Story: Why I Didn't get my Twelve Hours of Sleep

I was making my usual late night rounds around the house, not necessarily to protect the house, but instead to try and find a nice midnight snack. I know Linda and Bob are trying to help me lose a few pounds, but I'm pretty happy with how I am. Plus, I love food too much. Anyway, as I was saying...I was making my late night rounds. After I got my food (yum) I was walking back to sleep with Linda and Bob. God, this freaking necklace they make me wear. It makes me so mad. Plus, it has a stupid little bell on it. Like, I get it, I'm the one thing y'all live for, but I'm not going anywhere. Whatever. Okay, sorry, I will actually stay on track...I'm in Linda and Bob's room.

I hopped up onto the bed and was trying to get comfortable. I was thinking about how ready I was to pass out. I could feel all the food in my stomach sinking. Sleeping on a full belly is always the best. So, right as I was closing my eyes, about to drift into my twelve hour nap (don't judge, I've got to rest to be this beautiful), I hear something. It sounded like a little squeal, almost like someone screaming but they couldn't get it out. I tried ignoring it, but this sound would not stop. Since I couldn't fall asleep, I had to figure out what this sound was. Do you know what's weird? Once Bob hits the hay, his mouth is wide open. He just lets it go. I've seen multiple bugs fly and crawl in there. But Linda, her mouth is shut tight. I think she knows bugs will go in there, so she knows she's got to protect herself. She's a pretty smart lady.

Tonight though, something was different. As I was exploring and trying to find the annoying creature making that horrendous noise that is disrupting me from my precious beauty sleep, Linda's mouth was barely open. Unless you watch her sleep, like I do, you probably wouldn't think anything of it. It'd probably even look like it was closed. Nope! It was open in comparison to what it normally is. So, I got closer to her. God, I hope this bell doesn't wake them up. Ring-a-ding-ding. So annoying.
As I closed in on Linda, the noise got louder and louder. I decided to go up to her barely open mouth and see if I was just imaging things or if there actually was some random noise coming from Linda. Yikes. She had some garlic and onion tonight and definitely didn't brush well enough. That's when the little squeals became clear.

"Hey! Hey! Help us", they said.

'What the heck?' I thought to myself. This is not Linda. But the sounds are coming from Linda?

"Help us! We are stuck."

I asked them what they wanted. I tried to sound irritated because they are cutting in on some much needed rest time.

"We've been stuck in here for years! This lady has just kept us inside of herself. We don't have much time, so we need to tell you everything."

I told them that they were crazy.

"No, don't you understand? This is important. We are an important song and story that need to be told and this lady has just kept us inside of her! She hasn't uttered a word about us for all these years and this is the only chance we may have for a long time!"

Okay, fine, let's hear it.

"Well, many years ago, there was a woman and a man. They lived alone in the woods. Every night they sang a song together. One day, this lady, the one who has kept us captive, came into the woods with a man. They were looking for shelter and"

Hello? Where did they go?

I felt Linda petting me. I guess she realized that she had her mouth open and woke up. That was a lame story anyway, thank goodness it's over. Then, I went right in-between Linda and Bob, plopped myself down, and slept the rest of the night.

Author's Note:

I based this story off the first story in A Flowering Tree. This story is all about a woman who has kept a story and a song to herself for many years. One night, they escape from her mouth and become a coat and shoes. This causes friction between her and her husband. Eventually, he realized that nothing happened and that the coat and shoes are the story and song. He asked his wife about the story and song, but she had no recollection of the story and song since it escaped her. This story is all about the importance of telling stories.

Bibliography:

A Flowering Tree and Other Oral Tales from India by A.K. Ramanujan, Online Source

Photo of a Cat, Web Source

Story: Draupadi's Life

One day, Draupadi was exploring her new home in the forest. Although this is not where she ever imagined herself, she was happy here. She was trying to make the most of her time that she will be sending here. Luckily, she had good company in her five husbands. Sure, she would miss real life in civilization, but she was happy. Surrounded by the green of the forest, she was excited to see what the next thirteen years held for her.

Speaking of where Draupadi imagined herself, lets be real...it's nothing like where she's at now. As a girl she dreamed of getting the perfect house with the perfect husband and eventually raising a perfect family. This is what she saw in her dreams every night when she went to bed. Instead, she did have a perfect house, but then she was forced to move out to the forest. Instead of one husband, she got five. She wondered how in the world things ended up the way they did. However, she realized that she didn't have it all so bad. Sure, she was in the forest now, but in thirteen years she'll be back in civilization where she belongs in a beautiful house, ready to raise a family. Maybe it's odd that she has five husbands, but better to be loved five times as much than to not be loved at all.

