Friday, February 11, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Creative Writing: Our own endings to Frank R. Stockton's "The Lady, or the Tiger?" (1882)
THE LADY, OR THE TIGER
by Ivete dos Santos
“He turned and walked quickly across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating. Every breath was held. Every eye was fixed upon that man. Without stopping for even a second, he went to the door on the right and opened it.”
A tiger appeared. The man was paralyzed not only because of the fear but mostly because of the surprise. He couldn’t believe that his beloved princess had betrayed him. The tiger came slowly. The man went back two steps. Nobody could say anything or even breathe. Everyone was alert. The tiger was the biggest one that any person in that arena had ever seen. His eyes were fixed on the man. His mouth was opened showing strong teeth. At that moment, the Tiger had more power than the king, who upon his throne, had to wait for the Tiger attack. Would the man die quickly or would he suffer a lot?
Sorry, but before continuing this story and showing how the princess’ decision affected her life, I have to say to all of you, shocked readers who are judging her, that she faced the biggest dilemma in her life. What should she have done? Should she have killed him or should she have killed herself? Or worse than that, because, every day, in her entire life, she might have seen her adorable man happy, raising children, with another very special woman. Should she have been altruistic and sacrificed herself for the sake of his life? Would the man have done differently for her? If someone answered yes, then why had he come to her and put his life in her hands? Was he, in that moment, thinking about her happiness? Don’t forget that both of the choices were unbearable for her… But I don’t like to disturb you with my philosophical questions about human nature. Let’s go back to story…
Would the man die quickly or would he suffer a lot? In the whole arena even the insects seemed to be quiet, waiting for the tragic moment. The gorgeous big tiger jumped in the air as high as he could and fell onto the ground twisting his big body in pain until he died a few minutes later. What was happening? After a long silence someone in the crowd shouted, “The man is blessed! He is a very special man sent by the Gods! He beat the wildest tiger in the world!” Everybody began to scream, “Blessed man! Blessed man!” In that semi-barbaric kingdom, people were very mystical and that event touched them so much, including the king who was concerned that he could be punished by the Gods. Then, because it was not expected that king would have no reaction, as quick as he could, he stood up from his king’s chair and asked for silence, “Please, I have an important announcement. This man will marry my daughter right now!” The princess, who had been impassible in her chair, only bent her head, while smiling mysteriously!
The end of "The Lady , or the Tiger"
Petra Heidl, January 27,2011
Without stopping for even a second he went to the door on the right and opened it. He looked at his lovely princess again and knew that she would have found a solution for the dilemma. Deep inside she knew that he should never fall in love with another woman. Their love for each other was so deep, nothing should ever destroy these deep feelings. But what he and also the audience saw at that moment would have never been imagined by anyone.
Behind the door was a totally handsome tiger lying on the floor. It seemed tired somehow, not able to react like a tiger is supposed to be: aggressive and hungry. Of course he was kind of irrated by the suddenly murmering audience and tried slowly to slap the man with his big paw. He failed and trotted to the side, lay down, licking his paw like a kitty-cat. The audience therefore thought that God had helped this gorgeous, brave guy. They started talking to each other about this wonder. One man started to clap and shout out loud, that this man down in the arena, who was so brave, trustful and full of such real love should stay alive. And then another man clapped and one after another started clapping and shouting. The whole arena turned from a total breathtaking quiet one to a heated, raged bubbling cauldron full of screech and applause.
The relieved man looked at the princess and saw directly in her eyes, saw her endless love. But then he was kind of unsure and and started thinking: she let me chose the tiger... what if the tiger would not behave like a lazy cat in front of a fireplace.What if her plan hadn´t worked? This involves a very high risk! She saved him fortunately. He knew now that she would never left him be with another woman and also not let him die. How deep must her love be? She really loves me, the poor worker, he thought, and was very proud. She had to spend a vast amount of gold-pieces and power to find a way to get him out without harm. Finally he took a chance to look at the king, not knowing but guessing , how he would react.
Meanwhile the audience was getting louder, challenging for a decision from the king. Many of them were not sure if he would be gracious with the young man. Of course, he is semi-barbaric and maybe didn´t want to be overvoted by the folk. This time, it was different, they felt. Certainly the people followed him and his roles. They accepted every law he issued. As he pointed out that the man would live, the astonished audience became hysterical, laughing, screaming . They wanted to go home happy today and they did. The King let them decide which made them really proud. As soon as the folks saw that young man, they were kind of bewitched, like the princess too. Whereas the king liked it seeing his people in this shape, this incident would change his whole judgement in the future. The audience went delirious.
