am the best bird in the entire forest!” sang the little bird, “There will never be anyone as beautiful and sing as perfectly as I do.”

          The gods heard this little bird, hoping he would someday realize how arrogantly he lived his life, but the bird did not change. He continued to live his life entitled and mean. He took things from others saying, “I am the most beautiful. I should have what I want.”

The corruption of his ways never once crossed his mind despite the warnings from his family. The gods could take it no longer. They took the bird's beauty away. He was cursed to die in a terrible, sudden way if he did not change his ways and humble his heart.

          The bird, while distraught by his new feathers, was not fazed. He continued to be a mean, terrible bird tormenting members of his family. His fate was coming for him, but he did not heed the warnings, even teaching his children to be as arrogant and selfish as he was.

          One day, as the bird was singing loudly and arrogantly to his family, he was shot. The hunter tip-toed upon him with no sound, no warning. His life ended suddenly, and tragically, just as his curse predicted.

          As the poor little bird took his last few breaths, he sang to his family above, “Let me be an example to you. No longer should you live as I did or you will see the same fate.”

Image of a Mountain Bluebird provided by Wikipedia 

Author’s Note: This story was taken from the introduction of Buck’s Ramayana. In this story, a songbird was going about its day, only to be maliciously killed by a hunter. It was a seemingly insignificant story as a rushed explanation as to how Valmiki became the poet. In the story, Valmiki saw the songbird's death and cursed the hunter. The words he used to curse the hunter came out in the form of a poem, and hence the beginning of his career as the poet of Ramayana. While it seemed that the bird was killed for no apparent reason by the hunter, I took a different approach to the story. I took the story to display a story of birth, death and also the circle of Karma. The bird was born different. He was given a gift of undeniable and incomparable beauty and song. He was exulted far and wide, and he let this interfere with his character. Valmiki only saw half of the story. The bird received warning after warning, but still did not listen. He lived a terrible life, and in turn received a terrible death. Karma and character are two very important aspects of Indian culture, and this story simplified that to the small, seemingly insignificant life of the songbird. I chose this image because it is such a beautiful picture of a wonderful native bird. This image captured the stark beauty of the songbird I was trying to convey through my description. In my story, the songbird's blue feathers were bright and extravagant much like that of the Mountain Bluebird. 

Bibliography: Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.

Week 3 Storytelling: Jatayu and Sampathi.

One evening, Rama and Sita were putting their twin boys to sleep for the night. Being a little restless, the boys asked for bedtime story to ease them into their slumber.

"Let us tell them the story of Jatayu and Sampathi" Suggested Sita, "They need a little reminder of their brotherhood."

“Once upon a time, in a far away land there was a pair of brothers named Jay and Sam,” Began Rama, “The brothers were inseparable. They spent every day together playing, laughing, screaming, fighting….”

“That sounds awfully familiar,” interjected Sita, as the boys let out a giggle.

“These brothers were the best of friends!” Rama continued, “They loved being with each other very much. One day, as they were playing in the field, they saw a bright, bright light off in the distance. ‘What is that light?’ said Jay and Sam almost simultaneously, ‘We should go explore where that light is coming from’ said Sam. So off they went, full of wonder and desire to find the source of this beautiful light.”

“It was a BEAUTIFUL light, unlike anything the boys had ever seen before!” said Sita, taking over the story.

“They journeyed closer and closer to the light, it soon became a competition for them. ‘I’m faster!’ said Jay as he took off running toward the majestic light. ‘No you’re not!’ exclaimed Sam as he came running after his brother.

Suddenly they stopped,” Sita said with a gloomy voice.

“Oh look it’s time for bed!” Rama interjected teasing the boys.

“What happens, mom? Tell us the rest of the story! What happens! What happens” yelled the boys one after another, eager to hear the gloomy terror that faced Jay and Sam.

“Ohh, alright,” said Rama, “I guess we can finish the story”

The boys squirmed in their bed, excited to hear about the fate of Jay and Sam.

“Suddenly, they stopped,” Rama said picking up the story.

“They had approached the light, but this was no ordinary light. It was a huge forest fire. ‘COOL!’ said Jay as he foolishly stared at the raging fire, ‘Let’s go touch it!’

‘No way!’ screamed Sam, ‘Are you crazy?’

But Jay did not listen to Sam, and he approached the fire.