Back to our time with Draupadi in the woods. One thing about Draupadi is that she was gorgeous. Easily one of the most beautiful women in the town she once lived in, the envy of all women. The women wanted to be her while the men simply wanted her. So, it came as no surprise when Jayadratha saw her that he immediately fell in love. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the butterflies in his stomach. How am I going to talk to a woman so beautiful he asked himself. 

He finally gained the courage and walked up to Draupadi while passing her in the woods. He asked for her name and he eventually told her that he loved her. She was shocked as she just met this stranger...how could he love me she thought. Loyal wife to many as she is, Draupadi shut down all of Jayadratha's advances. She was kind about it in the beginning, politely telling him no and that she was already married. He wasn't getting the picture. He kept telling her how she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on and that she was his one true love. He became more and more aggressive and Draupadi decided it was time to leave this man she had just met. 

As Draupadi was turning to walk away, Jayadratha caught her wrist and picked her up. Draupadi put up a good fight. She screamed and yelled, calling for her husbands. Surely one must come to her rescue. As Jayadratha carried Draupadi away, Draupadi's husbands heard her cries for help. They ran to Draupadi's defense and saw all that had occurred. They knew that if they fought Jayadratha together, they could easily defeat this man in a matter of seconds. Almost without any struggle, the Pandavas defeated the evil Jayadratha and Draupadi was safely returned to her husbands. This was the moment when Draupadi truly fell in love with each of her husbands. She realized that they are the key to a happy and perfect life, and she wouldn't trade it for the world.

Author's Note:

For this story, I decided to go into detail about Draupadi's thoughts on her life and also when Jayadratha kidnapped her. I felt as though there is very little detail about her kidnapping the story so I chose to expand on that. There is also very little detail into Draupadi's thoughts, so I wanted to write about her and how she felt about her life while being in exile married to five men.

Bibliography

Public Domain Mahabharata, Online Source

Death of Jayadratha, Web Source

Story: The Annual Maze

MIDNIGHT

All of the towns people are finally getting to rest. They all enjoyed, as much as they could, what could possibly be their last meal together. Mothers and Fathers tucked their little ones into bed and stayed up all night holding each other, crying, praying that their names weren't  called tomorrow. It was finally time for the Annual Maze that the town puts on, sounds kind of fun, right? Except that this is the most devastating day of the year, that is until your name isn't called. Then, you could celebrated.

The Annual Maze is simple. Every household in town is put into a giant bowl. It doesn't matter if you're the richest people or the poorest. The people in charge don't care if you could buy the whole town, or state for that matter, or if you are barely putting three meals on the table per day. Equality, am I right? The only people that can get out of the bowl is if the woman of the house is more than 7 months pregnant, or if you have a child under the age of 1 year old. If your household is pulled out, you enter the maze. If your household isn't pulled out, you're in the clear for another year. Although the maze sounds like something you would love to do with your family to any other town, here, the maze is an actual death trap. Like, no one has ever made it out alive. They always televise the event, but usually no one watches it. These are people from the community, children as young as 2, people who have their whole lives ahead of them. Normally the others don't like watching their gruesome end.

In school you always learn about the history of the Maze and all the good that comes out of it. It's all B.S. It started back years and years ago, because they needed to bring in jobs. So people came and built the Maze and it helped the town economically. They were going to use the Maze for actual fun like at a fair or Fall Festival, but instead some sick, twisted, weirdo thought it'd be put to better use if they send innocent people in to fend for their lives. That is the only reason why it started in the first place and the only reason it keeps happening is because everyone is too afraid to say anything because they think the system will be rigged and their families name will be called. No reason for it to start in the beginning and no reason it should be occurring in this day.

8 A.M.

At this time, all the families are lining up in the town square. This is usually where so many great and wonderful things happen in the town...concerts, graduations, proposals. Then there's this messed up thing. It's so weird because we know that tomorrow, everything will be back to normal, as long as your name isn't called in the next few minutes. And so the ceremony begins. The normal things are read, we sing a little, we hope this will bring brighter futures to us all, and then the name is pulled out. This year, it's the King family (remember how I said it doesn't matter if you're rich or dirt poor? Yeah well the Kings are easily the most wealthy family in the whole town). People looked around shocked. Obviously they were thrilled they didn't hear their name, but they couldn't show it. The Kings had five children, all boys. By the end of the night, we will be down seven people in our town.

