I saw something in the water near the shore. It started to approach me, so I walked towards it in the water. To my surprise it was a dolphin.
“Are you one of the shipwrecked victims?” the Dolphin asked me.
“Yes, yes I am. I need to get back home to Athens but it is too far and dangerous to swim there,’” I answered.
“I can take you to Athens. It is custom for us dolphins to help stranded Athenians, like yourself, out,” said the Dolphin.
“That would be so generous thank you so much.” I felt so thankful to have found someone who was willing to help.
I set out to Athens on the Dolphin’s back. He was very kind. He asked about my family and life in Athens, and was genuinely interested in my noble family.
“So being from such a noble family, I’m sure you visit Piraeus a lot,” he asked.
“Oh of course. It is one of my favorite places to visit. Except this time when our ship wrecked right on the coast. I am just so thankful you are taking me back to Athens,” I replied.
“Thats interesting, because earlier I saw something in the ocean. Thinking that it was a human, I picked him up on my back to return him back to Athens. On the way, I asked about his life in Athens and he described his family as very aristocratic and righteous. I then asked if he visited Piraeus frequently and he responded that he did and that Piraeus was his best friend.”
“Piraeus is a place though,” I said.
“Exactly. So I turned around and realized that his person wasn't a person, he was a monkey! A MONKEY! So I reimbursed the fibber for his falsehood and dropped him off in the middle of the ocean for him to take care of himself.”
Point proven that dishonestly and falsehood never prevail. I’m glad I didn’t try to convince the Dolphin that I was a monkey.
Author’s Note: I chose to rewrite the Aesop’s fable, The Monkey And The Dolphin, from a different viewpoint. The original story of The Monkey And The Dolphin was told in third-person. Instead of re-telling the story in third-person, I decided to tell my story in first-person, and I also added a human character to the story. The original story plot discusses how dolphins are friendly to mankind and how the species returns shipwrecked humans to back home to Athens. When the dolphin picked up the monkey in the original story, the monkey lied to the dolphin about being from Athens and having a noble family. The dolphin was tricked and thought the monkey was a human until the monkey declared that Piraeus was his best friend. Piraeus is a place in the story, not a person. Immediately, the Monkey's comment caused the dolphin to dump him into the ocean for the monkey to fend for himself. I wanted to keep the theme of dishonesty involved in my story by describing an outsider's viewpoint. I chose to include a human character because it shows the friendship between the dolphins and humans of Athens. Also, I decided that the human character would be very nice and not lie about anything to depict the theme of honesty.
Photo Credit. An Indian Monkey(Photo by Jim Ankan Deka.) Oceanic Dolphin. (Photo by sheilapic76)
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That was a creative way to keep the main theme while changing the point of view! I had never heard this fable before, so it was extra interesting to read. It's funny because I would never expect a dolphin and a monkey to interact, let alone in Athens! This was a simple story with a strong and important message. I'm glad I got to read it!
ReplyDeleteGreat moral from the story! Lying never gets you very far in life. I also liked that you made it from someone else's perspective, that made it a more intriguing story to read. You did a good job of adding humor in to it as well! I'm glad you gave the background of the story you chose because that definitely helped me understand more.
ReplyDeleteBailey,
ReplyDeleteWow great story. I really enjoyed how you changed the view point to first person. I enjoy telling stories in 1st person because the character can tell how they are feeling themselves. I think it was great how you added the human and they were glad they did't lie. Honesty is a prized possession. I liked how you told that the money said, Piraeus was his best friend, instead of a place. Great switch around! I wonder what happen to the monkey when he was left in the middle of the ocean? What if you could tell the story form the dolphins point of view? Would you add anything different? If you wanted to add to the story you could tell why the dolphins help wrecked ship rescues. Another thought, what if you talked about why the dolphins only help the humans and not other animals? I hope my thoughts could possibly help you in the future. Overall, great story and change of viewpoint!
-Ashlie
I also read this fable by Aesop in week one, but I never would have thought to retell it in the way that you did. I really enjoyed that you put us as the readers inside the stranded persons head. It all really came to life when I could picture the conversation between the person and the dolphin. The image of the monkey is super cute. When I was in Brazil I saw quite a few of them... they are cute but indeed sneaky/evil little guys!
ReplyDelete