‘I am SO much stronger and faster than you,’ said Jay to Sam, ‘this fire can’t do anything to me.’

‘I’m fast and strong too!’ Sam said, now filled with anger, ‘Let’s race into the fire to really see who’s best.’

Just as they were entering the fire, a fiery branch fell on Jay and burned his arm.” Rama finished.

“Now children,” Sita began, “The reason Jay was burned is because he was selfish, and unkind to his brother. You two need to remember that you always have each other, and to always be kind to each other.”

“Goodnight kids,” Rama said as he kissed each of their foreheads, and they drifted to sleep with the biggest brotherly bond you could ever imagine.

Image of Sita 

Author’s Note: Jatayu and Sampathi who in most versions of Ramayana were birds, who would compete in their youth to see who could fly closest to the sun. In the original story, one of the brothers flew too close to the sun and his feathers were burned, however the shade of his wings saved his brother. I took the suggestion of making their story into a simplified bedtime story which has a huge moral for Rama and Sita’s twin boys. In my story, the twins too, are often competitive and often let their rivalry get the best of them. Rama and Sita take turns telling the story of how a sibling rivalry can lead to huge ramifications. I made major changes to the original story, and renamed Jatayu as Jay and Sampathi as Sam, in order to simplify the story.  The dialogue of the twins interjections were added in order to make the story more realistic, as if Rama and Sita really were telling their kids a bedtime story. Another change I made was the addition of a burning fire instead of flying toward the sun that caused the boy’s injury. Yet, the story came together in the end to have a lesson that is very important in competing siblings: be kind to one another. I really liked the image I chose. While I may not have used it for its original purpose, the image showed Sita in a maternal role, holding the hand of one of her sons. 

Bibliography: 

• Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.

Week 2 Storytelling: Ahalya's Story.. With a Modern Twist

"What a wonderful day!" Ahalya exlaimed as she walked outside for a bit of fresh air. 

"Nothing could possibly go wrong!" she thought as she walked through the town. 

Ahalya had a seemingly normal day. She did her chores, she worked in her garden, did some shopping. It was a beautiful, calm day. Her life was fantastic. In fact she thought she could live this way forever.

One day as she was wandering through the market she met this beautiful man Gautama. Well technically her dad met this wonderful man, but that did not matter to Ahalya. She thought he was great!

Time passed and soon enough Gautama and Ahalya were married in the most beautiful wedding across the land. Every member of the town admired her beautiful dress, and the wonderful flowers. Each woman wished that someday she too could experience such beauty.

Time persisted, and Ahalya and Gautama had a wonderful time together. His life was great, her life great, everything was great... except for her stalker Indra. Indra, you see had always been OBSESSED with Ahalya. He would never leave her alone! Even after she was married!

“Why can’t he understand that I love my husband!” thought Ahalya after the 15^th call Indra made to her that day. 

“I want to live in peace with my wonderful husband!”

Indra simply was not ever going to take no for an answer desperately he searched his mind to find a way for Ahalya to love him, the way he loved her.

“I've got it!” he said aloud, startling his cat. “I will disguise myself to be Gautama! It is a flawless plan!”

So off he went to Ahalya’s house, wearing a thick coat and a large hat. Luckily for him it was the middle of winter.

“I’m hooome!” Indra said as he walked into the kitchen.

“OH! I have missed you today!” said Ahalya as she planted a kiss on his cheek.

“This is working perfectly!!!” thought Indra as he continued his scheme of deceit.

“Why don’t you take off that coat?” said Ahalya “It’s warm in here!”

“OHHH no. I’m rather chilly.” said  Indra in hopes not to blow his cover.

“Whatever.” She replied

The evening went on as they had dinner and prepared for bed. Indra could not believe this was working so well.

They were just getting into bed when….

“I’m hooome! Sorry I am la-…” began Gautama when he discovered this man in his bed.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Cried Gautama, “Where you about to SLEEP with him?!”

Ahalya had never been more confused. In walked her husband while she was with….

“INDRA!” she exclaimed.

“Get out!” cried Gautama, “You CHEATED on me.”

Off she went banished from her wonderful life to live in a cave. She was so lonely, and so depressed that she let herself go. In fact everyone who ever saw her said she began to look like the rocks she lived among….

