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Week 2 Story: The Girl who Loved the Lion

The Girl who Loved the Lion

“Mother, Father, why do you laugh so cruelly with each other?” asked young Ariana.

“Oh, precious daughter, we have just bade the lion that watches you so fondly to rid himself of his teeth and claws so that he may have you as his bride. But if he does what we ask, he will be hideous and not much danger at all. He will no longer be able to protect you so we will deny him the object of his desire and teach him a lesson in the process!” Her father chortled.

“Father! How could you? That noble beast was kind and good. He always watched out for me when I played in the garden. I can tell he loves me and would do nothing to hurt me!”

But still her parent’s just laughed. They shoved her in her room and threw away the key so that she would stay with them till a proper suitor came along and made them rich.

Ariana was not having that. She quickly searched her room for ways to escape. There was a loose brick in the wall behind her bookshelf that she slowly managed to free. Once that brick was out, others followed and soon there was a hole big enough for her to crawl out of.

But she was too late.

From the front of the house she heard jeering.

It was nighttime and, as she peaked around the side of her house, she could see her beloved Lion, his head hanging low in the torchlight. Fireflies flitted around his face and allowed her to catch glimpses of his sunken, mushy jowls. The earth was stained at his feet with the blood that gushed from the pits where his claws had been.

Ariana’s parents turned the once proud beast away and he slunk out of the firelight, his tail dragging pitifully behind him, his blood the only proof he had been there at all.

The cruel couple went back inside and drank to their cruel craftiness long into the night. Their daughter, however, waited till they were both asleep and then stole a torch and traced the blood spots down the road into the woods.

The woods were dark and ominous and she was afraid, but she feared losing her brave Lion even more. Soon she encountered a giant snake in her path. She pointed the torch at it and willed it to let her pass but it was hungry and instead wrapped her in its coils.

In desperation, Ariana called out for her Lion to come save her. Then she blacked out.

When Ariana opened her eyes, the giant snake was gone.

“Did I dream such a harrowing incident?” She mused aloud.

“No, my love, I heard you call for me and so I rescued you.” 

It was the Lion!

“But how? You have no claws and no teeth to fight with anymore.”

“I used my roar. I would give up anything for you but I would also find any way to save you. My love for you allows me to do things that seem impossible” the lion rumbled. 

At this moment, the great snake slithered back into the circle of torchlight. Before Ariana or the Lion could react, the snake transformed into a beautiful goddess. She told them she’d never heard a declaration of love so pure and wanted to grant the couple one wish.

“We want to be happily together forever,” they decided. 

And, though the Lion remained nail and toothless, it was so.

Author's Note: 

I got the idea for this story from The Lion in Love. In it, a lion falls in love with a young girl and asks her parents for her hand in marriage. Fearing for their daughter’s life, the couple asks the lion to remove his teeth and claws so there’s less of a chance for him to hurt her. The lion is so smitten with the young girl that he does what he’s asked. When he comes back, however, the couple laughs at him and refuses to give him their daughter.

I didn’t particularly like the story as it was. I felt like I could add more to it so I wrote a continuation of the story in which the daughter finds out how cruel her parents are being and refuses to live with them anymore and, instead, goes out to find the Lion she loves. I eventually gave the story a happy ending but I did not make everything perfect. The Lion never gets his teeth or claws back but he and the girl get to live together happily forever. I was hoping to convey that you can do just about anything for love, but if the person that you love loves you, you don’t have to change at all.

Bibliography: “The Lion in Love” from Aesop’s Fables: The Lion by Joseph Jacobs. Web Source.

Image information: The Lion and the Girl: Google Images

First Set of Reading Notes: Anthology

Origin Stories: The Moon
The Man in the Moon notes:
Why does the changer get tired after that? Does the man make a good moon? Was there no moon before him? I feel like I could tell this story in a more satisfying way.

The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die notes:
This is such a virtuous story. I don't know what I could do with it in a modern way.

