Reading Notes Part B "22 Goblins"

The lion awakes

The stories continue in the second part of this book, more of the same kind of ideas about choosing between very similar outcomes. There was one story in particular that called my attention, and that was the story of the 4 brothers and the lion.
In this story, each brother learns a small part about resurrecting an animal, one to assemble a skeleton, one to put organs, one to put on the skin, and one to reanimate it. The brothers begin their experiment by recreating a dead lion, which, when reanimated, immediately kills them all and runs off into the woods. The king is then asked by the strange goblin which is to blame, and the king identifies the last brother, the one who actually brought the lion to life. His justification was that the others did not know it was a lion, but he did and still used his power to do so. That seems highly unlikely, as a lion's skeleton is pretty obvious and each step further highlights the folly of their actions. I disagree with the king and say they are all equally to blame.
This is unimportant however, because the goblin finally tells a story that the king cannot answer, but is still so impressed by the courage and wisdom of this king that he decides to tell the king what is about to happen to him. The goblin saves the king's life and in also allows him to be blessed by the gods and become king of the fairies. The goblin also promises to go and tell the 22 stories around the world so that all may be blessed and protected wherever they are heard.

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

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

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