There
was once a beautiful young woman who lived in a village just like all
others. The woman was beautiful beyond
comparison and there was no other to match her likeness. As will often happen with beautiful young
women, many fell in love with her. In particular
there were three suitors who took an exceptional interest in the woman.
However,
tragedy struck and the woman fell to a horrible disease. There was never any indication of who would
have won over the woman’s heart. Between
the three suitors all were of equal wealth, knowledge, and talent. However, all three mourned for her in very
different ways.
The
first suitor had fallen in love with her mind.
Therefore to commemorate her death he traveled far and wide seeking to
attain higher knowledge.
The
second had fallen in love with her virtue.
Therefore, in efforts to preserve her purity he raised her name to the
heavens so that she could remain blessed.
The
third had fallen in love with her. Not
with any one specific attribute, the third suitor loved her so whole-heartedly
that his world was black in her death.
He mourned by living at the cemetery where she rest, begging for a
living.
When
the woman’s family came to give away her worldly possessions they found a
letter written in their daughter’s script “To My Love”. Surely the letter was for one of the three
suitors but they couldn’t determine which.
After seeing the ways in which they mourned they determined it could be
only the third suitor. As he loved their
daughter in all accounts and did not see her as one-dimensional, rather he saw
her in all aspects of life as beautiful.
Author’s
Note: This story is loosely based on TheThree Lovers from my story unit this week.
In the original story the story of the three lovers is introduced by a
goblin. The goblin is telling the story
to a King as part of a riddle. In the
original story the first suitor uses his knowledge to bring the woman back to
life and the problem of who she should marry arises. The King answers the riddle by analyzing the
means by which each man grieved for the loss of the woman. He answered the man who lay by her grave,
because he mourned for her as a lover should.
The King was correct in his answer.
Although, I think there should have been somewhat more of a debate about
the matter. I rewrote my story without
the woman coming to life in the end because I think if I were the third suitor
I wouldn’t want to disturb the dead.
People often pose the theory that if we could wake the dead that they
would be different. I think it is best
that they remain passed on and therefore didn’t bring her back in my
story.
Bibliography:
Twenty Two Goblins
Arthur W. Ryder
1917
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| Grave Angel Weeping |
Good job on your story! I also read Twenty-Goblins this week, and I honestly had a hard time coming up with what to write. I like that you kept the story somewhat close to the original but added your own twist. I also like that you didn't bring back the woman in the end. That part of the story in the original wasn't something I particularly liked. Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your story. I liked your decision to not bring the woman back from the dead. I agree with your interpretation that the 3rd suitor wouldn't want to disturb the dead. I liked how you changed the question of who she should marry to who should the family give the letter to. I thought this was a great change that flowed really well with your retelling. This was a story that I did not read and was really unfamiliar with. I felt that your author's note gave me a concise summary of the original story so I was able to see the inspiration and also the changes you made to make the story your own. I also was able to understand your reasons behind why you made the changes you did. I really liked the image that you used. I thought it was very fitting for the story and especially worked really well for your retelling.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very lighthearted read; I really enjoyed it! Your decision to change up the story by not bringing the woman back from the dead was a great one. I think it gives it a nice spin. I also really liked that you included her family in the story rather than making it about the riddle that the king had to solve. It adds a bit of a personal touch to it!
ReplyDeleteI loved the Twenty-Two Goblins stories! I read them as well and really enjoyed them I liked that you wrote your story based on this particular story. I agree with you that there should be more debate about which suitor was her true love. I also think that just because one of the suitors may have or may have not loved her more than the others, doesn't necessarily mean that she loved them as much back. Hearts are tricky, and love isn't always equal.
ReplyDeleteI loved that you separated your story out with paragraphs. It made it easier to read the story, and I think it helped the story flow better.
One thing I would say is to maybe expand a bit on the ending. You said in your author's note that there should be somewhat of a debate about the matter of who the girls true love was, and I think it would be cool to actually read how you think it should go in the story.
Overall, good job!
Rachel! I agree with you that there should be more debate in the original story about who was her true lover. Vague seemed to be a theme in the Twenty-Two Goblins unit! I like how you kept this story close to the original yet changed enough to keep it interesting! Also, good call on the not bringing her back to life!
ReplyDelete