Week 5 Story: The Mutiny Against Sindbad

"We're not going!"

The captain stands there, shocked. He's never had an entire crew threaten a mutiny, let alone threaten one before they have even embarked on their journey.

"Why must you say these things? Let us embark on our journey as planned," replies the captain.

"Not as long as that Sindbad is traveling on the ship. That man is bad luck," retorts the crew, "Every single voyage he embarks on, nearly the entire crew ends up perishing!"

"I can understand your trepidation, but fear not. This voyage is not a dangerous one, you are the most experienced and talented crew that I have been around, and I promise that we will make it out alive," assured the captain. After all, they did have a vast amount of experience traveling the seas with him. But he could see in their eyes that they did not expect to return alive.

Dejected, Sindbad rose from his seated position. He could not bear to see the hatred that these sailors had for him, some of whom even traveled with him on his previous voyages, rescuing him when they found him stranded. Hearing them say they wished he did not travel with them, he felt compelled to finally speak up.

"Fellow sailors," said Sindbad, "I am pained to know that you do not wish for me to join you on your journey. It is not my fault that I have been through these experiences. In many cases, it was the others with me who caused such chaos that led to my adventures."

One of the sailors scoffs at Sindbad and exclaims, "So because of that, you expect us to be ready to die and become just another chapter in your book? What kind of man has every other crew he's sailed with perish on their journey? If I hazard a guess, I would say that you were responsible for all of their deaths!"

"I handpicked him for his experience and expertise on the waters and I believe he is a capable mariner. Why would I risk my own life by bringing him aboard if I did not believe we would survive?" questions the captain.

"The Caliph demanded you bring him along! That's what happened on his seventh voyage, and I assume it's the same story this time around. I doubt a man with your experience would be so asinine as to bring along someone as reckless and cursed as Sindbad," cries the crew.

"One way or another, there will be a crew on that ship within the hour. If you do not board with myself and Sindbad, I will make sure you never set foot on any vessel again. I do not have time to waste with you and your trivial fears," remarks the captain.

Sindbad looks towards the ground, noticing how weathered his feet have become from all of his adventures. Escaping along the river, flying with the Roc, surviving the Old Man of the Sea. Defeated, he whispers, "I must stay so as not to threaten the ship and its survival. If the crew does not wish for me to join them, I shall stay and tend to my home. All I wanted was one voyage that did not result in disaster."

Sindbad leading a caravan on one of his voyages

Source: Wikipedia

The captain looks towards Sindbad, then back at the crew. "We're not leaving this man behind. We will be the voyage that breaks the spell of luck that Sindbad has experienced on the sea. We don't sail without all of you, nor without Sindbad. Anyone who does not want to give this man his one wish in life is less of a man than anyone."

The crew looks at each other, contemplating their next move. After a few moments, their decision has been made. "We shall sail with Sindbad, just this one voyage. However, if it does threaten the same ending as his previous seven, all we ask is that Sindbad ensures we survive in exchange for volunteering for this mission."

Sindbad quickly agrees, excited that he is able to make one last voyage. The crew piles onto the ship, and sails off into the horizon.

Author's Note: Each of Sindbad's seven voyages are stories of near peril for Sindbad, and on many of these voyages, Sindbad found himself as the only sailor to survive, having watched many die in front of him, leaving him as the only one who can recount their deaths. I wanted to write a story looking at how the crew might react to the possibility of sailing with Sindbad, having read about his perils and the threat of imminent harm they might face when sailing with him. While the stories might have been exaggerated, the sailors still would likely want no part of his presence.

