Week 2 Story: The Servant and the "Beast"

Turtle graffiti. Source: Pixabay 

Long, long ago, there was a castle in the foothills of the of the Bucegi Mountains in Romania, was an elegant castle fit for the king of kings. At this castle lived King Arjun and his 2 daughters, Eshani and Karishma. One day, on a warm autumn evening, the two girls went out to play in the valley, not far from the castle. After playing with the rocks and mud by the river, Eshani and Karishma came across a strange looking creature upon a hill that resembled a dragon and became fearful.

"Should we go tell father?" asked Eshani.

"Yes, let's go before it destroys the valley and heads for our home!" said a concerned Karishma.

The girls quickly ran inside and screamed for their father. King Arjun was in the middle of polishing his armor when the girls interrupted him.

"What is going on?" said King Arjun in a firm and slightly agitated manner.

"There is a dragon in the river that runs through the valley and we are scared that it will destroy our home!" Karishma and Eshani exclaimed at the same time.

"This is not acceptable!" bellowed King Arjun. "I will send my finest army to take down this horrific beast!"

A half-hour later, the king was able to round up his army to take down the beast that his daughters claimed would destroy their castle. As they marched down to the river in their armor with weapons, spears, and shields, they searched for the beast while Karishma and Eshani watched from their bedroom window.

The army of men was able to capture the beast in a gunnysack and brought it to the dungeon.

The servant of the king overheard the commotion and snuck into the dungeon to see what was going on. The servant was an old man who had a hidden gift that no one knew of except for himself. He has the ability to communicate with animals.

After the guards of the dungeon tied up the beast and locked it into the cell, they left, leaving the servant alone with the creature.

The servant hobbled to the cell to speak with the creature. "What are you and why have you become a prisoner to the King?" whispered the servant.

The creature weakly replied, "I am only a turtle who was at the wrong place at the wrong time apparently. I was picked up by a current and was led downstream, and now I am away from my family. I long to go back to them."

"Do not worry, the King and his children have never seen a turtle and they became intimidated by you. I will help you escape, I promise." insisted the servant.

"I cannot thank you enough, my dear friend." stuttered the turtle.

With that, the servant left the dungeon and devised an escape for the turtle.

The next morning, the servant overheard the King's plans to destroy the turtle using a guillotine.

The servant quickly interrupted the King, "Sir, might I suggest a more effective way to destroy this beast?"

"Go ahead, my humble servant," replied King Arjun.

The servant replied, "As you know, I am quite scared of water, due to an incident that occurred during my childhood. Might I suggest throwing the beast into the river behind the castle? The water will drown it, and the remains will be swept away by the current, taking it far, far away from here."

"That is an excellent idea. I will gather my men and order them to do so immediately!" stated King Arjun.

The servant quickly went back to the dungeon and told the turtle his plans. He added, "When the men throw you into the river, ride the current until you see red cloth tied to a branch on the riverbank. Hold onto the cloth and stay submerged so you cannot be seen, and I will come to you and take you back to your family."

The turtle replied, "My life is forever in your debt, my friend. I cannot thank you enough for doing this for me."

Suddenly, the army men barged into the dungeon and grabbed the creature with such force. The men put the creature into a gunnysack and marched outside the castle.

Trying to remain hidden, the servant quietly followed the army and hid behind a large tree.

The servant watched the army men throw the turtle into the river. Soon the turtle was out of sight and the men marched back into the castle.

The servant ran alongside the riverbank and soon after, saw the turtle waiting at the branch where the red cloth was tied.

The servant then took the turtle and asked it for the directions to get to him home.

After walking over an hour upstream along the riverbank, the servant saw a group of 10-15 turtles who could be heard crying. As the servant got closer to the group of turtles, they all looked up and screamed in shock.

"My family, look at this kind servant who brought me home to you again!" exclaimed the turtle, "I have so many stories to tell you."

After many rounds of thank you's from the turtles, the servant began his journey back to the castle. He will never forget how he, a mere servant, was able to trick the King into "killing the beast" and save the life a beautiful creature. He happily walked along the riverbank, ready to resume his regular duties after an eventful day.

Author's Note: This story is based on Ellen C. Babbitt's "The Turtle and the King". I wanted to put my own twist on it and retell the story with a different background and characters. I wanted the old man to show a better relationship with the turtle than what the original story portrayed. In the original story, the king's sons find a "demon" (which was really a turtle) in their courtyard. He orders his men to bring the turtle in and kill it. They come up with several ways to kill the turtle, such as pounding it to a powder or baking it on hot coals. Then an old man, who was afraid of water, suggested for them to throw it into the lake. The turtle then went along with the plan and pretended that he was scared and begged the men not to throw him into the lake. The men went ahead with their plans and soon after, the turtle went down the river, back to his home.


Bibliography. "The Turtle and the King" from Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web source.