Reading Notes: Week 05 "Twenty-Two Goblins" Part B

     "Twenty-Two Goblins" continues to be one of the more fun sections so far this semester. Part A was good, but Part B had more stories and moments I liked. My favorites were two stories plus the last bit of a third one. Not to mention I got both the riddle and its reason correct from "The Four Brothers!" Mostly correct, anyway. My reasoning for the last brother being at fault was slightly to the left of the King's reasoning, but I did get the general gist right!

Perham W. Nahl. 1917. (Source: The Four Brothers)

    The first story I came across and liked was "The Girl and the Thief." Most of the stories in "The Twenty-Two Goblins" were love stories, but this one really struck my romance streak (not exactly easy). I think perhaps it was the love at first sight trope (which I'm not usually into) combined with the King's answer on why the thief cried and laughed. Mixed with the fact the Thief takes his second chance at life to be with Pearl and live a good life free of crime, the story as a whole is just really good.

    Sure, it was a little cheesy and slightly contrived at times, but I would love to make it, or see it be made, into a full novella/novel. Perhaps even better, see it be made into a comic!

     "Father and Son, Daughter and Mother" I liked for two different reasons. One, the story was a trip. Two, the ending (the actual ending of that story, not the end of the riddle story) was really good. The story centers on the accidental (kind of) marriages of a son marrying a queen and that son's father marrying the queen's daughter. Yeah...it's a little complicated. How they get there is just as wild as the result, and definitely worth the read.

    The ending to the overarching story of that page is what I especially like about it though. It confirms Patience was being a sneaky backstabber and, worse, going to commit premeditated murder of the King! The goblin reveals himself to be what I thought he was, too: the good guy who just happens to have a jerk-ish mischievous streak. It made me root harder for the King and like the Goblin even more.

    The "Conclusion" was my favorite part of the whole of "Twenty-Two Goblins" by far. It wrapped up the story really nicely, and I loved seeing the conspiratorial interaction between the King and the Goblin at the end before the King took out the rogue monk. I could see the main story and the riddle stories playing in my head like movies. They really stimulated my imagination and sparked new flames in my idea furnace.

    If I had just one question or more like one topic to host my questions, it would be the fairies. Are they like European fairies? What do Indians consider fairies? Where did the fairies come from because I definitely didn't see that coming at all?

    Definitely one of my favorites so far.

Bibliography

The Girl and the Thief from Indian Folklore by Arthur W. Ryder

The Four Brothers from Indian Folklore by Arthur W. Ryder

Father and Son, Daughter and Mother from Indian Folklore by Arthur. W. Ryder

Conclusion from Indian Folklore by Arthur W. Ryder