Week 10 Story: Belonging

In a small farming village there was a middle aged widow who found a baby and became his mother. She named the baby Ahvi and cared for him as her own. Ahvi was a beautiful baby boy seemingly normal and in perfect health. However as he grew, two little bumps on his head began to grow as well. They were small little horns. It turned out Ahvi was part rakshasa.

Hoping to protect him, his mother hid his little horns with various hats or wrappings around his head. She would tell him, "Ahvi, it's very important you do not reveal your horns to anyone except me." And when he asked her why, she would only smile sadly and hug him tightly.

Also as he grew, Ahvi discovered the powers of illusion inherited from his rakshasa parent. He enjoyed these powers and would practice and play with them in secret deep in the forest. Because of this, he grew stronger and better at illusions the older he got.

One day, the small farming village he lived in was attacked by a crazy bear. This bear destroyed some of the villagers property and killed some of the livestock. Thankfully no one was harmed. This attack though gave Ahvi an idea. What if he used his illusions to keep dangerous wild animals away from the town? And so he began to use his illusions to send any dangerous animal away before they could do any harm. The villagers had no idea they were being protected until the day the village was attacked by a hungry rakshasa who had long ago thrown his honor and morals away.

This day began like any other normal day. Villagers were working in the fields and Ahvi was helping where he was needed while keeping an eye out for signs of wild animals. Then a stranger entered the town. But this stranger had large horns growing from his head and two sets of arms. He was also larger than any normal human. The stranger bellowed the order, "BRING ME YOUR LIVESTOCK FOR ME TO EAT OR I'LL KILL YOU ALL INSTEAD!"

Before the villagers could move to obey, Ahvi approached the stranger and simply stated, "No. You will not have our livestock or our lives." And he created the biggest illusion he could to scare the rakshasa away. The evil rakshasa took a step back and Ahvi used this chance to strike him down quickly. He grabbed his hunting knife and slashed through the intruders neck.

The villagers stood there shocked. Then Ahvi's mother rushed forwards to stand between Ahvi and the villagers with her arms spread wide. But Ahvi simply smiled at her and gently pushed her behind him. He looked at the crowd of villagers and, with the evidence of his defense of the village behind him, addressed them, "You all know me. You have seen me grow up and know I have never hurt any of you. Does what I am really make a difference when you already know who I am?"

Ahvi, with the woman who raised him as her son behind him, watched the crowd. What will they decide? And as he watched, the crowd relaxed and slowly approached...

Painting of a Rural Village

image found here

Author's Note:
The inspiration for this story is the Jataka tale Granny's Blackie. In this story, an older woman is given a baby elephant that she names Blackie and raises. The elephant gets along with all the villagers and never has to work. One day, he realizes that the woman is getting old and can't work as much as she used to so he goes to find some work to help make money. He does manage to make money and then helps her with any hard work after that.
I wondered what the story would be like if the woman raised a boy who is part rakshasa instead of an elephant. And from that came this story where I wanted to show that a person's heart and mind are more important than their appearance or race.

Bibliography:
"Granny's Blackie" from Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt found here

Week 9 Story: The Many Outweighs the One

It is a dark day for the pandava brothers. A war is brewing between members of their family. This is something they never wanted to happen. They do not wish to see the destruction and chaos that war will bring.

In the hopes of avoiding it, Yudhishthira comes up with an idea, "If we issue a one-on-one challenge against Duryodhan and our cousins we might be able to resolve our issues without bloodshed. There is no guarantee that they will accept but if they do, we will need to determine who among us will fight. What do you think, my brothers?" Yudhishthira looks around at each of his four younger brothers as he asks the question.

The brothers have a long discussion on strategies, strengths and weaknesses before they continue to the battlefield. They bring their army with them as a sign of their strength and resolve. They do not intend to start a war, but they will fight one if they have to. When the other side arrives, the five brothers step forward and walk out to the middle of the field. There they wait for five of their opposition to arrive.

