Week 11 Story: The Riverbank
There was once a poor fisherman who lived in a small village. He was the village grump and was mean and cruel to everyone. He would not let other fishermen on his boat, nor would he contribute his earnings to the village like the other workers would. The only person he would listen to was the elder wise man in the village. He felt as though the wise man was the father figure he did not have growing up.
One day the wise man came to the fisherman to teach him to stop being cruel to the other villagers. He taught him that everyone should be kind and gentle to each other, so that good rewards will happen in life. The fisherman thought very highly of the wise man, so from that day forward, he was kind to everyone.
Years later, the fisherman was helping gather materials by the riverbank when his foot caught on a piece of wood and gave him a big splinter. He was alone with no one around to help him, and too far to walk back to the village. He saw some carpenters collecting materials on the other side of the river and tried to get their attention. The carpenters floated across the river, and pull out his splinter, and helped heal him. He was so indebted to the carpenters, that he decided to work for them.
A year later, he had a son. He wanted to bring his son to work so that one day he could grow up and work for them. His son happily began working for them when his father became too old. One day, the head carpenter for the kingdom arrived in the riverbank and took notice of the son. He was looking for a head carpenter fit for the king, and he chose the son. The son then lived in the kingdom and provided for his family and his father.
Author's Note: I combined two of the Jataka Tales "The Elephant Girly-face" and "The King's White Elephant". Both of the original stories were centered around an elephant, so I changed it to a fisherman. The lesson I wanted to display is that good actions have good rewards. When the fisherman began to be kind and grateful, life rewarded him back with his son being successful and providing for him.
Bibliography: "The Elephant Girly-Face" Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
"The King's White Elephant" Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
Hello Isha. I really liked your story as it can teach us all lessons about why it is important to be kind to others. I really liked how the story ended with the carpenter's son being the head carpenter for the king and providing for his family. It seems like the man's son has taught his son well similarly to how the wise man taught the man.
ReplyDeleteHello Isha, I love how you combined two Jataka tales into one story about the importance of kindness. Part of me wishes that there was a part about how he met his wife, because at least how I read the story, it sounds like he was all alone in his grumpiness. However, after listening to the wise man and learning to be kind, the fisherman became a favored member of the town, fell in love with another fisherman’s daughter, got married, and started a family. I haven’t read the two jatakas this comes from though, so perhaps your story followed the path is did because of your source material. Either way, it was a great story!
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