Storytelling Week 12: Greed Makes the World Go 'Round

Gold: Flickr

There are many forces that rule this earth. 

Look around you… do you see all the people who are making excuses and  using their religions for hating and killing each other?  Do you see the greed that surrounds this world?  Do you see the people who waste, while others have to go without?  This is not how it was meant to be. 

The earth was created with an order- a very specific order that was designed to hold its shape… but humans are apparently pretty good at messing things up. 

I am here today to explain to you one of the balances that humans have messed up the most.  This imbalance is the root of many of the problems that exist in our world today.  When the balance between Saraswati and Lakshmi is thrown off it is not easily restored, but that is what humanity will have to do one day. 

Traditionally, Saraswati is the representative of peace, while Lakshmi is the representative of wealth.  They should be held in a balance in life, but people tend to focus only on Lakshmi.  The story says that Saraswati and Lakshmi cannot be kept together at the same time because  humans tend to focus on Lakshmi’s wealth.  Saraswati gets jealous of this attention and she tends to leave, resulting in a focus on just  wealth,  and a feeling of restlessness.  This is the root of the idea that “money cannot buy happiness”.  No matter what you do, if you are only focused on Lakshmi, you will lose sight of Saraswati and you will not be truly happy because there will be no peace. 

Although this one imbalance may seem small, it has big impacts in life.  It not only changes the way you live and your outlook on life, but it affects other balanced relationships in the world.  The story goes that Lakshmi does not like to be alone, so when Saraswati leaves, her not-so-desirable twin Alakshmi shows up to keep her company.  This is problematic because Alakshmi leaves humanity with even more undesirable things in life because she represents all the things that Lakshmi does not- everything that is unwanted. 

For this reason, everyone must eventually make the journey to finding who they are.  Humans will only find happiness and peace when they stop focusing on wealth and money.   

There is no good.  There is no evil.  There is only balance. 

To find that balance, humanity will have to find themselves and find their true importance in life.  The balance will be restored only when people stop the greed and learn to focus on others.  When the balance is restored, you will know.  World hunger will end, people will stop suffering from disease because pharmaceutical companies will work together, everyone will be cared for and loved, there will be no anger or jealousy, all stray animals will have a home, and there will be no war. 

If this seems too idealistic to be true, it is because you are human, and you too have the same outlook on life.  You too are caught in the imbalance of Saraswati and Lakshmi, but fear not, for one day you will be enlightened. 

Author’s note:  This story was based on Pattanaik’s Seven Secrets of Vishnu:  Link to Videos, specifically sections C and D.  In this part of the video series, there was a strong focus on the balance between Lakshmi , Saraswati, and Alakshmi.  I really enjoyed learning about it and it seemed to make a lot of sense to me.  I decided I wanted to write about how it related to the world, but not from a human perspective.  I tried to make the speaker mysterious so that the reader can put in their own idea of who the author is, but I also tried to identify them as someone with great power like a god. 

Week 11 Story planning: A few different ideas

Right vs Wrong: Pixabay

I have a few different ideas this week for story planning.  My story will be based off of Pattanaik's Seven Secrets of Vishnu Link to Videos. 

I liked the idea of Vishnu and Mohini because they are two sides of one god.  It would make a cool story to have them be two personalities from one person.  I could also write up a story about them being twins.  I could use their characteristics and turn them into special talents or superpowers and create a story based off of that. 

Another idea I really liked was based on the story about the man and the fish.  He saved the fish from the water and let it grow big where it was safe, but the story points out that although he saved one creature he did an injustice to another.  This rule of Vishnu is interesting to me because it talks a lot about how humans are the only animals that can empathize and can make moral decisions, and that is what makes us different from other animals.  In this story I could create a place where animals make moral decisions or I could try to envision a world in which humans do not empathize or use their moral compass.  It would depend on which way I took this story, but it could be a scary story, or something with a moral.  If I base it around animals it could be kind of cute and it could be about baby animals trying to figure out the difference between right and wrong. 

I also thought it could be a cool idea to create a story about the balance between Dharma and Adharma.  The two forces are opposite of each other and one basically represents peace between humans and nature and sharing for all, while the other represents greed and destruction.  The two forces could be personified and they could fight which would be interesting to write about.  It could also be kind of comical if I personified them as twins and one is an evil twin.  They would have to run around cleaning up each other’s messes. 

