Week 7 Story: The Old Man's Riddle

The Old Man's Riddle

There once was a remarkably affluent man who lived in London. As the rich man went on his daily stroll through his favorite area of the city, he encountered a disheveled, elderly man sitting on a bench. This man on the bench had a powerful presence despite his clear poverty. His eyes told thousands of tales, quietly revealing a fascinating life. The rich man, being more humble and open than most who have great wealth, felt compelled to pause his walk and strike up a conversation with the elderly man. Though short with his words at first, the old man asked the rich man if he would like to be challenged with a riddle. The rich man agreed to the game, and the old man smiled with great amusement.

"Once there was a brilliant, kind, and beautiful daughter of a wealthy king," he began the riddle. "The daughter was in no hurry to leave the house of her father or to get married. However, the daughter did say that if she ever decided to marry a man, it would be to either a wise man, a clever man, or a brave man. Soon after she said this, a man of great wisdom approached her father, asking to marry the daughter. The wise man told prophetic fortunes and explained complex proverbs to demonstrate his wisdom. The father agreed, impressed by his wisdom. A brave man approached the king moments later, also asking to marry the daughter. The brave man told of his impressive feats on behalf of the kingdom and the king marvelled at the man's valor. The king agreed to let this man marry the daughter as well. Finally, a clever man also approached the king. The clever man told the king a riddle and entertained him with magic tricks and jokes. The king, impressed for a third time, agreed to let this man marry his wonderful daughter. The king then went to his daughter and explained the situation, allowing her to choose any of the three men to marry."

The set-up to the riddle being explained, the old man then asked the rich man "So, who should the daughter choose?"

The rich man answered "The wise man, of course. Bravery fades and cleverness bring little practical value. Yet true wisdom can sustain any relationship."

"You have answered correctly," said the old man, "now go on and ponder this truth."

Photo of St. Dunstans Hill in the City of London, UK.

Source: Wikimedia

Author's Note: Though I have completely changed the frame story and altered the outcome of the riddle, the idea for the riddle and its structure are based upon the "Goblins: Brave, Wise, Clever" story from Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder. In this original story, the feats of the three men are described in more detail, other family members are involved, and the correct answer to who the daughter should marry is the brave man.

Bibliography: Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder

Reading Notes: The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung, Part A

Bibliography: Notes are on stories from the The Monkey King unit. Story source: "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

Reading Notes

For this week I'll be reading about The Monkey King and taking notes! Though I enjoyed the entire reading, I'm going to focus in on the "starting a story" technique for today. I'll look at the start of this story unit and think about some ways that I can improve how I begin stories in my own writing.

The Monkey King unit (specifically, "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" story) begins like this: "FAR, far away to the East, in the midst of the Great Sea there is an island called the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. And on this mountain there is a high rock."

The imagery here is absolutely beautiful. In just the first paragraph, the author has already drawn readers in with this description. The setting is detailed here as "far away," before we are told of a special island with a mountain in the middle of a "Great Sea." The authors has painted a somewhat mystical picture that hooks readers with its strong descriptive language. In my own stories, I will attempt to emulate this by creating strong scenery with intriguing descriptions.

Following this opening paragraph, that "high rock" is described and readers meet the main character! Take a look: "Now this rock, from the very beginning of the world, had absorbed all the hidden seed power of heaven and earth and sun and moon, which endowed it with supernatural creative gifts. One day the rock burst, and out came an egg of stone. And out of this stone egg a stone ape was hatched by magic power. When he broke the shell he bowed to all sides."

The rock clearly has amazing power, and the phrase "from the very beginning of the world" gives this scene a sort of eternal significance. Readers have to be greatly impressed by the rock, and then suddenly the rock is broken open! Whatever comes out of that rock has to be special is the clear signal being given to readers. And sure enough, the egg that emerges from the rock hatches (by "magic power" no less!) our main character. This vivid and impressive origin story gives the Monkey-King special standing in the eyes of readers from the very beginning. In my own writing, I can introduce major characters with fun and creative back-stories in order to quickly endear them to readers. This introduction was energetic and powerful. I hope to emulate this style of grabbing audience attention in my own stories for this course!

Japanese depiction of the Monkey-King by artist Yashima 

Gakutei from approx. 1824. Source: Wikimedia

By focusing on the intro this week, I have considered ways in which my own stories could start in more compelling, exciting ways. The Monkey-King unit had my attention from the beginning, and I hope to replicate that feeling in my own readers.