Duryodhan with one of his brothers along with Drona, Bhisma and Karna meet the brothers in between the two forces. Duryodhan takes the opportunity to speak mockingly to the brothers, "What's this? Are you surrendering to me already?"

Bhima's face grows red and he opens his mouth to respond. Before he can, Yudhishthira raises his hand to stop him. In a calm, cool and collected voice but with fire in his eyes, Yudhishthira answers, "We are here to issue a challenge before too much blood is shed. We challenge you to a one-on-one fight against our chosen champion, Arjun. If our side wins, we get our kingdom and our status back. If your side wins, then we'll leave and you'll never have to see us again."

Drona gathers his companions to discuss the challenge. There are mixed opinions but Karna convinces them to accept with a plea for the chance to finally fight Arjun uninterrupted.

At this, Bhisma takes Karna aside to talk. "There is something you should know," Bhisma takes a deep breath to steady his heart, "Arjun and the other Pandavas are your brothers. Kunti is your mother by birth."

Karna grinds his teeth and clenches his fists for a minute before stopping. Then after a long pause, Karna accepts this fact with a small sad smile, "Then I have even more reason to fight in this challenge. It will prevent their deaths just as much as Duryodhan's and his brothers' deaths."

Bhisma nods at this in acceptance and gives his blessings to Karna to fight, "Then may Duryodhan accept the outcome of your challenge, whatever it may be."

Meanwhile, Drona approaches the Pandavas and tells them the decision for Karna to accept the challenge against Arjun.

They discuss the challenge and determine it will take place in the field they are standing in and will begin at the break of dawn the next day. Then each side turns away and walks back to their side to report the decision to their forces.

The next day, Karna and Arjun walk to the center of the field just before the sun is up. As soon as the sunlight reaches them, the challenge will begin. Each champion stands ready to fight, bow in one hand and a single arrow ready to notch in the other. They wait as the sunlight slowly creeps across the field. When it is barely a foot away, each one notches the arrow in hand, raises the bow and prepares to fire. The sunlight touches their feet. Both arrows fly towards their respective targets. Both arrows hit their mark. Arjun and Karna both fall down.

The closest spectators rush forward to check on their champions. Arjun lays on the ground clutching his arm. The arrow flew right into his shoulder. It's a very painful wound but not a mortal one. Karna lays on the ground with a peaceful smile, he's not clutching his arm or any part of his body. And nor would he ever again, the arrow pierced straight through his heart. Bhisma, the first one to arrive at Karna's side, is the only one who truly understands the peaceful smile. Arjun is the only other who understands that he didn't live by chance, but by Karna's skill.

Duryodhan is angry but the honor he has, little though it may be, keeps him from breaking the agreement of the challenge. He will surely try to rid himself of the Pandavas again, but for now he has something else to focus on. Instead of war, both sides prepare for the funeral of a man who saved many lives.

Old Indian Funeral - image found here

Author's Note:
I began writing this thinking about a way for the brothers and their cousins to avoid the war in the second half of The Five Tall Sons of Pandu. In the original, many many people die. And I honestly hated the fighting between family (and ya I know I did the same thing with putting Arjun and Karna against each other).
As I was writing I ended up completely changing the end and made Karna decide to die to prevent a war and the deaths of all of his family and friends.
Also, the title (which I thought of after I wrote the end) is inspired by Spock's quote "The needs of the may outweigh the needs of the few."

Bibliography:
The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu by Richard Wilson found here

Week 7 Story: Demons at the Lake

The Pandava brothers have been exiled from their home and have been wandering the wilderness ever since. Currently they are in a dense forest and the sun is high in the sky. They have been walking for a while and their mouths feel as dry as a desert. Bhima, the strongest of all the brothers, climbs a tree searching for signs of water. He spots birds circling in the air above an area surrounded by tall, densely packed trees. He climbs back down and tells his brothers and they travel towards what they hope is a source of clean water.