During this rage of turbulence the princess left her throne unnoticed, giving a sign to her admirer to run outside the arena. They hastily kissed there and ran to their secret cave. After arriving there they decided to flee together out of the kingdom. During times of their secret rendevous she had hidden a complex treasure out of silverware and gold-pieces and also something to eat and drink for at least 4 weeks. They agreed to wait until nobody would look for them anymore. The princess was undescribebly happy to be with her lover together, almost safe and so was he. They prayed to God because for them he made this miracle happen due to her real love. They thanked God so much for his graciousness.
The King was in total panic as he found out that his daughter had left him and decided to live a life as a worker wife in poverty. He also couldn´t find out how the tiger could catch a guard, but at least the folk were very happy and he really liked the positive atmosphere. After a couple of days thinking, resting and also praying, he determined to change his regimen into a non-barbaric one.
The princess by contrast had sleepless nights. Not because of her lover or the fear to get discovered but also to get debunked someday. What nobody saw when the young man just opened the door and everybody was looking at the tiger at that moment, was the tiny sign of surprise which crept like the shadow of a cloud during sunshine over her face. While her lover was arrested she really fought with herself to make a decision. In particular she knew she would die seeing him married to another woman. Therefore she decided to sacrifice him and after that she would follow him by murdering herself.
At the royal court they didn´t know what happened behind the door: the tiger was so aggressive by reason of hunger that he couldn´t wait for the good-looking boy behind the door. He found it very exciting to unsnap himself, made it somehow to catch the caretaker and started eating him. He gobbled the guard in minutes; the second guard was able to escape, but in shock he fell down and died all of a sudden. So nobody could find out until the king had the time to send somebody over to look for the lady behind the door. She was fine but when they inspected the second room they found out what excactly happened. Thank God that the caretaker locked the room with the cage, so the tiger couldn´t go anywhere else.
The lover of the princess believed that the princess had done everything to rescue him, but in reality she didn´t. Fortunately they managed to begin another life far, far away as farmers and they lived very happily, the worker and his semi-barbaric princess.
By Sveltlana Fomina
I think the young man believed his princess, his semi-barbaric princess, and she chose death for him because she couldn’t give her lover to another woman. But, I tried to change the last sentence in Chapter 18 and now we have another finale.
18. Without stopping for even a second, he went to the door on the left and opened it.
19. Happy bells rang wildly. The beautiful lady came out of the door. Around a thousand people exulted. The princess was in despair. The insult and the evil reflected on her beautiful, pale face. How could he disobey her? The young man’s eyes were filled with grief and pain. So he decided that he didn’t need life without his lover. He chose death. He opened the door to the hungry tiger.
But what about her? She betrayed him. She wanted his death. Maybe, for the first time in this arena, people were able to watch the workings of the First Law of Chance.
Yet another ending....
by ANDREA RANGEL GUEVARA
Every eye except his was on the man in the arena. He turned and walked quickly across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating. Every breath was held. Every eye was fixed upon that man.
He stopped for a second, right in the middle of the doors. He was a little suspicious about the princess's choice. He knew about her semi-barbaric ideas; he knew she wouldn’t accept him to marry another girl. Then he looked at her again --that was probably the last time he would ever see her as a lover.
As he was conscious of her jealous mind he decided to open the door on the left. It was for sure the worst moment of his entire life. Behind the doors there was no hope for him anymore. He was going to lose his greatest love, his life. The entire crowd stared at him, drums were played and suddenly the most gorgeous girl came out of the door.
A day after the wedding a note was found lying near his body:
To my dearest love: There was nothing in my world but hope in your love. My life was already destroyed. I had lost you; in fact, I never had you. How could I have ever thought that such a wonderful creature would ever marry me? There is nothing but regret on my mind. I spent all my life pursuing an unfaithful barbaric princess. After all, the right door that you pointed to was a better choice.
by Ivete dos Santos
“He turned and walked quickly across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating. Every breath was held. Every eye was fixed upon that man. Without stopping for even a second, he went to the door on the right and opened it.”
A tiger appeared. The man was paralyzed not only because of the fear but mostly because of the surprise. He couldn’t believe that his beloved princess had betrayed him. The tiger came slowly. The man went back two steps. Nobody could say anything or even breathe. Everyone was alert. The tiger was the biggest one that any person in that arena had ever seen. His eyes were fixed on the man. His mouth was opened showing strong teeth. At that moment, the Tiger had more power than the king, who upon his throne, had to wait for the Tiger attack. Would the man die quickly or would he suffer a lot?
