reading notes: twenty-two goblins part a

 Ak, the goblin king

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a king was tasked to retrieve a body that was hanging from a tree. The king went to do this and he cut the body down from the tree. The body made a noise when he did this, but when the king went to check, it was only a goblin that was inside of the body. as the king was carrying the body to wear it needed to go, the goblin offered to tell him a story for their journey.

there were three men who all wanted to marry this one beautiful lady. she agreed to marry one of them, but died before she could make her decision. one of the men became a monk, and through his wanderings he found a way to bring the dead back to life.The monk brought the girl back to life, but each brother thought that they had claim to her, for they also helped. the goblin asked the king who should get her, and the king said the one who slept with her ashes, that is what a husband would do. it ends by saying that great minded people do not waiver until they keep their promises, even at the risk of death.

there is a beautiful lady, and she says that she will die if she marries a man who is not a clever man, a wise man, or a brave man. the father, brother, and mother of this woman all had a man approach them that met one of the three qualities. They agreed to whichever man approached them that they could marry the lady, but never consulted the others. the lady was kidnapped and all three men worked together to save her. the wise man found her, the clever man got them there, and the brave man defeated the monster to help her. The king when asked said that the lady goes to the brave man, for he did the true work, the others were but helpers.

a lovely women went out with her brother and her husband. both of them ended up chopping of their own heads in part due to the goddess. the women saw this and was ready to give up her own life to the goddess, so long as she could keep the same brother and husband in the lives to come. The goddess told her not to do anything rash, and she would revive them if she would simply put their heads back on. the women messed up though, and put the heads on the wrong bodies. the king said that her husband is the one with the correct head, for that is the most important part, the way in which we recognize others.

three brothers refused to tough a turtle because it was too icky. They all claimed to be a specialist in some manner, one in food, one in women, and one in cotton. the food dude refused to eat the kings dish, for it reaked of death, and the rice was procured near a cemetery. the ladies man refused the woman because she reaked of goat, and she had nursed on goat as a child. The cotton guy had a mark of a hair that was seven blankets beneath him. the king declared him the most clever, for the other two could have had prior knowledge.


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