Storytelling Week 10: The King Who Couldn't Stop Gambling

Once upon a time in a fairly small kingdom there lived a king named Max who just couldn’t stop gambling.  His kingdom would have been massive but he just kept betting on things and losing.  Sometimes he won though, which kept his kingdom afloat.  His subjects were pretty used to it, because a lot of crazy things happened as a result of his gambling. 

One day the king went out to his gambling spot and began his usual wagering with other people.  King Max was making all kinds of bets, and mostly losing them that day.  Eventually another king came along to bet with King Max, which was interesting because he usually didn’t get to bet with other kings.  The new king introduced himself as King Ben and he proceeded to describe a predicament that his kingdom was in.  They had a bunch of land, but it wouldn’t grow anything except mushrooms.  All of his subjects were so sick of eating the fungi and they needed a source of food with real nutritional value.  He wagered a bet to King Max and said that if he won he wanted all of the flower pots in the small kingdom and he wanted them filled with rich dirt that he could grow new crops in.  King Max agreed to the bet, as he always did, and they rolled the dice.  King Max lost the bet, and thus all the townspeople had to give up their flowerpots. 

Flower Pot- Pixabay

The next day King Max went to the gambling spot once again.  This time he met with a prince who was there on behalf of his town that had so many cows that they could not feed them all.  It had turned into quite the predicament for the small village, and he wagered with the king to take all of the cows off of his land.  The dice were rolled, and King Max lost once again.  This time, instead of losing something, his town gained thousands of cows, and there ended up being more cows than people in the village when they were done moving them all there.  This was the only way that King Max ever won anything in betting.  He lost almost every bet, but sometimes when people desperately needed to get rid of things, they bet them away, and King Max would take them back to his village. 

The townspeople were used to the craziness that came with being the subjects of the horrible gambler King Max, so they were prepared for almost anything.  The cows were a bit of a surprise, but these people were resourceful and they figured out just what to do.  They went to the town where king Ben lived and they offered him manure for his land to help it grow more good food.  In exchange they said they wanted their flower pots back and they wanted some mushrooms.  King Ben’s problems were solved so he quickly agreed to this solution.  The townspeople then returned to their village and began a thriving milk business where many people would come to buy supplies that came from cows.  The little village soon overcame king Max’s bad luck in gambling by making a good fortune for themselves from what they had available, and the village grew and grew into a thriving kingdom… with a king that still would not stop gambling!

AUTHOR’S NOTE:  This story was based on a part of the Mahabharata Epified Link to Reading Guide and Videos.  I liked the theme of gambling in the story and I thought it would be interesting to twist it and create a new story from it.  I kept the idea of a king doing the gambling so that it would be a person of power, but I changed pretty much everything else in the story so that it was something new. 

Week 9 Storytelling: In the Mind of Arjun

Heart- Pixabay

I never asked for this.  Having like a million brothers has never been easy for me.  Sure, I made my way through everything growing up and it was great to have a bunch of built in friends, but now we are all supposed to marry the same woman?? That just seems crazy to me.  I'm not the only one who thinks that it is weird, either.  The whole town thinks it is so weird that my brothers and I are all marrying one woman.  We have been warned by many about the story of the two brothers who both fell in love with the same woman.  They ended up fighting with each other so much over her that their family was ruined.  I do not want that fate for my brothers and I- and neither do they.  We have decided to take turns with our new wife year by year.  The first year with go to the eldest and then the next and so on. 

The plan went well for a couple of years, but I seem to be the only one who is still not comfortable with the idea.  That's why when the chance to get out of everything came today, I took it.  There was an old man who was living in the forest.  He didn't have much, but some jerk came and stole what little he did.  He came to me and asked for help, but I realized I left my weapon in the room I was not allowed to enter- the room where our wife (well, right now my brother's wife) stayed.  I was not allowed to enter the room when my brother was away because it was seen as breaking the rules that we made, but I had to help this guy.  He had only one great possession, but it was something that could never be replaced!  I decided it would probably be a win-win if I helped him.  I ran and got my weapon from the room- thus changing the course of my life for the next 12 years.  I helped the man from the forest reclaim his items and I returned to tell my brothers what I had done and to tell them I was going to live in the forest.  They weren't happy about it but a promise is a promise so I left that afternoon. 