Sorry, but before continuing this story and showing how the princess’ decision affected her life, I have to say to all of you, shocked readers who are judging her, that she faced the biggest dilemma in her life. What should she have done? Should she have killed him or should she have killed herself? Or worse than that, because, every day, in her entire life, she might have seen her adorable man happy, raising children, with another very special woman. Should she have been altruistic and sacrificed herself for the sake of his life? Would the man have done differently for her? If someone answered yes, then why had he come to her and put his life in her hands? Was he, in that moment, thinking about her happiness? Don’t forget that both of the choices were unbearable for her… But I don’t like to disturb you with my philosophical questions about human nature. Let’s go back to story…
Would the man die quickly or would he suffer a lot? In the whole arena even the insects seemed to be quiet, waiting for the tragic moment. The gorgeous big tiger jumped in the air as high as he could and fell onto the ground twisting his big body in pain until he died a few minutes later. What was happening? After a long silence someone in the crowd shouted, “The man is blessed! He is a very special man sent by the Gods! He beat the wildest tiger in the world!” Everybody began to scream, “Blessed man! Blessed man!” In that semi-barbaric kingdom, people were very mystical and that event touched them so much, including the king who was concerned that he could be punished by the Gods. Then, because it was not expected that king would have no reaction, as quick as he could, he stood up from his king’s chair and asked for silence, “Please, I have an important announcement. This man will marry my daughter right now!” The princess, who had been impassible in her chair, only bent her head, while smiling mysteriously!
The end of "The Lady , or the Tiger"
Petra Heidl, January 27,2011
Without stopping for even a second he went to the door on the right and opened it. He looked at his lovely princess again and knew that she would have found a solution for the dilemma. Deep inside she knew that he should never fall in love with another woman. Their love for each other was so deep, nothing should ever destroy these deep feelings. But what he and also the audience saw at that moment would have never been imagined by anyone.
Behind the door was a totally handsome tiger lying on the floor. It seemed tired somehow, not able to react like a tiger is supposed to be: aggressive and hungry. Of course he was kind of irrated by the suddenly murmering audience and tried slowly to slap the man with his big paw. He failed and trotted to the side, lay down, licking his paw like a kitty-cat. The audience therefore thought that God had helped this gorgeous, brave guy. They started talking to each other about this wonder. One man started to clap and shout out loud, that this man down in the arena, who was so brave, trustful and full of such real love should stay alive. And then another man clapped and one after another started clapping and shouting. The whole arena turned from a total breathtaking quiet one to a heated, raged bubbling cauldron full of screech and applause.
The relieved man looked at the princess and saw directly in her eyes, saw her endless love. But then he was kind of unsure and and started thinking: she let me chose the tiger... what if the tiger would not behave like a lazy cat in front of a fireplace.What if her plan hadn´t worked? This involves a very high risk! She saved him fortunately. He knew now that she would never left him be with another woman and also not let him die. How deep must her love be? She really loves me, the poor worker, he thought, and was very proud. She had to spend a vast amount of gold-pieces and power to find a way to get him out without harm. Finally he took a chance to look at the king, not knowing but guessing , how he would react.
Meanwhile the audience was getting louder, challenging for a decision from the king. Many of them were not sure if he would be gracious with the young man. Of course, he is semi-barbaric and maybe didn´t want to be overvoted by the folk. This time, it was different, they felt. Certainly the people followed him and his roles. They accepted every law he issued. As he pointed out that the man would live, the astonished audience became hysterical, laughing, screaming . They wanted to go home happy today and they did. The King let them decide which made them really proud. As soon as the folks saw that young man, they were kind of bewitched, like the princess too. Whereas the king liked it seeing his people in this shape, this incident would change his whole judgement in the future. The audience went delirious.
During this rage of turbulence the princess left her throne unnoticed, giving a sign to her admirer to run outside the arena. They hastily kissed there and ran to their secret cave. After arriving there they decided to flee together out of the kingdom. During times of their secret rendevous she had hidden a complex treasure out of silverware and gold-pieces and also something to eat and drink for at least 4 weeks. They agreed to wait until nobody would look for them anymore. The princess was undescribebly happy to be with her lover together, almost safe and so was he. They prayed to God because for them he made this miracle happen due to her real love. They thanked God so much for his graciousness.
The King was in total panic as he found out that his daughter had left him and decided to live a life as a worker wife in poverty. He also couldn´t find out how the tiger could catch a guard, but at least the folk were very happy and he really liked the positive atmosphere. After a couple of days thinking, resting and also praying, he determined to change his regimen into a non-barbaric one.
The princess by contrast had sleepless nights. Not because of her lover or the fear to get discovered but also to get debunked someday. What nobody saw when the young man just opened the door and everybody was looking at the tiger at that moment, was the tiny sign of surprise which crept like the shadow of a cloud during sunshine over her face. While her lover was arrested she really fought with herself to make a decision. In particular she knew she would die seeing him married to another woman. Therefore she decided to sacrifice him and after that she would follow him by murdering herself.
