Week 9 Story: The Prodigal Son
The Prodigal Son
The Pandavas looked upon the spot where Bhima had stood just a while ago. The rakshasa woman that he married had carried him off up the mountain, leaving his family to fend for themselves.
Needless to say, they were less than ecstatic.
They were now left alone to fend for themselves against the elements. Bhima had always been the strong one, carrying them through the forest and catching their dinner. But now he'd just run away with his bride without a word to his family.
Yudhishthira sighed. "I guess we should make camp. I'll go look for some firewood."
Yudhishthira headed off to find some wood, and the rest of the family gathered together to get ready for bed.
While Bhima was gone, the family was able to learn to hunt, cook, and survive on their own. They were even able to fend off a few minor foes. If they worked together, they would always find a way to conquer any obstacle.
One day, as the Pandavas were about the forest doing their duties, Bhima and his wife Hidimbi appeared before them once more.
At first, the Pandavas were shocked to see Bhima again, as they had expected him to stay with Hidimbi and have a child....... but wait. Who was the third individual with the couple?
A tall, bald, sharp toothed man stood before the family, beaming with pride. The Pandavas could do nothing but stare. He was terrifying. Had Bhima gained a servant, perhaps? Or found this man in the woods and took pity on him?
Noticing the confusion on their faces, Bhima smiled. "Hello everyone! I hope you're excited to meet the newest member of the family. This is my son, Gatotkacha."
The family looked on in awe. How could he be Bhima's son? Bhima had only been away for a few months.... this man was full grown!
Yudhisthira asked, "How old is he?"
Bhima answered, without skipping a beat, "He was just born an hour ago."
The family gasped. But that was impossible! A baby can't just become a man within an hour..... that's preposterous! He was so tall.....so big.....so.....
"Ugly!" shouted one of the Pandava brothers.
Gatotkacha simply bit him on the ear.
Bhima frowned. "Hey, go easy on him. He's my beautiful son, and I'd like you all to get along."
Gatotkacha stared at the Pandavas. The Pandavas stared back. Bhima had left them alone in the wilderness for months and then comes back with a full grown, ugly son and expects them to just get along? Not likely. This was to be a war for the affections of Bhima, and what a war it would be....
Author's Note: In the original story, nothing is said of what becomes of the Pandavas while they're alone in the wilderness until Bhima comes back with his son. His son is described as big, bald, sharp tooted and pointy-eared, so I kept that the same since it is such an interesting and scary description. I wanted to add in the reaction to the family upon meeting Gatotkacha as well since in the story they don't seem affected by his appearance. I would at least think they'd be a little frightened, so I portrayed that in my version.
Bibliography: "The Mahabharata" by Vyasa. Source: Mahabharata (Guide B)
Image of The Scooby Gang by WatashiWaBucho Source: WatashiWaBucho
The Pandavas looked upon the spot where Bhima had stood just a while ago. The rakshasa woman that he married had carried him off up the mountain, leaving his family to fend for themselves.
Needless to say, they were less than ecstatic.
They were now left alone to fend for themselves against the elements. Bhima had always been the strong one, carrying them through the forest and catching their dinner. But now he'd just run away with his bride without a word to his family.
Yudhishthira sighed. "I guess we should make camp. I'll go look for some firewood."
Yudhishthira headed off to find some wood, and the rest of the family gathered together to get ready for bed.
While Bhima was gone, the family was able to learn to hunt, cook, and survive on their own. They were even able to fend off a few minor foes. If they worked together, they would always find a way to conquer any obstacle.
One day, as the Pandavas were about the forest doing their duties, Bhima and his wife Hidimbi appeared before them once more.
At first, the Pandavas were shocked to see Bhima again, as they had expected him to stay with Hidimbi and have a child....... but wait. Who was the third individual with the couple?
A tall, bald, sharp toothed man stood before the family, beaming with pride. The Pandavas could do nothing but stare. He was terrifying. Had Bhima gained a servant, perhaps? Or found this man in the woods and took pity on him?
Noticing the confusion on their faces, Bhima smiled. "Hello everyone! I hope you're excited to meet the newest member of the family. This is my son, Gatotkacha."
The family looked on in awe. How could he be Bhima's son? Bhima had only been away for a few months.... this man was full grown!
Yudhisthira asked, "How old is he?"
Bhima answered, without skipping a beat, "He was just born an hour ago."
The family gasped. But that was impossible! A baby can't just become a man within an hour..... that's preposterous! He was so tall.....so big.....so.....
"Ugly!" shouted one of the Pandava brothers.
Gatotkacha simply bit him on the ear.
Bhima frowned. "Hey, go easy on him. He's my beautiful son, and I'd like you all to get along."
Gatotkacha stared at the Pandavas. The Pandavas stared back. Bhima had left them alone in the wilderness for months and then comes back with a full grown, ugly son and expects them to just get along? Not likely. This was to be a war for the affections of Bhima, and what a war it would be....
Author's Note: In the original story, nothing is said of what becomes of the Pandavas while they're alone in the wilderness until Bhima comes back with his son. His son is described as big, bald, sharp tooted and pointy-eared, so I kept that the same since it is such an interesting and scary description. I wanted to add in the reaction to the family upon meeting Gatotkacha as well since in the story they don't seem affected by his appearance. I would at least think they'd be a little frightened, so I portrayed that in my version.
Bibliography: "The Mahabharata" by Vyasa. Source: Mahabharata (Guide B)
Image of The Scooby Gang by WatashiWaBucho Source: WatashiWaBucho
Hi Haley, I just noticed you had labeled a story Week 8... did you go ahead and count this for Week 9? I am guessing that is what works best. If you didn't count it for Week 9, by all means do so! :-)
ReplyDeleteHey Haley,
ReplyDeleteSo I chose to comment on this story because when I was scrolling through the blog stream I saw the anime picture although if I’m being completely honest I haven’t seen this specific anime. I really liked your story because I like how you put in how they survived without him and their reaction of the son when he returned. I hope to read more of your stories soon, and hope you have a good rest of the semester.
Haley,
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the Pokemon picture, I had to give this story a read. You did a really great job, this story is really fun to read. I like the characters you chose and how your developed them throughout the story. I am always interested to see what characters other students choose and how the go about incorporating them into the stories. You did a really good job at this and I am looking forward to reading more of your posts in the future.
Brooks
Hey Haley,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you added your thoughts to the story, especially of the family being frightened to see Gatotkacha. The story really kept me interesting and I wanted to know what happens next, which is really good as you grabbed a reader's attention easily. Good job overall and I can't wait to read more from you! Good Luck!
Hi, Haley!
ReplyDeleteI like that you expanded on what happened when Bhima disappeared and how his family reacted to his son. These stories that we have been reading are a little confusing in the timeline of when some children were born and how quickly they grew up. In what I was reading for the reading assignments the past couple of weeks, the book mentioned that the children of rakshasas and devas are born instantaneously and grow up super fast. I think the Pandavas were the same way. Learning that definitely clarified why it seemed like some of these kids just seemed to pop up and grow up out of nowhere, but I guess it still is kind of weird. Great story!
Haley,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this reading as I felt like it was very personal and you spent a lot of time writing it. It definitely felt as though you spent some time writing this and I like that a lot. I thought it was a great story because of how it made me want to read more and more as the story went on and I think thats what essentially makes a great story.