Week 7 Story: The Leopards Kingdom
Week 7
"It's like it had fallen out of the sky!" said one of the elephants.
As the air started to clear, the outline of a leopard emerged. His hair was as soft as yarn and his teeth as sharp as a razor. They animals knew this leopard was small, but wondered why he came to them so abruptly. The leopard rose from the pit and spoke, a voice as smooth as silk. "I am the chosen one to protect this animal kingdom from any harm.
The animals burst out laughing unable to take this leopard seriously.
"SILENCE" the leopard shouted. The death of silence took over the kingdom.
The leopard said "I will show you I am the chosen one."
It's as if he spoke evil into existence. There was a loud screech.
"A TWO-HEADED DRAGON? a monkey screamed in disbelief as the animals had never seen one before.
The leopard said "I was sent from the Heavens and I am here to protect you all. I knew the dragon sought out to feast on this kingdom and I had to protect what is rightfully mine."
The animals took cover as the leopard sprinted towards the danger. The dragon knew he was strong and this tiny leopard stood no chance against his wrath. The leopard looked the dragon into the eyed and turned into a three-headed snake. The dragon tried to fight him, breathing fire but missing each time. The snake used it's tail to wrap around the dragon and squeeze him until the dragon couldn't breathe anymore. The transformed leopard had defeated the dragon. The animals once again emerged from hiding, cheering and rejoicing for all the leopard had done. The leopard has never been praised this way before, he grew a strong want to become the best. He made a trip up to the Heavens again to ask for more power.
"As you wish" said the Gods in the Heavens.
The leopard spends the next 10 years looking over the kingdom and protecting them. Although his protection was much-needed, the leopard was barely there as he was off on quests fighting other creatures. The kingdom grew angry with the leopards absence as there was also no food and no water.
"This is no way to run a kingdom from someone who claims he is so powerful" said an elephant.
The other animals agreed and asked the Heavens for help. As the Heavens heard these prayers, they called to the leopard and asked him what was going on.
The leopard said, "I cannot be in the same place at once my lords, maybe you could grant me that power too?"
The Gods responded, "No. You have absurd this power we had given you. We will not grant you anymore."
The leopard stormed off angrily. He knew he didn't need the Gods, for he was powerful in strength and in wisdom. He made his way back down to his kingdom and found an angry mob of animals silent. They were upset with his actions.
The leopard laughed and said "You know I'm far more powerful than any one of you!"
That was the thing, it wasn't just any one of them. It was all of them and the Gods who answered the prayers of the animals who asked for help. The animal kingdom and the leopard fought, but the animals were able to trap him into a mountain. They were to bound him for years until he found a way to believe in his kingdom and the Gods again.
Authors Note
This story comes from The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung from Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book. It consists of a monkey that was born onto a mountain. He worries about his immortality and ability to keep protecting his kingdom. He seeks help from a buddha to become the greatest, strongest being. His training pays off and he carries on to be both wise and strong. He protects his kingdom, fighting even the best enemies. They even believe that no one is able to fight him. This outcome feeds into his ego even more and concerns about him are brought to the Lord of the Heavens. They invite him to visit. Upon his arrival he offers to stay but realizes he's only acting as a servant to the Lord and demands to leave. He feels as if his ability to leave makes him more powerful and takes it further by trying to be greater than the Lord of the Heavens himself. He somewhat becomes cocky with his powers and it takes over his desire to be the best there is. He then seeks validation from the buddha who first trained him. During this visit he is able to trick the Monkey and is ultimately the only one that could truly outsmart and capture him. I wanted to use the same kinds of elements with a powerful main character with a growing desire for power. I also wanted to pull this idea of him turning against the Heavens, but ultimately being defeated by his own kingdom instead, the only element that validates and feeds into his ego of being the most powerful.
Great tale Ashley! I really enjoyed the small and mighty aspect of the leopard in the beginning of the tale. I also think it's pretty unique that you soiled the main character by the end of the story and showcased the power of the kingdom when they stand united! I would recommend a grammar check if you have the time. I found that my first couple of stories were riddled with grammar mistakes, so I've started to write them in a google doc and then copy/paste into my site.
ReplyDeleteHI Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI like how you changed this story to fit your own voice. I did not read this story, but I liked how readable you have made it and also have given clear motives for the characters! I wonder which specific story did you focus on in your writing? Or did you tell the whole story summarized? I think it is interesting you chose to use a leopard! Are leopards your favorite animal or did you just think it fit the story well?
Hey Ashley!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this story! On my blog I like to write stories about animals so this was familiar to me. It was cool how the leopard started out as the savior, but as he gained more and more power, he forgot what he was meant to do! In the end that kind of backfired on him because the animals had had enough. Nicely done, I look forward to reading more stories from you!