Week 2 Story: The Owl that Was not Afraid to Give Up His Feathers
On one particularly cold day, the Owl and three of his friends, the Squirrel, the Pigeon, and the Bear were contemplating in the forest before a busy week, as they were expecting visitors from a neighboring forest to arrive the next day.
The Owl, the wisest of his friends, had the generous idea of welcoming the arriving visitors with food, as he assumed that they'd likely be hungry after the long trip.
So, he declared that the Squirrel, Pigeon, Bear, and himself go and catch their own food and be ready to share it with their guests the following day.
Following his orders, the Squirrel was on his way to the top of the tall oaks when he smelled a pile of acorns buried underneath the surface of the grass.
He called out, "Do these acorns belong to anyone?" and after receiving no response, dug out the buried food and stored it at his place for the next day.
The Pigeon, while in search of seeds, found a pile of stacked seeds that someone had left and called out, "Do these seeds belong to anyone?", and after receiving no response, gathered and relocated the seeds to her place for the following day.
The Bear went and searched for some berries, however on the way, stumbled upon an entire basket of picked berries. He called out, "Do these berries belong to anyone?", and after receiving no response, carried the handle of his basked with his mouth and kept it at his place for the guests.
After searching for some food, the Owl was unable to find anything to offer the coming guests. However, he instead decided to offer the guests his feathers, even though feathers had no worth in the forest...
The next day, the visitors arrived and made their way through the forest. First, they stopped where the Squirrel resided and he said, "Here are some acorns for you all. I know you're hungry."
In response, the visitors said, "Oh, we're not hungry at all... We just ate. Do you have some coats for us instead?"
The Squirrel said no and the crowd went on their way.
Next, the visitors arrived where the Pigeon resided and she said, "Here are some seeds for you all. I know you're hungry."
In response, the visitors said once again, "Oh, we're not hungry at all... We just ate. Do you have some coats for us instead?"
The Pigeon said no and the crowd went on their way.
Next, the visitors arrived where the Bear resided and he said, "Here are some seeds for you all. I know you're hungry."
The visitors responded the same way.
Finally, the visitors arrived where the Owl was but he was distraught that he had no food to offer to the crowd. He claimed "I'm so sorry I don't have any food for you all, but I can give you my feathers instead..."
Expecting a foul reaction, the Owl dropped his head in shame.
Instead, the visitors began shouting and cheering in happiness, as they were very cold by this point.
As the Owl was about to remove his feathers, the weather drastically changed, and the temperature increased, warming up the forest. The visitors were no longer cold.
Amazed at the generosity of the Owl, the visitors befriended the Owl and declared him King of the Forest.
They also called up to the moon, telling the moon of this extreme act, and the image of the Owl became visible.
Author's Note:
The idea behind this story came from the story, The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die. Here, I changed all of the characters, from the Hare, Monkey, Jackal, and Otter, to the Owl, Squirrel, Pigeon, and Bear. Although I kept the plot of the story somewhat similar, I changed the type of food that the characters gathered, the character putting the Owl to the test (it was originally the Sakka - King of the Gods), and the outcome of the story. Instead of declaring the Owl as a virtue/Buddha, I made the Owl the King of the Forest.
Bibliography: The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die: Story source: Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock (1920).
The Owl, the wisest of his friends, had the generous idea of welcoming the arriving visitors with food, as he assumed that they'd likely be hungry after the long trip.
So, he declared that the Squirrel, Pigeon, Bear, and himself go and catch their own food and be ready to share it with their guests the following day.
Following his orders, the Squirrel was on his way to the top of the tall oaks when he smelled a pile of acorns buried underneath the surface of the grass.
He called out, "Do these acorns belong to anyone?" and after receiving no response, dug out the buried food and stored it at his place for the next day.
The Pigeon, while in search of seeds, found a pile of stacked seeds that someone had left and called out, "Do these seeds belong to anyone?", and after receiving no response, gathered and relocated the seeds to her place for the following day.
