Week 14 Story: John Smith

Spinning Wheel from Wikimedia

There once was a girl with an extraordinary talent. If she concentrated hard enough, she could spin straw into gold. She had kept this a secret for most of her life, only spinning gold when her miller father wasn't bringing in enough money.

One day, however, her father became suspicious of where she was magically getting the money when they most needed it. He started following her closely and investigating her. Finally, after weeks of snooping, he caught her in the act of spinning the straw into gold.

"How could you keep such a thing from me?" he bellowed. "We could be living in riches! I demand you spin us more gold."

"I won't do it! You'll only use the money to get drunk! Or worse!" she argued.

"If you won't spin me gold, then perhaps I could get some gold from the King when he hears of your abilities," he mused.

"Father, no!" she cried, but it was futile. Her father had made up his mind to sell her to the King. They set out to his palace the next day.

Upon arrival, the miller's daughter was thrown into a tower prison cell, and her father was given a fat sack of gold, enough to live on for the rest of his life. In her prison cell, there was a massive pile of straw and a spinning wheel. Reluctantly, she got to work spinning the gold, afraid she would lose her life if she didn't.

For weeks, the miller's daughter was confined to the tower. Finally, after spinning more gold than she could fathom, she fell to the ground in tears. If only she could escape this tower.

Magically, as if summoned by the pleas in her heart, a little man appeared. He had long curly hair and appeared as if he hadn't had a good bath in years.

"I can grant your wish, but what shall you give me in return?" the little man said.

"You can get me out of here?" she asked in disbelief. "All I can give you is the gold I spin."

"I haven't any need for such a thing. I, too, can spin gold. Perhaps... you can give me your firstborn child?" he pondered.

She thought on this for a moment. She didn't really see herself having a future with a husband and children, and this was probably going to be her only opportunity to escape. "Fine, you may have my firstborn child," she finally said aloud.

In the blink of an eye, the miller's daughter was back at home. Her father had abandoned the place, probably in search of a nicer home with his sack of gold coins. This worked well enough for her. Over time, she had the place in proper condition and became a miller herself. She also met a man and married him. Then the fateful day arrived --she had a child.

"I'm here to collect!" the little man piped, suddenly appearing at the foot of the miller's daughter's bed.

"Please, is there any way for us to forget this trade? I never thought I'd have a child when I made our deal!" she begged.

He looked at her with false pity and considered this. After staring at her for a few seconds, he finally said, "Sure, little miss, we can nullify our deal --if you can tell me my name." He laughed slightly at his own proposal.

"Deal. John Smith," she immediately replied.

In a state of shock, the little man started screaming, "How did you know that?? I've never told a soul my name!"

"I simply guessed the most prevalent male name in the villages," she stated. She was starting to look triumphant, surprised her guess was good.

With that, the little man fled the scene and the miller's daughter lived humbly with her husband and child.



Author's note:
I rewrote the story of Rumplestiltskin. In the original, the miller lies and tells the king his daughter can spin gold. When she can't spin it, a little man appears. She trades trinkets for days in order to have the little man spin her straw into gold. On the last day, however, she runs out of things to trade. He offers to take her firstborn child after she becomes Queen, something the King promised her if she could spin some gold one more time. She agrees to this deal but later comes to regret it. The little man offers to break their deal if she can guess his name. She never can guess it, but her guard (or something) overheard the little man celebrating in the woods, shouting his own name. She guesses his name right the next time, and their deal is broken.

In my story, the girl actually can spin gold. Her father sells her, and the little man helps her escape. There is still the trade of a firstborn, but when she goes to guess his name to break the trade, it is just an easily guessable name. It falls apart quickly. I just thought that would be funny to be honest.

Bibliography

Ashliman's Brothers Grimm Tales: Rumplestiltskin

Week 13 Story: The Stuffy-Nosed Wolf

The Stuffy-Nosed Wolf

Wolf from Wikimedia

There once was a mama wolf. She had nearly a dozen pups and couldn't afford to properly raise them all. As soon as her oldest was of age, she put him out in the wild to fend for himself.

