Week 5 story: Ramayana remix
There once were two kingdoms. The potato kingdom, and the tomato kingdom. In the potato kingdom, the potato king had three wives, but could not have a son. The potato king made a sacrifice to the god of foods so that he may have a son. The gods afforded him 4 sons, and one of the sons was a perfect french fry.
A prince of the tomato kingdom came to the potato kingdom and told the potato king that the forest broccoli demons were invading the tomato kingdom and destroying their sacrifices to the food gods. So the french fry prince and the tomato kingdom prince set out through the forest where they encountered many broccoli demons, but the french fry prince was able to slay them all with enchanted weapons. When they arrived at the tomato kingdom, the french fry drove all the demons out with his weapons. The tomato king saw that he was powerful, so he told the french fry prince about the tale of the pretzel stick. It was the most powerful weapon in all the lands, and nobody, not even gods, could break it. The french fry was able to break it on his first attempt. Since the tomato king saw that the french fry prince was powerful, he gave him his daughters hand in marriage. The princess of the tomato kingdom, princess cherry tomato, was more beautiful than anything the french fry prince had ever seen. They were married and instantly fell in love.
The king of the potato kingdom was getting old, so there were debates on who would become the next ruler. The whole kingdom agreed that the french fry prince would be the perfect ruler, so the prince was set to take the throne, and the kingdom rejoiced. One of the potato king's wives also had a son, prince hash brown. The potato king's wife encountered a broccoli demon one day, who convinced her that the hash brown prince should be ruler instead. At first she resisted, but then she was filled with rage that her son was not fit to be ruler. The broccoli demon insisted that she consult the god of wishes, and that she would tell him that the hash brown prince would be ruler instead.
The potato king's wife went to the god of wishes and told him that he owed her two wishes; her son would be ruler instead of the french fry prince, and that the french fry prince would be exiled in the forest for 14 years. Painfully, the god of wishes granted her what she wanted. The potato king's wife went back to the kingdom to tell the hash brown prince the news, and he was enraged at the betrayal of his brother. He tried to give the throne to the french fry prince, but he could not, as they have to obey the wishes of the food gods. The french fry prince and his wife were exiled to the broccoli forest with demons for 14 years, and the potato king passed away in agony.
Valmiki. "Ramayana". Un-Textbook
Author's note
This is my take on the classical indian myth, Ramayana! The story is originally about a king with three wives that could not have a son. He made a sacrifice to the gods and had four sons, and one of his sons, Rama, was perfect. The kingdom rendered him more powerful than some gods. He was able to slay demons, and helped a nearby kingdom ward off bad omens. The ruler of the other kingdom saw he was powerful, and said if he could break a bow that has never been broken before, he could have his daughter's hand in marriage. He was able to break the bow, so he was given Sita for marriage. They went back to his kingdom and he was set to rule, until one of the king's other wives encountered a demon that said she should ask a god for her son to rule instead. She went to the god and he granted her wishes with reluctance, and her son was made ruler and Rama and Sita were exiled to the forest with demons. This enraged the son who was set to rule instead, but nothing could be done to reverse it. Rama and Sita, along with another of Rama's brothers, set out to the forest for 14 years. Rama's father passed away from grief.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI have to tell you I couldn't stop laughing when I read your story. It's really creative and entertaining. Your story was a great example of taking the original story and making it your own.
If I may make a couple of suggestions? Your story would benefit by having some dialogue intermingled with the narrative. The second suggestion I have is to select a character and tell the story from their perspective. This will give the reader an insight on what a character is feeling or thinking during the events of the story. Also, the reader can connect with a character.
Hey Sidney! I am cracking up - broccoli demons are the best. I haven't read the Ramayana, so I was hoping that at some point the French Fry and Cherry Tomato would have Ketchup or something. I don't know that Ketchup would be good for the French Fry but the thought was highly amusing in my brain. Thank you for this entertaining retelling! I'm going to put the Ramayana on my reading list.
ReplyDelete-Eli