When I returned to the forest I ran into the man that I helped and he said that we could work together for survival.  He brought me back to a group of sages with whom I lived for the first couple of years.  It wasn't bad, but it still wasn't the life I was looking for.  Living with the group of sages was pretty much just like living with my brothers.  I had to share everything- well not a wife this time, but still! I decided to start exploring a little more every day in search of some way to make my life the best it could be. 

One day it finally happened.  I was searching the forest for all of life's answers when I ran into the most beautiful woman.  I knew I shouldn't marry her because I was technically already married to the wife I shared with my five brothers but I couldn't help myself.  I fell so in love with her that I decided to stay in the forest for the rest of my life.  Although I am no longer living a life in a palace as a prince with my brothers, I am so much happier here.  Instead of having many riches and a few shared relationships, I am rich in relationships and poor in the things that don't matter to me.  Perhaps one day I will go back to visit my family, but I will never return to that life because I have finally found what I was looking for.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  For this story, I used the Mahabharata Epified- Link to Reading Guide as a source for inspiration.  I liked the part of the story about Arjun and his exile to the forest, so I decided to write the story from his perspective.  I twisted the story a little bit and added in the feelings of resentment toward his brothers because he had to share everything.  I also changed the ending because I felt that he should marry the woman in the woods instead of returning home. 

Week 7 Story Planning: The Mahabharata Epified Plans

Space:  Pixabay

Source:  Epified Mahabharata Link to Video

For my next story I want to focus on the rivalry between the five brothers and the one hundred brothers.  I think I want rewrite their backstories with a twist.  It is interesting to me that the 100 brothers were described as demonic and they have a father who is blind and a mother who gave up her sight.  I want to explore why they are presented in an evil way- was it because they were not watched very well as children?  Is it because their father was greedy in wanting to inherit the throne? 

Additionally I would like to explore the backstory of the five brothers.  Are they presented as good just because their fathers were all gods?  What kind of special powers do they have because they were born from gods. It would be fun to develop each character and find out what each one can specialize in. 

This story could be interesting from sci-fi perspective.  The two sets of brothers could be from different planets.  The five brothers could easily be human or they could be descendants of gods from five other planets.  The 100 brothers could all be from the same planet and it could be a dark moon or it could be a planet with an evil god ruling it. 

The family tree in this version of the Mahabharata is much easier to understand, and now that I am following the storyline a little bit better I would like to incorporate this into my story.  I could also incorporate the mothers in the story and they could be from different planets or they could be from some of the same ones.  It would be easy to line up the different heirs to the throne and their families as rulers of different planets in an intergalactic space battle.  I mostly want to focus on the 100 brothers but I think this could be a cool twist. 

Week 6 Story: The Woman With 5 Husbands

We Can Do It:  Wikipedia

Seriously all of my husbands in this life and my past lives have taken me for granted.  They think every woman is weak and absolutely "needs" to be rescued on a regular basis.  In reality, none of them would know what to do without me. I make sure everything works out smoothly for them and they never have a clue.  I've been pretty challenged lately- trying to keep up after five husbands.  Let me explain how I got into this predicament. 

My name is Holly and I have lived a few different lives- though I can only tell you about this one and my most recent past life because that's all I remember.  Basically in my last life, I was promised in marriage to this really gross ugly old lazy man who didn't even make sure I had enough food or clothes.  I was a respectable girl though and I didn't want to bring shame on my family, so I lived with it.  I put up with all of the filth and lack of food and pretty much anything you would want for a decent life.  So anyway at the end of this life, right when the old guy is about to kick the bucket he turns to me and completely transforms into this really attractive rich young guy.  I was like "seriously???".  He told me that this was his true form all along but that for some reason he had to test my honor and whatnot.  He asked what I wanted now that I knew he was an honorable man.  I told him I wanted to be loved by him as if he were five men.  Well- that was a bad choice of words on my part- this stupid guy took what I said literally and now here I am in my next life- literally married to five men. 