Fearing he would never be able to take care of himself, he went from door to door begging for anything that could help him survive. To his dismay, no matter where he went, no one would open the door for him, as he was a wolf. They were scared of him and refused to help him. Sometimes he managed to find sustenance, but things were looking dim.

One day, he came across a house made of straw. Out of curiosity, he went up to the house to see what kind of creature would live in a straw house. When he looked through the window, he saw a pig. Thinking the pig might have some kindness in his heart, he knocked on the pig's door.

"Hello, little pig. I am a wolf looking for any sort of help you can offer me. I am hungry and cold with nothing to my name," he hollered through the door. 

"Get out of here, you wolf. I won't help a predator," the pig snapped back. 

Suddenly, the wolf's nose started to tickle. It appeared that he was allergic to the straw. "Are you sure there is nothing you can--," he started to say before suddenly he let out a giant sneeze. All at once, the entire house collapsed with the strength of his breath and fell on top of the pig. The wolf tried to save the poor thing, but it was too late.

Saddened by the death of the pig in the straw house, the wolf decided to move on to look for anyone with pity in their heart. Curiously enough, the next house he saw was a house made of flowers. Perhaps the type of person who'd build such a beautiful house would be kind and give him some food. To his amazement, he saw another pig inside the house.

"Hello, little pig. I am a wolf looking for any sort of help you can offer me. I am hungry and cold with nothing to my name," he hollered through the door exactly as he did at this first pig's house.

"A wolf?" the pig cried out in fear. "I can't let you in! You might eat me." After that, the wolf heard the sliding of a deadbolt in the door, keeping him firmly out.

"Please, can you not find it in your heart to--," he began to plead when his nose started to itch, similarly to how it did with the straw. He must also be allergic to the flowers this house was made of. Before her could control it, he sneezed and the house fell to the ground with the pig in it. Feeling guilty, he fled the scene.

After wandering the path for a long time, the wolf finally saw a house made of brick. Surely he couldn't be allergic to brick. He walked up to the house, looked in the window, and saw yet another pig.

"Hello, little pig. I am a wolf looking for any sort of help you can offer me. I am hungry and cold with nothing to my name," he hollered for a third time. Hopefully the pig in this house would be benevolent, unlike the others.

"Oh no, you poor thing. Tell me what happened and perhaps I'll let you in," the pig responded through the door. With that, the wolf told the pig everything that had happened to him.

Just when he was at the end of his story, his nose started to twitch. What could he be allergic to this time? He looked around and saw that there was a flower bush next the the door, with flowers similar to the ones the second house was made of. Before he could stop himself, he sneezed another large sneeze. To his shock, however, the house stood strong.

"Your story has touched my heart, dear wolf. I'll let you in and we can enjoy a nice bowl of soup together. I even have some allergy medicine," the pig said. The wolf thanked the pig many times and they lived happily together from that point on.


Author's Note: I decided to take the very popular story of the Three Little Pigs and make it all about the wolf. In the original, the the pigs' mom sent them to live on their own, so I gave the wolf a similar background. Then, instead of going to each house to eat the pigs, he is just asking for food. Also, instead of trying to blow the houses down to eat the pigs, he just has allergies and the houses falling kills the pigs. At the end, instead of the pig eating the wolf, they become friends.

Bibliography

The Story of the Three Little Pigs from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Week 11 Story: The Yellow Bird and the Red Coyote

Coyote from Pexels

There once was a pretty yellow bird who was surrounded by other pretty yellow birds all day long. While he could appreciate his own beauty, he was bored with the same old, same old. Once day he and his best friend, another little yellow bird, were perched on a little branch in a tall, narrow tree.

"Say, why do you think it is that we are all yellow?" he asked his friend. "I've never seen another color bird in my life. Surely there are other colored birds."

"I've never thought about it before," his friend replied. "I do love being yellow though! Isn't it just the best color?" he piped in a singsong voice. The bird examined his friend and could see that he truly meant it; he loved being yellow.

