Week 6 Storytelling: The Beast of the Man

Once upon time, there was a large family in a small quaint town. There lived a father, mother, and seven daughters. The father was a selfish man whereas his wife was as selfless as can be. One evening, the father stumbled upon seven wild duck eggs, but he hid them from his family because his greed knew no bounds.

During the next morning, his wife happened to find his hidden eggs and cooked them for their seven daughters as their hungry was vast and their wallet thin. After being fed, the girls napped and the wife set about her daily chores.

Alas, their father woke and upon finding his eggs eaten, he called for his wife.

“Where did my eggs go?” He demanded.

“Why, I fed them to the girls, darling. They were so very hungry,” responded his loving wife.

Furious that he was unable to enjoy the fruit of his findings, he woke the sleeping girls with a roar of anger, demanding they get dressed and hurry outside to meet him. After standing on the porch for some time, only the smallest and youngest two girls arrived at the front.

“Where are your sisters?” The Father asked angrily.

“They told us they would not come,” replied the youngest.

“Well then we will go to grandmother’s house together.”

Thus, he took the two youngest girls and drove them to the mountains, but it was not grandmother’s house they arrived at. Instead, he dropped the girls off by the roadside and went on his way. Abandoned, the girls set out to look for shelter.

Further in the mountains was a cave with light inside. The light shined off the treasures they found there, jewels and stones of every kind known to man. The two girls stared in awe at the glimmering wonders before them and exhausted from their journey, they sought a comfortable place and fell asleep.

The next morning, however, the owners of the cave returned. The cave belonged to two various devious friends, the Wolf and the Fox. They stopped at the mouth of the cave and sniffed the air, growling upon finding the scent of intruders. Their growls woke the girls, who shouted in terror before the wolf and the fox pounced upon them and devoured them.

The father, utterly distraught that he left his girls alone in the wilderness, went to search for them that day but never found them. He returned home a broken man, defeated by his own anger and selfishness.

The wolf.

(Image Information: Walking Wolf by Ellie Attebery (2011). Web Source: Flickr.)

Author’s Note: In the original of The Cave of the Beasts, the father is angry that his wife gave the eggs to their daughters and he does abandon the two youngest girls in the mountains. They find the cave of treasures but are able to defeat the wolf and fox, and then when the father finds them, he rejoices because they return home wealthy. I decided to make the ending a little darker and realistic, whereas the father suffers because of his horrible choices and no riches are found. He has to accept the consequences of his actions.

Bibliography: “The Cave of the Beasts.” The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. By R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921). Web Source: The Cave of the Beasts.