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| Fortune. Chinesenames.org. |
I have not had the privilege of living an easy life. For many years, I longed to live as an emperor, praying that one day my fortune would come true. I was not proud of the time I had to beg for my meals, harassing those that chose to walk past me on the street. I was dirty, living in filth and I knew that something had to change. I had always been a man of good fortune, finding the good in all the things I could find.
There was a princess in our city. However, this princess was a child of ill luck. All things in her life were consequence of that ill luck. One day, her father assembled many suitors for her to choose her husband. She threw down a ball of red silk down to none other than me. With all the handsome suitors around, I was so confused as to why she threw the silk to me.
The princess' father was not happy and in a fit of rage, threw her out of the castle. The princess, who was to be my wife, was distraught, but came with me to live in my hut. We cooked roots and herbs but there were many nights that we both went hungry. I grew tired of not being able to provide for us, so I left to seek my fortune.
I was gone for many years. While I was away, I missed my wife very much, longing for her to be by may side. I traveled for many miles, searching from village to village for my fortune. I worked many different jobs, until I finally became became emperor after many long years. However, I knew that something was missing, as I was still missing my wife. I knew that I had found my fortune so I went back for her.
The journey home was longer and much harder than I imagined. I brought many of my servants with me to find my way home. After much searching, I found the place that I had once called home. It was almost just as I remembered it: small, dilapidated, and falling in. I walked through the door, or what was left of the door, and saw my wife. She was sitting on a blanket on the floor, as if she had been waiting for me.
But, she looked at me with confused eyes saying, "Why do you ask me how I am getting along?" I was astonished, as she did not recognize me. I asked her where her husband went and she told me my own tale. She told me of her faithfulness to her husband and I told her I was. It was a beautiful moment and we made the journey back to my palace.
Being reunited with her was amazing. We spent many days together although after only eighteen days in the palace, she fell sick. I could not help but remember that she was a child of ill luck, after all.
Now I am alone in this palace. I should have known that our lives would not end up happy. I will never forget her, but I wish that my fortune could have been enough for her ill fortune.
Authors' Note
This week, I decided to write this story from the perspective of the husband of the child of ill luck. This story is largely about a girl, the daughter of a prince who is an child of ill luck. In the original story, the girl finds a man with whom she gets married. He leaves her to go find his fortune and is gone for many years. He comes back and she doesn't recognize him, as he is now an emperor. She displays loyalty to her husband and he makes her empress. However, her ill luck comes into play and she dies only 18 days later. The point of view of the husband seems like one I would like to know more about.
Link to original story: http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/china-favorite-of-fortune-and-child-of.html
Bibliography
Book Title: Chinese Fairy Book
Story Title: The Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck
Author: Frederick H. Martens
Year: 1921
I thought this was well written, and I liked how you changed it from third person to first person! I read the original story, so I knew how the story was going to go before I read your retelling of it. When I read the original one, the beggar-turned-emperor seemed fairly content with his life throughout the story, from the time he was a beggar to the time his wife died. I thought it was interesting (and more humane) that he felt depressed in your version, even though good things (from a material standpoint) had happened to him. All in all, great job!
ReplyDeleteI did not read the original story, but I do like that you decided to change up the story and tell it from the point of view of someone else in the story. Also, I think in doing so, you did a great job of capturing the feelings of the man about having to leave his wife to find his fortune. I was happy when he was able to find her and bring her back to the palace, but too bad she got sick at the end. Overall, good job on your storytelling!
ReplyDeleteI actually read this story and I fought founding a way to rewrite it, and the way you did it was amazing! I am truly impressed with the talent that you have. Writing it from the males perspective was an excellent idea. Most fairy tale stories you hear are about beggar girl turned princess but this retelling was about a beggar guy turned emperor. The man's perspective was very thoughtful and interesting. I truly loved your story. Good Job! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteKylie,
ReplyDeleteI read this story too! It's very memorable. I thought about retelling it but couldn't think of a way to do it and then just didn't do a story. Oops. I think you did a really great job! I like that you told it from the husband's point of view since we only know that he was gone looking for his fortune for eighteen years.
Good job!