Storytelling Week 7: The Mighty Ones

The Mighty Ones

I, the mighty crocodile, was the ruler of the water and all surrounding marshland. There was also talk of a leopard that ruled the desert but I had never laid eyes on him. He did not threaten me nor did I pay much attention to ever finding out who he was. I went on day-by-day and continued to rule the water and marshland.

Image Source: Flickr

(The leopard waiting for his food)

Day after day I would see a man walking by my water looking very sad and confused until one day he finally approached me. “Mr. Crocodile,” he said, “if I bring you fruits and nuts each week, will you provide me with fish? I have so many wives to feed but have no way of providing." Mr. Crocodile responded, “Yes, that sounds like a wonderful option!”

I agreed to these terms because I loved fruits and nuts but I told him that he could be executing this deal only with me. It was important that he was only agreeing to the exchange with me because I did not like feeling taken advantage of. I felt only exchanging goods with me would help us build a sense of trust. So he agreed and we set a time to meet up the next day to perform the exchange. The following day came and I brought all the fish I had promised. They were in a basket dangling from my mouth. The man brought the promised fruits and nuts in a basket as well. This was looking to be beneficial for both of us. I was now able to enjoy fresh daily fruits and nuts and he could provide fresh fish for his many wives. I was in heaven and full of all the most delicious foods in the land!

Now little did I know but this very same man had been doing the exact same thing with the leopard. If I had known this information all along, then I would have put a stop to the deal immediately! I was feeling jealous because I wanted all of the fruits and nuts to myself! But this was information I would not find out until the very end.

Now back to the story:
so these exchanges continued for months. I felt that everything was fair and moving along smoothly. We were both extremely happy! As time went on, I began to grow more tired of the same old same old so I thought about what I could request now. We met up as usual and I asked for him to bring me a dog. Now I had never seen one before but I heard they were the most delicious meat in the world. I also heard from a fellow crocodile that he knew all about them. The man said he had none but knew of where one would be. He told me the location and the next day I set off to find it!

I wandered and wandered but never did find that dog he spoke of. I did find a leopard though. We examined each other from afar. Then I asked him what he was. He responded with "I'm a leopard." Then he asked me the same question, and I answered with "I'm a crocodile." At once it all began to make sense. We had been tricked and deceived. We found out that the man had been scamming us both! He agreed to each of us that he was only providing to us when in reality that was a lie! We decided to let him live but warned him to never come near our territories again. He thankfully accepted and promised to never cheat us again.

Author's Note: I am retelling the story The Leopard and the Crocodile. I decided to keep the story pretty close to the original this time around because I didn't want to add too many other details in to clutter the story. In the original the man sends the leopard and the crocodile to the same place and they each think that the other one is the mysterious dog. They end up fighting each other to the death and the man and whole town are there to watch. I elected to change the final outcome of the story. I decided to change it to the two animals not killing each other and instead befriending each other and casting the man out. I decided to change the ending because I felt that the original was very dark and twisted so I wanted to make the ending more pleasant. Another thing I changed was who was telling the story. I thought that telling it from the crocodile’s point of view could be beneficial! I mostly just told the direct story of the crocodile with not as much focus on the leopard. I found it to be important to get the right messages across from the crocodile’s point of view and I’m hoping this was done successfully!


Bibliography: Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett (1898).  The Leopard and the Crocodile.