It's not all bad- they can be pretty endearing sometimes and all the attention I get is great- but they make SO. MANY. MESSES.  Literally and figuratively.  I have to clean up their messes in the house all the time- but they are also always getting into battles with their weird family members and then I have to go make sure they succeed or else we all look bad.  The latest one had to do with their cousin who is actually a king.  They started a big battle with him about something or other and then I had to go to work.  I went to their castle and met with the queen- she really enjoys having another girl around to talk to so she totally trusted me.  I started setting little things off around the castle generally making people have small quarrels, getting a little bit sick from something I slipped into their food- etc.  I even tried to get some secrets out of the king but he was a really creepy guy and tried to take my clothes.  I'm pretty close with the gods though so they had my back- as much as he pulled on my clothes, more and more material just kept appearing.  Eventually the queen figured out what happened and she got super mad at him but she agreed to let me stay another 13 days.  At the end of that period, my guys all came to attack at the same time.  They did pretty well in the battle since I had started problems in the castle before they got there. 

It can be a bit exhausting trying to keep up with everything but they're my husbands and I love them.  I can't say I want this reincarnation to go on forever but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.  And hey- someone has got to be around to take care of these five crazy guys. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  I was inspired to write this story by Nayaran's Mahabharata.  The story was based on a huge family and the five brothers were exiled to the forest.  I thought the parts about the woman they were all married to was interesting and I wanted to write a story that revolved around her and some of her parts in the story.  She did not have a lot of parts in the original book, but I used the basic plot of her life, her backstory, and the miracle with the cloth form the book, and I modified them. 

Source:  Narayan's Mahabharata:  Link to Reading Guide

Story Planning week 5: The Mahabharata with a Twist

Five Brothers as Superheroes:  Flickr

This week I decided to go with story planning because I am having a harder time following the Mahabharata.  I have had a few ideas from my notes that I want to expand upon.  I want to focus on a small part of the story and turn it into a larger story. 

I really liked the part of the book that described the five brothers.  I could start a story that revolves around them and their adventures.  I found the part where they all married the same girl interesting because in the Ramayana, the men had multiple wives but not vice-versa.  This was an interesting twist, and I thought it could be interesting to highlight that in my story. 

When I googled "five brothers" for my image on this post, this superhero image came up.  I thought it could be an interesting twist if all of the five brothers were superheroes and they were all fighting to save the same damsel in distress.  This could also incorporate the part about the miracle where someone was trying to take her clothes, but they just kept reappearing. 

Perhaps in this idea some of the brothers are heroes and some are villains.  It could be funny to see them fighting back and forth over her, and maybe I could give her a really sassy attitude to where she doesn't even want to be saved in the first place. 

I may not go with the superhero idea, but instead just a modern day idea that focuses on the dress miracle.  Maybe this girl was a nerd and she went to prom and someone pulled the stereotypical drop-a-bucket-of-something-gross-on-the-nerd-girl move.  This girl could find out that she has a secret talent for making magic dresses that always appear when you need them.  She could open a store and help lots of other girls who are picked on and nobody would know what was going on. 

These are a few of my ideas so far, but hopefully the second half of the book will add to them.  I hope I can get a good story out of the Mahabharata.  I was pretty proud of some of my stories from the Ramayana, so hopefully this one will turn out good too!

Source:  Nayaran's Mahabharata:  Link to Reading Guide

Week 4 Story: Rama's Regret

Sita in the 1920's Wiki

He was the stereotypical tall dark and handsome... and I fell in love with him.  It ended up being the stupidest choice of my entire life.  He turned out to be the biggest jerk you could ever imagine.  Wanna hear the story?  Here goes...

I was living in a big city, pursuing my dreams as a flapper girl dancer at the local Speakeasy.  It wasn't the most honorable life, but I kept my values and I loved the glamour of the lifestyle... and hey it was an easy job that was new and empowering to women my age.  I met a lot of guys... but Rama... he was different from the first time I met him.  I fell madly in love with him, following him everywhere, and slowly losing myself.  I always considered myself a strong and independent woman, but when I was with Rama I found myself depending on him for everything.  I was so in love with him that my life starting revolving around whatever he wanted. 

We were together for quite a while, but he never talked about us getting married.  I didn't want to give up my glamorous lifestyle and he disapproved of it secretly.  I found this out the day that I told him I was pregnant with his child.  He didn't believe me.  He told me he loved me but we could never be together because he didn't trust me because of my job.  He was quite an affluent man, and he didn't want to ruin his reputation by marrying me.  So he told me to leave. 

I had nowhere to go because I had become so dependent on Rama.  I would soon lose my job due to my pregnancy, and it was definitely frowned upon to be in my situation during this time.  I took all the money I had and bought a small apartment in a sketchy part of town.  I kept my job for as long as I could, and saved everything up in my apartment, because it wasn't much and I didn't care for banks. 

