The slippery eel watched from his little hole carved out among the wall of the small pond, once filled with many fish. Day after day, for the past few weeks, he watched as the cunning crane took fish after fish from the pond to somewhere far away. He had heard them whispering about some big lake paradise, full of fat insects but no fish to eat them. He doubted that the crane actually took them there, because he knew exactly what the hunger was like. But he was powerless to stop the crane, so as he watched the last few fish fall into the Crane's trap, he knew that something had to be done, or else he would starve.
Finally, the day came where there was no life in the pond besides his own and his old friend the Crab. The crab knew something was up too, and assured him that if the crane was to try to take him to the lake, he would not let him get the upper-hand. Hours pass, and lo and behold the crane sticks its slender beak into the pond, and asks if the crab would like to join the rest of the fish in the lake. The crab says yes, but he slyly added that he was too heavy for the crane to carry like the fish, so he would have to allow the crab to grab on with his claws. The crane didn't like this, and looked around for any other more suitable menu item that could be transported with less risk. Spotting the eel, he questioned, "Would you like to go to my big lake, eel? There are plenty of fish there now, more than you can eat, and much more space to move around then this derelict pond." The eel had been waiting for this opportunity, and conceded, only warning the crane not to drop him because he was a bit slippery.
The trip was going smoothly, and the crane couldn't help but smirk. Soon enough he will be feasting on the eel, and a meal that would last him for weeks. But once the eel could see the bones of his old pond mates littering the base of a tree, he knew what the crane intended. As the flew in above the lake, the eel knew what had to be done. The crane had underestimated his strength, and he squirmed his body intensely to get the crane to loosen his grip, and plunged toward the water. But the crane had to be taught a lesson, and the eel always wanted to know what crane tasted like. The eel wrapped the end of his long body around the crane's wing, and crushed it, dragging him into the depth of the lake, never to resurface again. The eel also found that this lake was perfectly suitable, it had plenty of fish; they were just too big for the crane to catch.
It goes to show, no matter how cunning or smart you are, don't get too confident. For there is always someone more cunning or smart then you.
This is a picture of an eel like I like.(Link)
Author's Note:
I remade "The Cunning Crane and the Crab" story because I felt like there were a lot of different ways I could make it different. I decided to change up the story by making the Crane reluctant to carry the crab in this remake, and instead opt for choosing a slippery eel he thinks he can overpower. I also tried to alter the takeaway platitude that was ingrained in the original story.
BibliographyThe Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse.(Link)
That was an interesting to story to read. i liked how you used an eel in place of the crab. It also had a good moral to the story, where you should not get too cocky. I also liked how this story was parallel to the original one with the crab, and that the crane ultimately gets the same fate.
ReplyDeleteBrady, I really liked the original version of this story, and I like what you have done with it. You introduced a whole new character as the hero of the tale. Your story was kind of the approach of what could have happened if the crane had refused the crab from the original story, finding a new way to defeat the crane. I also like that you explicitly stated the moral of the story at the end, much like some of Aesop's fables.
ReplyDeleteHey Brady,
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun story to read. I liked how you took the original and made it even better. I thought this was a good original story, so it is impressive you were able to enhance it. I like how you made your own character. That is something I will be doing in the future as well.
Brooks
Great job, this is a great rewrite of an original that you've made your own. The character switch was a good choice, and the ending maintaining the same for the crane was inevitable. If the crane wasn't trying to be sneaky all along, he probably wouldn't have given any animal a reason to kill him. I knew the Crane couldn't be trusted from the very beginning, but I love that you introduce the eel as the hero, so to speak. I do like how the crab friend is still a part of this story, perhaps he could've helped stop the crane? Or, in a different rewrite, the role could actually be switched where the crane is the good one, and the eel is the bad. It would be interesting to see that from another point of view. Anyways, all of the events fit so perfectly with the moral of the story to never get to confident, because there's always someone more cunning or smart than you (I love the moral).
ReplyDeleteGreat story!
Hey Brady! I always enjoy reading these animal parables because they allow for stories that would be impossible or nonsensical to tell via humans. I like your choice of changing it to an ell, but I feel as if something of the moral has been lost now that the eel doesn't outsmart the crane, just overpowers him with strength.
ReplyDelete