As they walk they keep an eye out for any area good for a break and a meal. Soon Yudhishthira, the wisest of the brothers, spots a flat area covered in fallen leaves. The leaves are thick on the ground and would make a comfortable sitting area. Yudhishthira and the twins set up a cooking fire near the area while Bhima and Arjuna, the best marksman of the brothers, continue on with two buckets each.

Arjuna and Bhima find the densely packed trees spotted earlier and looking pass them, can see a lake with the sun shining off the surface. They set down the buckets and take a step forward and cup water into their hands to take a sip. However just as the brothers are bringing their hands to their mouths they step back. The surface of the water is swelling up and then a water demon jumps out of the lake. Then the water swells again and there is another demon and then again and again and again. Finally it stops and there are roughly twenty fierce and hostile demons on the shore of the lake.

One demon steps forward and raises a clenched fist at the brothers. "You should not be here, humans. This is our lake and you will regret disturbing our waters."

At the obvious threat, Bhima readies his club and Arjuna slings his bow from his back. Ready to fight, the brothers grin and Bhima exclaims, "Try us foul demons. You will regret ever showing yourselves to us."

Bhima rushes forward directly in the middle of the attacking group. He swings his club to the left and right as he advances. Arjuna stays back and pierces the demons with his freshly sharpened hunting arrows. Arjuna is focusing his deadly aim on those cowardly enemies who attempt to sneak up behind Bhima. Bhima swings his club around while spinning to force back a group trying to surround him. When he stops, he is facing Arjuna and what he sees stops his heart. There is a water demon behind Arjuna with a raised sword ready to strike down his brother. Bhima grabs the closest item on hand, a fist sized rock off the forest floor, and throws it with all his strength. The rock smashes into the sneaky demon and tears a hole right through its head. Then, Bhima feels a brush of air graze his ear and he turns to see another demon, with an arrow straight through an eye, falling to the ground. Both their hearts are racing and their foreheads sweating after the two close calls. Bhima forces his way to Arjuna and they stand back to back and continue fighting.

Many immeasurable minutes pass before some of the demons turn tail and flee. More and more are running away from the two brothers who refuse to slow down their attacks. Half the demons lay on the forest floor in pools of their own blood and the other half have fled. Bhima and Arjuna put away their weapons and then grab the buckets and fill them with water. Then they walk back towards their resting area.

On the way they meet Yudhishthira heading towards them. "I was coming to check on you two. What took you so long?"

Bhima and Arjuna look at each other with smirks on their lips and glee in their eyes. Then Arjuna replies, "Oh just a bit of fun."

The forest lake (image source)

Author's Note: For this story I ended up combining two events from the Mahabharata. In one, the Pandavas are looking for water and find a lake but they are addressed by a voice. Each brother dies when they drink until Yudhishthira, who comes last, shows up. Yudhishthira then answers the voice and plays a game of riddles until the voice is revealed to be a god in disguise. Yudhishthira ends up asking for his brothers to be brought back. In the other even, Arjuna fights against an entire city of sea demons and monsters using a divine bow. I took the lake scenario and changed the voice to water demons instead because to me that is so much more interesting to read (and I also wanted to write a fight scene).

Bibliography: Mahabharata by Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore.

Week 6 Story: The Prince and the Farmer

Once there were two very close friends. They were actually cousins who did not know each other for the first few years of their lives. One was a prince, Abhaji, and one was a farmer's son, Zhanni. The prince grew up in the palace, with a royal guard named Ramishi who was tasked to watch over him. One day, Ramishi told Abhaji that they must leave the palace due to rising tensions between the kingdom and a rival. They left the palace to live with the king's common born half-sister who had a son the same age as the prince. This son was Zhanni, the cousin and soon to be friend of Prince Abhaji.

They did not know what to make of each other at first. They had many scuffles and arguments and competitions, but they became as close as any two brothers. They spent five years together on the farm with Ramishi teaching them the ways of the sword and bow, and Zhanni's mother teaching them about courtly duties. These peaceful years ended with a message delivered to the prince. The message held news of the King's death. Abhaji and Ramishi were required to return to the palace where Abhaji would be crowned King. Then, because it was discovered that the previous king was assassinated by the rival kingdom, preparations to defend the kingdom began.