I had the babies... twins and moved on with my life.  I started out as a secretary for an up and coming business and my life slowly started to turn around.  I worked my way up the chain and now I am making more money than Rama ever did, I fell in love even harder than before, got married, and I have been raising my boys happily with my new husband...but that's not the end of the story just yet. 

The other day Rama decided to try to find me.  As it turns out, he lost all of his fortune in the great depression.  He has been miserable ever since, never being able to regain his money or status even when the economy recovered.  He contacted me to try to convince me that he had made a mistake and wanted me back.  When I said no, he went for custody of the boys... which was obviously shot down immediately by the courts since I have a stable family, have raised the boys since the beginning, and I make more money than he ever will again. 

Maybe I should feel bad for this miserable man, but I don't.  He had no compassion for me when I was carrying his children, so he can go enjoy what's left of his unhappy life.  As for me, I'm the happiest woman in the world.  I'm Sita, the queen of the big city, the girl who overcame the selfishness of Rama, and the woman who regained her strength and independence. 



AUTHOR'S NOTE:  This story was based upon Nina Paley's version of the Ramayana: Sita Sings the Blues, which can be found here.  I twisted the story to be about the relationship between Rama and Sita, and I made Sita into a stronger character.  I wanted her to have the victory in the end since Rama treated her so badly.  The setting and time were changed from India in BC times to the 1920s in the United States. 

Storytelling: Rama in New York part 2

"Rama... seriously where are you...?"

I literally cannot take this much longer.  I've been trapped in this stupid stinky warehouse for like eight days.  I could easily free myself from this little enclosure, but it would be a lot easier if my stupid boyfriend Rama would just hurry his butt up and get here to help me out.  I just need a distraction, and someone strong, but there is nothing here to help me. 

So this is basically what happened: Rama had a brother who got into drugs, killed their rich CEO father to pay a debt, framed Rama- who then went to jail, and then Rama framed a girl who came to see him (the sister of the drug dealer that his brother owed a debt to) and then he was released.  Unfortunately, now the big scary guy that is brother owed money, Ravana, has kidnapped me and he thinks he is gonna keep me here forever until I say I will do whatever he wants- which is NOT gonna happen.  I'm a smart girl, and I can find my way out of here- however, what I have in smarts I lack in strength, so I still need Rama's help.  He will be here any minute though.  When I got kidnapped I dropped jewelry from my piercings on the ground and I am sure he will find the trail and easily find me- then the real fun will begin. 

Jewelry Online Design

Wait... what was that noise??

"Sita!!"

What?? Where was that coming from?? It was his voice but I couldn't see him! "Rama?? Where are you??" I harshly whispered. 

"I'm up here!" He yelled from the ceiling- he had snuck in through a small hole in an air duct and he was crawling on the beams in the high ceiling.  "I'm going to go after Ravana- here use this knife to free yourself and we will get out of here" He said, dropping me a small pocket knife I could use to cut the ties around my feet. 

Rama crawled through the beams to the next room where Ravana was, and I could see through the crack in the door what was happening.  Rama was way outnumbered- there were like 7 big guys besides just Ravana.  But Rama had the advantage- he was a good shot and they still didn't know that he was there.  Unfortunately Rama is a boy and he is not the brightest- he jumped down into the middle of the circle and went directly for Ravana.  All of Ravana's henchmen grabbed at Rama and before he knew it he was no longer winning. 

I knew I had to do something- so I looked around the room for things to use.  I found some pretty heavy old pieces of machinery that I could use to throw at the guys holding Rama back.  I did, and fortunately it hit them both hard enough and in the right spot, and they passed out.  Rama took this advantage and pulled out his gun.  Like I said- he was a good shot, so he hit Ravana right away, but it took several shots to take him down.  We were going to quickly take care of the henchmen and get out of there- but as soon as Ravana was dead, they all surrendered.  Turns out that Ravana had kidnapped the majority of them, or they had owed him debts and they were happy to see him gone. 

Eventually Ravana's sister got herself out of jail in the same way that Rama did- she made a plea deal for information on some other big drug guy in New York City.  We made sure we didn't see her again- we moved across town and changed our names.  We haven't really been bothered lately by anyone and it has been pretty nice.  Rama's remaining brother, Lakshmana, has taken over his father's old company, and he has so much money he doesn't know what to do with it all- so he takes care of us and we provide him with safety from the bad people in NYC.  It worked out pretty well overall- we are all happy and I am just SO glad that we got out safe from the threat of Ravana.  I'm sure Rama and I will run into more challenges- but there's nothing we can't handle!

