Week 9 Story: The Great Burial Plan
At the dawn of time, there existed a Creator. This Creator loved all things. The Creator wished all their creations could live forever and flourish happily in the world they made. One day, after the deaths of their loved ones became too much to bare, they called their trustworthy dog, Maximus.
"Hey! Hi! Hello Master! I am so very excited that you called me! What can I do for you? Do you just want my company or..." Maximus was cut off by an affectionate pet from the Creator.
"Maximus, I need you to deliver a very important message. You think you can handle this, or should I entrust Thunder?" spoke the Creator with a sense of great importance. Maximus knew Thunder had a great reputation as a messenger, after all, he was a hawk.
"I know I am ready for this task! You would not have considered me if you had any reservations. What is the message!" Maximus said, eager to prove he was just as reliable as Thunder. The Creator told him of their great sadness and how they wanted to help the people they made. The Creator spoke of the great burial plan and Maximus encoded every word deep into his memory.
At first light, Maximus set off to deliver the great plan to the people. On his way, he witnessed a tortoise and an elephant having an... interesting exchange. He sat for a few moments and wondered what they may be doing. As soon as the tortoise scooped out the elephants eye, Maximus took off in fright.
It was mid-day and Maximus stumbled upon an ape who was caring for a child and was rather confused about the arrangement. "Is that yours?" he questioned. The ape seemingly ignored this question and continued to play with the child. "Can I play with you? I love little kids!" he asked with more conviction.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" stated the ape with a roll of his eyes.
"Oh my! You're right! I cannot keep getting side tracked!" Maximus yelled while running toward the village.
He awoke to the loud chatter of the birds in the tree's and a lot of staring eyes. "Oh.. um. Hey there! I am Maximus and I have a message from the Creator!" he said shaking himself awake. "It's his great burial plan, he wants to help you!"
"We already heard about the great plan... Thunder told us late last night." spoke the village elder. Maximus was confused. How could Thunder know the plan when the Creator only entrusted him with it. He listened to what the village elder told him of the plan and realized that Thunder did know everything. Thunder did his job for him... again.
"Oh, well that isn't the correct version." Maximus said suddenly. He thought for a moment and then took a deep breath. "Instead of burning the sticks and leaves over them, you're supposed to bury them, like deep in the ground." The village elder sat with this information for some time and then finally gave an understanding nod. The villagers thanked Maximus and sent him on his way with a full belly and gifts to bring to the Creator. "Maybe now the Creator will think I'm the best messenger of all!" he thought to himself as he happily trotted back home.
(Source: Wikimedia)
I chose this image because I love African Wild Dogs and thought they would act as a good main character. I think a name like Maximus fits a dog like this well, powerful, brave, and trustworthy.
*Author's Note: I decided to change this story up a bit. The original story has the dog get distracted by food and forget to deliver the message. Thankfully, a monkey had heard the message and decided to tell the village chief himself. Well, after some distracted moments and instances of forgetfulness. However, the monkey tells the wrong message and when the dog later remembers his task and tells the village chief, they don't believe him and continue with what the monkey said. I decided to implement elements of forgetfulness seen in the monkey, into the dog instead. These aspects just reminded me more of a dog. These elements of distraction are alludes to other stories in this unit as well, something I thought would be fun to mix in. Finally, I had Maximus switch the burial story at the end to not only produce a similar ending (and thereby explain why we bury the dead) but also to show he'd go through any lengths to gain favor from the creator. The original story isn't very long, so if you are still confused by any of the elements, give it a read and it should become clear.
Good for Maximus! I really enjoyed reading this. I liked the ways that you deviated from the original. I agree that forgetfulness made more sense with the dog than with the monkey. Dogs are a little bit silly that way! The story flowed together very well and your dialogue was fun too! I’m excited to read more from you! Great work!
ReplyDeleteThe more I read this, I kept talking in my dog speaking voice in my head. I wanted to tell Maximus he was the best boy ever. I loved how you wrote his dialogue. It does sound like an overexcited dog, and I can just see my dog speaking rapidly and excitedly like that every time he approaches with his tail wagging. This story is very cute, and I absolutely love it. Good job!
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