Hello all, sorry for being awol, I've been a little preoccupied lately, but I'll try to turn in my late stories soon. I hear it's my turn to pick a topic, and I don't want to leave you guys hanging there, so here goes:
Some, if not all, of us have probably read the famous short story by Frank Stockton, "The Lady, or the Tiger?"
For those who haven't, or need a reminder, here's a plot summary (courtesy of Wikipedia) followed by a link to the full story if you want to read it:
The "semi-barbaric King" of an ancient land utilized an unusual form of administering justice for offenders in his kingdom. The offender would be placed in an arena where his only way out would be to go through one of two doors. Behind one door was a beautiful woman hand-picked by the king and behind the other was a ravenous tiger. The offender was then asked to pick one of the doors. If he picked the door with the woman behind it, then he was declared innocent and as a reward he was required to marry the woman, regardless of previous marital status. If he picked the door with the tiger behind it, though, then he was deemed guilty and the tiger would rip him to pieces.
One day the king found that his daughter, the princess, had taken a lover far beneath her station. The king could not allow this and so he threw the suitor in prison and set a date for his trial in the arena. On the day of his trial the suitor looked to the princess for some indication of which door to pick. The princess, did, in fact, know which door concealed the woman and which one the tiger, but was faced with a conundrum. If she indicated the door with the tiger, then the man she loved would be killed on the spot; however, if she indicated the door with the lady, her lover would be forced to marry another woman and even though he would be alive she would never be with him again. Finally she does indicate a door, which the suitor then opens.
At this point the question is posed to the reader, "Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady?". The question is not answered, and is left as a thought experiment regarding human nature.
http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/tiger.html
Now, my assignment is this: I would like you to write a short continuation of Stockton's story, not necessarily in Stockton's style, feel free to make it your own, of course. Perhaps reveal what happened when he opened the door, and where you think the story would go from there.
Let me know if you don't like, I do have backups. :) For what it's worth, with a little creativity, I see potential in this topic for enshrining Hemp's greatness. ;)
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5 comments:
I am the tiger.
A very cool topic... no worries at all, Steph.
And also, I know I'd love to read all the catch-up things you're talking about... but if it gets to be like work instead of fun, maybe only do what you really enjoy, and leave the rest for later.
It'll all keep, and the topics aren't going anywhere. Heh.
the only problem I have with finishing the story is that it tells us that the man went to the right.
Aharon, if you really prefer that he go to the left, I suppose you could change that little detail :)
Pete, thanks, it doesn't necessarily feel like work, but I have been in a creative rut of late. I'm not going to force it, though, don't want to make it a chore :) But I'm sure it will come
I've never heard of this story in my entire life.
:(
I guess that gives me all sorts of freedoms, because technically I'm not beholden to my memories of what it was!
(also: writing WHEN it's a chore is an important skill, as is drawing, or any other creative skill. Especially if you plan on pursuing a profession in it, sometimes you have to generate crap now and fix it later, rather than wait and make good stuff later. Yay drafts.)
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