Week 9 Story: The Python of Pune

Long ago, there was a mighty python in the city of Pune, India. The python was said to be enormous, like a dragon. It was said to be one hundred feet long and apparently was curled up in a cave for years. It would only wake when it smelled the flesh of humans. Wild animals still inhabited the area around the cave, but as soon as a human or a group of travelers passed by, the python would stick its head out of the cave and devour them.

One day, a lonely traveler who was exploring different forests in India ended up in the city of Pune. He had not heard the story of the python as of yet, but as soon as he entered the forest, some squirrels came scurrying up to him. 

"Mister! Mister! Do not tread here any further, for a great python awaits you!" 

The traveler was quite surprised. He replied, "Hello little furries! What do you mean, a great python? I have defeated many obstacles in my life, and I am sure I can calm down a python easily."

"No no, mister! You do not understand. This python is not like any other. His body is the size of the entire land, but he is always curled up! You will not see him coming until he has already eaten half of you."

At this, the traveler scoffed. There is no way the squirrels were serious. He thought they were exaggerating, so he went on about his way, despite the squirrels' concerns.

Along the way, he came across a group of cheetahs. They too, were surprised to see a human in the depths of the forest. They began shouting at once.

"Mister, what brings you here?!" "Have you not heard of the tragedies of this area?!" "Retreat back to your home, please, for your sake!"

At this, the traveler was even more confused and surprised. The squirrels had said the same thing, but they were small animals. They could be easily defeated by many things. But cheetahs are extremely fast. If a python lived here, couldn't the cheetahs outrun them, or save the humans by carrying them on their back and sprinting across the forest? The traveler reassured them that he could easily fight off a python, as he had dealt with and calmed down many snakes in the village back home. 

After an hour of trying to persuade the traveler to go back home, the cheetahs finally gave up and decided to let the man see for himself. 

Not longer than half and hour after his encounter with the cheetahs, did the man walk by the cave in which the python was curled up and sleeping. The scent of the man reached the snake, and suddenly the ground shook, as if someone had taken the planet in their hands and jumped with it. He turned, and what he saw almost made him pass out. The python, like the other animals had warned him, was NOT an ordinary snake. His head itself was bigger than the tree next to the cave. With one swift move, he quickly gobbled up the traveler. He had not listened to the animals that had tried to help him, and therefore was given a cruel fate.

Source: The Mighty Python of Pune.

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki) Unit. 

Author's Note: This story was inspired by the Japanese Fairy Tales, namely the story The Goblin of Adachigahara. In it, a goblin disguised itself as an old woman. A priest passing by needed a place to stay, so he asked her for accommodation. She reluctantly agreed, and told him not to go inside a certain door while she went out. He listed to her, but got very impatient so he headed to the back room where he wasn't supposed to go. As soon as he opened the door, he fell back, terrified. In the room, there were piles of dead men's bones. He immediately ran out of the house, and the goblin found him. They ran through the forest until dawn, when suddenly the goblin vanished. The priest then realized he met the Goblin of Adachigahara, a monster he never believed to be real. I decided to change this story quite a bit, but kept the parts where a traveler was passing through a forest and the part where he didn't believe the story of a monster until the end. I decided to make the monster a python, and chose the city of Pune, India just because it started with the same letter as python and it sounded cool :-) I hope you all liked my retell!

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales, Part B

The Goblin of Adachigahara
This story reminded me of some of the Jataka tales, especially the ones about the goblin city. In it, the goblins presented themselves as women and gave home to sailors journeying through the city. Eventually they got married and one of the men realized his wife was a goblin, so he told the others. Half believed him and half didn't; the half that didn't got eaten up the next day. The half that believed him were able to get away. I could rewrite this Japanese fairy tale that I read by combining it with the Jataka tale I just described. Or I could make it to where a man is the goblin, instead of a woman.

I could also make up another name, like "The Monster of Lake _____." Just because we have two stories that describe a monster and where they are from. The Goblin of Adachigahara and the Ogre of Rashomon. I could make up a similar story that talks about a monster from somewhere else, and have a man not believe it. The man could venture out and then come across it and defeat (or not defeat) it. For example, I could do the Python of Pune.

Source: Tatsuta River from The Story of Princess Hase.

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki) Unit, Part A.

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales, Part A

My Lord Bag of Rice
If I were to retell this story, I could create another origin story and talk about how two groups came to hate each other, or I could make up a hate story between two groups of insects, animals, or people! I loved the way the story was told and I could imagine it very clearly while reading. I may also incorporate some of the presents in my re-tell, like the pot that always cooks something fantastic, the silk that never stops, and the bag of rice that always refills itself. I love objects like that in stories so I may make another one! An idea I had is the never-ending hair of Rapunzel; maybe the witch that took her could use that to keep her looking young (like in the actual) and then I could change the rest of the story to coincide with My Lord Bag of Rice.

The Adventures of Kintaro
This story was really interesting because it reminded me of a Hindi movie called Krrish. In it, a man has extreme strength and intelligence. He can do just about anything! His mom keeps him sheltered for fear that someone will try to take advantage of him and make him use his strength in violent ways instead of helpful ones. I could write a story in which these two stories are combined into one! Maybe the disguised woodcutter could be an evil person, instead of a great general, and he could turn Kintaro evil or something (or at least try to). 

Source: From The Adventures of Kintaro, the Golden Boy.

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki) Unit, Part A.