Week 6 Storytelling: Escaping the Darkness and the World Beyond

I lived in a world of darkness.  It was all that I had ever known, all that I could remember.  The darkness was large enough for me to stand and stretch, but was enclosed by… something.  I don’t know how long I had been in the darkness or if there was anything but darkness in the world. 

One day, the darkness cracked.  I could see something, something so completely opposite the darkness that it burned.  It terrified me, but when the darkness did not return, I decided to further the cracks.  After much work, I was finally free from the darkness.  The world was so bright, so big, that I bowed in each direction out of thanks and worship. 

While I already knew how to stand, actual movement was hard to figure out.  I had no teacher and there was no one in sight when I escaped the darkness.  Gradually I learned how to walk and jump.  I was so excited and happy to be able to explore the world that I cried out with joy.

As I grew up and explored what I came to learn was an island, I met other beings like me.  I learned I was an ape, but I was different from the others.  No other ape had hatched from the darkness and no other ape was made from stone.  However, they accepted me into their community. 

Together, we ate and laughed and played. We had no concept of responsibility or an end to our existences.  We were happy. 

Waterfall. Source: Wikipedia

After a time, we were enjoying the coolness of a pond in one of the valleys.  It was fed by a rushing, pounding fall of water, something we had never encountered before. 

One of the apes said, “Whoever can force his way through the waterfall without suffering injury shall be our king.” I knew that I would be able to cross the fall of water since I was made of tougher stuff than the other apes, quite literally. 

“I will pass through,” I cried.  I closed my eyes, bent down low, and leaped through the roar and foam of the waters.  On the other side, I wiped the water from my face and opened my eyes.  I saw an iron bridge with a stone tablet above it engraved with these words: “This is the heavenly cave behind the water-curtain on the Blessed Island of Flowers and Fruits.”

I was so excited that I leapt back through the waterfall and told the other beasts what I had seen. They all wanted me to help them cross the waterfall.  I took each ape and monkey into my arms, covered them with my head and shoulders, and leapt back and forth through the falls until they were all on the iron bridge.

We ran towards the castle cave that was on the other side of the bridge and pilfered everything we could.  The cabinets held pots and pans and cups that were made of stone, the same stone I was made from!

All the apes and all the monkeys saw this and began to bow before me. They called me the Handsome King of the Apes.  I appointed the different species to be my counselors and officials, my servants and retainers.  We led a peaceful and happy life in the cave, sleeping in the great hall and feasting on the fruits and flowers that were surrounding the castle cave.  We kept away from all the other beasts and birds, enjoying untroubled happiness. 

In this way, some three hundred years went by.  

Author’s Note

For this week’s storytelling, I found it very difficult to choose a story to rewrite.  They are so intertwined with one another that it was daunting to choose one that I could write independently.  

I chose to rewrite the beginning of Sun Wu Kung's story, the Handsome King of the Apes. In the original story, the tale is told from a third person point of view.  The Stone Ape hatches from a rock that was on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits.  He catches the notice of the gods, who write him off as something they do not need to worry about.  In the remainder of the story, he quickly becomes a very serious problem for the gods, causing all sorts of mischief and problems. 

In my rendition, I decided to tell the story from the ape’s point of view.  He had existed within the rock for a while before he hatched and he knew nothing else.  I thought it would be fun to see how he dealt with the new world and how he became part of the ape community.  He was so different from the other apes and finally that difference payed off.  I would have loved to rewrite the entire story after I wrote this, but I didn’t have the words that would let me tell the whole thing.  

"Handome King of the Apes" edited by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens, from The Chinese Fairy Book (1921). Web Source: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook.