Week 9 Storytelling: The Monkey's Guitar
Original Source :The Monkey's Fiddle
Story source: South African Folk-Tales by James Honey (1910).
One day there was a monkey who decided to leave his land due to the lack of resources and exhausted animals that lived in the land. The monkey went to live with his uncle who provided him work and shelter. The monkey worked very hard for a couple of months and then one day decided to return home. The monkey's uncle gave the monkey two gifts in return for working so hard over the past couple of months. The monkey received a bow and arrow and a guitar from his uncle and started his journey home. On his way home, the monkey ran into a wolf who was exhausted from trying to hunt a deer all day. The monkey offered to help him by using his bow and arrow to shoot the deer. The monkey and the wolf feasted on the deer and were very happy. However, soon the wolf became jealous of the monkey's bow and arrow and demanded that the monkey give it to him. They argued and argued because the monkey would not give the wolf his bow and arrow. A jackal soon heard them arguing and came over to see what was going on. The jackal decided that the matter should be taken to court which consisted of many animals including a lion and a tiger. After hearing both sides of the story and all of the details the court ruled that the monkey was innocent and that the wolf had stolen the bow and arrow from the monkey. The monkey was so happy that he was not convicted of a crime that he did not do. The wolf was distraught and begged the court and the monkey to make a different decision and let him live. After a lot of collaboration, the court decided that the punishment of the wolf would be up to the monkey. The monkey decided that the wolf would be his personal assistant and would do anything they monkey needed or wanted for the rest of his life. In the end, the monkey and wolf ended becoming best friends and never had an issue with each other again.
Author's Note: A monkey went to work with his uncle in a different land. The monkey's uncle gave him a fiddle and a bow and arrow for his work. The first person he ran into was Brer Wolf. Brer Wolf had been attempting to hunt deer all morning, but was not successful. Being nice, the monkey showed the wolf his bow and arrow and helped him kill a deer. The wolf became very jealous of the monkey's bow and arrow and begged the monkey to give it to him. Soon, a jackal heard both of them and came over to see what was going on. The issue was brought to the court. The sentence fell to the monkey meaning that the wolf got the bow and the monkey must be hung. Realizing his fiddle was at his side, he began to play it to the court. His charmed fiddle made anyone dance while it was being played. The lion begged him to stop playing and the monkey said he would only stop if he withdrew the sentence and acknowledge that wolf stole it from him. The wolf and lion agreed that wolf stole the bow and arrow.
Story source: South African Folk-Tales by James Honey (1910).
One day there was a monkey who decided to leave his land due to the lack of resources and exhausted animals that lived in the land. The monkey went to live with his uncle who provided him work and shelter. The monkey worked very hard for a couple of months and then one day decided to return home. The monkey's uncle gave the monkey two gifts in return for working so hard over the past couple of months. The monkey received a bow and arrow and a guitar from his uncle and started his journey home. On his way home, the monkey ran into a wolf who was exhausted from trying to hunt a deer all day. The monkey offered to help him by using his bow and arrow to shoot the deer. The monkey and the wolf feasted on the deer and were very happy. However, soon the wolf became jealous of the monkey's bow and arrow and demanded that the monkey give it to him. They argued and argued because the monkey would not give the wolf his bow and arrow. A jackal soon heard them arguing and came over to see what was going on. The jackal decided that the matter should be taken to court which consisted of many animals including a lion and a tiger. After hearing both sides of the story and all of the details the court ruled that the monkey was innocent and that the wolf had stolen the bow and arrow from the monkey. The monkey was so happy that he was not convicted of a crime that he did not do. The wolf was distraught and begged the court and the monkey to make a different decision and let him live. After a lot of collaboration, the court decided that the punishment of the wolf would be up to the monkey. The monkey decided that the wolf would be his personal assistant and would do anything they monkey needed or wanted for the rest of his life. In the end, the monkey and wolf ended becoming best friends and never had an issue with each other again.
Author's Note: A monkey went to work with his uncle in a different land. The monkey's uncle gave him a fiddle and a bow and arrow for his work. The first person he ran into was Brer Wolf. Brer Wolf had been attempting to hunt deer all morning, but was not successful. Being nice, the monkey showed the wolf his bow and arrow and helped him kill a deer. The wolf became very jealous of the monkey's bow and arrow and begged the monkey to give it to him. Soon, a jackal heard both of them and came over to see what was going on. The issue was brought to the court. The sentence fell to the monkey meaning that the wolf got the bow and the monkey must be hung. Realizing his fiddle was at his side, he began to play it to the court. His charmed fiddle made anyone dance while it was being played. The lion begged him to stop playing and the monkey said he would only stop if he withdrew the sentence and acknowledge that wolf stole it from him. The wolf and lion agreed that wolf stole the bow and arrow.
Hi Christina! Your story was very fun, but when I first entered the website page I was a little intimidated by the huge block of paragraph. It is easier for a reader to read and enjoy a story when it is a little bit more broken up instead in one big chunk. It also helps the story feel less rushed, because as I read your story, I felt like it was going very quickly. Also, dialogue can really help give a story a less rushed feel. Overall, good work!
ReplyDeleteHi Christina! You have a really cool story! I really like how in your author's notes, you explain about the monkey and the wolf. These stories are way different from the Indian Epic stories but these still sound super awesome! Thanks for sharing your story and I look forward to reading more of it!
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