The Bear went and searched for some berries, however on the way, stumbled upon an entire basket of picked berries. He called out, "Do these berries belong to anyone?", and after receiving no response, carried the handle of his basked with his mouth and kept it at his place for the guests.
After searching for some food, the Owl was unable to find anything to offer the coming guests. However, he instead decided to offer the guests his feathers, even though feathers had no worth in the forest...
The next day, the visitors arrived and made their way through the forest. First, they stopped where the Squirrel resided and he said, "Here are some acorns for you all. I know you're hungry."
In response, the visitors said, "Oh, we're not hungry at all... We just ate. Do you have some coats for us instead?"
The Squirrel said no and the crowd went on their way.
Next, the visitors arrived where the Pigeon resided and she said, "Here are some seeds for you all. I know you're hungry."
In response, the visitors said once again, "Oh, we're not hungry at all... We just ate. Do you have some coats for us instead?"
The Pigeon said no and the crowd went on their way.
Next, the visitors arrived where the Bear resided and he said, "Here are some seeds for you all. I know you're hungry."
The visitors responded the same way.
Finally, the visitors arrived where the Owl was but he was distraught that he had no food to offer to the crowd. He claimed "I'm so sorry I don't have any food for you all, but I can give you my feathers instead..."
Expecting a foul reaction, the Owl dropped his head in shame.
Instead, the visitors began shouting and cheering in happiness, as they were very cold by this point.
As the Owl was about to remove his feathers, the weather drastically changed, and the temperature increased, warming up the forest. The visitors were no longer cold.
Amazed at the generosity of the Owl, the visitors befriended the Owl and declared him King of the Forest.
They also called up to the moon, telling the moon of this extreme act, and the image of the Owl became visible.
(The Owl - King of the Woods; Source: Wikimedia)
Author's Note:
The idea behind this story came from the story, The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die. Here, I changed all of the characters, from the Hare, Monkey, Jackal, and Otter, to the Owl, Squirrel, Pigeon, and Bear. Although I kept the plot of the story somewhat similar, I changed the type of food that the characters gathered, the character putting the Owl to the test (it was originally the Sakka - King of the Gods), and the outcome of the story. Instead of declaring the Owl as a virtue/Buddha, I made the Owl the King of the Forest.
Bibliography: The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die: Story source: Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock (1920).
Your story was lighthearted and fun to read. I like that you used different animals that eat different foods because they all offered different foods to the visitors. I also liked the symmetry that the owl, the wisest animal of them all, had the greatest offering to give to the visitors. The flow of the story and the dialogue was easy to follow! Was there a specific ending for the other three animals that got their offerings denied? Did they feel ashamed or did they just go on with their day?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Lindsay! I agree with Caitlin, your story was so fun to read! I like how even though the owl was discouraged at first, he was the one that ended up helping them (just one of those feel-good stories). I also like how you changed the characters because I feel like they make more sense to be in a forest together. I would love to read more about how they would have made a coat out of the feathers, or would it have been more of just like a blanket if it hadn't gotten warm? I'm looking forward to reading more of your stories!
DeleteHello, Lindsay! I enjoyed reading your reinterpretation of the “Hare That Was Not Afraid to Die”—definitely more animal-friendly by using an owl in your story! Owls are wise creatures as well, knowing how to survive and keep warm throughout the seasons, so this behavior helps to benefit your storytelling. It also makes sense to change the animals to those who would live in the same environment as an owl. In short, I liked reading your story and can’t wait to read many more!
ReplyDeleteHello Lindsay! Your story was a fun and interesting read! I really enjoy reading short stories such as this where the ending is something clever or witty, so I am definitely going to try to read the story you based your retelling on. The image of the owl helped me imagine the story better before I began reading, and I did not know the owl was considered the king of the woods as according to your caption.
ReplyDelete