At that point, the bird started to think something was wrong with him. Why did he feel so blue about being the color yellow? At that thought, a light bulb metaphorically popped up above his head. Maybe blue was more his color.

Per chance, there happened to be a coyote prowling below the tree where the two little birds sat. She was hunting some other prey, but became interested in the conversation between the yellow birds. She started to ask herself a similar question. Why was she red? She'd like to be a different color too.

"Hey, little bird!" she howled from the base of the tree.

"Yes?" he responded in a tiny voice. Usually talking with coyotes was a sure sign of trouble to come. They were a predator who hunted the yellow birds.

"You've made me consider why I am the color I am. Why don't we go find a way for us to change colors together?" she asked sincerely. She could protect the little bird, and the bird could use his flying to help scope out ways to change color.

After pondering it for some time, the bird agreed. He said his goodbyes to his friend, and before sunset, the coyote and the yellow bird were on their way.

Around three days into the trip, the coyote and the yellow bird happened to come across a wise old tortoise. They told the tortoise of their adventure, and to their surprise, the tortoise knew of a way the two could change color. He had heard of a lake, just two days across the hill, that had magical abilities. If they bathed in it three times a day, for a week, while singing a special song, they could change into any color they so desired.

After hearing this wonderful piece of news, the yellow bird and the coyote set out for the lake. Once they found the lake, the did as they were instructed. Within a week, they could feel the magical powers of the lake finally filling them with confidence. When they stepped out of the lake for the final time, the yellow bird was missing his feathers and the coyote was missing her fur.

"What do we do now, little bird?" the coyote asked nervously. What if their fur and feathers didn't grow back?

"Well, now we think hard about what color we want to be of course!" he replied with confidence. At that, the bird wished to be blue and the coyote wished to be grey. They wished as hard as they could, with their eyes squeezed shut.

When they opened their eyes, they were pleased with what they saw. The bird was now a magnificent royal blue and the coyote was a cool dusty grey. Having got what they wanted, they went their separate ways. The bird returned home, met with fame over his new color, and the coyote went back to prowling, with greater success now that she blended in with the brush.



Author's note: This story is heavily based on the story How Bluebird and Coyote Got Their Colors. The original is rather short, lacking many concrete details. Before, the bird turns blue first after bathing four times a day for four days in this magical lake while singing a song. The coyote wants to be blue too, and follows the ritual the bird described, but when he went on his way, he fell into dirt and the blue color was lost. In my version, I changed it so that the bird is yellow, rather than some ugly color. He is beautiful already! But he wants more. I also made the coyote a girl, purely so pronouns would get mixed up. I am kind of bad with ambiguous pronouns (lol). Then, I had them go on this color changing adventure together. Also, they desire to be different colors. Basically, I made the story a lot longer and changed a few key details. But it is mostly the same story. Also, forgive me if the coyote picture is of a male. I have no idea how to tell (lol), just pretend she is a girl. Also, is it even a coyote? I kept finding wolf pictures. Ugh, I don't know wild life very well.

Bibliography

How Bluebird and Coyote Got Their Colors from Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson (1912)

Week 10 Story: The Girl and Moon

Landscape from Wikimedia

Once upon a time, there was a young girl who wanted to prove herself. Her tribe required that all the young people provide some gift or resource to its people before they could be considered adults. Her own coming of age day was soon arriving, but she had yet to think of what she could contribute to the tribe.

Three nights before she was to show up to the ceremony and bring her contribution, she sat upon a tall hill contemplating the sky. "What could my people possibly need?" she thought out loud to herself. "We are so prosperous already." She locked eyes with the moon while making this consideration when suddenly she felt herself being pulled by something strong. The pressure of the pull was so strong, she felt the need to close her eyes and cross her arms over her body.

When the pressure ceased, she slowly untwined her arms and opened her eyes. She could not believe was she was seeing. The great green plains were no longer in front of her. What she saw instead was a man and his wife, sitting in a pair of rocking chairs. The land around them was grey and rocky, lacking any sign of life.

"Who are you?" she asked cautiously.

"My name is Moon, and this is my wife Sun. You have heard of us, I presume?" he responded calmly.

