(The king's treasure room. Source)
Author's Note:
The origin of this story comes from The Tale of King Rhampsinitus. The story is told from the viewpoint of the king when he is writing in his journal on the day of his daughter's wedding.
I cannot believe my daughter is about to wed this man. It was he who was stealing my treasure all along. Any other man's corpse would be hung on the palace wall for all to see! But no, he gained my respect and I spared him. In fact it is I who gave him my daughter as a reward. To tell this story I have to start at the beginning.
You see, I caught him and his brother stealing treasure from my chamber. They thought they were so clever. But no, I laid a trap and I captured one of them. I then hung his corpse on the palace wall for all to see to reveal the rest of his mourning family. His brother could not take it, and so he devised a plan to remove him.
This plan was a clever one. The most cleverest plan I have ever known. He put wine on the backs of donkeys and somehow tricked my guards into getting drunk. Once they all fell asleep, he then removed his brother's corpse from the wall. It was a noble thing that he did, but I grew even more determined to catch him.
I then sent my daughter after him. My daughter talked to the men of the city one by one and said she would consider to be their bride if they told her the most wicked and artful things they have done. When she finally talked to the thief, he was honest and revealed his identity to her. Perhaps the most honest man in all the city.
But once again he escaped my grasp! I was so furious, but this man's cunning, nobility, and honesty was unmatched. I then realized I this man by my side, and so I offered a pardon and a reward. He then turned himself in, and in return, I gave my daughter's hand.
And let it be known how a thief wed my daughter.
Bibliography:
The Tale of King Rhampsinitus by Donald Mackenzie
Hi Daniel!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the setup of your story being told as an entry in the king's journal as it brings honesty and emotion into the retelling. The way that you wrote it in such a modern way also made the story easy to read and it was dramatic enough to pull me in and make me want to find out how the story ended. I was a bit confused at the end when the king claims that the robber escaped his grasp again since I figured he should have been there marrying his daughter. This may be due to a minor grammatical error in that paragraph when the king is explaining that he gave the robber a pardon and reward. Other than this, though, your story is wonderfully written and I enjoyed your retelling!
Your story was so cool!! The setup and plot of the story was very interesting with many twists and turns. I loved the twists and how dramatic the story was. The twist of thief marrying the daughter was surprising and added another layer to the story that made it riveting and an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteHi Daniel!
ReplyDeleteI love how you used the King's point of view for this story. It offered a new perspective on the story. It was also short and sweet. I wonder how his daughter felt about all of this? Being married to a thief is probably not the noblest of people to be wed to. It would be interesting to hear her point of view on the whole situation!