Back on the peaceful farm, Zhanni heard news of the approaching war and, wishing to help defend his friend and cousin's kingdom, decided to join the army of warriors. The army prepared to defend the kingdom and was divided up and  camped near each gate of the city. They were ready to defend the city at a moment's notice.

When news came of the rival kingdom's warriors approaching, Abhaji visited the different camps to inspect his troops and raise morale. In one of the camps, he saw a very familiar face and was shocked. However, being a king who must be in control at all times, the only sign of this shock was a slight widening of his eyes. Zhanni had seen Abhaji as well and, of course, he could read his cousin like a book. Zhanni gave a confident smile in response to the shock and worry that he saw in Abhaji's eyes. Zhanni was confident that both of them would make it out of the war alive.

The battle to defend the kingdom

(image source)

Two days after the king's visit to the camps, the kingdom was attacked. The sound of metal clashing and bow strings twanging could be heard the entire day. At the end of the fight the fields were soaked in blood from both sides, but Abhaji's kingdom was safe once again. In the aftermath of the battle the king wandered around his injured warriors and gave them thanks and encouragement and well wishes. He also kept an eye out for Zhanni in the hope of finding him alive. When Zhanni was found he was laying amongst the injured and entirely covered in blood. Abhaji rushed to his cousin's side and reached out to feel for a pulse…

Which ending would you like to read? Is Zhanni alive? Or is he dead?

Week 5 Story: Vibhishana's Reason

Vibhishana is sitting outside his house, deep in thought. He had just painted the wall of his house with the name "Rama" after hearing of his brother's misdeed. Ravana had kidnapped another's wife, the wife of Rama no less. Vibhishana could no longer see any hope for the dream he and his siblings had shared so long ago. Not with Ravana on the throne. As Vibhishana waits by his painted wall, he takes out a journal and begins to write.

Why do I want to help Rama? I used to think evil was born of chaos and disorder, but now? Now I believe evil is born from the corruption of what was once good. My brother is the reason I think this way. Ravana was once a man who wanted to bring order to this island full of rakshasas and even succeeded for a time. However, power corrupts and that corruption got to my brother.

This all began here when this land was full of chaos and disorder. There was no law nor king and any being who lived here could do whatever they wished. If you were strong and powerful you had nothing to worry about or fear; however, the weak would fear for their lives every day. This is the kind of world my siblings and I grew up in after our father was killed. Our father was a brahmin who taught us everything he could in the time we had with him. He taught us enough that we knew this sort of world we lived in was very wrong. So we decided to do something about it.

We went around and gathered allies in order to create a kingdom on this island, on Lanka. And my siblings and I were a very good team for this task. Each of us had our own strengths and weaknesses, of course, but those weaknesses were covered by others' strengths. Some of my siblings were gifted in illusion, some in strength, and some in mind. As a group we could strategize and dance circles around any other. Out of all my siblings, I was the most scholarly. I enjoyed traveling and learning as much as I could about everything, especially other lands and kingdoms.

We used what I learned from studying other kingdoms and laws to create our own kingdom here, in Lanka, with my brother Ravana as the chosen ruler. We had all decided that he should be the king because he was capable of ruling fairly and protecting Lanka from any enemy. The rest of us were his generals and advisors. His fair rulings did not last and his willingness to listen dwindled away. Not so long after gaining the throne of Lanka, Ravana started to change. He became more rash and had very little mercy for any who would not listen to his decrees. Soon enough I was the only one trying to advise him against his cruel actions. I tried to tell him to show mercy, tried to remind him why we built the city to begin with. He would not listen. And now he has stolen another's faithful wife without a sliver of remorse.

