Once upon a time, there was a greedy king that ruled a village. He built his palace twice the size of any other king and clothed himself in jewels. He had anything anyone could ever imagine...except the one thing no one could gift -- a son.
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The king prayed to the gods to grant him a son and the village was shocked when the sky turned bright as day in the middle of the night. The gods had heard his prayer and were coming to grant him his greatest wish.
Everyone stepped outside of their homes to watch as beams of light moved closer and closer until the palace was illuminated to bright it looked like it might catch fire.
An hour passed with everyone in the town wondering how the king could ever have a prayer answered with the lifestyle he lived but, with time, it fell to the back of their minds.
A few days later, the king announced that each of his six wives were pregnant. Again, the town did not understand how such a man could be given this gift. They waited the see if the sons were of an evil spirit, but, once they were birthed, they all seemed to be the most perfect humans.
Years went by and the town grew to love the king's sons more and more. They were men of honor and dignity and always wanted what was best for the village.
One day, the king decided that six sons was not enough. He prayed and prayed for six more. Once more, the prayer was granted and the village was sent back on their path of confusion.
The gods told the king that he would have to go on a mission in order to receive his sons. It would be a mission of great challenge that included not eating for days and carrying anything he needed on his back. He agreed and the gods raised back to the heavens.
The next morning, the king told his sons they must prepare as he is sending them on a mission to receive his six new sons. Being loyal sons, they agreed, packed a small bag of light essentials, and went on their way.
Just minutes after the sons left the village, havoc stirred from the heavens. The sky turned black as night during lunch time and the ground began to shake. Everyone was confused and frightened as this had never happened before.
"I told you what you must do to be blessed with six more sons and you took advantage of my kind offering!" A voice spoke from the heaven, so deep that it caused the ground to shake even more.
The king tried to apologize, but his palace collapsed on top of him before he could say one word.
The village cheered with such volume, the sons came running back from the mission they had begun to see what had happened.
When they saw the palace crumbled to pieces, confusion filled their faces. The town explained that the mission was for their father to endure and that he broke his promise to the gods by send them on the mission instead. Slowly, smiles spread across each of their faces.
"Although we will always love our father, we are excited to rebuild this wonderful village the way it was prior to his ruling!" Shouted one of the sons.
The ground began to shake once more from the endless cheers the villagers were sending up to the gods. They now understood why such a man was ever granted with answered prayers in the first place.
Author's Note:
In the original story, Sagara, a king of Ayodhya, had no children from his two wives and was then granted a son from on and sixty-thousand from the other. After finally having an abundance of sons, the king was set on offering a horse sacrifice. The horse ended up being stolen and the king commanded his sixty-thousand sons to go find it and the princes were all burned to ashes. The king was worried when they didn't return and sent his other son to find them. He got to the spot where the horse went missing and found the ashes of his sixty-thousand uncles.
In the original story, Sagara, a king of Ayodhya, had no children from his two wives and was then granted a son from on and sixty-thousand from the other. After finally having an abundance of sons, the king was set on offering a horse sacrifice. The horse ended up being stolen and the king commanded his sixty-thousand sons to go find it and the princes were all burned to ashes. The king was worried when they didn't return and sent his other son to find them. He got to the spot where the horse went missing and found the ashes of his sixty-thousand uncles.
I changed most of the story and just took the idea of a king want more sons and exaggerated it by also having the king not be supported by the village.
Rayamana, Part A. Sources used: M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.
Rayamana, Part A. Sources used: M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.
Hey there, Natalie!
ReplyDeleteI thought you did a great job with this story! I think that you had a really unique and creative perspective on the original idea. I think that there can be a great lesson to learn from all of this. It is always nice to see a reminder to stay humble and be thankful for what we have. I think the "wow" moment of this story was when the heavens destroyed the king's palace. He finally got what was coming to him. I think the ending had a very nice and optimistic tone. The sons were sad about their father, but they were eager to build a better future! I wonder what the outcome would have been if the heavens gave the king another chance? Would he have finally lived up to his word, or would he have reverted back to his old ways? I look forward to reading more of your stories!
Hey Natalie reading your story made me so happy ! Stories like this bring joy to my heart, it is crazy that a king back in those days could be so powerful and get whatever they wish for. it blows my mind that this king had six wives though, and all of them were having babies at the same time. I really enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDeleteHey Natalie,
ReplyDeleteThis was an incredible read. It read as though it was professionally written. You should write in your free time, if you do not already. When you added the ambiguity of why the kings prayers would be answered, it kept me in the story. I love reading, so this was a fun one to read for me, as I can tell you put effort into making this story your own. Thank you for the good read.