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H.J. Ford (1898)

Reading Notes: Sindbad, Part B

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H.J. Ford (1898)

Fifth Voyage
This time, Sindbad travels on his adventure on a ship that was his own, although he did bring fellow merchants with him. They stopped on an island, where they found a Roc egg similar to the one that Sindbad saw earlier, although this one was in the process of hatching. The other sailors with him hacked through the shell and killed the baby bird, eating the bird in the process. This angered the parent birds, who caught up to the sailors and their ship, sinking it with large rocks. Sindbad washed ashore on an island yet again, and met an old man who appeared frail, so he helped the man out. However, the man enslaved him, forcing him to carry him on his back. Sindbad managed to hollow out a gourd and fill it with grapes, turning it into wine, and the old man drank it, at which time Sindbad threw him off his shoulders. He then escaped with merchants, who were amazed that he had escaped from the Old Man of the Sea, took him to their land, where he gathered coconuts in order to obtain the money to pay to travel back home.

Sindbad carrying the Old Man of the Sea

Source: Wikipedia

Sixth Voyage
Instead of leaving from Bagdad for his sixth voyage, we see Sindbad travel to India, where he leaves on a new expedition. Their boat becomes caught in a storm, and they crash into an island where it is said that no one ever returns home. All of the other sailors perish on this island, but Sindbad noticed a fresh water river, which instead of emptying into the sea, turned and went into a cavern. He built a raft and gathered up many gems that he found on the island and in the cavern, and rode the raft through the cavern and into a new, strange land called Serendib. After some time, Sindbad requests to return home, and is allowed to return, taking with him gifts for his own king, which he does graciously. The Caliph in his home of Bagdad is initially skeptical of the gifts, which came from the Sultan of the Indies, but after Sindbad tells of this man's kingdom, the Caliph believes him, and gives Sindbad many gifts before he returns home.

Seventh Voyage
Sindbad sets off on one last voyage, after the Caliph requests he transport gifts to the king of Serendib, which he agrees to do after the Caliph says it must be him who does it. He was successful in delivering these gifts, and after being asked to stay for a time by the King of Serendib, leaves with many gifts for the Caliph. Unfortunately, during their journey, his ship is attacked by pirates, who sell them into slavery. He is bought by a rich merchant, who has him hunt elephants for their ivory tusks. After a time, the elephants uprooted the tree that Sindbad hunted them from. However, instead of killing him, they took him to their graveyard, which contained many of the ivory tusks that his master was after. He escaped to his master's home, and told him of this sight with much more ivory than he could ever imagine. As thanks for showing him all this ivory, the master allows Sindbad to leave, as he was the only slave not to be killed by the elephants. He gives him many treasures to take home with him, and he returns home, paying respects to the Caliph before having his story written for all to read, and thus ending his seventh and final voyage.

Reading Notes: Sindbad, Part A

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H.J. Ford (1898)

First Voyage
Sindbad and some other sailors traveled across Persia, selling and trading their merchandise. Often they would stop and take breaks on various islands. One fateful day, however, the island they stopped on was a sleeping whale, which awoke at the starting of a fire by the sailors. Sindbad was not able to re-board the ship, and washed onto an island, which he would call home after being welcomed by the king. After some time, a ship stops at the island where Sindbad now resides, and he finds that this is the same ship from which he had disappeared some time before. Despite the captain believing he is lying, Sindbad eventually gets the captain to recognize him and welcome him back, glad to find out that he had not perished as they had believed.

Second Voyage
Once again, we see Sindbad lost and alone without a ship. This time, he is left behind after he falls asleep on an island while they are stopped, and awakens after the ship has already sailed away. Climbing into a tree, he sees a large white object, and is stunned to discover that it is a bird's egg, a bird known as the Roc, with legs as large as tree trunks. He takes advantage and ties himself to the bird, escaping the island, but also becoming stuck in a valley filled with massive serpents and many diamonds. He had heard tales of this bird and this valley, but did not believe they were true until now. After seeing merchants throw large pieces of meat into the valley in hopes that a bird will pick it up, and the meat be filled with diamonds, he gathers as many diamonds as he can, and clings to the piece of meat, being carried out by an eagle. The merchants were distraught initially that he had come with the meat instead of diamonds, but after telling his tale, he offered them some of his diamonds, and traveled with these merchants, eventually making his way back home once again.

