Week 7 Story: The Antidote
There was once a man named James who was backpacking through West Africa, hunting for wild-life. While he was exploring, he came came across a ditch with three figures inside of it. These figures were revealed to be a leopard, a serpent, a rat, and a man. They called out to him and begged him to help them out of the hole. As a hunter, James initially felt that he should only let the man free from the hole, but after great deliberation he helped them all escape from the pit. They all swore to make it up to him and prove their worth because of this great act.
A few days pasted and the serpent found James and offered him a very powerful antidote for snake poison. He told James that all he needed to do was mix the serum with a traitor's blood and the victim could then drink it and be healed. James thanked the serpent, and made sure that he always carried the serum on him. The Leopard proved his worth by joining James in his hunting trips, and helping him catch his prey. That same week, the rat had scoured the city and found many fine clothes and material that brought James great wealth. Stephen, the man James had rescued, was now one of his close friends. He spent every day with him and they developed a strong bond.
James used the wealth he had procured to buy a large estate that clearly displayed his opulence. News broke across the city that the king of the nation had been bitten by a snake and robbed of many of his jewels. It was apparent to everyone that James' wealth seemingly came from nowhere so he was immediately investigated and ridiculed. James was an honest man, and thus told everyone the truth. Despite this he was thrown into prison. Stephen, who was aware of the entire situation visited James in prison and offered to help him. James was in the midst of despair but Stephen realized what had happened. The rat had stolen from the king and given the goods the James. Stephen now knew what he had to do in order to rescue his dear friend James. He asked James for the Serum and set out to find the rat. He was unable to do so until he came across James' Leopard. The Leopard applied his hunting skills to track down the rat. The rat admitted that he had injected snake venom from the serpent into the king and stolen from the king to give to James. At this point, the Leopard swallowed the rat whole and then spit into the snake serum. This added the touch of a traitor's blood. They returned to the king's palace with the serum, giving it to him right in time to still have an effect. The King was overjoyed and agreed to let James go free as long as he returned his stolen items. James agreed, and returned to a life of hunting with his friends that he had rescued.
Forrest Location
Author's Note: I took the West African story titled "The Ungrateful Man" and for the most part retold it with a few minor changes. In the original story, none of the characters had names. Also, "Stephen" was the original traitor instead of the rat. I felt like I changed just the right amount in order to make this story my own.
Bibliography: This story is part of the West African Folktales unit. Story source: West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, with drawings by Cecilia Sinclair (1917).
A few days pasted and the serpent found James and offered him a very powerful antidote for snake poison. He told James that all he needed to do was mix the serum with a traitor's blood and the victim could then drink it and be healed. James thanked the serpent, and made sure that he always carried the serum on him. The Leopard proved his worth by joining James in his hunting trips, and helping him catch his prey. That same week, the rat had scoured the city and found many fine clothes and material that brought James great wealth. Stephen, the man James had rescued, was now one of his close friends. He spent every day with him and they developed a strong bond.
James used the wealth he had procured to buy a large estate that clearly displayed his opulence. News broke across the city that the king of the nation had been bitten by a snake and robbed of many of his jewels. It was apparent to everyone that James' wealth seemingly came from nowhere so he was immediately investigated and ridiculed. James was an honest man, and thus told everyone the truth. Despite this he was thrown into prison. Stephen, who was aware of the entire situation visited James in prison and offered to help him. James was in the midst of despair but Stephen realized what had happened. The rat had stolen from the king and given the goods the James. Stephen now knew what he had to do in order to rescue his dear friend James. He asked James for the Serum and set out to find the rat. He was unable to do so until he came across James' Leopard. The Leopard applied his hunting skills to track down the rat. The rat admitted that he had injected snake venom from the serpent into the king and stolen from the king to give to James. At this point, the Leopard swallowed the rat whole and then spit into the snake serum. This added the touch of a traitor's blood. They returned to the king's palace with the serum, giving it to him right in time to still have an effect. The King was overjoyed and agreed to let James go free as long as he returned his stolen items. James agreed, and returned to a life of hunting with his friends that he had rescued.
Forrest Location
Author's Note: I took the West African story titled "The Ungrateful Man" and for the most part retold it with a few minor changes. In the original story, none of the characters had names. Also, "Stephen" was the original traitor instead of the rat. I felt like I changed just the right amount in order to make this story my own.
Bibliography: This story is part of the West African Folktales unit. Story source: West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, with drawings by Cecilia Sinclair (1917).
What is up Donovan!? Your story was awesome to read! The story was interesting and the final paragraph was one of my favorite parts of the story. The robbery of the king and how the reaction of the town was immediately on James as his wealth came out of nowhere was sort of funny to me. I went from having a chuckle to feeling bad for James since he was imprisoned due to his wealth that he had.
ReplyDeleteHello Donovan,
ReplyDeleteThis story was very interesting and i really enjoyed reading it. One part in particular that I really enjoyed was how all of the friends of the hunter had a hand in the final conflict. It made me feel like every character in this story served a purpose. One thing that you might fix is the attention to detail. In the first paragraph you stated that there were 3 figures in the hole, then you listed four. Minor details overall. Great job!
Hi Donovan,
ReplyDeleteThis story was a great story. I had a great time reading through it. I thought the detail throughout helped keep the story entertaining. I agree that you changed the right amount to make your story be your own. I find it to be an easier read whenever the characters change a lot to bring your own writing personality. Great story I am excited to read more!
Hello! I liked the addition of names to your story. I feel as though the names allowed for the reader to understand the story more and keep track of character development as well as plot development. You did a great job on making this story your own, and I am excited to see what other stories you come up with!
ReplyDelete