Here is the best part about this whole event. After a families name is called and everyones fear and relief is set in, the whole town prays over the family who is about to lose their life. They act as if there is nothing they can do about the fact that people are intentionally dying.

10 P.M. 

The family usually enters the Maze around 1 p.m. and the whole thing is usually over by about 3 p.m. This year was different however. The Kings weren't giving up. They were fighting. When the whole town heard they weren't finished by 4 p.m., we all got to a T.V. as fast as we could and intensely watched what was happening. There were all sorts of things coming after them, but somehow they were managing to stay alive. They've been in there for 9 hours, running and hiding and fighting and clinging onto life and what awaits them if they come out alive.

Somehow, they were able to do it. At about 11:30 p.m., they ran through the finish line, all seven of them. They are the first ones to ever complete the Maze, and hopefully they will be the last to ever have to go through such a tragic and life-changing thing. This is fuel that the town needs to get rid of this thing. The Kings are the ones that the whole town has been waiting on.

Author's Note:

For this retelling, I decided to use the story of Kunti and her five sons who had to escape from the burning house. In the original story, they were intentionally targeted and when they escaped no one knew that they were still alive. In this retelling, I decided to make the house a giant death trap maze and for the choosing of them to be completely random. I gave this story a Hunger Games/The Lottery feel to it to portray the cruelty of Prince Duryodhana.

Bibliography
Public Domain Mahabharata, Online Source 
Photo of a Corn Maze, Web Source 

Story: Only One Time

After school, I decided to stop by the store and get a test. I knew what the answer was going to be. It had to be a negative. After all, it was just one time. We were at party, both drunk. It was a mistake, but nothing permanent would come out of it...it was just one time. We're only juniors in high school, sixteen-years old. We just got our licenses. There's no way. I haven't even taken my SAT test yet. I still have a year and a half left in high school, then my undergrad, then med school. There's no way. I just have to know for sure..but there's no way, it was just one time.

As I walk into the store, I can see it on everyone's faces. They know what I'm doing here, they know what I'm about to buy. I hope they all know the answer that I so clearly know. They can't be thinking any other way. I decided to go two towns over, just so I knew I wouldn't run into anyone I know here, pretty good thinking on my part if I do say so myself. I finally find the aisle and there are so many to choose from. Which do I choose? How many should I buy? Are the more expensive ones better and more accurate? Why am I here? I shouldn't be here, I'm only sixteen.

I decide to buy two different brands, just in case. People are watching. Maybe they think it's just for a friend, or even my mom. That's probably what they are thinking. They're thinking, "This girl is only sixteen. She has her whole life ahead of her. She will finish high school, go to college, and be successful in whatever field of study she chooses." Thank goodness I have cash on me because I don't know how I would explain a $20 shopping spree at the local grocery store two towns over to my parents. Should I take the test here? Do I go home? If I go home my mom will see it. But if I stay here, then people may see my tears. I shouldn't even have tears though because I'm only sixteen and it was only one time, so I ultimately decided to just take the test here.

I decided to take two tests, both different brands, just in case. It felt like I waited for ever and ever in that bathroom. Finally I looked down and the result was becoming clear. It was a negative, I knew it! I looked at myself in the mirror and just laughed, how could I ever think anything other wise. I'm just sixteen! I looked down at the tests, just to get one final look before I left and went home to my normal life. In that instant everything changed. The test was finished developing. The vertical line appeared. It was just one time. I am only sixteen. I am a mother.

Do I tell anyone? Do I wait? Do I get it "taken care of"? Do I keep it? Do I give it up? How will people look at me? How will my parents look at me? Should I tell him and see what he thinks? I am the only one who can come up with the answers to all of these questions. 

I throw the tests away and drive home. My mom greets me as she always does, she smiles, offers me food, asks how my day was. I lie obviously. I tell her I'm not feeling well and I head up to my room to rest a while. 

A week passes and I've barley eaten anything. I can't hold this secret in and hold down food. I finally decide to tell my mom. We both cried. She asked me why I would let something like this happen. She told me that I knew it only took one time. Then, she asked me what I wanted to do. I knew getting it "taken care of" wasn't an option. There was only keeping it or giving it up. I had nine months to decide, but I felt like once the decision was made there was no turning back.

