Reading Notes Part A "22 Goblins"

Three Men and a Tortoise

In this story, a goblin (which is apparently a kind of spirit that inhabits a dead body) is hanging in a tree. A monk has requested that the king bring him the goblin, for some unknown purpose. As the king goes to retrieve him, the goblin tells him a story, or a kind of riddle. If the king answers the riddle correctly, then the goblin jumps back into the tree he is hanging from. If the king does not know the answer and gives an incorrect response, then nothing happens and they may continue walking. However, if he knowingly gives a wrong answer, the goblin will split his head in two.
So far in the overall story, I am a little confused as to what is going on and why there is a goblin, or why the king even continues to play this little game. Why wouldn't he just ignore the goblin? I hope that this is resolved later.
Each of the riddles or stories that the goblin tells the king hinge around a similar kind of premise. Essentially there is a situation in which several very similar solutions are presented and the king must decide which, of the various similar solutions, is actually the correct one. For example, between 3 young men who all have amazing gifts, whether in expertise, or something else and decide which expertise was most correct. Many of the riddles are very subjective, but I agreed almost always with the king in his deduction, which is normally very astute and quick.
I am quite interested to see what will become of the king and the goblin in the next part.

Story source: Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917)

Comments

Introduction Post

Hi! My name is Blake Allred and I am majoring in International Relations with a minor in Spanish. I chose this major because I love travelling and meeting new people and learning about their cultures and traditions. One of my favorite things about the classes I take is the chance that I have to meet other people from a very diverse range of backgrounds. If all goes well, I will be graduating this semester, so this part of my college journey is coming to an end. I’m still not sure how I feel about this, it is kind of a mixture between excitement and dread, but overall, I am glad I could have such a wonderful experience here at OU and that I am now able to graduate. This summer we went on a family vacation to visit my grandparents who live in rural Colorado. My grandpa is a retired pilot and owns his own plane and built his retirement home right next to a remote airstrip. When we went there this summer, I was able to go out flying with him and even f...

Comment Wall

My Project website is here ! A picture I took while in Peru of a tiny pueblo in the Andes

Week 4 Storytelling "The Jump"

Photo Source Cold shivers ran the length of Psyche’s spine as she contemplated the crashing waves breaking against the sharp rocks hundreds of feet below her. Tears streamed down her cheeks, aided by the frigid wind and brought on by the terrible sadness in her heart. She glanced back at her family, at her loving parents, at her weeping sisters. This was the last time she would ever see their faces. Her heart stopped as she leapt, every muscle in her body clenched and her vision went black as the rushing air slipped past her small frame. She was acutely aware of her own beating heart, its dull drumbeat strangely isolated from her own screams and those of the wind. Then, everything was black. She opened her eyes, not to the sight of the underworld, but to the rushing ocean. The wind whistled around her and she realized that she was flying through the air, rapidly, propelled by some invisible hand. She started, and nearly fainted a...

Blake's Mythology Blog

Search This Blog