That is why I am here now. That is why I have decided to paint Rama's name on the side of my house. That is why I wait in the hope Rama will send a spy who I can help. That is why I declare myself a friend of Rama. I will help from inside Lanka. Though I fear this to be a lost cause, I will attempt to convince Ravana to return Sita to her husband. I will not give up until Ravana either kills me or throws me out of the kingdom... 


Author's Note:
The inspiration for this story is Vibhishana from The Divine Archer. Vibhishana is a rakshasa who sides with Rama after Ravana, Vibhishana's brother, kidnaps Sita, Rama's wife. In this version of the Ramayana, Hanuman finds the name "Rama" painted on a wall when he arrives in Lanka looking for any sign of Sita. There he meets Vibhishana who tells him where Sita is. Vibhishana also mentions he does not want to be in Lanka but wants to be a friend of Rama instead.
This started with me wondering why he didn't just leave if he didn't want to be there and I started thinking of a backstory. What I came up with sounded like something Vibhishana may say to someone or write in a journal so I went ahead and tried a journal entry like style for this story. And so I ended up with Vibhishana writing a journal entry of his thoughts as he waits for an ally of Rama to show up.

Image Information:
Journal and Quill from the public domain (image source)

Bibliography:
The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould

Week 4 Story: Protective Brother

The sun is out and the sky is clear and there are two young men who are making the most of it. It's a perfect day for hiking and that's exactly what these two brothers are doing. These brothers, Pati and Jata, love to hike. They enjoy breathing the clean air and smelling the trees and flowers of the surrounding nature. And this time they are in the mountains and prepared for a full day of hiking. These particular mountains can be dangerous for a careless hiker, especially because of the sheer cliffs and loose rocks. But this is the brothers' favorite place to hike and they have been here many times before.

"Hey Pati, how high up do you think we can hike this time?"

Pati sighs before replying. "We aren't competing so why does it matter how far we get? We keep going further each time we come anyway."
"Mm, yes but we could make the hike more interesting by making it a challenge." Jata responds with a daring tone.

"Oh alright, your on. We'll see how far we can get. Just be careful, alright Jata?" Pati give his brother a pointed stare.

"Yes I know brother. This isn't my first hike." Then Jata sets off following the path at a greater pace than before.

Pati follows his younger brother up the path, hoping he won't get careless in his excitement. But Pati worries for a good reason.

A little more time passes with the two brothers huffing along when the path turns from dirt to rocks. The brothers slow their pace. They know to be careful here. However, as Pati watches, Jata steps right on a loose rock. The rock starts to shift. Pati rushes forward, his heart in his throat. His hand reaches out for his brother. He grips hard onto Jata's shirt and pulls. Jata falls away from the cliff side. But Pati is falling towards it. Jata has no breath to scream as he watches his only brother disappear down the cliff side.

He scrambles to the edge of the cliff and looks down. Pati is sprawled on a ledge almost 20 feet below the edge. Jata hopes with all his heart that Pati had not landed on his head. "Pati!" he screams, "Pati say something!" Jata holds his breath, waiting. He hears a groan, and that is music to his ears. "Hold on, I'll secure a rope to come down and help you! I'll be right there!"
Jata works quickly and efficiently to anchor the rope then grabs his pack and carefully climbs down to his brother. When he gets there he finds that Pati has a badly broken leg. Thankfully, the leg is the worst injury and there is no sign of head trauma. Jata splints the leg and wraps it tightly to limit movement and prevent further injury. Both brothers have been very quiet during this but Jata breaks the silence. "I'm so sorry-"

Pati interrupts his brother. "Don't. I'm just glad you're safe, you idiot. And I have no energy to be mad at you right now anyway." Pati then gives a cheeky grin making Jata laugh in relief. Pati is not able to walk and Jata needs to leave to get help, but these brothers know that in the end they will be back hiking up the mountain again. And they will come again and again with no fear because they have full trust in each other.