Eventually people at school figured out. People starred. They stayed away as if it were contagious. Months passed and I hadn't made my decision. I thought every night, would I be able to take care of a child? Could I do go to school then come home and take care of another life? Could I even afford daycare? How could I, a child myself, raise a child of my own? I already love this child and I haven't even met it yet. I know that I could provide all the love the child would ever need in it's who life, but what about everything else? In that moment I knew what I had to do. I went downstairs to my mother with tears in my eyes telling her how much I loved this precious life inside of me. I told her how because I love this child, the best thing would be to put the child up for adoption. She held me as I wept into her arms.

Author's Note:

I decided to use the story of Kunti and her child for this week's storytelling. Kunti decided to give her child up and she floats him down the river and he lives a very good life with his new mother. I decided to modernize this story using the "16 and Pregnant" approach. She continues saying "it only happened one time" and " I'm only sixteen" to convey just how young she is and the invincibility principle many young people feel.

Bibliography

Public Domain Mahabhrata, Online source

Photo of a babies hand, Web Source

Story: House Hunter

Hi, I'm Visva-mitra, the old city guru. Although I love my luxurious life in the big city, I think it's time for me to make my move to a rural country life. As of right now I don't have any jobs lined up, so I have a pretty low budget, but I don't need much, just a bedroom, kitchen, electricity, internet (I have to be able to watch my Netflix!) and plumbing...oh and plenty of room to entertain my guests. Just kidding! I just need enough room for me because I'm a hermit and don't really want to deal with people for a while. If I could get a few upgrades like some granite countertops, hardwood floors that would be incredible. But, I definitely think my realtor will be able to help me find something well within my budget.

So today is the day that me and the realtor are going to go and look at a few different options for me and my new life. The first house was pretty nice. It was small and there weren't too many upgrades. Just the bare minimum, everything a hermit could ever need. The neighbors were all about a mile away from the house though, and that was a little too close for me. The next house was almost too much of a hermit hole for me. The house was maybe half the size of the first house and there was no way I could comfortably be in the bathroom, I always felt squished. I will say though that Debbie, my realtor, hit the price right on the nose. It was about half my budget, which is incredible. The third and final place we saw was spectacular. Brand new upgrades, the kitchen was beautiful, the bathroom was incredible, and the bedroom was spacious. It was almost like what I had in the city, expect on a smaller scale...and maybe not so luxurious. The best part about this house was the property that came with it. It sat on a two and a half square mile lot, and the closest neighbors were three miles away! Incredible! The only downside to the house was that the price was a little over my budget.

Once I saw all three houses, I knew it would be a difficult decision to choose the perfect one for me and only me. Do I go with number one, the quaint house that wasn't too special? Or number two, the house that looked like something the peasant people from the city live in? Should I dare with number three, in a house made for the city transported to the country? I decided to make my decision a little easier by removing number two. Even though I wanted to get away from the city, I didn't want to live like a poor man. So now the decision was between number one and number three. I could see myself being comfortable and enjoying life in both houses, so this really was the hardest decision of my life.
I finally came the decision and realized that house number three really screamed Visva-mitra! When I walked inside for the first time, I could see myself loving life here. I saw myself sitting on the sofa, reading a book or watching the latest season of Orange is the New Black on Netflix. I could see myself cooking in the kitchen. And most importantly, I could see myself living peacefully, and alone, here with no one to bother me.

Author's Note

For this retelling, I decided to use Visva-mitra's story. In The Divine Archer the author never really touched on Visva-mitra's life other than the fact that he needed Rama to help him. I wanted to show him finding the perfect house to become a hermit in, and what show is better at helping people find their dream homes than 'House Hunters' on HGTV? I thought that having Visva-mitra being the buyer of a new property was the perfect platform to creating a backstory for him! 

Bibliography

The Divine Archer by F.J. Gould, online book

Logo for House Hunters, web source

Story: The Big Fight

The arena is dark. There is no one here, except for the janitor, cleaning up making sure everything is ready for the big night. People have been awaiting this event for a year. Tickets were sold out within three hours. If you weren't able to initially buy a ticket, get ready to cough up thousands of dollars. Anyone who is anyone will be there tonight. Front row full of A List celebrities, people barely able to pay the bills in the nose bleeds. If you were so unfortunate to not be able to get a ticket to see the action live with your own eyes, you can watch on pay-per-view. You do not want to be the person who misses this fight tonight.

