Storytelling for Week 6: Brothers

Timothy was so excited to be a part of his brothers' excursion into the woods. It had been so long since all of them had gone out together. He grinned when he thought of the swimming hole that they were heading for. Once there, they were going to have the ultimate time in one of the last few days of summer.

Jeremy and Jimmy were pointing at something in the trees. It was probably just a silly bird jumping around in the branches. However, those two really loved their birdwatching and they were dedicated to finding all of the birds on the recent edition of Birdwatcher Master Plus list.

Edward led the way as usual. Being the oldest, he was always the one the other brothers followed. George was behind them. He was such a happy-go-lucky kid. That certainly was characteristic of him being the youngest child.

As they took the double fork in the trail that signaled that they were about a half mile away from the swimming hole, they heard a rustle in the bushes.

An old man limped out with a distraught look. "Boys, I need your help."

The brothers looked at each other.

"A giant deer crashed out of the woods. It scooped my cane out of my hands, winked and ran away. Would you be able to catch him while running using those young legs of yours?"

All the brothers nodded simultaneously. They ran off in the direction that the old man pointed. Timothy briefly wondered if this was a good idea. After all, how well did they know this man? He brushed away the branches that hit his face. He stumbled a little, but caught himself. After he regained footing and looked up, he realized his brothers had disappeared.

"Guys? Where did you all go?"

He stumbled through the woods. In a few minutes he realized he had arrived at the swimming hole.
He did not see any of his brothers around the area.

Timothy gazed at the water. He suddenly became aware that he felt really hot and sweaty. "It would feel fantastic to just take a dip!" Timothy mused.

"Wait just a second, young man!"

Timothy paused with one foot in the air. "Yes?" he asked with hesitation.

"I need you to answer a quick couple of questions for me."

"Okay, shoot."

"What is black and white and red all over?"

Timothy paused. What in the world? Luckily, George was a fan of ridiculous jokes like this.

"An embarrassed zebra?"

"Correct! Your brothers thought it was a newspaper!"

Timothy realized this was probably super weird and he should be careful about talking to a random voice. In fact, why was he talking to this voice?

"You did so well on that that I will let you bypass the other questions. Here, I will release your brothers."

With that, four brothers fell from the trees. They sat on the ground trying to recover from what had happened.

"Wait! Who are you?" Timothy yelled to the sky.

"There is no need for you to know that just yet. You will find out soon enough. Just enjoy your day!" the voice responded cheerfully.

The brothers stared at each other, looked at the water, and began to walk home.

was the deer real or made up?

Author's Note: I have to admit I was feeling a little uninspired this week. I got slammed with tests and had to work overtime to cover shifts. The Mahabharata just did not have that spark to me this week. It did not really help that much of this selection of the pages was violent and gory. However,
I am stubborn enough to work through a bit of writer's block. I started with a story that I thought was somewhat interesting and let the words come.

In the original story, the Pandavas brothers do not heed the warning of a mysterious voice above the water. They just wanted to drink up and quench their thirst. The last brother decided to listen to the questions and was granted his brothers back to him. I wanted to twist it up a little bit and make it maybe more relatable. It certainly has the possibility of coming across as a little silly. However, if it makes you laugh during this tough week, I will say it was worth it. The original story was from The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan (2008).

Reading Diary B [Narayan's Mahabharata]

I read from R.K. Narayan's The Mahabharata.

Wow. This last section of the Mahabharata was rather intense. The battle was rather gruesome and the descriptions were kind of crazy. For instance, the part where Dhrishtadyumna cuts off his head after believing his son is dead and the part where Bhima kills Duhshasana. Bhima drinks the blood of Duhshasana! This sounds like something from a vampire movie.

Also, the way that they tricked Dhrishtadyumna into believing his son was dead was so horrible. It almost could have been funny if it did not end the way that it did. They killed an elephant with the same name as his son. After they killed it, Yudhishthira told that Ashwatthaman was dead but muttered that it was the elephant. That was when Dhrishtadyumna cuts off his head.

I think both of the epics are interesting. I would have to say I like the Ramayana so far, but the Mahabharata is growing on me. I do find it to be more dark, though. It seemed like the Ramayana had a lighter note to it even though it was still serious.

However, the way this one ends is with so much death. Even Yudhishthira mentions that he is not happy about winning the battle and needs time to grieve over the deaths.

Krishna and Arjuna

Reading Diary A [Narayan's Mahabharata]

I read from R.K. Narayan's The Mahabharata.

I would have to say a favorite part of mine was when Duryodhana was planning on humiliating the Pandavas. Except it ended up being so turned around that Duryodhana was shamed. I could not imagine how he must have felt when he was captured and then released. That was a definite humbling experience.

Also, what is the significance of deer in these epics? I would not imagine India to be overrun by deer but this is at least the second reference to deer. First, there was when Sita sent Rama to catch the golden deer for her, which we all know was a trap allowing Ravana to come kidnap Sita. Now, there is a story told about a giant deer that stole the Brahmin's staff. This leads to the Pandavas going after the deer and eventually find a lake that has a voice. Only one brother passes the test that was actually being presented by their father. So, do the deer have a connection to traps and trickery? Or are they so rare, Indian people associate them with something devious?

Another deer reference in the Mahabharata