These two beast hunters decided it would be best to use their wits to trap the unknown predators, rather than brute force. They set up a series of traps throughout the forest and baited them with quail feathers and eggs. Our hero always had a knack for finding the scent of a quail. Even his brothers and sisters would concede that that was at least one good quality about him...
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Though he had been fine by himself, he began to question his decision to leave his family behind. Our hero had been lonely by himself in the forest and decided it was time to return home. Trekking through the forest, he came upon his older sister. After begging to return home, our hero's sister came to a decision, to race her to catch a quail. But there was an ultimatum, if he won, he could come back, if he lost, he would be his family's new prey.
The race had started and our hero instantly knew he would lose as he could not keep up with his sister. Bounding through the forest he caught a strong wiff of a quail that was off in the opposite direction that his sister ran.
"Odd, I don't smell anything in the direction that my sister is running." he thought to himself hesitantly, "Maybe she wants me to win so I can come home!" He decided to look for the closer prey. While searching the forest he had found a trail of feathers. His heart beat in excitement as he followed the path, nearing the end he noticed feathers strewn about under a bush probably indicating an injured bird.
"Perfect!" he thought, "an injured bird will be easier to move."
As he approached the bush he noticed that there was no bird. Knowing that it could not have gone far, our hero got up closer to the bush to get a better scent to track. One step, two steps, and *SNAP*! Metal claws erupt from the ground and snare our hero, he was trapped...
Not seconds later, his sister emerges from the forest behind him. "I purposely ran in the opposite direction because I knew it was a trap, only stupid puppies would fall for something like that!" she laughed at him. "Be sure to stay right there, I'll go get our brother and sisters so they can all laugh at you too!" she sneered as she pranced away.
Our hero began to cry. Not only was he trapped, but he realized that he was also tricked by his sister.
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| A raccoon caught in a foot-hold trap. This type of foot-hold is the same that I was using during my internship, the two clamps have approximately an inch of space separating them when closed, they also have a metal plate folded around the edge to increase the surface area, reducing the amount of pain in the animal since the pressure is more widely dispersed. They rarely break the bones of the animals that are caught. |
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Author's Note: The story was based off of the myth of Atalanta from Ovid's Metamorphoses III. Following the adventure of our hero from the last story and applying the myth of the heroin, Atalanta, I was able to depict the interesting situation in which my dog, Scout, and I first met. I focused on the terms of Atalanta's race: "I will not be won, till I am beaten in running. Compete in the foot-race with me. Wife and bed will be given as prizes to the swift, death to the tardy: let those be the rules." I also used the idea that Atalanta, or our hero in this case, lost the race due to something catching his eye.
I am aware that my reading notes are of Ovid's Metamorphoses II, but I got so into the reading that I also began on the third unit. I had much more to add that included the ideas from the myth of Persephone and Hades in Metamorphoses II, but for the sake of the story remaining within the desired word count, it will be posted for week 3. Stay tuned...
Bibliography: Ovid's Metamorphoses III, Reading B translated by Tony Kline
Good story! I'm not familiar with the original story, but I can tell that this is a good interpretation. It makes me think about if animals ever trick each other in the real world to go into traps! It would be interesting if they did, especially if the animal was hunting them, leading that animal into a trap would be hilarious. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you used the same character from your last story and continued on with him. It makes the story interesting and I really do anticipate future stories just to see what happens to him. I thought it was fascinating how you made siblings compete with each other. I think it makes the story more intense and I thought it was funny how he had a head start but still got stuck in a trap by his sister.
ReplyDeleteAlec, this is really a well written story. I was able to see elements of the source story but I also liked the twist you put on it to make it your own. I also found it neat how you semi linked this to your previous week's story. I also found interesting the sense of competition in the story and how that affected the tone of the story. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to more of your posts.
ReplyDeleteIt's really great that you're continuing to build on this character you wrote about last week. Something that really caught my eye in your story was the fact that our hero's sister and the rest of his family would be interested in having him as prey to begin with... that's pretty brutal. I felt really bad for the pup when he not only was trapped, but tricked as well. He's such an underdog; what if you gave him some magical puppy powers that his family is not aware he has? Something that will make him a better hunter, and of more value to his family? I'm curious as to the character of our hero. Would he use his magical puppy powers for good (to help his family) or for evil (to get revenge on his family)? I sure hope he isn't eaten by his family in the next installation.
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