Week 11 Story: The Judgement of Wolf
In a kingdom far, far away...
One day, two otters entered the throne room of the king. The crowds shuddered at the mess they made, for they were hauling a live, writhing fish between them. Standing in the growing puddle, the servant proclaimed, "Your Majesty, these otters have come from the river-lands to request your guidance in solving their dispute."
The king seen many things. Families of animals had brought wonders he could have never imagined. He had seen feats of strength and power that shook the planet. But he had never. NEVER. Seen a fish that big.
"Wh... what is the dispute?" The king was nearly drooling.
"They worked together to catch the fish, but now they do not know how to split it. Which one will get the head half, which one will get the tail, you see."
"Ah, yes... I see." As the king approached the otters, his stomach let off a fierce growl. You see. The wolf king had a secret. He had given too much away. If an animal needed food, he provided. Money. Provided. Advice. Provided. The king was now bankrupt and had not eaten for days. "I have an idea." He whispered the plan to the servant.
Confused but confidant in his king's order, the servant ran to get the knife. First, he chopped off the head. Then, the tail. The crowds watched with confusion and the otters even more-so. Divided in three, with the meatiest bits separated from the disputed sides.
Before they could even question, however, the king pushed past the servant. His claws dug into the stone floor as he picked up the middle portion in his mouth and leapt out of the throne room. He ran until he knew it was safe and stopped to consume his stolen goods.
Rumor has it, he still roams the hills of his once devoted kingdom. If you stop at night, and are very still, some say you can hear his howls, mourning his foolish misjudgment.
There was a wolf king who was known for being very wise. All animals would travel from distant places to see him and hear his advice. The wolf king was even trusted by the smaller animals who had learned to fear his kind.
One day, two otters entered the throne room of the king. The crowds shuddered at the mess they made, for they were hauling a live, writhing fish between them. Standing in the growing puddle, the servant proclaimed, "Your Majesty, these otters have come from the river-lands to request your guidance in solving their dispute."
The king seen many things. Families of animals had brought wonders he could have never imagined. He had seen feats of strength and power that shook the planet. But he had never. NEVER. Seen a fish that big.
"Wh... what is the dispute?" The king was nearly drooling.
"They worked together to catch the fish, but now they do not know how to split it. Which one will get the head half, which one will get the tail, you see."
"Ah, yes... I see." As the king approached the otters, his stomach let off a fierce growl. You see. The wolf king had a secret. He had given too much away. If an animal needed food, he provided. Money. Provided. Advice. Provided. The king was now bankrupt and had not eaten for days. "I have an idea." He whispered the plan to the servant.
Confused but confidant in his king's order, the servant ran to get the knife. First, he chopped off the head. Then, the tail. The crowds watched with confusion and the otters even more-so. Divided in three, with the meatiest bits separated from the disputed sides.
Before they could even question, however, the king pushed past the servant. His claws dug into the stone floor as he picked up the middle portion in his mouth and leapt out of the throne room. He ran until he knew it was safe and stopped to consume his stolen goods.
Rumor has it, he still roams the hills of his once devoted kingdom. If you stop at night, and are very still, some say you can hear his howls, mourning his foolish misjudgment.
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author's note
I knew when I read the otters and the wolf that I wanted to do something inspired by the biblical story of king solomon. These women came to him arguing over a baby. He had to discern which one was truly the mother, so he offered to cut the baby in half. This way, both of them can have it. The mother who had lost her real baby accepted this, while the real mother begged him to give the baby to the other mom so it could live.
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Ellen C. Babbitt
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I like this retelling. It's well adapted from the original story and from the story of king Solomon. I'm a little confused as to how a king so generous could suddenly be a thief to his own subject. You describe the reason as he had given away all his food and was hungry, maybe you could make that more apparent in the story, like stomach growl or drooling over the food to the point where he had to steal it to survive. Intriguing story none the less!
ReplyDeleteLindsey,
ReplyDeleteI feel like your mash up the story of King Solomon and the Two Mother’s with the Otters and the Wolf is a fitting one. It is interesting to see the similarity in many of the stories from the Indian Epics and other culturally diverse narratives. Could It show a basic commonality in the human condition or a possible common origin or both?
Interesting story, Lindsey. I can see the Biblical parallels to King Solomon with the subjects coming to the king for advice on how to split something. However, I feel like his actions/schemings don't really match with his history of generosity. If he was really a wise king, I feel like he should've known how to save, rather than giving everything away.
ReplyDelete