Week 13 Story: A Fishy Wish
A Fishy Wish
Lahana was bathing with her sisters outside on a cool, sunny day. She could hear them chattering on and on about their greatest wishes, most of them involving returning to their parens' houses and eating large, warm meals. Lahana listened silently, as she didn't really have a family to return to aside from her husband and her in-laws. She didn't mind too much, but it did kind of sting to hear her six sisters discussing their families.
However, much to Lahana's discomfort, the eldest turned to her and asked her what SHE wished for.
"You've stayed quiet all this time, it is only fair that you share your wish too."
Lahana smiled and replied, "Well, since I have no father to speak of, I cannot wish to return to his house, so I guess I would wish for some kol fish to cook up and eat."
Her sisters all nodded and excitedly encouraged her wish, as they now felt bad for bringing it up. Once they had all finished bathing, they dried off and began to walk back towards their husbands' houses when the eldest ran ahead. When she reached a ways ahead of them, she tripped over a small hole in the ground. After examining the hole, she discovered two large kol fish swimming within the water-filled hole! She quickly called to Lahana, and urged her to take the fish back and cook them for herself. "At least ONE of our wishes should come true," she laughed.
However, unbeknownst to the sisters, the two fish were actually shapeshifting sons of a demon, and they had originally been snakes. They were both very weak, as they had been playing in the human world for far too long, and didn't have the strength left to return home. In hopes that they would be picked up by the sister, they had changed into fish. Of course, Lahana scooped them up into her skirt and carried them home. She placed them in a basket when she arrived.
Now, the brothers were smart enough not to get cooked and eaten. With the last bit of strength, they changed back into snakes within the basket, and waited for Lahana to return. Upon seeing the snakes, she was terribly frightened, but noticed that they were lethargic and weak. She began to feed them milk and plantains every day. This went on for a whole year, and finally the snakes were back to their strong, healthy selves again.
The brothers returned home with renewed strength and a proposition for their mother. They told her of Lahana's kind nature and generosity, and begged their mother to let them repay her. She was grateful to know her sons were safe because of this woman, so she sent the brothers back with food, servants, and all the kol fish Lahana could ever want. She also agreed to become part of Lahana's family, so that she may have someplace to visit during the holidays. The brothers agreed, and imparted their gift upon a surprised and happy Lahana. They became her brothers, and she visited them as often as she could, sharing her kol fish with them every chance she got.
Author's Note: There aren't too many differences between what I have written and how the original story went. In the original, the snake brothers simply wanted to be mischievous, and they didn't actually NEED Lahana's help, she just took care of them for a while because she wanted to. After the brothers tell their mother of Lahana's generosity, she has them bring her to their home, and she becomes Lahana's adoptive mother. However, Lahana gets herself into trouble when she's asked to watch the home and all of the snake children and is killed. I wanted this story to be less scary and sad, and I took our instructor's suggestion to make a story about gratefulness in the spirit of Thanksgiving!
Bibliography: "Sacred Tales of India." D.N. Neogi. 1916. Source: Sacred Tales of India
Ibuki by Pixiv. Source: ZeroChan
Lahana was bathing with her sisters outside on a cool, sunny day. She could hear them chattering on and on about their greatest wishes, most of them involving returning to their parens' houses and eating large, warm meals. Lahana listened silently, as she didn't really have a family to return to aside from her husband and her in-laws. She didn't mind too much, but it did kind of sting to hear her six sisters discussing their families.
However, much to Lahana's discomfort, the eldest turned to her and asked her what SHE wished for.
"You've stayed quiet all this time, it is only fair that you share your wish too."
Lahana smiled and replied, "Well, since I have no father to speak of, I cannot wish to return to his house, so I guess I would wish for some kol fish to cook up and eat."
