Week 2 Story: Tiny Tricksters

 I like tricksters! And there were some good trickster stories in here, so instead of one big trickster story, I did several tiny tricksters. Each of these stories is just 100 words long. There are notes at the bottom.

illustration of The Princes and the Turtle

by Ellsworth Young

1. The Princes and the Turtle

The princes shouted, "Father, we saw a lake monster!
The king's guards went and caught the monster. It was only a turtle, but the princes had never seen a turtle; it frightened them.
"How shall we kill it?" the king asked them.
"Crush it!" said the first.
"Burn it!" said the second.
The third prince feared the water, so he said, "Drown it!"
At this the turtle shrieked, "Please don't drown me, good people!"
"Let the turtle be drowned," commanded the king.
They threw the turtle into the lake.
Laughing, the turtle dove down into the water. "Home at last!"

2. The Crane and the Fish

The lake was drying up.

“Don’t worry, dear fish-friends!” said a crane. “I'll carry you to my home, a big lake nearby.”
The fish agreed, and the crane carried them off one by one. But the crane didn't relocate the fish; he devoured them.
Finally only a crab remained.
“Come on!” said the crane.
But as they were landing, the crab looked down and saw the fish bones, so he grabbed the crane's neck with his pincers.
“Let go!” the crane said, but the crab squeezed.
SNAP!
He then lived happily ever after in the big lake.

3. The Monkey's Heart

Craving Monkey's heart for supper, Crocodile swam to the riverbank where Monkey lived. "Let's go to Banana Island, Monkey!"
"But you know I can't swim."
"Don't worry! I'll carry you."
Greedy for bananas, Monkey jumped on.
Crocodile plunged deep under the water.
"What are you doing?" Monkey shrieked.
"I'm going to eat your heart for supper."
"But I left my heart in the tree!"
Monkey pointed to the fig tree on the riverbank.
"Well, go get it!" shouted Crocodile.
Crocodile swam back to shore, and Monkey leaped into the tree.
"You can fool me once," he cackled. "But not twice!"

4. Crocodile in the River

Crocodile noticed Monkey using a rock to cross the river; Monkey would jump from riverbank to rock, and from rock to riverbank.
"I'll make my back look like a rock," thought Crocodile. "He'll jump on me, and I'll catch him!"
Monkey saw a suspicious new rock in the river. Before he jumped, Monkey said, "Hello, Rock!'
Crocodile said nothing.
Monkey shouted, "Hey, Rock! Why don't you answer me like you usually do?"
Crocodile realized he had to answer. "Hello, Monkey…" he said cautiously.
"Hello to you, Crocodile," Monkey cackled, "and goodbye! I won't be jumping on you today… or ever!"

Bibliography and Notes:
1. Two Turtle Jatakas. From Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. This resembles the very famous briar-patch story about Brer Rabbit of course: whatever you do, don't throw me in that briar-patch!
2. The Cunning Crane and the Crab. From The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. This story is structured so we see that the fish fall for the crane's trick, but the crab does not.
3. The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart. From Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock. I had to leave out the crocodile's wife who was the one who wanted to eat the monkey's heart.
4. The Crocodile in the River. From The Jataka: Volume 1 translated by Robert Chalmers. I only did the first half of this story. This is a trickster motif you can find all over; here's a Brer Rabbit version: Heyo, House!