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  This story is based on the second half of Nayaran's Ramayana (Link to Reading Guide).  The names have been kept the same, and some of the plot ideas, but the story has been twisted to a New York City setting.  My version of the story has two parts- the first part can be found under week 2 storytelling on my blog. 

Week 2 Story: Rama in New York

New York City: Pixabay

My name is Rama and I live in New York City.  Let me just start this story off bluntly; I am not a good guy.  I was born and raised in this huge, crowded, dirty city, and I love it because it's home.  Right now I am in a really peculiar situation.... but you have to know some of my backstory first. 

My dad, Dasaratha, was one of those big corporate guys who never spent any time with us.  He made so much money you probably could have called him a king, and indeed most people saw him that way.  I have two brothers: Lakshmana and Bharatha.  In general, we all got into a lot of trouble growing up.  Since our dad was never around and our  mom died when we were young, we were on our own most of the time.  My brother Bharatha got into dealing drugs, I got a fake ID and snuck into clubs to get drunk and meet girls, and of course Lakshmana was the black sheep of the family and pretty much kept to himself, though he did accompany me most nights.  None of us were particularly close, but Lakshmana and I spent a lot of time together. 

Although my family seems pretty rough, I do have a soft spot.  I met my girlfriend Sita when I was about 14.  She's way too good for me and I don't know why she ever stayed with me, but I would do anything to keep her with me forever.  She puts up with all of my drama and I still have no idea why... but she is the most perfect woman in the world for me. 

Now here is where the story gets interesting.  As I said Bharatha got into drug dealing, so he was gone a lot.  Dad didn't seem to care at all what we did.  Unfortunately this came to bite him in the butt, because the time came (as it always does with these sorts of things) when Bharatha had a large debt with some very bad people.  He decided the best way to deal with this was to kill our father so that he would inherit the money.  In order to not go to jail, he decided he would frame me, because he had to pin it off on somebody and Lakshmana was too much of a goody goody. 

Alright so you know how it goes, court, trials, yada yada yada. I ended up with a fourteen year prison sentence...for the murder that my brother committed.  So there I was sitting in prison for a long. freaking. time. I was getting really bored, and my wandering side was starting to get restless.  Being the angel that she is, Sita stayed with me, and she and Lakshmana visited me often.  It wasn't enough for my adventurous lifestyle to just see them through a glass screen and never leave the same four walls... I started looking for a way out. 

Escape was obviously not an option... I tried it a few times and it didn't go well- I almost made my prison sentence longer.  But then one day something weird happened.  There was this girl who for some reason decided to visit me one day.  I guess she thought I was really hot, but she was absolutely nuts.  Obviously I was in love with Sita, but this girl, Kamavalli, was just crazy enough that I had an idea.  She wanted to get me out of jail so she could marry me (I told you she was crazy), but my idea was much better than that.  I went along with it for a few months, talked to her when she came to visit, and convinced her I was going to go with her plan.  Now, this plan only worked because Kamavalli was the sister of the very bad man that Bhartha owed his previous debt to; the debt that caused him to murder our father in the first place. 

So this guy is named Ravana and he is HUGE.  He's also leader of one of the most important drug rings/ gangs in NYC.  Like I said, Kamavalli is his sister... so my plan was to find a way to frame her for the murder of my father, get her thrown in on my prison sentence, then I could be released.  I know it sounds crazy... but it actually worked! I told you I'm not a good guy at all... but hey at least I'm free again.  The problem now is that Ravana knows what I did and he is MAD.  He kidnapped Sita and I really don't know what to do.  Lakshmana is helping me out, we have guns and we are training to take them on.  I'm a pretty good shot, but I don't know if we can take out an entire drug ring... not to mention Ravana.... did I mention how huge he is?  This might be the last thing I do, but I have to save Sita.  I don't know where she is or what they are planning but I am going to do it.  I will get her back.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  This story was written based on the Narayan's Ramayana.  The character's names and relations stayed the same, but I changed up the plot a lot.  I turned Rama from a heroic character into a villainous hero.  The whole story was twisted by the New York City setting, and Bhartha was changed from a heroic brother to a villain. 

