After a while, the goblin spoke up and offered a story to the king. This is what he told him.
So there was an honorable king named Virtue-banner who had three beautiful wives. One, Crescent, another Moon, and another named Star. The king loved them all dearly, and would do whatever he could to make them happy. They were some of the most delicate women in the entire land, something Virtue-banner valued highly.
The king was playing with Crescent one night, and a flower petal fell into her lap. She immediately began to scream bloody murder as if she was in excruciating pain. The king wasn't really sure what was going on, it was only a flower pedal! Surely she couldn't be serious! She asked if she could turn in for the night as she didn't feel well, so the king begrudgingly agreed. He asked his top physicians to look after her and find out just what exactly her deal was. So fifty of his men went to assist the queen.
As the king pondered what had just happened, he came upon his other wife, Star. She was tired from all the commotion that had occurred earlier with Crescent, and soon had fallen asleep on a couch with the king. As she was sleeping, she too began to scream as if in pain. The king tried to awake her because he thought she was having a nightmare. She was most definitely awake, but could not be soothed. The king pleaded with her, "Star, my dear, what is the matter?" But she could only muster the strength to point at her arms. Virtue-banner looked her arms up and down but saw no signs of any injury whatsoever.
But she continued to insist, "My arms are burned, make it stop, please!" The king asked more of his physicians to aid her as they had done with Queen Crescent, and they took her to her chambers to find the source of her non-existent burns. The king's frustration continued to grow. So he went to find his third wife, Moon, in hopes of salvaging what was supposed to be a relaxing night.
He called her name, and she appeared from her room at his wish. Virtue-banner tried to begin to explain what his night had been like, but as soon as he started to talk, she too began to scream. Virtue-banner had had it with these faux displays of pain from his wives, as nothing ever appeared to be wrong with them! He asked what was wrong, and she explained she could hear a grain mill grinding in the distance.
"That's odd," he thought, "There aren't any grain mills for miles around, what could she be talking about?" But she insisted her ears were in pain. So once again, the king told his physicians to take care of him, as he had expended all patience he had for the day. And he went to bed alone, frustrated, and exhausted from the days goings on.
"So which was the most delicate?" the goblin asked King Triple-victory. The king pondered this question for a long time.
"There is no correct answer to this question," he explained, "as they were all imagining things. None of them actually had anything wrong with them, outside of the very obvious mental disorders they have. So my answer is none -- none of them were delicate, just crazy."
And the goblin snuck down and returned to his tree for the king to fetch for the sixth time.
Author's Note: I used The Three Delicate Wives as a basis for my story. In it, the three queens are each affected by the things that I used in my story, but they are all actually physically harmed. I changed my story to reflect a more realistic world in which the only ailments they suffer from are mental. And rather than being patient and understanding, the king gets more and more frustrated as the story goes on, which I felt was a more proper response to what would've seemed like plain ridiculousness.
Bibliography:
Twenty-Two Goblins
Arthur W. Ryder
1917
So there was an honorable king named Virtue-banner who had three beautiful wives. One, Crescent, another Moon, and another named Star. The king loved them all dearly, and would do whatever he could to make them happy. They were some of the most delicate women in the entire land, something Virtue-banner valued highly.
The king was playing with Crescent one night, and a flower petal fell into her lap. She immediately began to scream bloody murder as if she was in excruciating pain. The king wasn't really sure what was going on, it was only a flower pedal! Surely she couldn't be serious! She asked if she could turn in for the night as she didn't feel well, so the king begrudgingly agreed. He asked his top physicians to look after her and find out just what exactly her deal was. So fifty of his men went to assist the queen.
Queen Crescent overreacting, per usual.
As the king pondered what had just happened, he came upon his other wife, Star. She was tired from all the commotion that had occurred earlier with Crescent, and soon had fallen asleep on a couch with the king. As she was sleeping, she too began to scream as if in pain. The king tried to awake her because he thought she was having a nightmare. She was most definitely awake, but could not be soothed. The king pleaded with her, "Star, my dear, what is the matter?" But she could only muster the strength to point at her arms. Virtue-banner looked her arms up and down but saw no signs of any injury whatsoever.
But she continued to insist, "My arms are burned, make it stop, please!" The king asked more of his physicians to aid her as they had done with Queen Crescent, and they took her to her chambers to find the source of her non-existent burns. The king's frustration continued to grow. So he went to find his third wife, Moon, in hopes of salvaging what was supposed to be a relaxing night.
He called her name, and she appeared from her room at his wish. Virtue-banner tried to begin to explain what his night had been like, but as soon as he started to talk, she too began to scream. Virtue-banner had had it with these faux displays of pain from his wives, as nothing ever appeared to be wrong with them! He asked what was wrong, and she explained she could hear a grain mill grinding in the distance.
"That's odd," he thought, "There aren't any grain mills for miles around, what could she be talking about?" But she insisted her ears were in pain. So once again, the king told his physicians to take care of him, as he had expended all patience he had for the day. And he went to bed alone, frustrated, and exhausted from the days goings on.
"So which was the most delicate?" the goblin asked King Triple-victory. The king pondered this question for a long time.
"There is no correct answer to this question," he explained, "as they were all imagining things. None of them actually had anything wrong with them, outside of the very obvious mental disorders they have. So my answer is none -- none of them were delicate, just crazy."
And the goblin snuck down and returned to his tree for the king to fetch for the sixth time.
Author's Note: I used The Three Delicate Wives as a basis for my story. In it, the three queens are each affected by the things that I used in my story, but they are all actually physically harmed. I changed my story to reflect a more realistic world in which the only ailments they suffer from are mental. And rather than being patient and understanding, the king gets more and more frustrated as the story goes on, which I felt was a more proper response to what would've seemed like plain ridiculousness.
Bibliography:
Twenty-Two Goblins
Arthur W. Ryder
1917
Hey Patrick!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your story. I liked that you chose to change the way the king reacted to the queen because it made for an interesting change of pace. My only suggestion is to maybe separate all your quotes into individual paragraphs. That way they stand out and it is easier for the reader to differentiate who is speaking. I look forward to reading more of your stories in the future.