"Of course, but I never knew you two were anything more than objects in my people's sky. How extraordinary!" She wasn't able to say much more than that in response to their presence.

"Extraordinary indeed," he pondered. "But I did not bring you here for such flattery. You made a wish in your heart. How may I grant it?"

"Well, Moon, I will soon be coming of age. I need a gift for my people, or my ceremony will be delayed. I need some contribution or else my parents will be disappointed, and I will be ostracized," the girl replied in strength.

Moon stared at her before taking his wife's hand and slowly rising from his rocking chair. He strode past the girl and said, "Follow me. I believe I know what we can do for that contribution of yours."

Doing as she was instructed, she followed Moon and Sun. They were each much taller than she had realized, with both being at least six and a half feet. Each also had incredibly long brown hair. She couldn't help but admire them as she walked behind them. She was only a mere five feet tall, and here hair never could seem to grow past her shoulder blades. All too soon, they had reached their destination and the girl came to a halt.

"Here I house a number of unique animals. Pick two for your people, and your contribution will be twice as great. Surely no one could be disappointed then," he said with a smile. He spoke with such a calming and wise voice that the girl was mesmerized.

"Then I will take two animals that could provide us with food, clothing, and fuel. I'd like two highly resourceful animals," she decided in an instant. Even if her tribe was prosperous, there were often times when food just didn't come through and the people went hungry.

"If that is the case, then I will provide you with the deer and the seal. Both are capable of giving you everything you desire." With that, he swept his hand across the sky, and the two animals were brought to him. He touched each animal on the head gently, saying his goodbyes. Suddenly, the deer and seal became figurines. Moon gingerly placed them into a leather pouch. "Here, take this with you. When you are at your ceremony, give this to your parents. They will open the pouch and see the gift you have given them. Once the pouch is opened, the wild will be populated. Tell them of what has happened here and they will believe you."

She took it from Moon's hand and thanked him profusely. Before she could say more than a few words of thanks to Sun as well, she felt another strong pull on her body. This time when she opened her eyes, she was back upon her hill, with miles of grass ahead of her. When she looked in her hand, she saw the pouch and knew all would be well.


Author's note: If you hadn't caught on, this story is heavily based on the story of The Man in the Moon from the legends of British North America. The original recipient of the animals was a man, an Eskimo to be exact. He was taken to the moon of his own free will, with his guardian spirit taking him there. There he met Moon, who was married to Sun and had a dog. The Moon offered the man an animal and a seal, and each dropped down to the Earth once chosen. The original does not seem to have many details, so I added them in. I made the protagonist a teenage girl from some unknown tribe since I am not very educated in the specifics of any one tribe. I also added dialogue! Either way, in each story, people are gifted a deer and a seal by the moon.

Bibliography

The Man in the Moon from Judson's Myths and Legends of British North America

Week 9 Story: The Tailless Cat

Tailless cat from Wikimedia

There once was a cat who was known to prowl around a village. No one knew who owned the cat, only that it walked around with an air of importance. The assumption was that this cat belonged to one of the wealthier and more well-off villagers who lived just beyond the hill, but no one had been able to confirm or deny it.

On the other side of the town, further away than even the elite, was a poor widow with her two children. She often did laundry for those who could afford to pay her, but she mostly earned money through foraging. Her daughter and son would often help her by selling off the wild roots and berries in the Townsquare. They also carried laundry to and froe and did any of the shopping that needed to be done. The woman rarely stepped foot into the town if she didn't have to.

Because of her lack of socialization, the woman had never heard of the infamous cat. One day, however, this cat found its way to her doorstep. Whether the cat was lost or sought her out specifically is unknown, but she welcomed the little cat into her cottage without a second thought.

"Why, hello there, little kitty. You're a handsome fella aren't ya?" she cooed while petting behind its ears. "I bet you are just starving. Lucky for you, I just started cooking supper. How does fish sound?"

She was completely enamored by the cat and took quite a liking to it. One could even say that she took this cat to be her new pet. The longer the cat stayed with her, the more affection she felt for it. She started calling it by the name Fella and was always looking for new ways to entertain him.