Dangerous Mountain Path

(image source)

Author's Note: This story was inspired by the story in the Ramayana of the vulture brothers, Jatayu and Sampati. In the original story the two brothers are flying high in the sky but they get too close to the sun. Jatayu, the younger brother, feints and falls to the ground. Sampati spreads his wings to shield his brother from the sun; however, the sun burns Sampati's wings and he falls and loses the ability to fly because his wings are burnt. I wanted to show how brothers will jump into danger for one another like the original story demonstrates. I decided to write these brothers as human hikers instead of vultures and of course that completely changes the specific events that happen although the main idea is still there. I also changed their names slightly, Jata is Jatayu and Pati is Sampati.

Bibliography: Ramayana, Public Domain Edition by M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder. Web source

Week 3 Story: The Brothers and their Battle

Rama and Lakshmana were practicing archery among the trees behind the palace when one of the servants told them the king was waiting for them in the throne room. They put away their bows and went inside to meet King Dasharatha.

As they walked into the room, they noticed their father was slumped on the throne with bowed shoulders as if weighed down by a heavy weight. The two princes froze at the unusual sight, their hearts speeding up with worry before hurrying to stand next to their father.

"You called for us, father?" asked Rama.

The king spoke quietly, "My sons, I am afraid that you both will need to leave our home for a time. A sage has come from another kingdom to ask for a favor I must grant. He wants Rama to defeat a group of troublesome and dangerous demons who are interrupting the sages' offerings." The king voice hardened, "I want Lakshmana to go with you and you both must watch out for each other. You will keep each other safe. Do you understand me?"

"Of course, father. We will be back before you know it." Rama and Lakshmana spoke together. They looked at each other giddy at the thought of an adventure and left to pack and gather their swords, bows and plenty of arrows.

Rama and Lakshmana set out on their adventure

The boys began their adventure the next morning with the sage as their guide. They were slowly making their way through thick vines, swinging their swords and chopping away until they came out into an open area.

The party of three stopped in their tracks. A figure was laying, spread out on vibrant green grass, in the middle of the clearing. The sage slowly and quietly stepped back behind the two princes who cautiously stepped forward. Their hearts sped up and they quickly reached for their bows, each notching and arrow. Hearing them, the figure turned revealing the figure of a woman. Smirking at them, she said, "You lovely boys look so tasty." Then she pounced at them with dagger like claws.

The boys shot at her and injured her but couldn't manage to bring themselves to kill the demon. They were troubled at the thought of killing someone who, ignoring the claws, looks like a normal woman. The boys were twisting and dodging while taking turns shooting arrows. They were unsure of what to do besides simply keep her back. The stalemate broke when she got smart and swiftly slid behind Lakshmana out of Rama's line of sight. Lakshmana brought his bow up to block her hands, buying time for Rama to move into a better position. Rama watched with beating heart and sweating hands as she grappled with Lakshmana's bow with one clawed hand and went for his neck with the other. Rama raised his bow, quickly aimed and fired. The arrow shot true and the demon woman fell with an arrow through her eye socket. Rama ran towards his brother to check on him. Neither Lakshmana nor Rama were badly injured. They both sagged with relief and hugged each other tightly letting their hearts calm down.

Rama clasped his brothers arm saying, "I am glad your safe. I swear to you, brother, I will never again hesitate no matter the appearance of our enemy."

"And nor will I. You may have had to kill today, but you saved my life in doing so." said Lakshmana and patted his brother's shoulder in both thanks and comfort.

The party continued on their way and the two princes were now resolved to do anything to return safely to their father. When the fight against the group of demons came, both brothers fought with every single one of their senses and with calm and sharp focus on the enemy. In the end, the man-eating demons lay scattered on the ground, dead. The boys succeeded in keeping their promise to the King, and returned home safe and sound.


