Hector, a miniature pig with the cutest little snout and the
rosiest little cheeks, lay on his padded pillow as he watched his owner,
Arjuna, and a strange man he did not know play a game. There were a lot of
onlookers giving him inquisitive faces. They kept looking at the two men
playing the game and then back at Hector. Hector was not really sure what to
think about all of this. Arjuna brought him to some king’s palace. Arjuna did
not tell him what was going on or why he even took Hector with him. Arjuna
normally makes Hector stay at home whenever he goes to visit people, let alone
a big fancy king.
All of a sudden, the king that was playing against Arjuna
stood up from the game with a big grin on his face. Arjuna looked devastated.
He sat on his knees and covered his face with his hands. The king came up to
Hector and said, “Hello, Hector. I am your new master now. My name is King
Virata. You will be a nice asset to my collection.” As King Virata was
exclaiming this, he pointed to a hallway beyond the room they were in that had
mounts of various animals on the walls. Hector realized that he was in very
serious danger. He squealed and tried to run, but just as Hector got on all
four legs one of King Virata’s servants snatched him.
Hector sat helpless in the servant’s hands. He looked up to
lock eyes with Arjuna. He looked so crushed. The defeated Arjuna got up from
his knees and said, “I cannot take this! We must play again. I cannot watch as
I see my prize pig die a terrible death because of my own selfish ways. Let me
have a rematch to regain my honor and my pig.”
But King Virata had a better idea. He told Arjuna that if he
would go into exile for twelve years that he could take his pig and leave. Arjuna
realized the mercy that was given to him and quickly got Hector from the
scary servant and ran out the door. He had tears in his eyes as he rushed past
all the guards at the gate. Arjuna did not stop running until he made it to the
forest with Hector still in tow.
Hector was very worried about Arjuna. Hector had never seen Arjuna be this much in distress before. When Arjuna finally stopped frantically
running, he collapsed by a tree and looked at Hector. Arjuna said, “Hector, I am
so sorry for trying to gamble you away like that. I did not realize what I had
done until it was almost too late. I looked into your eyes and thought I had
lost you forever. Once King Virata told me that I could have you back if I
would go into exile, I could not help but take you and just run as far away as
I possibly could. I am so sorry, Hector. I will never ever do that to you
again.”
Author’s Note: I wrote this story with my little friend
Hector the pig in mind. I hope to include Hector in all of my stories. I
realize that a miniature pig is incredibly random and could be annoying for
some, but I wanted to do something different and unique! And plus, who does not
like miniature pigs! They are adorable! My inspiration for my story was the
Mahabharata but I strayed off the storyline more so than my usual stories. I
really wanted Hector to be the main character in this story, so I decided to
switch him with Draupadi’s character. I also switched Arjuna with Yudhishthira and Virata with Duryodhana. Yudhishthira gambled everything in his life
including his wife Draupadi. Yudhishthira makes a deal with King Virata to go
into exile. When they were in exile, they hid in disguise in the court of King Virata. I wanted to go along the lines of the Mahabharata but really make it
my own in a way that someone who has not read the Mahabharata would not have to
know any information about the plot to enjoy my story of Hector the miniature
pig. In the Mahabharata, even though Draupadi was extremely loyal, she did really get angry with her husband for gambling her away, but in the movie by Peter Brook I feel like that was not expressed successfully. So, I decided to have Hector never get upset at Arjuna.
In King Virata's court where Kichaka is humiliating Draupadi
The Mahabharata by Peter Brook
Laura Gibbs, Indian Epics Reading Guides, May 2015
Hello Jordan,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your retell story. I really liked the way you had the characters. I was imaging the character while reading the story. It was nice and creative idea. I liked it how you wanted to go creative with the story and not follow the Mahabharata as much, but rather focus on other characters. I am looking forward to read more of your blogs. Thanks for sharing.
Good morning Jordan!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun story. I really liked the huge change of Draupadi, a companion, for a miniature pig, another companion. It just goes to show that love is love, no matter the form. You definitely mixed this one up a lot, even going as far as to change the character playing the game to be Arjuna instead of Yudhishthira. Overall, I truly enjoyed your spin on a story I have read countless times now this semester.
Until next time!
Hi Jordan, just finished reading the Ultimate Gamble and thought you did an exceptional job. I thought you did a good job explaining Hector and how hector was involved in the story for being a pig. I also thought the plot of the story was good and your thought process throughout the story was great. I really like the ending where Arjuna would rather go into exile then risk hector’s life.
ReplyDeleteHi Jordan, just finished reading the Ultimate Gamble and thought you did an exceptional job. I thought you did a good job explaining Hector and how hector was involved in the story for being a pig. I also thought the plot of the story was good and your thought process throughout the story was great. I really like the ending where Arjuna would rather go into exile then risk hector’s life.
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