Week 9 Story: The Man Who Wished He Was Rich
There once was a handsome young man that lived in a very small village outside a large palace of riches. He, and his family, were very poor and only had income because the knights would buy chickens and eggs from them.
Inside the palace lived a king, a queen, and their son. The prince was very rich and had everything anyone could dream of, but he was the most unattractive person in the land.
A beautiful princess from a neighboring kingdom came to visit the palace one day. She met the prince in hopes of finding a husband. However, once she met him, she was very conflicted. He was rich and her family wanted them to marry in order to conjoin the kingdoms, but she wanted to marry for love and she just did not love him.
That night, she snuck out of the palace to clear her head and figure out what she was going to do.
She was just outside the palace when she heard someone say to her, "Miss? Are you lost?" She turned around quickly to find the poor young man walking up to her. He asked again, "Are you lost?" and she replied "No, I am just trying to have a moment to myself outside of all the chaos."
He turned around politely and the princess stopped him. She said to him, "I sometimes wish I did not have obligations; I wish I could live a simple life in a village like this." The young man replied to her, "Why would you want to live here when you have a palace and everything done for you?"
The princess said, "Not only is everything done for me, but everything is chosen for me too."
The princess and the young man talked all night and realized things about each other and about themselves. They realized that they could make each other happy and they decided to be together.
The princess and the young man ran away together and started a new life in a different village. As the young man looks at his beautiful wife that was once a princess, he realizes that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Even though he does not have all the riches in the world, he has someone that he loves deeply and would do anything for.
Author's Note:
I took the message that the grass is not always greener on the other side from the story The Man Who Did Not Wish To Die and used it to create my own. In the story that I read, a man wished to live forever and he journeyed all the way to a far away land in order to find forever life. As he was praying to a shrine of a courtier that could make this happen, he fell asleep. The dream that he had was really a visual of what his life would be like if he did choose to live forever. In the dream, he was on the verge of being miserable, and the life that he thought would be amazing was not nearly what he wanted. He made the realization that his life now, with death as the conclusion, would be better than the life that he would have if the courtier granted him his wish. I used that message for my story because a poor, attractive man who wished to be rich and glorious found love and forever in a woman rather than in riches. He realized that eternal love was way better than endless items; the grass is not always greener on the other side.
Bibliography:
The Man Who Did Not Wish To Die (Parts 1-3) from the Japanese Fairy Tale Unit by Yei Theodora Ozaki
Inside the palace lived a king, a queen, and their son. The prince was very rich and had everything anyone could dream of, but he was the most unattractive person in the land.
A beautiful princess from a neighboring kingdom came to visit the palace one day. She met the prince in hopes of finding a husband. However, once she met him, she was very conflicted. He was rich and her family wanted them to marry in order to conjoin the kingdoms, but she wanted to marry for love and she just did not love him.
That night, she snuck out of the palace to clear her head and figure out what she was going to do.
She was just outside the palace when she heard someone say to her, "Miss? Are you lost?" She turned around quickly to find the poor young man walking up to her. He asked again, "Are you lost?" and she replied "No, I am just trying to have a moment to myself outside of all the chaos."
He turned around politely and the princess stopped him. She said to him, "I sometimes wish I did not have obligations; I wish I could live a simple life in a village like this." The young man replied to her, "Why would you want to live here when you have a palace and everything done for you?"
The princess said, "Not only is everything done for me, but everything is chosen for me too."
The princess and the young man talked all night and realized things about each other and about themselves. They realized that they could make each other happy and they decided to be together.
The princess and the young man ran away together and started a new life in a different village. As the young man looks at his beautiful wife that was once a princess, he realizes that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Even though he does not have all the riches in the world, he has someone that he loves deeply and would do anything for.
Just like in Aladdin, the poor man won
over the princess. Image from FanPop
Author's Note:
I took the message that the grass is not always greener on the other side from the story The Man Who Did Not Wish To Die and used it to create my own. In the story that I read, a man wished to live forever and he journeyed all the way to a far away land in order to find forever life. As he was praying to a shrine of a courtier that could make this happen, he fell asleep. The dream that he had was really a visual of what his life would be like if he did choose to live forever. In the dream, he was on the verge of being miserable, and the life that he thought would be amazing was not nearly what he wanted. He made the realization that his life now, with death as the conclusion, would be better than the life that he would have if the courtier granted him his wish. I used that message for my story because a poor, attractive man who wished to be rich and glorious found love and forever in a woman rather than in riches. He realized that eternal love was way better than endless items; the grass is not always greener on the other side.
Bibliography:
The Man Who Did Not Wish To Die (Parts 1-3) from the Japanese Fairy Tale Unit by Yei Theodora Ozaki
Hi Caitlin, I thought this was a nice, relaxing read! I liked reading your author's note because you changed so much of the original story. Taking the theme from the original story but coming up with an entirely different plot isn't something I've thought about doing before! I wonder what happened to the young man's family though. Did he take them with him when he eloped with the princess? (I hope so!)
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin! I enjoyed reading your story! When I got through about halfway, I started thinking that this story reminded me of Aladdin. So when I saw your image and caption about Aladdin, I was like "what a coincidence." I also really liked the flow of your story. It was easy to read and follow along, and it wasn't confusing at all. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHi again, Caitlin! I love your re-telling of the original story! You set up the story really well by describing how they made their income and where they lived. Those things gave me a good foundation for the rest of the story. You also did a great job with the dialogue and character chemistry. Their relationship felt very natural and right. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlyn!
ReplyDeleteI love the message in your story! And you executed it perfectly! I also read The Man Who Did Not Wish to Die, and I love how you turned it into a story about a man who finds that having eternal love is way better than having "endless items." Very well put in your author's note! And I'm glad that the princess got a happy ending too, and found someone that she truly loved.