As it creeps closer and closer to 7:30, the time of the match, things start to fall into place. Slowly the janitor turns on each light, one switch at a time, each switch lighting up a different section of the arena. The judges for the match arrived in the wee hours of the morning, some of them even too excited for what today holds to sleep through the night. It is almost as if everyone is a child on Christmas Eve. The volunteers start coming into the arena, ready to clean and prep everything to make sure it is all in pristine condition. The people sitting in the general admission seating have been waiting outside for hours, just so they can get up close and personal to the action. 

Finally, the main men of the evening begin their journey to arena. Each in their vehicles, their drivers carefully transporting the precious cargo they each have in their back seat. As they pull up to the arena, people are lined down the street hoping for just a glimpse at them. Of course they could not be bothered, each having their expensive headphones on listening to their hype music, waiting until the match that could make or break them for the rest of their career. They are each alone in their respective locker rooms, each performing their pre-match rituals to ensure nothing happens to mess up their performance for tonight.

The moment has arrived. People are pilling into their seats anxiously waiting as each minute passes. The time has finally come and the brothers are about to emerge out of the tunnels and into the ring. A voice rumbles over the speaker. "In the blue corner weighing in at 190lbs, Shane. In the red corner weight in at 186lbs, Vince. Come into the center of the ring men and shake on a good, clean match." They followed suit, however each thought of how they were going to punch the other ones face into itself. 

With the loud chime of the bell, the match has begun. It was fast-paced, high energy from the very beginning. Each was holding their own. Then, Vince hit Shane square in the face, practically knocking him out. Shane fell to the floor, groggily looked out into the crowd, and somehow mustered up the courage to get back in and fight. Shane would get in a few good punches right to Vince's sweet spots. Suddenly, Vince came in with the biggest blow anyone in the crowd had ever seen. Shane lay, almost lifeless on the floor. Everyone was holding their breath, praying that he still had his. They saw his hand move, almost as if it were a motion to someone outside the ring. That is when everyone's head turned to see Rocky, Shane's coach hurdle into the ring and deliver a single blow straight to Vince's head that knocked him out.

Everyone in the arena was numb. What had they just witnessed? Are Vince and Shane even alive? How was this even a clean fight? Rocky was escorted out of the ring, and the arena and has never been heard of within the boxing world again. Shane and Vince were both taken out of the arena on stretchers, and neither of them have stepped into the ring again.

Author's Note

For this retelling, I used the story of the fight that Sugreeva and Vali had with one another. Sugreeva and Vali were brothers who had gotten into a fight, and they represent Shane and Vince. Once Sugreeva had almost died from the battle, Rama (Rocky) came in and shot and killed Vali. I figured that using a boxing match would be the perfect tool for retelling the story.

Bibliography

Narayan's Ramayana, Link to Reading C

Image Information

Photo of a Boxing Ring, Web Source

Story: The First Party

12th June 1914

Dear Diary,

You will not believe what I am doing tonight...I am finally going out! I'm going to my first party WITHOUT my parents. For once, I will have one night out of this house, out of this place that I have been in for as long as I can remember. It isn't a terrible place, I've grown up here, I love my family. It's just that I will finally be able to be like all of the other girls my age. I don't have to wait up all night, wondering what each of my friends are up to. Are they sleeping too? Are they going out? And most importantly, are they with men? Oh how I wished that I could always be one of them, and tonight I FINALLY will be!

When my friends first suggested me coming out with them, I was hesitant. I knew that my father wouldn't allow it. I've been strung up in this house as long as I can remember, never being able to leave unless accompanied by either father or mother. I figured there was no point in asking. My friends pushed me more and more into asking him, and just to get them to stop talking about it, I went up to him and asked if I could go with them. He was silent. As he stood there and thought about what I had even dared to question, I could see all of the doubts in his eyes. All of the things that could possibly go wrong. He thought of anything bad that could happen to me. But maybe, just maybe, he saw something in my eyes too. Maybe he saw how I had longed to be like my friends, able to go out just for a night. Maybe he saw that I could protect myself. He looked at me with his deep blue eyes that I had always respected and he said yes, so long as I were to be careful, safe, and of course be home by midnight.

You see, my parents didn't keep me sheltered because they didn't trust me or anything. It's just that I'm the only girl in the family and they want to make sure that nothing bad happens to me. They even have this stupid mathematical equation that a man must solve when it's time for me to wed. Yes, the boys carry on the family name, however everyone knows that it is the daughters that are the most precious.

Well Diary, I must go get ready for my first night out! I can't wait to tell you all about it!