Her son was also quite fond of the cat, always excited to play around with him when he had the chance. "C'mon Fella, chase the string," he would excitedly tell the cat. He could play with that cat for hours and never be bored.

The woman's daughter, on the other hand, was not quite so fond of the cat. She was jealous that this cat had taken her mother and brother's love and attention away from her. Every hour, every minute, and every second they spent with that cat was another strain on the daughter's nerves. One day, she just couldn't stand it any longer.

"You ugly little cat, I will get you if it is the last thing I do," she whispered to him one evening. "Just you wait. While brother is selling in the town and mother is washing outside, I will get you."

It took a few days, but at last, the daughter was alone with the cat. She pulled a pair of the garden scissors from the table and lunged for it. Unfortunately for her, all she could manage to do was cut the cat's tail off as it ran out the door. When the mother and brother returned to the house, she made up a tale of how Fella was pawing at the door, and as soon as she opened it, he just ran. The two were sad to hear it but moved on with their lives. The daughter was quite happy with herself.

Sometime later, the mother decided to make a rare trip to town. It was there that she met a homeless man who was missing a leg. Taking pity on him, she decided to offer to feed and clothe him. The poor man had never had someone take an interest in him before. He allowed her to spoil him a little and then let her in on a little secret.

"You know," he started slowly. "Once upon a time, I went by the name Fella." This got the woman's attention. She looked at him closely and then burst into tears. She could see the same sparkle in his eyes and she did in her long-lost cat.

"What happened to you? I was so worried! Come back home with me, I am sure my son and daughter would be delighted to see you again," she wailed. At some point, she had starting hugging the man, and he pats her back as she cried.

"I cannot go with you, for it was your daughter who hurt me to start with," he said as he raised the part of his leg that remained. "But for your pure and kind heart, I will offer you a gift. A way to change that little girl of yours into a better person." He handed her a little vial, with gold liquid in it.

From there, she thanked Fella and ran home. She knew she would see him again, but she needed to deal with her daughter. When she walked through the front door of their cottage, she saw her daughter, staring out the back window.

"Here, daughter, I have a gift for you," she said calmly. She placed the vial in her hand and took a step back. She instructed her to drink from it, and the daughter did so. The change was almost immediate. Her skin brightened, her posture straightened, and her smile widened. The potion had done it's magic --she was now just a harmless little girl and all was well.



Author's note:

I based this off of the story of the split-tongued sparrow from the Japanese fairy tales as told by Lang. In this story, a little bird is found by this sweet little man. He takes care of it, but his greedy wife hates the thing. While he is gone one day, she tries to kill the bird, but only manages to slit its tongue. The man ends up meeting this woman one day, and it turns out to be the bird. They have a nice evening, and she offers him a big or small gift. He takes the small one, thinking he can hide it better from his wife. When he gets home, however, she sees it and demands he opens it. It is full of awesome treasures. She becomes angry that her husband didn't take the big gift, so she decides to go get it herself. Inside the big gift, however, was serpents who eat and killed her.

I changed a lot of the basic story, but the premise is still really similar. The major change was that I didn't have the daughter punished in the end, but changed for the better. Killing her would break the mother's heart, so I created a situation where everyone wins. Mother and brother keep their family member and the cat/man can be assured she won't hurt anyone else.

Bibliography

Japanese Fairy Tales retold by Lang

Week 6 Story: A Witch's Revenge

Witch from Pixabay

There once was a powerful witch who lived in a cottage on the top of the tallest hill in her village. Not only was she the most powerful witch in the region, the common people all respected her for it. They knew she was of great power and knew not to mess with her. 

Once, her lover tried to manipulate her into granting him all of his desires, but she quickly caught on. She made an example of him, forever searing the vastness of her power into the villagers' minds. She killed him, as well as a number of animals, and displayed his body down in the village square. So while the villagers thought she was magnificent, they also knew she could be terrifying.

