Week 2 Story: The Youngest Son
The Youngest Son
Once upon a time there was a mother of three sons who was heading into the castle to pick up some essential items and food. The mother asked her sons if they needed anything and two of the sons said things such as toys, balls, and other things that they did not actually need. However, the third and youngest son quietly asked his mother for three roses. His mother was shocked by this request from his son and decided that on her journey to the castle she would find her son the roses that he had asked for. After she had gotten everything she needed from the castle and was heading home, she saw a garden full of roses. She thought to herself, this is perfect, and went over and picked three of the most beautiful roses she had ever seen. As soon as she has picked the roses a basilisk appeared right in front of the mother and demanded that since she took three of the roses from the garden she must give the basilisk something in return. The basilisk demanded that the mother give him the youngest son that wanted the roses. The mom distraughtly returned home thinking about what she could do to protect her youngest son. When she reached her house she decided that there was no other choice than to send her youngest son to the basilisk who lived near the castle. The boy did not show any sign of fear, instead excitement that he would see the castle because he had never seen it before. The basilisk ordered the boy to do many things and he did exactly as she asked. One day the basilisk went up to the boy and asked him to chop his head off. With a lot of hesitation the boy grabbed the knife and chopped her head off. As the head fell to the ground, a serpent appeared. The serpent then asked the boy to chop it's head off and right away the little boy chopped its head off. All at once in a whirlwind, an older man appeared in armor and had a sword. The boy blinked and rubbed his eyes because he could not believe what he was seeing. The man that appeared happened to be the boys father who had disappeared two years ago and was never found. The father and son returned back to their house with a handful of roses and reunited with their family forever.
Author's Note: This story originated from the story "The Three Roses". In "The Three Roses", a mother asks her three daughters if they need anything from the store and one of them replies that she wants three roses. On her journey home from the castle she passes by a garden full of roses and picks three of them. A basilisk appears and demands her daughter in exchange for the roses. The daughter follows the basilisk's orders including cutting its head off and a serpents head off. Then a handsome young man appears with the keys to the castle in his mouth and they get married and live a happy life.
Bibliography: "The Three Roses" from The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis (1922). Web Source
Hey Christina! I loved reading your version of this story! I read the original and thought it was a very interesting rendition of the Beauty and the Beast story. I liked the gender flip you did and also how you changed the ending from significant other to a father. It makes the story a little more relatable for me! I think you did an awesome job with the assignment!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this story! I especially like the fact that you changed the story to where the basilisk is the boys father instead of just some random guy. It makes more sense for him to want his son to come live with him rather than just demanding that some random girl come to his house over a few roses. I also like the way it shifts the focus of the story to familial love instead of romance.
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