Story Week 6: The other two lovers
This story is part of the Twenty-Two Goblins unit. Story source: Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).
There once lived a young women by the name of Coral. She was the daughter of a Brahman who lived on the bank of the Kalindi River. Her beauty was intoxicating and anyone who laid eyes on her instantly fell in love. After entering adulthood, the young Coral was greeted by three young Brahman men. Each hailing from a different village, they all heard of Coral's vast beauty and journeyed to see it for themselves. At first glance, they instantly fell in love and fought for her hand in marriage. Afraid to disappoint any one of the men, she couldn't decide who to wed. A few weeks later, Coral was bed bound and died from an infection. Distraught from her death, the three Brahmans cremated her body. The first Brahman made a hut on top of her ashes, the second took her bones to the Ganges River, and the third became a monk, wandering the country side.
Now the first lover was by far the most devoted. He came from a humble family and lived a comfortable life. Now living in a small hut on top of Coral's ashes, he became a beggar and lived off the scraps of those who passed by. Ever night, he thought of Coral and how he could bring her back to life. One night, while praying to the Gods above, they told him,
"Young Brahman, do not despair. The third lover will find a way to bring your Coral back to life. However, you must never leave this hut. If you do, her ashes will be lost forever".
And with this, the young lover never left the hut in fear of losing Coral forever.
The second lover, was by far the most clever of the three. The night Coral had died, the lover had heard rumors of the Ganges River's mystical powers. Unsure of what exactly those powers were, he journeyed to his home village and sought out the local elder. He told him that the Ganges River can be used to restore life to old and weakened bones. With this in mind, he collected Coral's bones and ventured to the Ganges River. His journey was long and confusing as he had never traveled to this river. He became lost several times and almost gave up hope. One night, however, the Gods spoke to him in his dreams and told him,
"Young Brahman, you must dip Coral's bones in the Ganges River if you ever wish to see her alive!"
In a hurry, the lover found the river and dipped the bones in it.
The last lover, was aimless in him journey. He eventually found a mystic who bestowed upon him the secret to reviving Coral. Overjoyed, he returned the the first lover and was surprised to find the second lover there as well. Once they performed the ritual over her ashes and bones, Coral magically appeared before there eyes as beautiful as ever.
Authors note: This is a retelling of The Three Lovers. The premise of the story was kept the same. I, however, elaborated more into two of the three lovers stories. The original story focused in on the third lover who became a monk and wandered the countryside. I decided it would be interesting to write about the other two lovers and how their actions helped bring Coral back to life.
There once lived a young women by the name of Coral. She was the daughter of a Brahman who lived on the bank of the Kalindi River. Her beauty was intoxicating and anyone who laid eyes on her instantly fell in love. After entering adulthood, the young Coral was greeted by three young Brahman men. Each hailing from a different village, they all heard of Coral's vast beauty and journeyed to see it for themselves. At first glance, they instantly fell in love and fought for her hand in marriage. Afraid to disappoint any one of the men, she couldn't decide who to wed. A few weeks later, Coral was bed bound and died from an infection. Distraught from her death, the three Brahmans cremated her body. The first Brahman made a hut on top of her ashes, the second took her bones to the Ganges River, and the third became a monk, wandering the country side.
Now the first lover was by far the most devoted. He came from a humble family and lived a comfortable life. Now living in a small hut on top of Coral's ashes, he became a beggar and lived off the scraps of those who passed by. Ever night, he thought of Coral and how he could bring her back to life. One night, while praying to the Gods above, they told him,
"Young Brahman, do not despair. The third lover will find a way to bring your Coral back to life. However, you must never leave this hut. If you do, her ashes will be lost forever".
And with this, the young lover never left the hut in fear of losing Coral forever.
The second lover, was by far the most clever of the three. The night Coral had died, the lover had heard rumors of the Ganges River's mystical powers. Unsure of what exactly those powers were, he journeyed to his home village and sought out the local elder. He told him that the Ganges River can be used to restore life to old and weakened bones. With this in mind, he collected Coral's bones and ventured to the Ganges River. His journey was long and confusing as he had never traveled to this river. He became lost several times and almost gave up hope. One night, however, the Gods spoke to him in his dreams and told him,
"Young Brahman, you must dip Coral's bones in the Ganges River if you ever wish to see her alive!"
In a hurry, the lover found the river and dipped the bones in it.
The last lover, was aimless in him journey. He eventually found a mystic who bestowed upon him the secret to reviving Coral. Overjoyed, he returned the the first lover and was surprised to find the second lover there as well. Once they performed the ritual over her ashes and bones, Coral magically appeared before there eyes as beautiful as ever.
Authors note: This is a retelling of The Three Lovers. The premise of the story was kept the same. I, however, elaborated more into two of the three lovers stories. The original story focused in on the third lover who became a monk and wandered the countryside. I decided it would be interesting to write about the other two lovers and how their actions helped bring Coral back to life.
Ganges River by Pixabay
I also read this story for my reading! I read it for last week, though. I won't lie... I skimmed a lot of it. But I really appreciate that you took two of the lovers who were mostly ignored in the story and gave them more importance. Overall, this retelling stayed really true to the original, which can be a good thing at times where the premise of the story is integral to its meaning. I wonder what it would have been like, though, if you have elaborated more on the girls life as well. Anyways, nice story! Great job.
ReplyDeleteEvan,
ReplyDeleteNow you have me wanting a sequel... did she end up deciding which person to marry? Also, these seem to be pretty simple steps to revive someone... makes me wonder why more people don't take this option when a loved one passes! I also like that you gave each lover a distinct characteristic... clever, loyal, and mystic, etc. It helps to define the character in the short space of a short story.
Hi Evan! I read this story in one of the earlier weeks and I really like what you did to retell it. It is great hearing more details about other characters. I also like how you kept the story pretty much the same since the original was already pretty good. Great job retelling the story, I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of your stories.
ReplyDeleteEvan,
ReplyDeleteNice job with this retelling! I like that you kept the majority of it the same, but elaborated on a lot of it as well. Telling us the background of the first two lovers was interesting and gave the overall story a nice touch. I'm wondering though- now that Coral is alive, which lover got to marry her?? Did they share her?? Nice work!
Hey Evan!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your storytelling post! I think this would be even better if you made it a little longer and included more details. The story really intrigued me and made me eager to know more, so great job! I think you could have used these ideas for this short storytelling for your storybook project. Good work.