With Love, 

Sarah

13th June 1914

Dear Diary,

I don't even know what to say. Last night was the best night of my life! It was perfect. If I could just relive last night for the rest of my life, I would. I had a great time with my closest friends...we ate, we talked, we danced. I talked with boys! How could anything top last night?

But, there is one MAJOR thing that happened.

I met the most beautiful man I've ever laid eyes on. I didn't think anything could ever be so beautiful, but he proved me wrong. It was only a glance...at first. A little later in the evening, I saw him again, only this time, he saw me too. More time passed and then, we ran into each other. And by ran into each other, I mean it. Right as I was turning, he was there. Our heads banged up against one another and I'm not going to lie, it hurt quite badly, however I obviously couldn't let him notice. He was so kind, making sure I was okay. Then, we just started talking. We talked about all sorts of things and I was so enthralled with him and the conversation that I ended up spending the rest of my time at the party with him and only him. And you will never guess what he said to me as we were saying our goodbyes. He said that he wanted to see me again! I'm seeing him again tonight! He has to meet the parents tonight.

I know it sounds crazy, especially after only one night together, but I think he's the one, I really do. I could just feel it in my stomach, you know? I think my family will really like him. Oh God, I hope he is smart and can solve that stupid equation!

With Love,

Sarah

P.S. His name is Ryan

Author's Note

For this retelling, I decided to rewrite the story in The Ramayana when Sita and Rama first see each other. It was at this moment that the two of them fell in love. Sita's father has a bow that a man must string in order to win Sita's hand in marriage, which Rama was able to do, leading Sita and Rama to wed. I chose to tell the story in Sarah's (Sita's) point of view about falling for Ryan (Rama. The mathematical equation that a man must solve in order to win Sarah's hand in marriage is the bow in The Ramayana.

Bibliography

Narayan's Ramayana, Link to Reading A and B

Image Information

Photo of George Cathcart Woolley's diary, Web Source

Story: The Owl Who Knew Everything

As I was quietly sitting alone in my tree just past noon, I saw Monkey emerge through the brush. I noticed that he held something in his hand, nothing I’ve ever seen in all my years on this planet. It was beautiful: hand-crafted from wood, decorated with care. With each precious detail, you can see the countless hours that Man had put into it. When he flipped the mysterious item over, it almost blinded me. It seemed as if I was only an inch from the Sun, staring straight into it.

Of course Monkey was being his usual obnoxious self. For some odd reason, he always had to be the first for everything - the first to tell the others what he saw, the first to tell someone what they did was wrong, the first to show everyone what he had discovered - and he certainly could not be pushed aside. I always assumed that it was because he wanted the others to like him…how dumb.

So with Monkey doing the only thing Monkey knows how to do, he went around to all the animals and showed them what he found near where Man lives. They were all fascinated by his discovery, that is until they each flipped the thing over. Each animal, no matter how beastly they may be, cried. Bear questioned how he could be so unattractive; Wolf cried how he wishes he could look like Moose.

As I was up in my tree I had two thoughts. The first thought was how did they not know they were all such ugly creatures? I am disgusted by their faces; why else would I be in my tree alone all day? The second thought was this: how did they figure out what their faces looked like? Is this item that Monkey has magical? What does it show you?

Once all the animals looked into the magical, beautiful thing Monkey brought back from Man’s land, Monkey asked me if I would like to look. For just a moment I considered it. Would I be happy with what this item showed me? Would I cry like the others, wishing my face looked more like Eagle? Then I replied with breeze and said to the Monkey and all those that could hear, “Don’t you see how big of fools you all are? You are letting Man decided whether you are beautiful or not!”

We all decided to bury the evil thing that Monkey brought to us so deep in the dirt so that no animal would ever find it and believe Man’s deceptive plan.

Author's Note

For this retelling, I decided to base it off of The Monkey and the Looking-Glass from Indian Fables by Ramaswami Raju. One day, a monkey comes into a forest with a looking glass and he goes around to each animal showing them their reflection. Each animal cried and questioned why they looked the way they did. The monkey took the looking-glass to the owl and the owl responded by saying he did not want to look because in this case, knowledge is pain. The animals then decided to destroy the looking glass and exclaimed ignorance is bliss. I decided to retell this story from the owl’s perspective and I also changed the motto from “ignorance is bliss” to “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.

Bibliography

“The Monkey and the Looking-Glass” by Ramaswami Raju. Web Source

Image Information

Photograph of an owl. Source: Web Source