One day, a large ship carrying hundreds of sailors wrecked near the coastal city. The goblins became aware of this and quickly shape-shifted their empty hamlet into a busy city, complete with fishermen, shepherds, and farms. They also shifted themselves into beautiful women and began to assist the ship-wrecked sailor, bringing them food and clothing and supplying shelter.
Shape-shifting rakshasis
Image Author: Anne Anderson (1874-1931)
Image Source: Wikipedia
The sailors were awestruck by the kind, beautiful women. And what luck! All of the women were single and looking, and there were just enough for each sailor. What a fortunate turn of events. Before long, the sailors had begun to marry the beautiful women left and right. Only a few sailors had not yet popped the question, mostly because they were intimidated by the beautiful women and simply lacked confidence in themselves. The captain of the ship, who had also not married yet, did not lack confidence, but instead, was very suspicious of the entire town. Something about it all just seemed a little...too good to be true. He began to tell his shipmates of his suspicions, but few believed him.
Those who did, however, began to develop a plan to leave the island. Little by little, they began to rebuild their broken ship. The new ship would be much smaller than the original as it was made from the scraps of the older ship. This meant that it would be built much quicker. It also meant it would be much easier to hide.
Within days, the new ship was ready to set sail. The captain and his few loyal followers tried once again to persuade the rest of the sailors that there was something wrong with the town, but none would listen. At nightfall, the captain and his men took to the seas. That same night, the rakshasis began to imprison their husbands, preparing for a great goblin feast. By the next day, they were nothing but bones.
The captain and his band sailed for a week before finding their way home. They never knew what became of their shipmates, but they did know that if something seems to good to be true, it usually is.
Author's Note:
In the original story, the captain eventually finds out that he has married a goblin when he wakes up before she gets home. He and a few other men are then eventually saved by a goblin-hating fairy and her flying horse.
In the new story, the captain never finds out that the women are goblins and there is no fairy to save them. They escape by rebuilding their ship.
Bibliography. "Goblin City" from The Giant Crab and Other Tales from Old India by W.H.D. Rouse. Web Source
Hey Jeremy! I too wrote about the Goblin City. My favorite thing about your version was that it fixed the problem I had with the original: it all seemed too coincidental. A goblin hating fairy sends them a flying horse? Seems like a deus ex machina to me. I'm glad you made the story more believable and allowed it to flow better. I can't wait to see what else you write!
ReplyDeleteYour story has a fairly casual tone to it. I do not know why, but for some reason it made me laugh, which is a good thing by the way. I agree with Haley in that the fairy in the original story was a weird way to get the sailors to realize something was wrong. The captain using common sense instead was a great change.
ReplyDeleteSo, I have never read the original story, but I like that you tweaked just a little of it to keep the story and yet make it your own. It was really interesting that the rakshasis were goblins that could shape-shift. The supernatural is such an interesting topic! I enjoyed that you didn't let the captain know that the women were actually goblins, keeps for greater mystery and stories later on. And that you added into account that, when things are too good to be true in life, it's hard to believe that we are fortunate or lucky enough. Sometimes we are and sometimes we aren't.
ReplyDeleteJeremy, I really like how you made an alternate ending to this story. I have not read this but it does seem like a great story. I like your ending statement how some things are too good to be true. I find myself believing that way too much in my own life. I think if I would of been in the sailors position I might too have been sucked in by the beautiful women of the island. I often feel as though we have temptations like this in our lives that sucker us in only to end up failing. I wonder what would of happened if the sailors would of just believed the captain in the first place how the goblins would of reacted if none of the sailors were falling into their master plan. I think this story could of ended worse than it did already. The goblins would of just revolted earlier than they did already.
ReplyDelete