Week 2 Story: Androcles and His New Friend
There was once an evil master with an obedient, yet miserable slave, Androcles, who endured torturous working conditions in hopes to be returned with freedom someday. One morning, as the master strolled around his enormous and opulent castle, he pondered upon the thought of having a slave animal to guard his premises. Androcles was instructed to go on the search for such a request. He wandered into the woods and soon began hearing melancholy cries of pain. He then encountered a terrified Lion, whose paw was unfortunately pierced by a thorn. Androcles meticulously tended to the wound, which the Lion reacted to admirably, licking the slave's hand. After caring for him, a bright idea lit his mind: this was the prime opportunity to escape from the master with his new friend, the Lion. The two of them hurriedly began their venture when suddenly, the master appeared and exclaimed, "How dare you attempt to flee from my reign?! Now, you will never be granted your freedom and every wish of mine will be my command!"As the master attempted to capture the slave, the ferocious lion pounced upon the master and devoured his flesh. The slave was finally free.
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| The ferocious, yet friendly, Lion. Source: flickr. |
Author's Note
Androcles, the slave, escaped from his master but found himself wandering in a forest. He then approached a lion, who revealed his swollen and bloody paw. The slave alleviated the lion's pain by taking out the thorn in his paw. The two of them lived together in the lion's cave until one day, they were captured and the slave's punishment for escaping from his master was to be thrown to the famished lion. Androcles being eaten alive was meant to be amusing for the Emperor and his Court. However, to their surprise, Androcles was not eaten. The Lion recognized Androcles as his friend and licked his hands instead of eating him. In the end, Androcles was freed from his master and the Lion was released into the wild. I chose to change the story as I retold it, while keeping the fundamental moral: "Gratitude is the sign of noble souls."
Androcles, the slave, escaped from his master but found himself wandering in a forest. He then approached a lion, who revealed his swollen and bloody paw. The slave alleviated the lion's pain by taking out the thorn in his paw. The two of them lived together in the lion's cave until one day, they were captured and the slave's punishment for escaping from his master was to be thrown to the famished lion. Androcles being eaten alive was meant to be amusing for the Emperor and his Court. However, to their surprise, Androcles was not eaten. The Lion recognized Androcles as his friend and licked his hands instead of eating him. In the end, Androcles was freed from his master and the Lion was released into the wild. I chose to change the story as I retold it, while keeping the fundamental moral: "Gratitude is the sign of noble souls."
Bibliography. "Androcles and the Lion" from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs. Web source.
Great story! I liked how you switched the plot around to make it seem like they were escaping when the master caught them. I also liked the fact that the Lion showed gratitude to Androcles before the master came and tried to take them in. This story also has a very good moral to the story. Even though you switched the plot around, the moral of the story still came through successfully. Great job with your first story in Indian Epics.
ReplyDeleteHey Naomee,
ReplyDeleteI remembered reading the story but could not remember how the original story went, thanks to your authors notes I could compare the two. Personally, I like your tale better with how you changed that justice was served to the evil master by having the lion eat him. You did a great job with descriptive words explaining the story but specifically with the working conditions the slave endured. Great job!
Wow, really cool Story! Your changes to the story make it more interesting in some respects to the original. I like how the Emperor actually faces some consequences for trying to feed the slave to the lion for peoples amusement. This could be a great origin story for this now free slave and his lion and their many potential adventures.
ReplyDeleteHello again, Naomee! I really enjoyed this story. It was very descriptive and I loved the changes you made to the original story. Although you made these changes, your awesome author’s note made it so easy to remember what the original story was like and how yours differed. Throughout this semester I have truly learned how important the author’s note is when retelling a story. You did a great job!
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