The Ramayana, Narayan Reading Guide

Week 1 Story: The Not-So-Clever Fox

The Not-So-Clever Fox

Winter Fox:  Pixabay

Mr. Fox was thought he was a very clever guy.  He liked to scale buildings and sneak into new places without permission… until one day he broke into the theater. 

It was a chilly day in the beginning of spring and Mr. Fox had just come out of his burrow for the season.  He decided he wanted to go exploring and maybe stir up some trouble like he did when he was younger.  He wandered around the forest for hours trying to find a good place to be mischievous,  and he finally found a small village. 

The farthest building on the outskirts of the village was a theater, and Mr. Fox decided that was where he wanted to cause trouble.  He quickly found the dressing room and noticed that it was devoid of costumes, but every wall was filled with masks.  He started trying them on one by one and acting silly; making fun of each type of animal that he tried on.  He started small; making fun of mice, bugs, and snakes with the masks.  When he put on one mask, a brave little mouse jumped out of the corner and said “hey! You had better watch what you say about others, because one day you might step on the wrong toes!!” And Mr. Fox thought “How would this little mouse ever think that he could threaten me?”.  So he continued… without taking into account the advice of the brave little mouse. 

As he went down the wall the animal masks got bigger and bigger… bunnies, opossums, raccoons, wolves, bobcats, and even bears!  Mr. Fox was having a grand time making fun of other people, and he wasn't being nice about it at all.  Many of the small animals heard of his actions or saw him and were reduced to tears, for they were not as brave as the little mouse. 

Finally, Mr. Fox had had enough of his laughter and he decided that he was hungry and it was time to go home.  He walked outside, and the sun was beginning to set.  “Oh no” thought Mr. Fox, “I had better hurry to get home for dinner!”. 

Unfortunately for Mr. Fox, Karma always has its way, and soon the sun began to set and it got dark.  Mr. Fox realized that he was lost and there was no way that he would get home in time for dinner.  He stopped and yelled out for anyone to give him directions.  He encountered a squirrel and she said “Yeah, I know where you live, I was watching you this morning from the treetops, but I am not going to help you because I don’t like how you treated my friend the brave little mouse!” 

Mr. Fox was unfazed at this… he didn’t need a squirrel’s help anyways!  He continued on…

…but he soon realized he was walking in circles.

Mr. Fox heard a rustling in the bushes.  He was afraid, but he would never admit it.  “Who is there?” said Mr. Fox. 

Mrs. Raccoon popped out of the bushes, and Mr. Fox was secretly relieved.  He turned to her and said “Mrs. Raccoon, I have been lost for several hours and I am very hungry, is there any way you would spare some leftovers for me?  Mrs. Raccoon was not amused; “You made my three young children cry today with your antics! Get away from my home!”.  Mr. Fox was slightly saddened by this, but he continued on. 

Finally, after wandering for several more hours, Mr. Fox found his home.  He was so tired he just wanted to sleep, but when he walked to his front door, there was the brave little mouse. 

Brave little mouse said “Mr. Fox, you owe me and my friends an apology, and I want one before the sun comes up!”.  Mr. Fox responded, “you silly little mouse, get out of my way, I am tired and you can’t do anything to make me apologize or stop me from eating dinner and going to bed!”

Suddenly, all of the bushes around Mr. Fox began to rustle.  All of the forest creatures began to appear… opossums, squirrels, mice… and wolves and bears.  They were not amused by the antics of Mr. Fox. 

Mr. Fox began to apologize profusely, and he was so afraid that he began to cry. 

You would think that the forest animals made fun of him, but they didn’t.  

They knew that the most important thing in life is to be nice to people, so they let Mr. Fox go home.

Shortly after, he felt so bad that he apologized to each animal separately and gave them all gifts.  He stopped causing mischief and to this day, he is friends with little brave mouse, because sometimes bravery comes from the most unexpected places. 

Author's Note:  This story was inspired as a rewrite of Aesop's Tale "The Fox and the Mask".  In this story, the fox goes to the theater and encounters a scary mask, to whom he comments about being lovely, but not having any real brains, and then he is no longer afraid.   

The original Fable was very short, so I added a lot of new content, and based my writing off of the characteristics of the fox.  He thought he was tough, but he still has to learn lessons in life. 

Bibliography:  "The Fox and the Mask" from The Fables of Aesop Aesop's Fables