The Valley of Diamonds by Maxfield Parrish

Source: Wikipedia

Third Voyage
Because two voyages ending in an adventure was not enough, Sindbad left on yet another voyage. This time, the entire crew is forced off of the ship, on what the captain said was the worst island for them to have landed on. Searching, they find a castle, but it is inhabited by a massive giant with one eye, who would select one of the crew each night, roast them, and eat them. After a few nights of fear, Sindbad and the other sailors set off to make rafts for escape during the day, and attacked the giant that night, blinding him by stabbing his eye with multiple spits. The giant, however, returns the next day with many more giants, who sink all but one raft as the sailors try to escape, which Sindbad is fortunately on. On their next island, the two remaining sailors with Sindbad are eaten by a snake on consecutive nights. He builds a crude shelter, successfully hiding from the snake who could not break through to Sindbad. That next day, Sindbad spots a ship in the distance, and is brought aboard the ship. While purchasing some items that belong to a perished sailor, he discovers that it is the same boat captain from his second voyage, and that these items were his from that trip. The captain is elated, and takes Sindbad back to Bagdad, thus completing his third voyage.

Fourth Voyage
For the fourth time, Sindbad heads out on a voyage, this one rocked by a hurricane that destroys the ship and kills most of the sailors. Sindbad and the remaining sailors wash ashore on an island, where they find huts, and are captured by the inhabitants. The inhabitants offer copious amounts of food to the sailors, all of whom except Sindbad eat with great fervor, before being killed and eaten once they have been fattened up. Sindbad, on the other hand, ate very little, and was left alone by his captors, who he manages to escape from. He runs into people who are amazed that he was not eaten as his fellow sailors were, and take him to their homeland. He impresses the king of this land, as well as many high-ranking officials with the gifts of saddles for their horses, and is offered a beautiful wife as part of his repayment. However, Sindbad is distraught when he learns that this island has a custom where if your spouse dies, you must be buried along with them. Alas, his wife passes, and he is buried with her, barely surviving. He kills someone else who is buried with their spouse to gain their rations, surviving long enough on these to discover another entrance to the cave they are buried in. He manages to escape, being found by another boat, who fortunately takes him back to Bagdad to complete his fourth voyage.

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Tales of the Phoenix

Phoenix Rising

Source: DeviantArt

Week 4 Story: The Wrath of Jove

I dislike being questioned.

I dislike being belittled.

More than anything, I dislike people marginalizing me and insulting me, as if I had made a mistake. Gods are not prone to mistakes.

My name is Jove. If this name is unfamiliar to you, don't be alarmed. I am the almighty being, ruler of both man and beast. Perhaps the name Jupiter rings a bell. I shall tell you the story of a group of frogs who had the audacity to treat me as an idiot who did not give them a sufficient leader. I can assure you that they wish they'd accepted their initial ruler.

Jupiter and Thetis by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

Source: Wikipedia

It all began a few short weeks ago. Frogs, in my opinion, do not require an outside leader ruling over them. I feel that they do a well enough job of it themselves. But for whatever unknown, asinine, reason, this one group of frogs decided that they didn't like the freedom, the independence, the ability to enjoy life as they had it. They thought they needed a ruler, a King if you will. I thought their request trivial; as I said, frogs do not require a ruler. But, to appease them, I gifted them a wise ruler, one that has been around for hundred of years: a mighty log.

Initially, they were afraid of their new king. It was much larger than them, it was broad and heavy, and so I believed that it would suffice. However, they proceeded to make a fool of me, mocking me by dancing on the log, treating my gift as a source of amusement. They chose to ignore the log and continued their lives as if the log had never been placed there. Had it been left as such, it would have pleased me, as they had their ruler, and I could focus on more important matters.

However, the gift was for naught. Shortly thereafter, they shunned my gift, and had the GALL TO ASK ME FOR ANOTHER LEADER, claiming that the log was not quite to their liking. What king of creature has the audacity to tell the almighty being that they have failed? This infuriated me, because gods are not prone to mistakes. They were going to feel my wrath, as that log was the best ruler they were ever going to get.