The witch did her best to move on from her heartbreak and met a villager who made her swoon. He was chivalrous and valiant. They were to be married and his sister was to help plan the entire engagement. There was another villager, a woman, who was head over heels in love with the man and was very unhappy to hear that this horrible witch was going to steal him from her. 

She devised a devious plan to stop this wedding once and for all. If the witch believed that the man was cheating on her, she would be so upset that she would call off the wedding. This was a simple villager, however, and she failed to see what would happen when she went through with this plan. The witch wouldn't just leave the man, she would destroy him.

When the witch heard the rumors, she was furious. How could she be fooled twice? She knew that this time, she needed to be very clear where she stood and make him a public spectacle. She stormed down to the town square to announce her intentions. What she was not prepared for, though, was that the man's sister would offer to take his place. Confused by this development, the witch saw that she could use this moment to coyly make an example of two people. 

She agreed, and the sister was swiftly locked away in the witches cottage, where she was being prepped for torture. This sister was quite smart and took this opportunity to sweet talk the witch. If she could make the witch fall in love with her, perhaps neither she nor her brother would have to be killed. Each night, she was able to extend her night through clever flirtatious jokes and heartfelt conversations. Over time, the witch realized she could not kill someone she felt so connected to. The sister and the brother lived to tell the story, and the witch had her happy ever after with the girl.

Author's Note: 

So, this is loosely based on Arabian Nights. I used the whole concept of being distracting to get out of death after the person in power feels wronged. I can't really explain why I took this route... the story sort of wrote itself. I'm sorry this author's note is so sad. In the original, the woman tells the Sultan a story every night in order to delay being killed by him.

Bibliography

Arabian Nights translated by Andrew Lang

Week 4 Story: The Ladybug and the Wasp

The Tortoise and the Ducks from Wikimedia

There once was a ladybug who rather enjoyed being in the spotlight. In her loveliness of ladybugs, the more spots a female ladybug has, the greater her popularity. This poor ladybug, despite her aspirations for greatness, had hardly any spots at all. All her sisters, on the other hand, had many spots and were able to garner attention from the male ladybugs on a large scale. The received all the marriage proposals and starred in all the great shows in the loveliness of ladybugs. This lack of attention made the ladybug quite upset and led her to doing something drastic in order to obtain more spots.

So as to increase her number of spots, the ladybug decided to go on an adventure. She thought that she could perhaps find someone or something who could help her gather more spots or make it appear that she had. She was crawling along a leaf in the midst of her travels when a wasp zipped along her field of view. The wasp had not yet seen the ladybug, yet she trembled in fear. Wasps were known to prey on ladybugs, and all the ladybugs in her loveliness had warned her not to go out alone on the off chance she met a wasp. She tried to crawl back down the leaf, out of sight, when the wasp spotted her.

"Hello, little ladybug. I see you are all alone. Have you been banished from your loveliness by your fellow ladybugs?" the wasp asked coolly. She darted back and forth quickly, encompassing the little ladybug.

"I have not been banished! I am merely on an adventure to obtain more spots," the frightened ladybug blurted out. She had no methods of escape at this point, and decided to be honest.

"What a coincidence, little ladybug. I just so happen to know a way you can easily have more spots. Would you like to hear of it?" she buzzed with a sweet, yet sour tone to her voice.

Feeling rather cautious, but also curious, the ladybug replied, "If you are willing to share your wisdom, I shall take it."

The devilish wasp was delighted to hear this, and thus told her how she could garner more spots. "Little ladybug, do you see this pointer on my backside? It is just the right size to decorate your body with more spots if I just dip it in a little ink. Would you like me to do this for you? It shall be quick and easy."

The young ladybug knew that wasps were dangerous, but did not know how, so she was ignorant to the lethal nature of that wasp's pointer. Due to this ignorance, she agreed after pondering it for a bit. "If you would be so kind, I'll take up your offer."

From that point, the ladybug was doomed. The wasp did as she offered, but the little ladybug did not end up with more spots. She unfortunately suffered the cruel fate of death, as the wasp stung her repeatedly and promptly ate her remains. Not even in her death did she receive the kind of attention she wanted.

