Week 2 Story: The Crocodile's Downfall
Ashamed at having his dignity stripped, the crocodile crawled back to his swamp. His mate, expecting a fine meal that night, was vastly disappointed. How she had longed for the heart of that monkey! In a fit of anger, she left him, for how could he, if he could not catch a mere monkey, provide for their soon to be child? And so she left, seeking a more capable mate.
The crocodile wept bitterly. He began a dark spiral of introspection in which he evaluated himself and found himself to be lacking. Full of self-doubt and not wanting to face humiliation again, he refrained from going out to hunt any prey at all. After a few months, he was unrecognizable - a shell of his former self. His deep green scales, once a testament to his mighty hunting prowess, were now a sickly pall covering the coffin of his flesh. His ears, once covered my many layers of skin, now protruded out at oblong angles and the taut skin around his face sagged.
The other animals, seeing the state of the crocodile, grew less and less afraid of invading his swamp for food. Each week that passed, the crocodile found more and more creatures inhabiting it. But wanting to be alone in his despondency, he continued to ignore it, despite the growing indignation he felt watching them each week. One week, he finally had enough. He burst out from his home and lashed out against the creatures within the reach of his powerful tail.
"What! Are you doing! In my swamp!" the crocodile exclaimed.
However, due to his condition, what would normally be a lethal blow merely glanced off the other creatures' hides. Having stopped their food gathering because of the crocodile's exclamation - for he had retained his deep booming voice - the creatures resumed gathering with a shake of their heads and a pitiful chuckle. The crocodile was frozen in shock.
"If only I could catch that monkey!" cried the crocodile. "Then all my problems would be solved. My mate would return to me and I would regain my dignity!"
From the shore, sitting high up in the boughs of a tree, sat the monkey munching away on piece of fruit. After tricking the crocodile and having a bit of fun from it, he had never once thought about him again. He continued his daily habit of crossing the river to obtain food, but after three days, he noticed the crocodile was nowhere to be found. Thinking it strange, but ultimately chalking it up to the crocodile having moved somewhere else, he purged the thought from his mind.
"What! Are you doing! In my swamp!"
The monkey was startled from his position by the boom of the crocodile's shout, for not only was it thunderous - he also recognized it as the voice of the crocodile whom he thought had moved.
"Surely that is the crocodile's voice! I will go pay him a visit, that I might have some more fun at his expense." thought the monkey.
He swung over to the source of the voice, but only found an abundance of creatures gathering food. One creature, in particular, was something he had never seen before. Its skin was a bile-like green-yellow, its ears protruded as do insect antennae, and its face was a saggy blob of flesh. It had a tail but one so thin, the monkey wondered whether it served any purpose at all.
"My tail I use for swinging and grabbing. It is thick and strong, even as strong as my arms and legs. How pitiful to have such a thin tail!" declared the monkey. "Surely it must be more of a hindrance than anything else!"
Swinging down from the vines to meet this new creature, the monkey introduced himself. The crocodile, immediately recognizing the monkey, snapped at him.
"What's this! I am merely introducing myself!" said the monkey, jumping back.
"Evil monkey! Because of you, my mate has left me, my living is ruined, and I, the once glorious crocodile, am reduced to such a state! Give me your heart, that I may win my mate back!" cried the crocodile.
The monkey, appalled at what the crocodile had become, felt guilty for tricking the crocodile those many months ago.
"Forgive me, crocodile. It was because of my trickery that your mate has left you and because of my trickery that your living is ruined. I cannot give you my heart, but maybe these words will encourage you."
The monkey began to sing,
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play....
Author's Note: This is a sequel to "The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart," telling of the crocodile's life after he fails to get the monkey's heart. I hope you liked the twist.
Bibliography. "The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart" from Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock. Web source.
The crocodile wept bitterly. He began a dark spiral of introspection in which he evaluated himself and found himself to be lacking. Full of self-doubt and not wanting to face humiliation again, he refrained from going out to hunt any prey at all. After a few months, he was unrecognizable - a shell of his former self. His deep green scales, once a testament to his mighty hunting prowess, were now a sickly pall covering the coffin of his flesh. His ears, once covered my many layers of skin, now protruded out at oblong angles and the taut skin around his face sagged.