Image of Ahalya
(Wikipedia)

Author's Note: This story was inspired by Ahalya's Story, but from quite a different view point. Ahalya's story was a side story in Ramayan by Narayan of a woman who was turned into a stone after cheating on her husband Gutama with Indra. She was deceived by Indra, yet still punished to become a stone until Rama came across her. I chose to write about this story because it seemed like it was a bit of an unfair situation. While Ahalya eventually did realize that the man that claimed to be her husband was indeed Indra, she was still was tricked, and this story is a modernized dialogue of the story from her viewpoint. The original story was told from an omniscient viewpoint of sorts. There was not a vast amount of detail, and the style in which it was written had a “matter-of-fact” feel. To me, the story lacked emotion and personality so by adding dialogue between each of the characters, I hoped to make the story more relateable and personable. I changed a few facts, such as Ahalya actually turning into stone to ease the consequence. After all, cursed to be a stone for in indeterminate amount of time is a little harsh. I also added a bit of humor to the story in order to make it more interesting and fun. 

Bibliography:  Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.

Week 1 Storytelling: Greedy King Frank

“THE King of France went up the hill,
With twenty thousand men;
The King of France came down the hill,
And ne'er went up again.”

There once was a King named Frank that ruled France. Like most Kings, his greed often got the best of him. Born from a long line of royalty, I guess you could say this king was also pretty spoiled. The Kingdom was calm, all was well. No one seemed to question Frank, or his ruling. At least that is what he thought. Frank spent his days basking in his own glory, reminding everyone around him just how wonderful, and magnificent he was.

Frank was also sort of self-absorbed. There were mirrors in every room of his castle. It almost seemed as if he wanted to surround himself…. With himself…

“I am SO handsome!” Frank would say, as he glanced in every mirror hung upon the walls of his castle. His house maids soon began to wonder if there was ever going to be a single surface of the wall uncovered with these vast mirrors, that of course he always wanted cleaned to perfection.

Frank had a very simple life. He stayed in his castle, with the idea that all was well, and the country adored him, as he sat upon his throne staring at himself.

However, like most self absorbed people, Frank was completely unaware of the great disaster going on within his home village! Famine had struck, and times were hard. The people had been wondering if moving from this village was the solution to the issue.

More years passed, and the famine grew, causing great despair as King Frank sat upon his throne…. you guessed it, still staring in the mirror at himself.

“We must move, and suffer no more.” said a brave soul in the city center. This lone voice was all the people needed to take the plunge to move.

As the townsmen packed their things and prepared for the journey up the hill to a better location, word finally traveled to the self absorbed King Frank.

“The people cannot leave without me!” he exclaimed as he discovered this tragedy. Who was to bask in his beauty!

“I am coming with them. We will build a new castle upon the hill.” He said to himself in the mirror.

King Frank began to pack his things, ready to move up the hill with his townspeople. Yet it soon dawned upon him: how will I get all my mirrors to the top of the hill!

“THE King of France went up the hill,
With twenty thousand men;

Upon this realization, King Frank, being the selfish king he was, enlisted the “help” of his townspeople.

“Each member of the town must a mirror up the hill!” He declared, to the town.

The townspeople were reluctant to help such a selfish king, but they decided that this was not the battle to choose. Famine was upon them, and they needed to leave the town.

So, up the hill they went, each member carrying a mirror. Days went by as the King continued to stare in his hand held mirror as his carriage pulled him along his journey. Finally, they reached the top of the hill, and it was more than they had imagined! The land was a paradise! Water was clear, fruit was plentiful, and things were looking up!

A few years passed, as the town thrived. People were happy, and everything seemed to be going well… That is until the greedy king found a new obsession.

Frank, in his old age no longer saw himself to be as handsome as he once was, and because of that he was forced to find a new obsession: other people’s things. After all, he was King! He had the right to whatever he wanted! So on he went taking whatever he pleased from whoever he wanted.

The people were outraged. A self-obsessed king they could handle, a robber, not so much. They came together in unity to banish the king. Even his own family did not defend him.

The King of France came down the hill,
And ne'er went up again.”

Down to the famished valley they banished him, never to think of King Frank, or his mirrors again. 

( King Frank)

Authors Note: This story was based on a Nursery Rhyme. This Nursery Rhyme came from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke (1897). This story is a bit of a morality story like all the others I am sure we have read throughout our childhood. There was a selfish, greedy king that thought he was doing nothing wrong. He's King!  Eventually however, he was exiled from his own town because he was just that selfish.