Week 2 Story: The Turtle is a Demon
The Turtle is a Demon
In an Indian kingdom, there were many fine men. They were devout and steadfast men with a strict loyalty to their morality and the divine teachings. This made things very hard for the demonic creatures of the area to get any sort of mischief done. These upright and good men were making their duties difficult to complete. The mythical and dangerous beings roaming the kingdom were forced to adapt and overcome this obstacle. One, in particular, known as Kappa, had taken to the rivers in the form of a turtle. He was a shape-shifter and cleverly knew that the king had recently opened his little pond to the river, allowing fish inside. It also allowed Kappa to drift into the low banks and onto castle grounds.
Kappa took the disguise of a turtle, for he favored the hard shell of the creatures. He enjoyed the design, how the shell was both their protection and could be used to hide. It was clever and all who knew Kelpie knew how he enjoyed being clever.
There was one flaw in his plan to hide in the pond and that was the sons of the King had never seen a turtle. When the eldest prince caught sight of him, sun-bathing in the moist dirt, he let out such a shout that it was shrill to even the demon’s ears. The other princes were quick to follow their older brother’s lead, creating such a ruckus that Kappa was suddenly unsure of his plan. He shuffled his siblings away and all the sons ran.
All except for one.
The youngest son of the King stood a little ways from the bank, clutching at his middle and staring at the turtle lounging on the pond. He looked rather unsure, as one should when encountering the unknown. Kappa grinned, revealing dagger-like teeth, as his gaze narrowed on the small boy.
“Hmm,” the turtle hummed, as if extraordinarily thoughtful. The young prince shuffled closer, ever curious and drawn by the exotic newness of this new thing. Kappa was not one to turn down a free meal, so he made sure to put extra syrup in his voice. He rounded his eyes, made them softer, and let the child have a reassuring smile.
“Why don’t you join me for a swim, little prince? The water is nice and fresh. Cool your feet here on the banks.”
The young boy let his eyes collapse into slits. Suspicion no longer offended Kappa so he continued to smile placatingly. The child shuffled on his feet. He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of his name, and Kappa knew he must act quickly.
“You are not a coward, are you? Not like your brothers. You are a brave little prince.”
The child turned back and gave a definite nod. “Perhaps I will take a swim with you.”
When the King’s men, ushered by the eldest son, arrived at the pond there was only the turtle smirking on his rock.
Author’s Note: In the version of The Turtle and the King that I read in Two Turtle Jatakas, coming from Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt, a turtle is brought to the royal court and condemned to death (sounds way less wrathful in the original) but he wiggles his way out by tricking them into throwing him into the water – where he is safest. The sole reason the turtle is brought from the pond and taken to the royal court is that the princes have mistaken him from a demon. I thought more about that mistaken identity and wondered: what if he was not simply a cunning turtle but he is a cunning (shapeshifting/water) demon. I decided to use the amphibious demon or imp found in Japanese folklore. It works really well because it is depicted as having a turtle shell thing on its back, so essentially it looks like a turtle. This led to the story that I pulled from a (mentioned by not shown) scene where the boys encounter the turtle and have an exchange with the demon.
Image Information: A Kappa by Katsushika Hokusai from Wikipedia
Bibliography: Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
Hi Lauren, this was a great story to read! For some reason it reminds me of the clown from the movie It, and I couldn't help but remember how he tries to trick different children into the gutter and eats them. I think you did a good job leaving it up to the reader to determine that the turtle does indeed eat the child, and I think it would be interesting if this was the premonition for the turtle being sentenced to death in the original story.
ReplyDeleteHey Lauren! I just wanted to say that your story was a great read! You put a lot of thought and imagination into your writing and I have to say it payed off! I also wanted to say that you grabbed my attention from the beginning and had it till the very end! Keep up the good work! and good luck with your semester!
ReplyDeleteHey Lauren, I really enjoyed reading your version story of the Turtle and the King. I read this same story and found it very interesting that you were able to manufacture the turtle as a demon, instead of just having the characters perceive the turtle as one. With your ending I really liked how it leaves it to us to decide what really happened to the young prince.
ReplyDeleteHey Lauren, Your stories are so fun to read. I always get excited to read them. I like the change up you did in your story of the turtle and king. I read the original story and I like how you changed it up in your own way which is sometimes difficult to do. It was a nice way of using a demon to tell your story. Good job with this story. I look forward to reading more of your stories.
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