Week 13 Storytelling: A Letter About A Beggar

Dear Anika,

You wouldn’t believe what happened today! It was such a fascinating day in Ayodhya. A beggar actually got to EAT the king’s food! Now, King Dasharatha was always a good king, but whenever it came to his food, he never shared. Every day, the king started this new thing where he would have his lunch in the palace courtyard and let everyone watch him eat his delicious and expensive meal. I never knew why he did this, but it was a sight to see for every citizen in Ayodhya. The only thing more exciting than seeing the king eat was watching the king be tricked into letting someone else eat his food!

I think his name was Mohan – that was the beggar that tricked the king. I see him around from time to time, and he always had a smile on his face but he was always up to something. Today, this bold beggar ran through the crowd yelling “News! News! News!” and then collapsed in front of King Dasharatha feigning exhaustion. Because all of us and the king wanted to know what the news was, the good king gave a share of his meal and his wine to the beggar to revive him. But Mohan just ate and drank and ate again! You would have thought he was never going to stop!

However, soon after he was done with his food and drink, the impatient but excited king asked the beggar once more to hear what news Mohan brought to him. Mohan replied, “The news is, your Majesty, that an hour ago I was hungry, and now I am not!” Everyone was so quiet because we thought that the king would have been so angry! After all, the king never shared his food and no one has ever tried to eat it! But no, King Dasharatha just laughed! And so everyone else laughed too! Then he said, “Oh, that is good news! You are one bold beggar, and this was such a clever plan so I will allow it to pass this time. But mark my words, this is the last time I will let you or anyone else pull such a move again.” With that, the king just kept eating his meal and the beggar walked away happily!

Oh, Anika. It was such a fascinating day in Ayodhya. Everyone has been talking about it all day!  I never thought I would ever see such a thing in all my life, but there I was in the crowd watching it all happen! The king is really a good king unlike other kings around here, which makes me very proud to be an Ayodhyan. I wish you could come visit soon, and maybe I could show you who Mohan is! Anyway, mom and dad are doing great. They told me to tell you that they love you, and we hope your travels are going very very well. I will keep you updated on any other interesting stories from home! (Maybe this bold beggar will try to eat the king’s food again soon!)

Until next time,

Mayra

Dear Anika

Author's Note:

This story was based off the Indian fable "The Bold Beggar," which appeared in Rouse's collection of old Indian fables. This week, I was inspired to tell this story from a blend of a written letter between sister and a Ramayana element with the king being Dasharatha and the location as the kingdom Ayodhya. When I read the original fable, I thought it was hilarious that the beggar got away with eating the king's food with such a ridiculously simple plan. For the character of the king, I needed someone who had a good heart (at least a good enough one that would let the beggar go without punishment) but who was still greedy (since he does purposely eat in front of people without offering food and since he does warn everyone not to try the beggar's trick). At first, I thought about using Rama as the king but then again I didn't think he had enough greed in his character to pull it off. SO! I decided to use Dasharatha and the rest of the story fell in place!

Bibliography: Rouse's "The Giant Crab & Other Tales from Old India"

Reading Notes: Rouse's "The Giant Crab & Other Tales from Old India" (Part B)

Continuing on from last week, I am writing notes on my favorite stories from Rouse's Indian fables. Here are two fables I liked:

The Quail and the Falcon

• The Quail had no trouble looking for food because he just ate all the worms and seeds that came up from the farmer's plough.
• One day, he decided to try to find food for himself in the forest so off he went to search for worms. Meanwhile, the Falcon was in search for food as well and immediately caught the Quail. 
• The Quail mourned, saying that he should've stayed home because then he would've never gotten caught by Falcon. Then, Falcon took this as a challenge, thinking that he could catch the Quail anywhere! So he let the Quail go and chased after him at the farm.
• Once back home, the Quail challenged the Falcon to come get him, and when the Falcon swiftly dived down, Quail immediately and flawlessly avoided, causing Falcon to die from shock and from hitting the ground too hard.
• Moral: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

I thought this was an interesting storyline, especially when the author decided to use legitimate birds as his characters to describe the moral. I could write a story and base the characters off this, but maybe keep out the death part.

Quail

The Bold Beggar

• There was a king named Dainty who liked to spend 1000 pounds on his meals, and allowed anyone to watch him eat for free.
• One day, there was a man who wanted to try the king's food so he came up with a plan to trick the king into giving him food.
• The man cried out "News! News! News!" multiple times while running through the watchful crowd and to the king. Then, upon arriving in front of the king, the man collapse in fake hunger.
• The king give the man part of his own meal and a cup of wine to refresh the man. Once the man ate and drank his share, the king asked him to tell him the news.
• "The news is, your Majesty," said the man, "that an hour ago I was hungry, and now I am not!"
• Surprisingly, the king laughed at the boldness of this beggar and did not punish him; however, he did warn the man and everyone else that this is the last time he'll do such a thing.

I thought this story was brilliant and the ending was far more generous and nicer than I thought it was going to be. I love how the king had a sense of humor and was kind, unlike many other stories which shows the king in a more foul light. I could basically rewrite this story but add more details to develop the character of the king and the beggar a little more.

Beggar

Bibliography: Rouse's "The Giant Crab & Other Tales from Old India"