There once was an ogre known to the people of Kyoto. The townsfolk loved to assume that he was a big, bad ogre that loved to eat people. Sure, this ogre in question may have eaten a person or two when he got desperately hungry, but it wasn’t a regular practice of his.
At a certain gate of Koyoto, the gate of Rashomon, the people were outraged after a recent slaying. The ogre had eaten yet another townsperson for no apparent reason. Little did they know that the ogre was just minding his business when a citizen of Kyoto decided to throw rocks at the peacefully resting ogre. This was often done by passersby to ensure they pass through the gate of Rashomon unharmed, as if doing something foolish was better than doing nothing. However, this is what caused the ogre to be upset and defend itself.
The town people couldn’t tolerate this ogre "problem" anymore. They sent word out to a band of valiant warriors who were known to slay ogres with ease. When this group of respected knights heard the call, they sighed at the townspeople’s cries, as their complaining of ogres was a routine occurrence. However, Matthias, the newest member of the group of knights saw this as a great opportunity to set himself apart.
Matthias reassured the rest of the group and said that he would take care of it all. The older knights of the unit were relieved and impressed by the young warrior’s initiative. They half expected the ogre to eat him, and half expected the ogre to not even be there. It was readily apparent that they hadn't much faith in their young comrade.
Matthias set out towards the gate of Rashomon at sunset. With a mighty sword on his hip and sturdy shield on his back, he was certain that he would return with the head of the ogre drug behind his horse. Matthias was eager to prove himself to be the hero that he always wanted to be.
Once Matthias got to the gate around midnight, he saw the ogre peacefully lying there. The ogre was sleeping! Not bothering anyone or being a nuisance to society, the so-called vicious ogre was hardly a threat. Matthias saw this. He was unsure of what to do. He knew he could not return empty-handed. Thus, he decided to confront the ogre.
Sword in hand, shield at the ready, Matthias approached the snoring ogre. To wake him up, he kicked the giant ogre in the shoulder. The ogre was unmoved. Matthias resorted to prodding the ogre with the tip of his sword; this woke it up. The ogre immediately opened his eyes and let out a deafening roar, as was his usual practice to fend off small animals that liked to disturb him in his sleep. Our young Matthias was a mighty warrior, no? The roar startled Matthias and caused him to jerk away from the ogre. He wasn't expecting the beast to react so quickly.
When the ogre awoke and looked around, he saw no being but an iron-clad knight cowering behind a tree. The ogre ushered the knight to come and tell him about why he was at the gate of Rashomon and woke him from his slumber. Matthias apologized for disrupting the ogre’s sleep, and the ogre sympathized for the ambitious, inexperienced knight and his endeavor. The ogre decided to give the knight a sign of his slaying, one of his great toe's toenail, which Matthias gladly took. The ogre bid his new sword-friend farewell and said that he could come back anytime if his other warrior friends didn’t believe that he had slain the mighty ogre.
Matthias nervously went back to the band of knights he called his brothers. He approached them all and tossed the giant toenail of the ogre onto a table. All of the knights gathered around to see what Matthias had brought as proof. They looked at each other, trying to stifle their laughter, but eventually burst out laughing. They couldn't hold back the tears that were streaming down their faces. Matthias was stunned and unsure of what he could have possibly done to be the cause for such amusement.
Finally, the leader of the knights felt bad and decided to break the silence.
He looked to the young one and said, “This ogre is a friend to all of us. Did you take notice of how many toenails he was missing?”
Counting the ogre's remaining green, gnarled toenails were the last thing Matthias thought to do. However, he began to ponder what this all meant. He scanned his surroundings and immediately was drawn to a chest that was propped open in the corner of the room. It was filled to the brim with ogre toenails.
Matthias hung his head low upon realizing that it was all a test. He would definitely be visiting his new ogre “friend” soon.
Author's Note: I based this story off "The Ogre of Rashomon", a story in Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki. In my telling of it, I didn't change a whole lot. I primarily made it more concise and switched the role of the ogre. In the source material, the mean ogre is actually mean. The brave knight ends up having to fight the beast but makes it out alive with the ogre's arm. The knight presents the arm to his band of valiant knights and is praised as a hero throughout Kyoto.
Bibliography: Yei Theodora Ozaki, Japanese Fairy Tales, Source
At a certain gate of Koyoto, the gate of Rashomon, the people were outraged after a recent slaying. The ogre had eaten yet another townsperson for no apparent reason. Little did they know that the ogre was just minding his business when a citizen of Kyoto decided to throw rocks at the peacefully resting ogre. This was often done by passersby to ensure they pass through the gate of Rashomon unharmed, as if doing something foolish was better than doing nothing. However, this is what caused the ogre to be upset and defend itself.