So what exactly did the frogs receive as their second ruler? Being the generous and fair Jove that I am, I rewarded them with a beautiful creature. That creature would be a stork. A stork filled with hunger, ready to gobble up as many frogs as he could fit in his stomach. I sat back and laughed, watching the frogs attempt to flee from the stork. After a few short days, the stork had eliminated the entire colony of frogs. Perhaps the next colony will not be so brazen to ask for a ruler. They may receive a visit from the same stork.

Frogs enjoying their stork king

Source: FablesOfAesop

Author's Note:
The story of The Frogs Desiring a King focuses on a group of frogs who desired a king, and received a log from Jove. The frogs were dissatisfied by this gift, and demanded a new king that would actually rule them and keep them in line. This story is retold from Jove's point of view, and teaches the lesson "Better No Rule Than Cruel Rule" as the frogs learned.

Source: The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs

Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables (Jacobs), Part B

The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs

Birds
The Crow and the Pitcher
A crow, nearing death from thirst, comes across a pitcher filled with water. However, when the crow goes to take a drink, he discovers that the water is so low in said pitcher that he is unable to reach it with his beak, no matter how much he tries. He thinks, and proceeds to fill the pitcher with pebbles, stone by stone, until the water is high enough that he can reach it and quench his thirst.

The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts
A bat is caught in the middle of a potential quarrel between the birds and the beasts, and is asked by both sides to join them in the fight. He declines both of them, claiming to be a beast to the birds, and a bird to the beasts, as he did not want to choose a side. However, the fight did not occur, and when the bat went to each faction to celebrate, he was shunned by both, as he had spurned both of them, meaning they did not want him to suddenly align with them.

Insects, Snakes, Crabs
The Man and the Snake
A man is walking through the snow, and comes across a snake that appears to be dead. He still takes it home and places it near the fire in an attempt to help it survive. The snake warms and does come back to life, but when one of the man's children tries to stroke the snake, the snake attempts to bite the child. The man reacts by taking an axe and slicing the snake into two pieces, effectively killing it for attempting to kill his child.

Frogs and Fish
The Frogs Desiring a King
A group of frogs were living alone in a swamp, and became discontent with a lack of leadership. They began wishing for a king to rule over them to keep them managed and in order. They asked Jove to give them a leader, and Jove responded by placing a log into the swamp with the frogs. The frogs, initially fearful of the log, began to realize that the log was not moving, and danced on the log, and continued on with their ways from before the log's presence. After some time, they went back to Jove and asked for a new leader that would actually rule over them. Jove responded by sending a stork, who would eat all of the frogs instead of ruling them, which was worse than the lack of leadership from the log.

The frogs hiding from their stork king

Source: Flickr

Nature and Inanimate Objects
The Man and the Wood
A man enters a forest full of trees with an axe head in his hand, and asks the trees for a branch, as he needed it for a specific reason. The trees were kind, giving him the branch that he desired and asked for. To repay the trees, the man attached the branch to his axe head, turning it into a handle, and proceeded to chop all of the trees down, which he could not have done if the trees had not given him his handle.

Humans and Gods
Hercules and the Wagoner
A man is driving a horse-driven cart carrying a heavy load. As he approaches a fork in the road, one side of the wagon begins sinking into the sand, only becoming more and more stuck as he tries to escape. Desperate to finish his journey, he calls out to Hercules for help. Hercules appears, and says he will not help someone who will not try and help himself get the cart unstuck.

Family and Friends
The Man and his Mother
A man was caught stealing, and was sentenced to death for his crimes. He asks to see his mother one last time, and says he must whisper something to her. When she leans her ear near him, he proceeds to bite it in an attempt to rip it off, mortifying the people around. He says he did so to teach her a lesson for never scolding him when he stole as a child, and instead ended up encouraging him to steal instead of living a life without such actions.