At the royal court they didn´t know what happened behind the door: the tiger was so aggressive by reason of hunger that he couldn´t wait for the good-looking boy behind the door. He found it very exciting to unsnap himself, made it somehow to catch the caretaker and started eating him. He gobbled the guard in minutes; the second guard was able to escape, but in shock he fell down and died all of a sudden. So nobody could find out until the king had the time to send somebody over to look for the lady behind the door. She was fine but when they inspected the second room they found out what excactly happened. Thank God that the caretaker locked the room with the cage, so the tiger couldn´t go anywhere else.
The lover of the princess believed that the princess had done everything to rescue him, but in reality she didn´t. Fortunately they managed to begin another life far, far away as farmers and they lived very happily, the worker and his semi-barbaric princess.
Another possible ending…
By Christine Lambert
Pause, dear reader, for a moment and imagine the plight of this unfortunate young man; strong, healthy, in the prime of his life, yet no match for the fierce Tiger. For no matter how hard a mere human may try to fight it, the strength of the beast will always prevail. Had he lived in times more barbaric, perhaps he might have chosen self-preservation over the path of valor and honor.
Surely our hero knew the heart of the princess well, and furthermore he knew full well that his coy lover would indeed discover the secret of the doors. Many a sleepless night he pondered his fate, which truly rested in his own hands, tempted naturally by the choice of the path of least resistance, the easy way out, but determined to prove his love, to defend the honor of his lady to the death. Fearlessly he opens the door on the right.
Perhaps, being completely civilized, it is difficult for us in this modern day and age to imagine such a wasteful fancy as dying for the sake of an ideal, an idea, love, honor; of losing the hope and promise of beauteous youth for the blood and horror of this cruel exchange. Luckily we are not required to make such choices in these modern times.
The big cat emerges through the opened door and the bloody battle ensues. I will not venture to describe the blood and horror that the princess watched unflinchingly from the high throne. But the story does not end here.
As the days passed, the princess began to dwell less upon desires of this world than with fascinations of the semi-barbaric afterlife in which her sacrificial lover now wandered, awaiting his fair lady. The princess remained cloistered in her rooms of the great castle, even taking her meals inside her rooms, her head veiled and her body covered in long flowing garments, receiving no visitors save the nuns from the nearby convent. Within the confines of her chambers she learned more about the afterlife, until one day she moved into the convent, where she remained until that day at the end of her long life when she would return to her faithful lover.
Ending to The Lady, or the Tiger?
By Sveltlana Fomina
I think the young man believed his princess, his semi-barbaric princess, and she chose death for him because she couldn’t give her lover to another woman. But, I tried to change the last sentence in Chapter 18 and now we have another finale.
18. Without stopping for even a second, he went to the door on the left and opened it.
19. Happy bells rang wildly. The beautiful lady came out of the door. Around a thousand people exulted. The princess was in despair. The insult and the evil reflected on her beautiful, pale face. How could he disobey her? The young man’s eyes were filled with grief and pain. So he decided that he didn’t need life without his lover. He chose death. He opened the door to the hungry tiger.
But what about her? She betrayed him. She wanted his death. Maybe, for the first time in this arena, people were able to watch the workings of the First Law of Chance.
Yet another ending....
by ANDREA RANGEL GUEVARA
Every eye except his was on the man in the arena. He turned and walked quickly across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating. Every breath was held. Every eye was fixed upon that man.
He stopped for a second, right in the middle of the doors. He was a little suspicious about the princess's choice. He knew about her semi-barbaric ideas; he knew she wouldn’t accept him to marry another girl. Then he looked at her again --that was probably the last time he would ever see her as a lover.
As he was conscious of her jealous mind he decided to open the door on the left. It was for sure the worst moment of his entire life. Behind the doors there was no hope for him anymore. He was going to lose his greatest love, his life. The entire crowd stared at him, drums were played and suddenly the most gorgeous girl came out of the door.
A day after the wedding a note was found lying near his body:
To my dearest love: There was nothing in my world but hope in your love. My life was already destroyed. I had lost you; in fact, I never had you. How could I have ever thought that such a wonderful creature would ever marry me? There is nothing but regret on my mind. I spent all my life pursuing an unfaithful barbaric princess. After all, the right door that you pointed to was a better choice.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
SPRING 2011: HOW MANY MAGNIFICENT MINDS???
WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF ENJOYING READING AND WRITING BOTH CREATIVELY AND EXPOSITORILY...
We're working on drafts to publish and will keep you posted!
We're working on drafts to publish and will keep you posted!
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