There once was a king who's land had fallen into a tretcherous despair. The land was not producing crops and the people had become poor and famished. The king was unhappy and hated to see his people in suffering so he went to the wise old owl who lived right outside the city gates.
The owl told the king that his land had fallen into despair becuase of their wickedness but that they still had hope for redemption. The owl commanded the king to bring his 3 best soldiers out to the city gates. Once there, the owl instructed them to each take a cistern of water and to head west. Once the men had run out of thier water that was were they would find a solution to the problem. As each man runs out of water he is to return home to the king. At last the king will have a solution.
As they set out, it was a terribly hot time of year and the first soldier drank up his water within a days time. The spot in which he landed was full of mulberry trees. At this discovery he quickly returned home to the king. The next man ran out of water early on the second day in a pasture full of cattle. He then ran all the way home. The last and final man ran out of water later that afternoon, and to his suprise there appeared a great trove of precious metals. Then he too returned home to the king.
Upon hearing of all the great treasures his men found, the king gathered up many men and went out to bring home all these things to help bring his people back into fruition.
However, when all the goods were brought back to the king's land, he refused to share with his people. The king became increasingly selfish and wanted to keep all the wealth to himself and lorde it over the people and surrounding cities.
The owl did not like this and in an instance all the belongs the king had were turned to ash. Due to his greed, the king ended up with nothing at all in the end. Not even his kingdom.
Bibliography: Four Rich Persons Who Become Poor, by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi (1801).
Authors Note
In the original story, there are four wealthy men who fall poor and seek advice from a philosopher. The philosopher places a ball on each of thier heads and says to go until it falls off and there they will find thier destiny. The first mans ball falls off and he finds copper and decides to stay there offering his friends to stay as well. They continue on and the second mans ball falls and he discovers silver. The next discovers gold. As each of these events occur they offer their other friends to stay, but gold was not even convincing enough for the fourth man who continued on until his own ball fell. This man ended up finding an iron-mine and was gravely disappointed. The moral of the story being to take the advice of your friends.
Hi Carlee, I love your story. It is very easy to read, and it has a great moral to the story about the consequences of greed. From reading the author's note, the story seems very different from the original, but I definitely prefer your story. I think your story is very creative. One question I had about the story was how the king somehow knew to go to the owl for help. What made the owl so wise and well known? I think it could be cool to add more of a backstory to the King. I assume from the story that he must have cared about the people in his kingdom, but that may not be clear. Was he originally already a corrupt leader and that showed at the end with all of his stuff, or did he change with the items he received which I think the latter is what you are trying to display. It could be a little clearer about that specific area.
ReplyDeleteHey Carlee!
ReplyDeleteI liked the twist that you put on your version of the story. One of my favorite things about this class is seeing how imaginative and different everyone is. I can easily say I would've never thought of the idea that you did, and I'm kinda jealous of that! I love how you had the king talk to an owl to symbolize wisdom; as owls are already a universal symbol of wisdom and prestige, much like a philosopher. I think this representation was really great and easily translated in your story! Along with this, I believe it would've been cool to go further in depth of how the king lost all of his wealth. It felt like the story kind of just ended, so I wish there was more to read. All in all I really enjoyed your twist on the story and retelling such a powerful message! Great job and great storytelling!
- Emma
Hi Carlee! I loved the story and the way you retold it. From what you put in the author's note, it seems like you streamlined the story a bit more by combining the four men into one as the king. I like the way that the story flows. I wonder how the owl had the powers to turn all the king's possessions into ash. And did that mean that the people of the kingdom were left with nothing again? I think it could be really interesting to know a bit more about the specifics. I wonder if there could be a little more detail in the ending. I really enjoyed the story and was invested in how it ended, so the ending just felt a little abrupt after all the development and details up to that point. Overall, it was a really great story, you have a wonderful writing style that made it enjoyable to read!
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