The other animals, seeing the state of the crocodile, grew less and less afraid of invading his swamp for food. Each week that passed, the crocodile found more and more creatures inhabiting it. But wanting to be alone in his despondency, he continued to ignore it, despite the growing indignation he felt watching them each week. One week, he finally had enough. He burst out from his home and lashed out against the creatures within the reach of his powerful tail.
"What! Are you doing! In my swamp!" the crocodile exclaimed.
However, due to his condition, what would normally be a lethal blow merely glanced off the other creatures' hides. Having stopped their food gathering because of the crocodile's exclamation - for he had retained his deep booming voice - the creatures resumed gathering with a shake of their heads and a pitiful chuckle. The crocodile was frozen in shock.
"If only I could catch that monkey!" cried the crocodile. "Then all my problems would be solved. My mate would return to me and I would regain my dignity!"
From the shore, sitting high up in the boughs of a tree, sat the monkey munching away on piece of fruit. After tricking the crocodile and having a bit of fun from it, he had never once thought about him again. He continued his daily habit of crossing the river to obtain food, but after three days, he noticed the crocodile was nowhere to be found. Thinking it strange, but ultimately chalking it up to the crocodile having moved somewhere else, he purged the thought from his mind.
"What! Are you doing! In my swamp!"
The monkey was startled from his position by the boom of the crocodile's shout, for not only was it thunderous - he also recognized it as the voice of the crocodile whom he thought had moved.
"Surely that is the crocodile's voice! I will go pay him a visit, that I might have some more fun at his expense." thought the monkey.
He swung over to the source of the voice, but only found an abundance of creatures gathering food. One creature, in particular, was something he had never seen before. Its skin was a bile-like green-yellow, its ears protruded as do insect antennae, and its face was a saggy blob of flesh. It had a tail but one so thin, the monkey wondered whether it served any purpose at all.
"My tail I use for swinging and grabbing. It is thick and strong, even as strong as my arms and legs. How pitiful to have such a thin tail!" declared the monkey. "Surely it must be more of a hindrance than anything else!"
Swinging down from the vines to meet this new creature, the monkey introduced himself. The crocodile, immediately recognizing the monkey, snapped at him.
"What's this! I am merely introducing myself!" said the monkey, jumping back.
"Evil monkey! Because of you, my mate has left me, my living is ruined, and I, the once glorious crocodile, am reduced to such a state! Give me your heart, that I may win my mate back!" cried the crocodile.
The monkey, appalled at what the crocodile had become, felt guilty for tricking the crocodile those many months ago.
"Forgive me, crocodile. It was because of my trickery that your mate has left you and because of my trickery that your living is ruined. I cannot give you my heart, but maybe these words will encourage you."
The monkey began to sing,
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play....
(Shrek, taken from Wikimedia commons)
Author's Note: This is a sequel to "The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart," telling of the crocodile's life after he fails to get the monkey's heart. I hope you liked the twist.
Bibliography. "The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart" from Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock. Web source.
Hi Smith!
ReplyDeleteI love how you incorporated Shrek into this story. At first I was somewhat alarmed by how dark the story was, and was legitimately concerned for the crocodile's well being. Your descriptions were quite vivid and you painted a very depressing picture of how terrible the crocodile’s life had become. As soon as he said "get out of my swamp" though, I realized what you were referencing and it went from tragic to comic. I also had no idea where you were going with the monkey part, until he started singing the classic song. I wonder what would happen if you brought Shrek into the world of the Ramayana? Maybe Shrek could take the place of Ravana, and he’s accidentally kidnapped Sita and now can’t get rid of her. I think there are a lot of possibilities here and I look forward to reading whatever you write next!
Hi Smith!
ReplyDeleteI both loved and hated how you incorporated Shrek into this. I definitely got the reference after the words that the Crocodile shouted at intruders, however I definitely did not expect that ending hahaha. I'm dead. Another thing I wanted to say was you're really good at writing descriptions, I could truly envision that crocodile after he didn't achieve his goal.