Week 7 Story: Mankind's Greed

Author's Note: This tale is based on the Khasi Folktale, "How the Ox came to be the Servant of Man." A god sends the Ox to tell the humans to stop wasting resources. During his journey to the village, the Ox is being thoroughly pestered by bugs. A Crow lands on the Ox's back and eats the bugs for him. In exchange for this kindness, the Ox agrees to not tell the humans to stop wasting food, as it is the leftovers that the Crow generally feeds on. This story is exploring that same deity's perspective on today's world.

The God yawned and stretched in his bed. How long had it been since he fell asleep. "What day is it? For how long have I slumbered?" he called out. At the sound of his master's voice, the Pterodactyl arose and entered the God's bed chamber.

"My dear Savior!" he greeted, "It has been nearly 10,000 years since you laid down your most gracious head."

"Oh dear," the God replied. He had overslept by a centuries then. No matter. He wished he had been awake to witness the fall of mankind, but a part of him was fond of the silly little bipeds. Perhaps a few could have joined the Pterodactyl and Unicorn in his staff before they were completely wiped out, but it was undoubtedly too late now. "For how long has man been removed from the earth?" he inquired.

"My lord?" The Pterodactyl responded, sounding quite confused. "Man has not only survived over these long years, but is thriving. His people number in the billions and cover every piece of the world!" Confused, the God stood up from his bed.

"But they were too wasteful! The Ox did not deliver my message as he should have. How have they made it this far, and multiplied that much, without learning to save the resources precious to their survival? I must see this for myself!" and so he did. The God toured the earth, visiting the varying tribes of humans. He still saw the waste, more than ever, in their daily lives. It seemed as though mankind simply produced enough extra to account for the waste. Their farming techniques had improved 10-fold since he had last been awake, and they now possessed- the power to bring back a loved one after their heart had stopped? The humans had harnessed the power of lightning and had too many metal tools to count. The evolution of mankind was truly a miracle. But how could this possibly be sustainable?  The God wondered. As he rose back into the heavens, the answer became clear. The earth was not as bright and shiny as he remembered. The human were living because the earth was dying.

In the Eyes of the Creator by Melinda Rathnayake
via Flickr

Bibliography:

How the Ox came to be the Servant of Man, Mrs. K. U. Rafy

Reading Notes: Nigerian Folk Stories (Part B)

1. The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder

• Synopsis:
• Thunder was a mother sheep and her son was thunder
• Whenever the young ram would become angry he would run around town causing destruction
• His mother would call after him, telling him to stop
• He wouldn't listen
• People complained and the king banished the duo to the outskirts of the bush
• This didn't work as the lightning would still set fire to the fields and make its way into town to burn farmhouses
• People complained again and the mother and son were banished to live in the sky
• Possibilities"
• Rewritten from the mother's perspective

5.Why Dead People are Buried

• Synopsis:
• The Creator was very fond of his people and didn't like it when someone died
• He decided that all bodies should be placed in a compound and covered in wood ash and they would come back to life after 24 hours
• He sent the Dog to deliver these directions to the people
• The Dog got distracted by a bone on his way to the village
• After the dog didn't return, the Creator sent a sheep to deliver the message
• The sheep too got distracted by some grass on the side of the road
• When the sheep finally delivered his message, he had forgotten the specifics and told the people to bury their dead in the ground
• When the dog returned to his mission, he did remember the details, but since the sheep had already given the wrong message no one believed him
• Possibilities:
• First Person Perspective
• Dog
• Sheep
• Village Person

The Dog gets Distracted by a Bone
Source: Pixabay

8. How the Tortoise Overcame the Elephant and the Hippopotamus

• Synopsis:
• The tortoise challenged the elephant to a contest of strength
• The elephant had to pull the turtle out of the river with a piece of rope
• The Turtle cheated by tying himself to a rock
• He untied himself right before the elephant turned back around
• Since he lost, the elephant paid the turtle 20,000 rods (currency)
• When the Turtles funds started running low, he played a similar trick on the Hippopotamus
• Because the hippo is a water dweller, the turtle tied himself to a tree
• Having lost, the Hippo also gave him 20,000 rods
• Since he had proved himself as the strongest, the tortoise was allowed to be friends with the elephant and hippo
• He wanted to live with both, but since one was on land and one was in water, he sent his son to live with the elephant
• Possibilities:
• First Person Perspective
• Elephant
• Hippo
• The Tortoise's Son
• Alternate Ending: The tortoise gets spotted tying himself to the tree vs the hippo
• Because seriously, there was absolutely no one that came to watch? Yeah right!

Story Source: Nigerian Folk Stories

Reading Notes: Nigerian Folk Stories (Part A)

1. Of the Pretty Stranger who Killed the King

• Synopsis:
• The king was excellent at war strategies and won many battles
• Prisoners became slaves
• He had lots of enemies, but no one could defeat him
• One rival went to the town witch and offered her riches in exchange for the king's death
• The witch disguised herself as a beautiful maiden
• She went to a festival where she was seen by the king
• He found her so beautiful, he proposed that night
• She went to visit the king and fed him food laced with a sleeping potion
• The king falls and the witch decapitates him
• She takes his head with her when she leaves as proof
• The rival king sees the head and decides to attack the now unprotected village
• It's a slaughter
• Possibilities:
• Rewritten for modern times
• I'm thinking a bad-ass, James Bond-esque assassin

Daggers by anndr
via DeviantArt

3. The Disobedient Daughter who Married a Skull

• Synopsis:
• There was a very beautiful girl who refused to marry any of her parents suitors
• They were all old and ugly
• She swore to only marry someone as beautiful as herself
• A skull from the spirit world heard of this girl and Frankenstein'd together a perfect male body in which to pursue her
• The girl sees him in the market and immediately takes him home
• He asks for her parent's blessing
• They initially refuse, but eventually give in
• The couple leave to go back to the skulls home country
• The girl just thought it was a far off village
• Upon reaching the spirit world, the skull reverts back to his original form
• The girl wishes to go home
• The skull forbids it
• She meets the skull's mother, a weak old woman and befriends her by helping with chores around the house
• The old woman feels bad for the girl and has grown quite fond of her
• The people of the spirit realm are cannibals and are going to eat the girl
• She arranges to have a breeze carry the girl home on the condition that she obey her parents going forward
• The girl agrees
• She gets home and marries one of her parents friends
• Possibilities:
• I would love to rewrite this story from the Skull's Mother's point of view

9. Why a Hawk Kills Chickens

• Synopsis:
• A hawk sees a beautiful hen eating corn
• He lands and proposes marriage
• She accepts
• The Chicken and the Hawk move to the Hawks Home
• A Rooster, that had had feelings for the hen for a few months decided to win her back
• She runs away with him
• The Hawk sees this and is Angry
• When the hawk complains to the king about the Hen's behavior, her family is ordered to return her dowry
• They are poor and can't afford to return it
• The hawk is given permission to kill a chicken whenever he feels like it instead
• Possibilities:
• I would definitely want to consider redoing this tale from a first person point of view
• Hen
• Hawk
• The animals could be rewritten as humans in a soap opera style piece

Story Source: Nigerian Folk Stories