Heavenly Beings: Susanoo and Orochi

The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi:
This could be a good "defeating the bully" story. I feel like it would be easy to re-write.

Supernatural: A Teton Ghost Story

Is that really why people believe what ghosts say?? I feel like I could make that more believable somehow.

Metamorphosis: Pygmalion

This story is so weird and yet, somehow sweet? I feel like I could make it a horror story really easily! Maybe something to do with robots or something.

Tricksters: Tiger, Brahman, and Jackal

I don't like "once upon a time" beginnings.
But I love the trickery in this story! Go Jackal!

Aesop's Fables: The Lion

My favorite of these was The Lion in Love.  I would want to expand on this story and lengthen the ending so it's happy instead of sad. I want the daughter to be heartbroken that the Lion changed for her because she loved him as he was.

(Lion in Love: Google Images)

Fairy Tale: Beauty and the Basilisk

The Three Roses:
So far, it sounds like an alternate version of Beauty and the Beast...
It kind of is. I feel like this narrative is overdone. I want it to end horribly. Happy endings are for chumps! (Not really, I just feel like there needs to be more sad stories in the world). So if this story is already kind of like another really famous one, why not make it really distinct and do something totally different? That's what I plan to do if I write about this one.
Also, Basilisk made me think of Harry Potter which made me really happy!

Browsing the Reading Options

Japan: My Lord Bag of Rice

This story has the feel of a familiar folktale that I know but I haven't read this specific one. It looks really interesting so far! The main character is strong and brave and is being set up to help the Dragon King by defeating the dreaded centipede.

Myth-Folklore Unit: Stories from the Congo

I think the absurdity of these stories intrigues me the most. The comedic aspect is entertaining and it's something I would enjoy reading and writing about.

Marriage: The Piqued Buffalo-Wife

This story drew me in immediately and the plot twist made me gasp! I loved this one! I can't wait to get to this unit and read all these stories.

(The Piqued Buffalo-Wife: Google Images)

Overall, I think there's something interesting in every sections that I'm going to be able to relate to and talk about! I'm looking forward to these assignments!

Em's Time Strategies

(Time Management: Google Images)

• My planned schedule still looks good so I think I'll keep it for this next week.

• I will do my best to get ahead so I don't have to worry about deadlines 
• I will also do extra credit assignments as much as possible 

• The Myth of Too Busy by Tim Grahl
• This article was very interesting and informative. 
• I like the idea of prioritizing my time and I'd like to implement that strategy 
• Planning out my day and week is a strategy I already implement in my routine but I enjoyed seeing that reiterated in this article. 
• 4 Questions to Help You Overcome Procrastination by Peter Banerjea
• I loved the questions this article prompts you to ask yourself when facing procrastination
• I think this is an excellent way to dispel procrastination tactics I may try to implement while doing school work.

First Impressions on the Technology Aspect of the Class

I am not very tech savvy but I learn quickly and I'll do my best!

I'm familiar with some of these programs and tools. I'm sure I have friends that can help me if I need it. I'm still new to blogging but it's been pretty easy so far!

This online environment is unlike a classroom environment in the sense that I feel pressure to get everything done more than normal because I don't have a classroom to hide in. It's a little unnerving.

The only thing I think I'd like to improve right now is feeling more comfortable on the internet using these web based tools. I don't want to mess anything up but I know that practice and mistakes go hand in hand. Hopefully I'll get a lot better by the time semester ends.

(Tech Tools: Google Images)

First Impressions about the Assignments

I'm intrigued most by the storybook assignment. Since I want to eventually be an author, I feel this assignment can help me greatly in my quest to write an amazing book.

(Reading is Life: Google Images)

Though I've written short, fiction stories for other classes before, this class is different from anything I've ever experienced and I'm looking forward to completing it.

Extra Credit:
I'm always down to read new stories so the "extra reading" option is perfect for me!
I also enjoy keeping a journal and critiquing my earlier works so I'm also looking forward to the "famous last words" assignment.

Overall, I think this class should be interesting and entertaining! I'm excited!!!