The town people couldn’t tolerate this ogre "problem" anymore. They sent word out to a band of valiant warriors who were known to slay ogres with ease. When this group of respected knights heard the call, they sighed at the townspeople’s cries, as their complaining of ogres was a routine occurrence. However, Matthias, the newest member of the group of knights saw this as a great opportunity to set himself apart.
Matthias reassured the rest of the group and said that he would take care of it all. The older knights of the unit were relieved and impressed by the young warrior’s initiative. They half expected the ogre to eat him, and half expected the ogre to not even be there. It was readily apparent that they hadn't much faith in their young comrade.
Matthias set out towards the gate of Rashomon at sunset. With a mighty sword on his hip and sturdy shield on his back, he was certain that he would return with the head of the ogre drug behind his horse. Matthias was eager to prove himself to be the hero that he always wanted to be.
Once Matthias got to the gate around midnight, he saw the ogre peacefully lying there. The ogre was sleeping! Not bothering anyone or being a nuisance to society, the so-called vicious ogre was hardly a threat. Matthias saw this. He was unsure of what to do. He knew he could not return empty-handed. Thus, he decided to confront the ogre.
Sword in hand, shield at the ready, Matthias approached the snoring ogre. To wake him up, he kicked the giant ogre in the shoulder. The ogre was unmoved. Matthias resorted to prodding the ogre with the tip of his sword; this woke it up. The ogre immediately opened his eyes and let out a deafening roar, as was his usual practice to fend off small animals that liked to disturb him in his sleep. Our young Matthias was a mighty warrior, no? The roar startled Matthias and caused him to jerk away from the ogre. He wasn't expecting the beast to react so quickly.
When the ogre awoke and looked around, he saw no being but an iron-clad knight cowering behind a tree. The ogre ushered the knight to come and tell him about why he was at the gate of Rashomon and woke him from his slumber. Matthias apologized for disrupting the ogre’s sleep, and the ogre sympathized for the ambitious, inexperienced knight and his endeavor. The ogre decided to give the knight a sign of his slaying, one of his great toe's toenail, which Matthias gladly took. The ogre bid his new sword-friend farewell and said that he could come back anytime if his other warrior friends didn’t believe that he had slain the mighty ogre.
Matthias nervously went back to the band of knights he called his brothers. He approached them all and tossed the giant toenail of the ogre onto a table. All of the knights gathered around to see what Matthias had brought as proof. They looked at each other, trying to stifle their laughter, but eventually burst out laughing. They couldn't hold back the tears that were streaming down their faces. Matthias was stunned and unsure of what he could have possibly done to be the cause for such amusement.
Finally, the leader of the knights felt bad and decided to break the silence.
He looked to the young one and said, “This ogre is a friend to all of us. Did you take notice of how many toenails he was missing?”
Counting the ogre's remaining green, gnarled toenails were the last thing Matthias thought to do. However, he began to ponder what this all meant. He scanned his surroundings and immediately was drawn to a chest that was propped open in the corner of the room. It was filled to the brim with ogre toenails.
Matthias hung his head low upon realizing that it was all a test. He would definitely be visiting his new ogre “friend” soon.
Author's Note: I based this story off "The Ogre of Rashomon", a story in Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki. In my telling of it, I didn't change a whole lot. I primarily made it more concise and switched the role of the ogre. In the source material, the mean ogre is actually mean. The brave knight ends up having to fight the beast but makes it out alive with the ogre's arm. The knight presents the arm to his band of valiant knights and is praised as a hero throughout Kyoto.
Bibliography: Yei Theodora Ozaki, Japanese Fairy Tales, Source
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| An ogre eating a leg. Source |
Hi Lance,
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you changed this story. The twist in your story was quite unexpected. I first off did not expect the ogre to be friendly, and then I also did not expect all the knights to have done this exact same thing. If only more people in the town could have realized the ogre was actually nice if given a chance.
Hey Lance, I really enjoyed reading this story as you are a great writer. I love how you used a very open mind in redefining the ogre. Additionally, Matthias has a certain appeal to him as I felt like he was actually a good person. You did a great job of portraying that character and also with the ogre. I think that this is a good and well thought out story over all and I am looking forward to seeing what other stories you have. Keep doing what you are doing and have a great semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Lance,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your story! I love the way you characterized the ogre! I like when characters are redefined as something different than their typical role. I think this was super creative and interesting! This was a very well written story and I am eager to read more of your stories!