Author's Note: This story was inspired by the beginning of the Ramayana and I wanted to focus on Rama's first true battle in the story. In the original story two princes, Rama and Lakshmana, leave their home with a sage who had asked their father for a favor. The favor is to help get rid of rakshasas (man-eating demons) who are troubling a group of sages living near a city of another kingdom. Along the way the two brothers fight against a rakshasi (female demon) but hesitate to kill her because of her gender. This is the fight with Thataka who is hideous and misshapen and in the fight she becomes invisible and then Rama kills her by sound alone. And then he receives holy weapons that he uses to kill the rest of the rakshasas. The original continues from there but mine does not. I kept the main plot points of the part of the story I retold but added some dialog and details in order to lead into the story and keep it flowing. I ended the story after the brothers help the sage in order to emphasize the first time the boys actually have to fight for real. The entire battle scene with the she demon is different from the original fight with Thataka. I changed and added the specific events of the fight and tried not to make Rama seem as superhuman as the original story does. I also completely dropped the talking holy weapons because that's so realistic.

Image information: The image above was found here

Bibliography: Ramayana, Public Domain Edition by M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder. Web source

Week 2 Story: The Crew's Salvation

This is a story of the rescue of a captain and his crew. It begins on a day that was not going very well for the captain and his crew. They were out to sea on their ship and the weather had taken a turn for the worse. The waves were crashing and the wind was screaming and the rain was pounding. The crew and her ship were fighting together against the storm until they could fight no more. Then, when there was land barely in sight, an excessively large wave tipped the ship sending her crew into the sea. The men all found themselves washed ashore on an island and soon they began to see figures approaching. It was a group of women coming near. These women offered dry clothes, warm beds and hot meals and the captain could not refuse such generosity. They were led to a beautiful city with houses of stone with thick thatch roofing with fires already lit for warmth. Once they were dry, warm and full, conversation started up.

 "My men and I are very thankful for the help you have given us," the captain began "but do you mind if I ask why there are no men around?"

The oldest of the women stepped forward to answer, "Because we are a coastal city all of our men were sailors like you, however, it has been many years since they last set sail and we have lost hope of them ever returning."

One of the younger women excitedly exclaimed "Oh! You could all stay here with us. We all would really love the company." This statement was accompanied by many nods from the women.

The captain looked around at his happy and relaxed crew before replying, "We would greatly appreciate being allowed to stay longer and it is the least we can do to repay your kindness." He paused for just a moment before adding, "Perhaps you would allow us the use of tools and supplies to build ourselves a new ship while we are here?"

All of the women looked around at each other and grinned before the oldest replied, "Of course. Such a project will be a long one and we would be glad for your company during that time."

That night the weather finally calmed and the crew slept very well, except for the captain. He was awake pondering the situation and the plan of building a ship from the ground up. Some time into his pondering, he heard a noise from outside. Thinking there must be an animal, he went to investigate but what he found was the frightening truth of the city. The women were outside and heading towards what looked like a prison. When arriving there, they tore apart and ate a very bloody meal. What was most frightening was that the meal they ate was human flesh. These lovely ladies were not ladies at all, they were she-goblins! The captain crept away slow and silent and eventually found himself walking along the shore with horrors in his mind. He knew that he and his crew needed to get away now or they would all be kept and eaten like livestock. Then, as if in answer to his prayer of saving his crew, he came across a bright hope. His ship had washed ashore and was mostly intact!

The next day he gathered his crew away from their hosts and told them of both his discoveries. Although there were some among the crew who did not believe the women to be man-eating monsters, his crew trusted him and so agreed to keep the ship a secret from the city's inhabitants. Throughout the day they gathered supplies to fix their ship and when night came they snuck out to the shore. There they worked long and hard the entire night and when the day was just barely brightening they finally set sail with all aboard. And thus, the crew rescued themselves to face the open seas once more.

A crew and their ship

The image can be found on Flickr here

Author's Note: The idea of this story came from "Goblin City" in which the she-goblins desire husbands and then eat them once they are bored of them. In the original, there is a fairy that sends a flying horse to save the crew members who believed the captains warning. I changed the ending big time because I wanted it to be a little more realistic.

Bibliography: "Goblin City" from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. Web Source: Goblins