Week 12 Story: The Cowardly, Timid Boy Gets an Apprentice
Figure 1: Coyote Wikipedia
Far away, by a remote village, next to a dark forest, where a
terrible serpent once lived, there was a large oak door. The door burst open as
Jaka dragged a dragon carcass into his house. He began to swiftly butcher the
carcass, cutting off the head, removing the guts, and not cutting the child
sitting on the tail.
Why was there a child sitting
on the tail of Jaka's meal?
Jaka picked up the child and
set him on the counter and then chopped the tail into stakes. He then moved the
child and put away his butcher's knife and took out his filleting knife. Soon,
the slivers of dragon's meat was frying in a stew of spices, cream, and
vegetables. While the food cooked, Jaka began sharpening his legendary lion
claw sword and asked the child.
"Have you ever killed a
dragon?"
"no..."
"Well why not? I killed my
first dragon by the time I was your age."
"I don't want to fight a
dragon, could I have some of your food?"
"NO."
"Why not? I'm
starving."
"Only those who slay
dragons may eat dragons."
Something about his own last
statement crossed Jaka as improper. It was true that everyone should have been
as brave as Jaka, but it was not good to be overbearing in one's demands, and
so he began to devise a plan to push the boy to bravery. He closed his eyes and
meditated, trying his best to think of a solution.
"Perhaps I was too harsh.
How about this? If you act as my lookout, then I will let you eat..."
The child was clearly not listening, having begun digging into Jaka’s
meal before the latter could finish speaking.
"Yes. Definitely. Absolutely.
What were you saying?"
And so, from that day forwards,
the child served as Jaka’s lookout. Every day from dawn to dusk, he left the
house and patrolled the village, looking for signs of intruding monsters. He
learned tracking and pathfinding, as well as basic combat from Jaka.
Seasons came and went, although nobody really noticed; where Jaka
lived, it was always too hot or humid, and the only difference was whether it
was flooding or not. But seasons came and went nonetheless, and soon the time was
close for the child to hunt his first dragon.
More
Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbit
Authors Note
This is an adaptation of "The Foolhardy Wolf", where a lion takes on a wolf as a lookout. In the original story, the wolf goes and tries to fight an elephant and dies, but in this case, the story never reaches that point. The character of Jaka is from my first story, I think I like him too much.
Hey Jenon,
ReplyDeleteI believe I remember reading your first story with the character Jaka. I like where you have taking the character in the context of this retold story. You keep the story lean and to the point, but it spares your reader a hint of sentimentality. Its hard to call Jaka’s change of heart cathartic as it could have been for the lion, but I really like the idea that Jaka can change his mind by practicing meditating and accepting the good in the situation.
Woah that picture of a wolf is really cool! Haha anyways, I like the moral of this story. Bravery is not something that comes natural to most. It takes effort to step out of your comfort zone and face your fears. But I firmly believe growth comes out of being uncomfortable. I like how Jaka taught the child how to face his/her fears. Jaka also taught the kid a lesson about working to earn the food too!
ReplyDeleteHey Jenon,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I absolutely love that picture. Is the sentence "Why was there a child sitting on..." a question that the narrator is asking or is referring to the surprise of Jaka? It was a but confusing.
The statement "Everyday from dawn to dusk, he left the house..." makes it seem as if the boy is repeatedly leaving the house. Maybe it should be worded a bit differently: "Everyday he left the house and from dawn to dusk, he patrolled the village, looking for signs of intruding monsters." or something like that... that may have been a comma splice but I am terrible at fixing those.
I really liked your story and look forward to reading more of your work!