Week 7 Storytelling: The Search for Eternal Life

Original Story:

The original story is part of the The Monkey King unit. Story source: "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).
Source

In a far away land lived a mighty king and his faithful subjects. The king, despite his young age, had brought great prosperity to his subjects and thus, they worshiped him with great devotion. The king spoke of his many travels to neighboring kingdoms and the many sights he encountered. He always returned with plenty of food and drinks for his subjects and everyone went to sleep fully fed. Having explored all the neighboring kingdoms, the mighty king sat in his royal hall and began to weep. He felt that he wasn't able to provide anything new and worthwhile to his subjects. Amidst his weeping, a strange man walked in the great hall unnoticed. Many had never seen the man before because before this moment, he had not stepped foot on this earth. He was, in reality, a messenger of the Gods and the overseer of this region. 

After seeing the great generosity and devotion the king showed his subjects, he stood before the Gods and asked:"Oh mighty and merciful Gods, may I please help this poor king find what he is looking for?"

The Gods paused, looked at each other, nodded, and the king of the Gods replied:"Oh keeper of the east, we were all compelled by your request as we too, have kept a close eye on this mighty and generous king. We grant you permission to bestow upon him the knowledge that he seeks".

Overjoyed with this news, the keeper of the east took the form of a young man and entered the kings great hall as he wept. 

The keeper of the east addressed the king: "My king, do not cry. I have come with the knowledge that you seek to bring great happiness and prosperity to your people. The secret to eternal life."

As he wiped off the remaining tears, the king rose from his seat with great skepticism.

With great power in his voice, he replied: "What is this you speak of eternal life? There could be no such thing! Only the great Gods and their messengers posses this gift. 

Pleased, the keeper of the east replied: Yes you are correct mighty king. However, some of those eternal beings have taken an earthly form and can be found in remote caves far away from here. If you were to find the great monk of the east, he would bestow upon you the secret to eternal life so that you may share it with your faithful subjects".

Delighted with this news, the mighty king was full of excitement and began planning his trip. He was given a map of the land from the keeper of the east and bid his faithful subjects farewell.

Authors Note: This adaptation of the original story kept many aspects the same. The few changes I made were the king and his subjects were originally apes. Also, the ape that provided the information for eternal life was merely a wise ape living amongst the other apes. I thought this area of the story was ripe for a good back story so I incorporate how this character got his knowledge and how he fit into the greater story.

Photo of a king's throne by Wikipedia