The Man and the
Lamp
There was man who lived constantly
traveling. He has been to every country and has seen more wonders than anyone
could wish to see. After seeing all those places and cultures, he was still
unhappy with life.
“I have seen the
world, yet I still can’t find happiness”, said the man, “Maybe one more
adventure of solitude would allow me to see what happiness truly looks like so
I can find it.”
For his last and finally adventure, he decided
to sail all the oceans in a sailboat. The man bought a beautiful boat to sail
the oceans with. He set out from the Pacific and snaked his way around the
world. He made it all the way to the Bahamas; however, things took a turn for
the worst upon his arrival. The ma was caught in a huge storm and ended up
being shipwrecked on an island. The man spent 3 months on the island living of
what vegetation it had. One day, when the man was walking the shoreline, he
tripped over an object in the sand. It was a lamp of some sort. The man thought
nothing of it and threw it aside. All of a sudden a genie appeared from the
lamp.
“Why did you not
rub my lamp?” asked the genie. “Everybody knows you are supposed to rub a lamp
when you see one!”
Being completely
astonished, the man replied, “I am sorry, I did not think genies could exist.”
“Well we do, and
even though you didn’t rub me, I will still grant you one wish,” said the
genie.
“I thought
everybody got three?” the man asked.
Are you
bargaining with me, even though I didn’t have to give you ANY wishes?” the genie
asked.
“Yes!” exclaimed
the man.
“Whatever, I got
nothing but time,” the genie stated.
“My first wish
is for my boat to be restored,” the man said.
*With a snap of
the fingers, the genie restored the boat*
“My second wish
is for smooth sailing all the way home,” declared the man.
The genie
granted that wish as well, and asked the man what his final wish was.
“I wish to learn
the key to happiness,” the man said with a big smile.
As soon as the
said that the genie disappeared, leaving the man utterly disappointed. The man
returned home with no problems. Once he arrived home, he decided that he would
stop the adventures and remain home. A year or so had past when a knock came to
his door. It was a beautiful woman.
“I was told to
come and find you”, the woman explained, “I love adventures and I heard you are
the man to talk to.”
That moment,
everything became clear to the man. Happiness in life is only found when
someone else is beside you, helping you look along the way.
(image from inkspired)
Authors Note: I adopted this story from The Man Who Went to Wake His Luck from Persian Tales by D.L.R.
Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer (1919). The original story involves a man who wanted to have a
better life, and his “luck” gave him two opportunities to obtain that. The man
was too dumb to realize and was eaten by a wolf. I created this story from
that, but made this man realize his fortune. Since this man realized his
finding, he got to reap the reward unlike the man from the original story.
I like your version of the story! Probably a lot more than I would have liked the original version. It seems like your version is a lot more forgiving and optimistic. The section of the man arguing with the genie was really funny. However, also probably a very accurate portrayal of what anyone would do. Provided that genies were real and actually gave out wishes.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the way you retold the story. Though I never read the original, I feel like this one gives a better ending than the original (from what you described in the authors note). The man was unable to understand happiness and thought that being all over the world would fulfill that. When luck comes around, he was able to realize what happiness was. I thought it was cute that happiness was love in this story and I am glad he found it!
ReplyDeleteCameron, I liked your adaptation of the story although I've never read the original. I thought it was great and much more optimistic than the original story's ending. I thought it was great how you used dialogue in the story, giving life to the character's and developing the man. One thing I noticed was some spelling errors, so maybe just proofreading this story would help. But overall, I thought you did a great job with the story!
ReplyDeleteHey cameron, great story! I loved all the dialect in your story. It's un to imagine the man and the genie bantering back and forth like they do and you really brought that to life. I skimmed this story in my own reading but you really made it easy to understand. I also love the moral it tells. We really are happier when we have someone to share our happiness with. I also like your spin on the ending! A much happier ending. Besides a few spelling misshaps everything looked great!
ReplyDelete