People Wise and Foolish
The Buffoon and the Countryman
A man was at the fair, causing people to laugh by imitating the sounds of various animals. After he attempts a pig's squeal, a farmer says that his squeal is not the real thing, and promises the people who laughed that he will do a much better imitation the next day. The farmer shows up the next day, and as promised, performs a squeal that people find horrifying, and they throw things at him so that he will stop. The farmer then reveals that he was not making the sounds, but that they were those of an actual pig making these noises.

The Goose With the Golden Eggs
A man goes to check on his goose, only to find a golden egg laying in the nest. Once he discovers it is real, he goes back each day, finding more golden eggs, and sells them for large amounts of money. The man, greedy for more gold, kills the goose in an attempt to obtain much more gold, but finds none inside of his goose, and now no longer receives the golden eggs.

Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables (Jacobs), Part A

The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs

Lions
The Sick Lion
At the end of the lion's life, other animals began attacking the weak and frail lion as a way to repay all of their frustrations with the lion before it became close to death. The lion was agonized, believing that he was not only dying physically, but also in terms of the power it had, as it was being taken away as he laid on his deathbed.

The Four Oxen and the Lion
Four oxen were under threat of attack from a lion, and were able to fend off the attacks by staying in a circle, tail against each other's tails, which prevented the lion from successfully killing one of the oxen. However, as time wore on, they stopped working together, and were meticulously killed off separately, as there was no one else around to protect each individual oxen.

Foxes
The Fox and the Grapes
A fox saw some grapes hanging in a tree. Desperate for them, he tried to reach the grapes many times, to no avail. Angry at his failure, he says that the grapes must not be very good anyway, although this is due exclusively to his failure to obtain any.

The Fox and the Mosquitoes
A fox becomes trapped in a bush by the tail shortly after crossing a river, and becomes engulfed in mosquitoes, who all begin sucking his blood without fear of being swatted away. Another animal, a hedgehog, offers to help the fox get rid of the mosquitoes, but the fox declines, saying that more mosquitoes would just come along and suck out the rest of his blood until he dies.

Wolves
The Dog and the Wolf
A wolf, who is struggling to find food, comes across a dog who promises a better life with steady food for the wolf if the wolf is willing to perform the same work as he does. The wolf, skeptical, agrees to look and see what this life might entail, and follows the dog back home. The wolf notices the lack of hair around the dog's neck, who replies that this is due to a chain being around his neck at night. The wolf declines to follow the dog any further, saying that it is not worth sacrificing his freedom just to obtain food.

Dogs and Cats
The Fox and the Cat
A fox boasts to a cat about how many different ways it has to escape a predator, while the cat explains that it only has one way to escape. When the predators finally come, the cat escapes by climbing into a tree, while the fox begins to think about which escape to use, and ultimately is unable to escape and is killed by said predators.

The Fox and the Cat by Wenceslas Hollar

Source: Wikipedia

Mice

Belling the Cat

A group of mice are trying to devise a way to avoid the cat, so as to know when it is coming. One mouse suggests that they attach a bell to the cat so that they may hear its ringing when the cat approaches. As ingenious of a plan as it was, no one was willing to be the mouse that attached the bell to the cat, knowing they would be risking their lives.

Asses
The Ass in the Lion's Skin
An ass came across a lion's skin that had been left behind by hunters. The ass proceeded to put the skin on and wander into its home village, terrifying the townspeople. The ass then brayed, alerting the townspeople to the charade, causing them to laugh at the ass for giving up its identity.

Deer
The Hart and the Hunter
A stag is marveling over its antlers, which is believes are majestic and beautiful. However, it is sad that it has such small legs, which it believes is not befitting of the crown its antlers are. It runs from a hunter that shoots an arrow at him, but ends up caught in the trees by his antlers, which were too large to run successfully, and end up being the reason he is killed.

Hares
The Hare With Many Friends
A hare, who everyone says is their friend, is afraid of being hunted by a group of hounds. They plead to each friend one by one, begging for protection from the hounds, but is rebuffed each time by all of the other animals. The hare is fortunately able to escape by their own feet, avoiding being killed by these hounds.