The young children of the village gathered around the fire as Parashurama settled in to tell his story of the night. Every night, Parashurama tells a story to the younger children so that they may learn a valuable lesson to think about before going to bed.
There was once a very kind and loving man who had a wife and two daughters, which he loved very much. He spent all of his days laboring out in the fields in front of their modest little cottage, gathering as much rice and grains as he possibly could as a means for providing for them.
There was once a very kind and loving man who had a wife and two daughters, which he loved very much. He spent all of his days laboring out in the fields in front of their modest little cottage, gathering as much rice and grains as he possibly could as a means for providing for them.
The
problem was this type of lifestyle did not provide very much money or food for
his family to live on and he wanted so much more for them. So, in hopes
of finding a better life for his loved ones, this man set out into the forest
late one night and headed towards the city of Lanka, where he had heard many
riches await.
On
his way to Lanka, a little fairy of the forest approached from the distance. This fairy had a bright yellow glow about her
as she whizzed through the air, hopping from one tree branch to the other in
quick little spurts.
“What’s
this? What an odd little creature!” the man thought to himself. “Who are you, little one, and why do you seek
me?” he politely asked the fairy.
“I
am the fairy that watches over this forest and I came to ask why you might be
out traveling alone so late at night.
That’s very dangerous you know.”
“I
seek riches and a better life for my family, as I have a wife and two young
daughters and I do not have very much to provide for them in the rice fields
outside our little cottage”, he then explained.
And
with that, the fairy magically transformed the man into a goose! But not just any goose. She had transformed him into a goose covered
in feathers of gold.
“Oh
no, what have you done? Now I will never be able to make it to Lanka and obtain
more money!” The man began to say in a distraught manner, before noticing his
beautiful golden feathers reflected in a puddle on the
ground.
He
then realized that he could provide a limitless amount of money for his family
and they would never have to worry about any of their troubles ever again. He immediately flew home, excited to show his
family their new-found fortune. Without
realizing that he was not able to speak like a human anymore, the beautiful
golden goose approached his old door step and waited for his loving wife to
greet him.
Suddenly,
as she opened the door and noticed such a sight she thought to herself , “All of
our prayers have been answered! This golden goose’s feathers will provide us
with all of the money we need and give us a delicious meal to eat tonight as
well! My husband will be so pleased.”
That
was the end of the poor goose who only wanted more for his family.
"So you see, little ones, both the husband and the wife were wrong in their ways and for that, they were both punished."
"But I don't understand wise Parashurama? I get why the wife was wrong but what ever did the husband do to deserve such an end?"
"Ah, you see, my children, both husband and wife wanted too much and were greedy in their ways. The husband desired too much for his family and the wife was gluttonous, taking all that the goose had to offer and leaving behind nothing. And this is why you should always be content with what you have and never desire more."
"So you see, little ones, both the husband and the wife were wrong in their ways and for that, they were both punished."
"But I don't understand wise Parashurama? I get why the wife was wrong but what ever did the husband do to deserve such an end?"
"Ah, you see, my children, both husband and wife wanted too much and were greedy in their ways. The husband desired too much for his family and the wife was gluttonous, taking all that the goose had to offer and leaving behind nothing. And this is why you should always be content with what you have and never desire more."
The Golden Goose
Author's Note: The idea for this story originally came from the old story "The Golden Feathers" in the book, Twenty Jataka Tales. In the original version there is a man with a wife and two daughters that wants to make more money so he can buy jewels and other material objects for his family to have, so he sets out to the forest in hopes of finding something for them. On the way he meets a fairy that turns him into a golden goose so that his family may sell his feathers and obtain riches that way. In this original version, when he returns home, at first the wife takes one feather at a time and sells it and lives off of that money for a little while and then when it runs out, they sell another one. After some time, though, the wife gets greedy and takes all the feathers at once and then they turn to normal goose feathers again and lose all of their value. I didn't like this and was going to make my version happier, but then decided that it's more interesting with a dark ending and this way, a more valuable lesson can be taught to the reader. I edited the end of the story to make the moral more clear to the reader, and I began the story this time with an explanation that Parashurama is telling this tale to young children in a small village. This was done because not only does it make the story more interesting, but also fits in better to the theme of my portfolio as it is supposed to be related to Parashurama and his wise lessons he has to offer.
Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales, Retold by Noor Inayat
Hey Tucker!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your story. It was really interesting. I liked how you made your story into something the readers could learn from. It had a valuable lesson that readers could take from. The image you chose works perfectly for you story. It really portrays the idea of the story. I look forward to reading more of your posts!
Hi Tucker I really liked this story. I felt so bad for the goose/dad. I wrote a story like this once that had a powerful lesson at the end, so I enjoyed seeing you do that as well. I prefer stories that have something to teach us. I thought the ending was a little abrupt, but it was a very good story and look forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteHey Tucker,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your story and I think that it was very intriguing. One thing that I love about this class is that we can make the stories our own and that we can make it to relate to other people. At first when I saw your picture, I thought that you drew it and I was going to applaud you on your work. But I feel like the picture fitted your story really well. Good Job!
This was an interesting story on how greed can ruin people. It was set up nicely throughout the story and when the husband appears in front of his wife, again the reader knows that it will not be as he thought. The way that the husbands financial setup and his reasons for searching for money I felt like that were legitimate reasons for going and provide for his family. I think your message of greed would work better if he was going to get jewels and such for his family to wear like in the original story and not food. I like how you explained in the end the error of the husband and wife’s way and did not leave it to be interpreted. The story was broken up well and I it was set up in an easy to read way. There was a small formatting error with the font size on part of it though.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting story. Before today, I had not heard about “The Golden Feathers.” Your story was interesting and engaging. In your third paragraph, the font is different from the rest of the story. Change this so the font size is consistent throughout. Also, you use quotations when you denote the man’s thinking. It might be useful to use italics instead to make it clear that it is thought and not speech. I disagreed with the moral of your story or at least the story behind the moral. The way you described the man and his wife, it seems like both characters act rationally. It does not seem morally wrong or greedy for the man to attempt to do the best for his family. It also seems rational for the wife to butcher the goose and sell the feathers. Maybe you could add some element that demonstrates how good their situation is and makes their greed very apparent. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThis was so interesting. At first, I thought I was as confused as the kids and wondered why the mother and father were punished for their ways. Your Author's Note became very helpful to explain what your thoughts were when writing the story and how the couple became too greedy. I completely understand about wanting to make your story happier. However, I do agree with Carey that you might want to make it a little more apparent that they are acting greedy. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Tucker! Very cool story! I had never heard of this story so it was nice to experience a new tale and with that dark twist at the end! My word! It was unexpected but it went well with the message you were trying to convey. I read your author's note and I do understand the original, but agree with your in the sense that making it happy wouldn't have been as much of an impact as the sadder ending. I really thought she was going to cherish the blessing she got at her door. But not that she would end up eating the goose, who was her husband in real life. Double whammy right there! She ended up losing her husband from her greed and need to take everything. From the title I figured that the husband would be given a goose not that he was going to be transformed. So that was also a surprise. Overall, I think this was great and hope to read more from you as we finish up the semester! Good job!
ReplyDeleteTucker, I haven’t had a chance to read the original version of this story, so I am glad to have the opportunity to read your interpretation. First of all, I like how you started off with italicized script which sets the stage for the storytelling. I noticed in your third paragraph the size of the font was changed halfway through. Was this on purpose? I also like your version of the ending better than the original one described in your author’s note! First of all, it shortened the plot a bit and got right to the main idea. The main idea was that the wife was being gluttonous. Instead of making her gluttonous over time (selling a few feathers at first and then all at once) you added a new dimension to her greed by having her immediately cook the goose. When she cooks the goose it shows that she absolutely no concept of delayed gratification, and is only interested in what she can gain instantly. Great work!
ReplyDelete