Near the island of Sri Lanka, there was a treacherous set of rocks that stood imposing to all incoming sailors. Yet, the path to the the rich city of Colombo laid behind these rocks and such ships who dared to reach its treasures attempted to maneuver past the rocks. Unbeknownst to the sailors was the many goblins that roamed the city. Here they waited for brave sailers who managed to overcome the sharp rocks. Over time the male and female goblins had hatched a plan to convince sailors to stay bu using magic to create an image of peace and treasure. The male goblins would pretend to be other inhabitants of Colombo while the female goblins transformed into beautiful women to seduce the sailors. Once the sailors were in their grasps, they would trap them in a prison to feast on them later. Soon a ship approached the port of Colombo, battered by the rocks but with sailors in hope of securing the treasures that laid within the city's limits. They were soon met by beautiful women who were secretly goblins transformed. The sailors infatuated by the women quickly joined and partied all night along until it was time for sleep. Male goblins finally appeared and took some of the sailors to the prison to begin their meals. Yet, as one of the goblins was collecting the sailors, the captain of the ship woke up and noticed what was going on. Scared, he stayed motionless in his spot until the next morning when he realized he was not chosen to be eaten. He realized he had little time and must act quickly to leave the city to save himself and his remaining crew. All of a sudden a magical figure appeared before him. The fairy relayed how the goblins had defeated the fairies in an ancient battle, forcing the fairies to leave their old home. Thus, the fairy has made it her mission to help others avoid the cruelty of the goblins. She then told the captain the way to escape the city. That night the fairy would send her winged horse to take the crew away from the goblins. All the sailors had to was sneak out while the goblins were partying. As night approached and the goblins busy, the sailors saw their opportunity to leave. They quickly dashed to the winged horse waiting on the shore and jumped on his back. The horse was quite big and could have accorded the ship's original crew, but alas only a few survivors remained. Without the goblins knowledge, the horse led the sailors away from the horrors of the goblins.
Author's Note: The overall plot of the story did not change from the original rendition. However, I did include some details that were left out in the original story such as why the sailors wreck, the purpose of both the male and female goblins, and why the fairy feels os compelled to help the sailors.
Bibliography: The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse
Oh, I like this sense of a whole goblin civilization, with male and female goblins working together, and then the story of an ancient war between fairy civilization and goblin civilization! That is all so cool, Neal! And you will see that in the world of the rakshasas (goblins, demons, English translation vary), there are indeed male rakshasas and then the female rakshasis... you will meet both rakshasas and rakshasis in the Ramayana, and also in the Mahabharata (one of the heroes of the Mahabarata marries a rakshasi in fact!), but more in the Ramayana. It is so exciting to have the first Indian Epics story for the semester already! I'll go add this to the class list now. It is going to be such a big help to people telling stories for the first time to be able to look and see the stories people have already written this semester. Wonderful! :-)
ReplyDeleteReally cool additions to the Goblin City story! I especially like how the fairies are now substantial entity's outside of being merely a Deus ex machina. I like how they have a purpose that they carry out which is connected to their disdain for the goblins. I think my favorite part of you version is the beginning, I really like the level of detail in the exposition.
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