Her sisters all nodded and excitedly encouraged her wish, as they now felt bad for bringing it up. Once they had all finished bathing, they dried off and began to walk back towards their husbands' houses when the eldest ran ahead. When she reached a ways ahead of them, she tripped over a small hole in the ground. After examining the hole, she discovered two large kol fish swimming within the water-filled hole! She quickly called to Lahana, and urged her to take the fish back and cook them for herself. "At least ONE of our wishes should come true," she laughed.
However, unbeknownst to the sisters, the two fish were actually shapeshifting sons of a demon, and they had originally been snakes. They were both very weak, as they had been playing in the human world for far too long, and didn't have the strength left to return home. In hopes that they would be picked up by the sister, they had changed into fish. Of course, Lahana scooped them up into her skirt and carried them home. She placed them in a basket when she arrived.
Now, the brothers were smart enough not to get cooked and eaten. With the last bit of strength, they changed back into snakes within the basket, and waited for Lahana to return. Upon seeing the snakes, she was terribly frightened, but noticed that they were lethargic and weak. She began to feed them milk and plantains every day. This went on for a whole year, and finally the snakes were back to their strong, healthy selves again.
The brothers returned home with renewed strength and a proposition for their mother. They told her of Lahana's kind nature and generosity, and begged their mother to let them repay her. She was grateful to know her sons were safe because of this woman, so she sent the brothers back with food, servants, and all the kol fish Lahana could ever want. She also agreed to become part of Lahana's family, so that she may have someplace to visit during the holidays. The brothers agreed, and imparted their gift upon a surprised and happy Lahana. They became her brothers, and she visited them as often as she could, sharing her kol fish with them every chance she got.
Author's Note: There aren't too many differences between what I have written and how the original story went. In the original, the snake brothers simply wanted to be mischievous, and they didn't actually NEED Lahana's help, she just took care of them for a while because she wanted to. After the brothers tell their mother of Lahana's generosity, she has them bring her to their home, and she becomes Lahana's adoptive mother. However, Lahana gets herself into trouble when she's asked to watch the home and all of the snake children and is killed. I wanted this story to be less scary and sad, and I took our instructor's suggestion to make a story about gratefulness in the spirit of Thanksgiving!
Bibliography: "Sacred Tales of India." D.N. Neogi. 1916. Source: Sacred Tales of India
Ibuki by Pixiv. Source: ZeroChan
This is such a sweet, fun story. You definitely softened the original version a bit, although, at the beginning, I couldn't tell if anything was different. It might have been nice if there were a few more variations, but really, as it is, it's very nice to read. It's nice to see that the brothers really did need her, and that they're grateful to her, and in return she's grateful to them, and their mother never asks her to stay and feed a billion snake children in holes (cause really, isn't that a bit absurd?).
ReplyDeleteHi Haley!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really cute story and like that you gave it a happy ending. Your decision to put the brothers in a position of need, rather than just hanging around and getting taken care of because they wanted to, added a lot to this story. It highlights the kindness that Lahana exhibited and added grace to the gratitude that they displayed to her. Good job!
Haley,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great story and loved the writing you did here. I love that you gave it a happy ending as it always makes the story just little bit better to me for some reason. I think the original story might be little too harsh so you did a good job of adding your own touch to the end of it. Great job and have a good break!!
Haley,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your story! Thank you for making it a way happier story than the original!! I'm all about a happy ending! And I really enjoyed you incorporating thankfulness into the story. I also really enjoyed that you incorporated an anime picture since that's something that you are clearly super passionate about! I feel like the length was great and really appreciated your authors note explaining why you decided to only change a few things! Great job!
Hi Haley. I really enjoyed this story! I really like that you gave it a happier ending than the original. I usually enjoy reading happy endings more. I also like that you changed up the situation from the brothers just wanting to stay to them actually needing help. Switching that detail really changes the focus of the story from the lazy brothers to how ind Lahana is. Good work!
ReplyDeleteHi Haley,
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good story I enjoyed getting the chance to read it. I thought you did a really good job of taking the original and making into something even better. You had a really strong happy ending, which is always pleasant for the reader. Good job this semester and good luck into the next!
Brooks