There once was a kind and loving king who took very good
care of his people. He was loved by
everyone for his tolerance and compassion for the weak. One day, a poor peasant from a nearby village
came running to his throne in desperate need of help, exclaiming that a tax
collector had come to his door threatening to kill him. “Sire, this man wants to kill me and take my
land too!”
“For what reason would anyone want to harm you?” asked the
king. “I have no money to pay my taxes
as I am only a poor surf that works in the fields outside of the kingdom. You do not know me, for I belong to another
king, but he is cruel and will not help me so I come to you oh loving king,
knowing that you take pity on the weak.”
“Bring me this tax collector and I shall talk to him at
once, but I cannot guarantee anything”, the king calmly explained.
The tax collector came to the throne of the king demanding
his prize. “O king, his blood belongs to
me and you have no right to keep me from my prize. This man did not pay his taxes and shall now
be punished for it.”
“If it is tax money that you seek then do not fret, I have
more money than you could ever possibly imagine and I shall pay his debt” the
king explained. But the tax collector
had no desire for this king’s money, as it is a different type of currency than
the one used in their native lands and would do no good there. “As kind as your offer is, sire. Your money
will do no good as it is not of use in our lands, and if I show up to my sire
empty handed I will surely be slaughtered as well.”
The king, being the kind-hearted man that he was, took pity
on both the lives of the peasant and the tax collector, even though he had not
formerly known either before this encounter.
“Well we have quite the predicament then, don’t we,” said the king in a
calming voice, “If it is flesh that this poor soul owes you, than it is flesh
that you shall receive. I shall give you
my flesh instead, equal in weight to the amount of money that he owes and you
may then take this to your king and all will be well.”
And with that, the king selflessly gave up part of himself
out of love for two strangers that he did not even know and in this sacrifice,
he saved the lives of both men and prevented any further suffering or loss of
life.
Author's Note: I originally got the idea for this story from the tale "Shibi and the Hawk" from Shovona Devi's Indian Fables and Folklore. In the original story, a loving king stumbles upon a wounded pigeon that is fleeing for his life from a hawk that was trying to eat him. Out of love for the pigeon and the hawk both, he gives the hawk some of his own flesh equal in weight to what the pigeon weighs so that the pigeon may continue to live and the hawk does not die of starvation. This prompted me with the idea of making a similar story about a king who pays the debt of another man with his own weight in flesh. I kind of got that idea from a movie I was watching where a thief is caught stealing in a setting taking place in the middle ages, and is forced to pay by cutting out some of his flesh in equal weight to the item he stole. I blended the two ideas together to make this story.
Bibliography: Indian Fables and Folklore, by Shovona Devi
Hey Tucker. Great story. I thought you did a great job of retelling the story in your own unique way. I know back in those days tax collection was no joke. One thing though is that I think you want to use "serf" instead of "surf". I'm not positive, but i'm pretty sure that surf only refers to like the waves and the athletes who "surf" them. But other than that little minor detail I though this was a great story. Good job.
ReplyDeleteThe story you wrote was very sweet, in a grisly way. It reminded me a bit of the movie Seven, when the lawyer is forced to carve up a pound of his own flesh by the serial killer. I think you portrayed the King to be a very loving and selfless character. With the holiday season approaching, I think this story is fitting for this time of year.
ReplyDeleteHey Tucker, I really liked your story this week and I thought you did a really great job retelling the story. I agree with Kurtis, I think you meant "serf" instead of "surf", but aside from that I didn't notice any problems with your writing. The flow was very nice and the font size and background were good as well. Overall, great job with this story!
ReplyDeleteThis was an unique story. The original story seems rather interesting. I like how the story was adapted to give a more realistic plot. I do not think that I would be able to do as the king did and give up his own body as a sacrifice. I like how the story was deep and it made me think what I would do if I was in each of their positions.
ReplyDeleteHi Tucker. I thought this story was really great! The plot was very interesting, and although I never had the chance to read the original, it made me wish I had! This seemed a lot different than many of the stories I've read throughout the semester. What was the movie called that inspired you? Great work!
ReplyDelete