Week 3 Story: The Golden Egg
Once upon a time, there was a giant turtle that lived in a cave in a dark forest. The legend had it that the turtle was hiding a golden egg that would hatch a dragon who only answered to the person who open it. Now, this was no ordinary turtle. This turtle was bigger than an elephant with teeth sharper than a great white shark's. Many have attempted to steal this very egg with absolutely no one being successful or even returning back home.
David, an 18 year old boy, who lived in a village nearby, was known for his wits and gags. One day after hearing the legend of the golden egg, decided that he would try to steal it from the turtle. But how?
David spent an entire day trying to figure out if the turtle would have any weaknesses. A turtle is known for its defense against predators but this giant turtle even has sharp teeth for offense? "How could I ever get around that giant creature?" David said to himself. Then, he jumped up with an idea. "Eureka! A turtle cannot do anything if it is on its back!"
Now, the only problem was getting the turtle on its back. As it was a cold winter, David decided that he would create an ice field right on the entrance of the cave and lure the turtle out, causing him to slip and land on its back. David spent several days sneaking to the entrance of the cave pouring buckets of water, watching it slowly freeze as it was a cold windy winter.
Finally, it was time. David grabbed a few chickens for bait and headed on to the cave.
"Hey there! I know you're in there hungry! I brought you some chicken if you'd like!!" shouted David from the entrance of the cave.
"You must be really stupid if you came here all the way by yourself knowing I eat humans for fun," said the turtle.
"Well, I heard that was all a lie. I don't think you're that scary. In fact, you should come out here so I can kill you and take the golden egg," David continued to provoke the turtle.
As the giant turtle could not take the insults anymore, it charged at David with incredible speed. As expected, the giant turtle slipped and landed on its back.
"Wait, help me. I can't get up from this position!" yelled the turtle.
"Hahaha, no I'm alright. I will take the golden egg that you got hiding back there though!" said David.
David then took the golden egg from the cave and went home with it.
-To be continued
Author's Note:
Reading Homer's Odyssey, I was inspired by Odysseus' wits and quick thinking and decided to write my own little trickery story. Who doesn't like a good underdog story, ya know? The story may be a little cringe to read but hey, I'm not Rick Riordan who specializes in this stuff. Anyways, I do want to continue on this story with David cracking the golden egg open and becoming an owner of a dragon.
Hi Taeam! I always love a good trickster story, but your trickster David's personality really caught my attention. I loved his wit and humor, and found myself really cheering for him because of that. It was a clever idea to get the turtle onto its back in order to steal the egg. Additionally, your description of the giant turtle really made him a threat in my mind. One thing I wonder after I read your story is why and how the turtle acquired the golden egg. Had it stolen the egg from someone else? Or did it lay the egg itself? I also wonder what happens next in the story, although I know you wanted to leave us with a cliffhanger to continue the story later. I'm really curious about what David will get up to with the dragon. One thing I might suggest is changing the location of the cave. I'm no expert on the physics of ice freezing, but I wasn't sure if the buckets of water would freeze into a nice sheet if it was on the grass and leaves of a forest floor. Perhaps the turtle could live in a rocky area, so the freezing ice is simpler? Overall, though, this story kept me entertained and laughing!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this story, Taeam!
ReplyDeleteYou took a scene out of Homer's Odyssey and really did your own original thing with it, and I applaud that. The story was entertaining, an easy read, and had great back-and-forth dialogue - something that I feel can be difficult when writing my own stories. I love that regular old David, the prankster from down the street, was able to take out the famed turtle with a simple play that sounds like it's out of Home Alone.
Although the story sounded like a well rounded, complete short story to me, I am intrigued to see what happens next now that David has the dragon egg. Will the dragon aid him in becoming wealthy, or whatever else he desires (kind of like a genie)? Also, is the poor turtle going to be left on the ground of the forest for dead? Maybe that is another aspect of the story you could follow up on!
Looking forward to reading more in the future.
Wow I really like the thought of using a turtle for the animal but giving it offensive capabilities such as the teeth. One would think it would a undefeatable tank with all that being the size of an elephant, that would have been quite the sight. I wonder that David must have been pretty smart to beat this puzzle in only a day, and to have the courage and strength to go through with it. What if the season would have been summer and ice would have not been possible, how you David have defeated the tank then?
ReplyDeleteA turtle is an animal I would never think of as a guard, much less as a menacing guard. When David was thinking of weaknesses, I immediately thought of a turtle on its back but I could not think of a way to actually get the turtle on its back. I like how David utilizes the cold winter to freeze the water he brought and he then knows exactly how to provoke the turtle to get him to come out. I wonder what would it be like if the turtle had suddenly flipped back over of its own accord. Just something that would be really shocking, especially since turtles are infamous for being stuck on their backs.
ReplyDelete