Week 5 Story: Twenty-two Goblins

Shiva, the supreme God.

(Image by Wikimedia Commons)

There once was a boy who lived in a small village. His name was Dhritil. Dhritil was very kind, but also very impatient and got bored easily. His family was part of the lower class, but they were grateful people that worked very hard. They appreciated everything they had and asked for little.

One day he was running through a field with his friends, they were running and laughing. In a moment of silence, they heard a small cry. They didn’t know where it was coming from. They followed the sound.

They discovered behind a bush a small bird. The bird’s wings were broken. The other kids played it no mind and figured it would just die and they carried on with their day. Dhritil felt bad for the bird and felt as though it deserved another chance. He took off his sweater and wrapped the bird up gently and took it home. He showed the bird to his parents and they were touched by his kindness.

The boy began to make a cast for the bird to help it heal. He fed the bird and took care of it as if it were a child. After a week the boy started to get irritated because the bird wasn’t any better than it was when he found it. His mother told him that it would take time and that he would have to practice patience. He read to the bird everyday, changed the cast out every few days, and fed the bird.

After two tiring months of caring for the bird Dhritil went to check on it but found that it was missing. He looked all around their house for the bird. He accused his siblings of messing with it. He could not find the bird anywhere. Angry, he ran away and back to the field so he could be alone. Panting and crying and fell to the ground with his hands in his head.

“I’ve failed you.” He said regretfully believing the bird had been taken.

“No you didn’t.” He looked up and he saw Shiva, the God himself.

“Shiva.” The boy whispered in awe.

“Yes, it is me. You have made me very proud.”

“I don’t understand.” Dhritil replied.

“You took me in when I was nothing. You helped me when you thought I had nothing to offer. You heeled me through the kindness of your own heart and with that you grew not only patience, but perseverance.” Shiva said.

“You’re the bird?”

“Every single day you heeled me with no complaints. You came to me without question and nurtured me. While your friends left me and deemed me as good as dead.”

“Why would you impersonate a bird and break your own wings?” Dhritil asked.

“I had lost faith in humanity for quite some time. Men have become lazy and entitled. Men forgot what it was like to work. Men forgot what it was like to care. But you have proved me wrong. Some men are good and those men should be rewarded.

Dhritil sat in silence, staring at Shiva in awe still.

“Your family will know good fortune. So long as your family does not change and always remain true to their values will the good fortune continue to bless your family.”

“What do you mean?” Dhritil asked but Shiva disappeared before he could finish.

The boy returned home and saw his family crying. He ran down into the house and asked what’s wrong. His family was crying tears of joy because his father was offered a well paying job. Three times more than what he was making now. The boy broke down in tears as well.

The family hugged and the boy looked up at the sky. He smiled at the sky, tears strolling down his face.

Author’s note: Twenty-Two Goblings is about a king who finds himself in debt with a monk, Patience. He asks Patience how he can make it up to him and Patience asks him to bring a dead body from a tree. The king does as he’s asks but before he could get the body, a goblin appeared and he found himself in what felt like a never ending riddle/scavenger hunt. Riddle after riddle the king always came back. Impressed with his perseverance to help the monk, the goblin tells the king that the monk has gone rogue and his real plans were to kill the king and sacrifice the dead body he was asked to get so he could obtain the magic sword. The goblin liked the king so he told him how to stop Patience. The king did as he was told (by cutting off Patience head) and Shiva appeared and awarded him with the magic sword because of his patience, perseverance and good heart. My story doesn’t exactly include a goblin, but I really liked the idea pushing through a task even when it gets tough. Dhritil, also means "mean with patience" so I thought it was a good fit for the story. Thanks for reading! (: 

Bibliography. "Twenty-Two Goblins." Arthur Ryder. Source.