The Goblin hanging out in the tree.
(Image by Baital Pachisi)
A monk named Patience
brought a fruit to the king every single day for twelve years. One day, the
king discovered that every single piece had a gem in it. When the monk returned
the next day as usual the king asked him about it and Patience asked for a
favor. The king immediately agreed. The monk asked the king to retrieve a body
hanging from a tree for him without hesitation the king did as he was asked.
When he got hold of the body however, he heard a goblin speak from within the
body. The goblin began to tell him a story. He also told him that if he did not
know the answer he would keep telling stories, if he did and withheld the
answer his head would explode and if he answered correctly the goblin would
head back into the tree.
The first story is called, “The Three Lovers who brought the
Dead Girl to Life. Whose Wife Should She Be?” The story is about a beautiful
woman who had to choose between three men. She could not decide so she
prolonged it but ended up dying before. Each man took some of her ashes and
went their own way. One left and became a monk and discovered a town where
people could be brought back from the dead. He brought the woman back to left
but the men began fighting for who would get to be her husband. One thought he
deserved her because it was his spell. The other thought her should have her because
he took her ashes to the river. The last one said he should get her because he
kept her ashes.” The Goblin then turned to the king and asked him who should
get the woman. The king said the man that slept with her ashes deserve her
because the other two acted as a father or son, not husband. The goblin went
back into the tree.
The king left and came back for more. The next story is
called, “The Brave, the Wise Man, and the Clever Man. To which should the girl
be given?” This is about the king’s right hand man’s daughter. She said she
wanted a brave, wise, or clever man to marry. On a mission for the king the
father found three men, each claiming to be either brave, wise or clever. The three
of them were promised her hand if they could defeat the beast. The wise man found
the beast’s hiding spot, the clever man made the chariot and the brave man
killed the dragon. The goblin asked who deserved the woman. The king said the
brave man because he risked his life, the other two were just helpers.
The king once again left and returned and the goblin gave
him another riddle, called “The Girl Who Transposed the Heads of her Husband
and Brother. Which combination of head and body is her husband?” A man fell in
love with a woman and she loved him back. They were married and she, her
brother and husband went to visit a goddess. The husband didn’t know what to
sacrifice to the goddess so he cut his own head off for her. The brother came
searching for him and found him and did the same thing. The woman was curious
and went to search for her husband and brother. She attempted to kill herself
too and prayed to the goddess who told her that because she was so good she
would bring the men back to life for the woman. The woman just needed to put
the heads back on. She did so and they came back to life, but she realized she
switched their heads and bodies. The goblin asked the king which man her husband
was. And the king said it’s the one with the husband’s head because it’s the
most important and that’s how people are identified. The goblin ran back into
the tree.
The king left and came back again for another story. “The
Specialist in Food, the Specialist in Women, and the Specialist in Cotton.
Which is the Cleverest?” This story is about three brothers. They fight over
who is the cleverest and go to the king to let him decided. The king makes them
perform tasks in their specialty and has to come to a conclusion. The goblin
asks the king, who’s the cleverest. The king says it’s the one the specializes
in cotton because he felt the hair that was hidden in the sheets while the
other brothers could have had prior knowledge in their tasks. Once again, the
goblin heads back into the tree. And the king went back to get him.
The goblin’s next story is called, “The Four Scientific
Suitors. To Which Should the Girl be Given?” The husband and wife prayed for
children and got a son and daughter. The
man wanted to find his daughter the perfect man and she said she just wanted a
man who knew one single science entirely. The king searched for good looking,
scientific men. The king made them explain themselves. The goblin then asked
the king who the man should choose for his daughter and the king said he should
choose the Swordsman because it was practical and there was “manhood” behind
his science, unlike the man who knew about birds.
The last story of the part A is called “The Three Delicate
Wives of King Virtue-banner. Which is the most delicate?” The king one day went
to go play with his wives. He playfully pulled the hair of the first wife and
she screamed and fainted. He then went to play with second and they laid down.
The light form the moon burned he rand he had her taken care of. The third
queen came to the king. She heard a noise and was bruised by it. The servants
took her to the king. The goblin asked the king who was the most delicate. The
king said the woman who was bruised by a sound. The other two were wounded by
contact of something. The goblin ran back into the tree and the king was unable
to catch him once again.
Bibliography. "Twenty-Two Goblins." Arthur Ryder. Source.
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