"Foolish curiosity and vanity often lead to misfortune".





Author's note: 

I based this little story off of one of Aesop's fables. It is loosely based on the fable "The Tortoise and the Ducks," or more specifically, the moral of that story, which I included at the end of my story. In Aesop's fable, a tortoise wants to be able to leave his home and see the world, but cannot since he is attached to his home (shell). Ducks offer to carry him, but tell him to keep his mouth closed on the stick they use to carry him, or he might fall. One duck compliments him, stirring his vanity and causing him to let go of the stick and fall to his death.

In my story, the lady bug, in a vain attempt at gathering more spots, gives into her curiosity and meets a cruel fate at the hands of the wasp. Therefore, "foolish curiosity and vanity often lead to misfortune." Furthermore, I noticed most of the stories from Aesop's Fables were told from the perspectives of animals, so in the same realm, I went with insects.

As a bit of research for this story, I looked up what a group of ladybugs was and saw that it was called a "loveliness," which I found so adorable. On the other hand. I didn't look up if wasps sting their prey. Let's pretend they do for the sake of my story!

Finally, you may have noticed that this reading is quite easy to follow and uses little advanced vocabulary. I purposely wrote it as a child's tale to mimic the writing style from Aesop's Fables. Because it is a story with a moral, it should be easy to understand. Don't trust strangers just because they promise you something you desire!

Bibliography

Aesop's Fables by Winter 

Week 2 Story: The Warlock and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast from Wikimedia

Once upon a time, there was a warlock who was known for giving gifts to those most deserving. He would travel far and wide just to find the perfect recipient. He often granted wishes as part of his gift. Sometimes he even changed reality to sooth the person's regrets. The thing that was certain, however, was that he changed people's lives for the better.

On one fateful day, the warlock came across a gorgeous but heinous woman who came from old money. She was used to gettings things with her charm and money, but it was rare for her to ever be giving. The warlock was immune to her charm and money, however, because he had no need for such things. He asked for her to prove herself to be worthy of his gifts, already knowing how she would respond. 

"I could give you any piece of land you so desire," she mused. She did indeed own quite a bit of land, among other things. Her lineage was quite impressive.

"I don't particularly desire any piece of land," he responded. "The only thing I desire from you is an act of selflessness." 

"Selflessness?" she asked with astonishment. "How could you only want something so simple from me? I have riches you could take if only you would award me the gift." 

The warlock studied her and made a decision that would change her life. "If all you can offer me are riches, I can offer you a gift, but it will likely be a gift you were not hoping for." Of course, the woman readily accepted this. All she wanted was to receive something. She'd didn't mind offering something she was in excess of to get something she knew she'd never have otherwise.

With a bang of light, the woman's reality was drastically changed. Not only did she lose her riches, she lost her charm. Where she used to have smooth, beautiful skin, she now had warts and sores. Where she was strong, she was now weak. Her hair was even affected. The beautiful auburn became a dirty yellow. 

"How could this ever be considered a gift?" she wailed. "All you've done is take everything away from me! You've given me nothing!" She collapsed to the floor in a dramatic fashion, sobbing.

"You only see the surface of my gift. If you look deeper, one day you will see how this is a gift, and at that moment, you will be freed from this new reality," the warlock explained. If she could manage to become a truly selfless person and learn to care for someone despite her circumstances, perhaps then she would become a better version of what she once was.

Now, all the warlock could do was wait and see how she does. He was accustomed to this wait and quite enjoyed watching the events unfold. He already knew she would one day be able to reverse his gift, so all he had to do was keep watch over her and enjoy the show. How was she the most deserving of this gift you ask? Only the warlock will ever know.




Authors note: So if you couldn't tell, this is a twist on the classic story of Beauty and the Beast. I decided to tell this story from the story of the witch who curses the beast, but I also gender-flipped everyone, so instead, it was a warlock. From the warlock's perspective, this is a gift rather than a curse... a learning opportunity of sorts. It ends abruptly, however, because this is the warlock's story, not the beauty's or the beast's.

Bibliography

The Three Roses by Josef Baudis