Week 11 Storytelling: The Jealous Father

The boy woke up, confused as to where he was. It was dark outside, and he had difficulty seeing anything.

All of a sudden, his memory returned.

A flash of fire. Yelling people. Being thrown on the back of a horse.

He had been kidnapped.

For years, there had been a war between his tribe and the neighboring tribe. His dad, though they didn't get along very well, was the chief of their tribe. This put him, as his son, in a position of importance.

Perhaps that could explain the kidnapping.

He had been laid down inside a tent, presumably after they had knocked him out. The tent wasn't very large, and shadows of people outside were thrown up on the walls. It sounded like they were eating around a fire.

Slowly, carefully, he peeked his head out of the tent. They were looking the other way, and he knew this was his chance.

As fast as he could move, the boy took off into the woods. Seconds later, he heard shouting and knew that they were coming after him. The chase was on.

If he could only get back home before they caught him, his tribe would be able to protect him. But, as everyone knew, there were several obstacles between the tribes. These dangers had made the tribal battle so fatal over the years. Not only did the boy have to worry about these stops, but he also had the other tribe on his tail.

The first danger required him to run past the tent of two dangerous women. However, as he passed them, they only smiled at him. One told him to run faster, and they stepped out of their tent to confront the people that were following him. Did they know what had happened?

A while later, he arrived at the second danger of the forest - the path was covered in bones, and touching these bones would alert a pack of wolves nearby. He had no choice but to keep running, since slowing down to avoid the bones might allow the enemy tribe to catch him.

However, even as the bones began rattling, the wolves did not move from the edge of the forest. In fact, one almost seemed to smile at him. As he escaped, they moved forward to the front of the bones, perhaps in preparation for the enemy tribe.

Not much longer after that, the boy arrived safely at home. He might have been the only person to pass through the forest completely unharmed. His parents welcomed him with open arms, forever indebted to the forgiving dangers of the forest.

Author's Note:
This story two central components of the original story. In the original, a father becomes jealous of his son and chooses to abandon him on an island. The son manipulates a walrus to take him back to the shore of his home, and the walrus does so. However, a terrible storm (sent by the father) ends up killing the walrus. But in order for the boy to get home, he must first conquer several terrors on the way back. The first is a house of two dangerous women, but in a clever maneuver, the boy actually pits them against each other and manages to escape. In the second, he has to avoid a pack of wild dogs, but he ends up digging a tunnel under their domain. He eventually arrives at home, escaping with his mother and killing his father. I put a much more positive twist on my retelling. Instead of the father abandoning his son, I told a version in which the child was taken. Thus, the story is about him wanting to return to the safety of his parents. As he travels through the forest to get home, what he thought were dangers actually end up helping his cause. Both the pair of women and the pack of dogs allow him through untouched, and they serve to delay the enemy tribe that is chasing him. He ultimately makes it back home to a happy ending, as opposed to the dark ending of the original.

Bibliography:
"Tales of the North American Indians: The Jealous Father" by Stith Thompson: online link

Image Information: The original location of the enemy tribe.
Image Link: Maxpixel