(Gray wolves from EarthSky.)
There was once a little girl who was
a princess, and her family's crest was that of wolves. Every evening her mother
and sisters took her to the woods to sing with the wolves. The wolves accepted
their songs and protected them through the night.
Now the kingdom was prosperous and
was envied by many neighboring kingdoms. There was one in particular with
sinister plots to over throw the kingdom. The neighboring king was jealous
of the good fortune of the Good King and soon plotted against him when the
kingdoms would meet. He met them with false pretenses: "I am fortune and
glad to be here for this grand meeting of kings."
The Good King did not suspect
anything malicious and after hours of celebrating the union many of men fell
victim to the sweet alcohol of the Good King while the Envious King and his men
waited for the opportune time to strike.
The little princess enjoyed the party and could hear the wolves
sing in the night, enjoying their comrades joy. The little princess did not
suspect anything when the Envious King stood and the all became quiet. The
Envious King saw his chance when many of the men were drunk and unable to fight
against his men. He commanded his men: “Now while they are drunk, they shall
fall to my rule and their family slaughtered. Kill them!"
Her mother said nothing as the
Envious King's men started murdering the neighboring kingdom's kings and
families, she simply shoved her daughter under the table and told her to run:
"Run my daughter. Run to the wolves."
She made her slow way out of the
parlor, but she did not make it out to the woods before she was caught by the
Envious King himself.
“A princess shall become a peasant,
and you shall roam the earth without the luxury of your previous life.”
The Envious King was cruel and held
her before her father, mother and her sisters as they were killed brutally by
the Envious King’s swordsmen. She cried as she saw her mother and sister fall to
the ground lifeless.
The parlor was red with blood, and
now the wolves howled with sorrow at their companion’s deaths.
The Envious King thought it irony
the princess would soon meet her end at the crest animal of her house. He could saw the golden eyes watching from
the forest as the girl stumbled into it. He heard the wolves abrupt howling and
signaled the death of the Good King’s heir.
Many years past, and the Envious King
soon became unsatisfied and envious of other kingdoms. He planned to siege the other kingdom at dawn before the neighbor king could prepare for an attack, but when he opened the gates he was surprised when four dozen wolves were standing watching the Envious King and his army. A greater surprise came when a woman entered from the forest and her howl commanded the wolves to surge forward and his men were devoured one by one.
The Envious King was the only man left in the palace. He opened his eyes to see the woman standing over him. She opened her mouth and spoke: "You threw me to the wolves, and I came back as their alpha."
Author's Note: I read the Persian fairytales translated by David and Emily Lorimer: the themes were revenge and disguises plus the use of wolves. I wanted to incorporate those themes in my story. I also tried to write my story using the Persian writing style, I do not think I did well. I most likely will not use this style again.
Hey Lauren! I really enjoyed your story! It was sad and happy all at the same time! I was very sad when I read the part about the little princess's family being murdered in front of her. It was a very upsetting story, but the end really makes you feel not quite as sad. I liked that the girl got to avenge her families' death.
ReplyDeleteSo did I! Thank you!
DeleteI like this a lot! Very Disney-esque up to the end, when it becomes rather dark. It's really satisfying, though, to see the big bad get what's coming to him. It's like the girl went from a princess, to a homeless child, to the queen... of the wolves.
ReplyDeleteI also like how you personified the wolves and basically made them recurring characters. They howled and interacted with the main characters, which became one of the emotional pulls of the story.
Great story!
I am glad you noticed, I was worried no one would notice how I wanted the connection to be deeper. Thank you!
DeleteLauren, I really liked how you incorporated wolves into your story. It reminded me of The Jungle Book because the wolves were friends with the boy in the movie and didn't mean to cause any harm. I also liked how you put an antagonist into the story to create some drama in the plot. Your story was very interesting and kept my attention all the way through.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your story right from the beginning. You have a way with words that truly lets us connect with the emotions of the characters. I kept waiting for the wolves to help out the girl when she was little but I did like how they came back and avenged the death of her friends and family in the end.
ReplyDeleteThis story was really good! I liked that you kept the wolves incorporated from the original because it added a really cool aspect to your story! If you wanted to add to the story you could give the evil king a little bit more of a motive. Why did he leave the one girl alive and kill her family? I really liked that she got her revenge and the wolves were there for her!
ReplyDelete