Week 11 Story: The Humble Man who Killed the King
The Humble Man who Killed the King
There was once a very ruthless and powerful king. In his own
eyes, he was the bravest, smartest, and strongest man that had ever lived. Just
like his grandfather and father before him, he ruled with an iron fist; showing
mercy to no one. His citizens were afraid of him and his army bowed in
reverence for their king. His ego was as large as it could be.
The king and his kingdom were at war with an opposing nation
about the rights to a beautiful, crystal clear, pristine lake. The king vowed
to stop at nothing to ensure his kingdom defeated the other. He order ruthless,
barbaric attacks on men, women, and children alike. His people, shocked at the
shear brutality of their king, began calling the time the reign of terror.
There was a young man named David who served as an assistant
to the king’s top advisor. David vehemently disagreed with both the King and
his advisor. Because he was a merely assistant he believed he was powerless.
David, a man of great integrity and humility, struggled to understand and
moralize the acts his king was committing. For nights he could not sleep. He
could not do anything but reflect on the horror his nation was infecting upon
another. He decided it was his time to stand up and take a stand.
David, being the intelligent and realistic man he was,
realized that in order to defeat the king he would need to craft the most meticulous
of plans…
David began by taking advantage of his close contact with
the king. David would analyze the king and then make recommendations and
suggestions that he knew the king would love. He quickly became the King’s top confidant.
He was all of the sudden invited to the most prestigious of balls, dinners, and
galas. As the king’s right-hand-man he
became a popular public figure. David was known throughout the kingdom as a righteous
man. The citizens were confused as to why David has suddenly became a relentless
follower of the man who he could not stand. Although the citizens were
confused, they trusted David.
One night the king asked David to his chambers to prepare
for a large battle the next morning. After all of the king’s advisor and
commanders left David knew this was the time. He offered the king a drink of
the finest whiskey, to which the king gladly accepted. After many, many more
drinks the king was in a drunken slumber. It was at this point that David
removed the sword from his slide and raised it high over his head. At first, he
could not bring himself to carry out his plan. He struggled with compromising
his own morality even if it meant saving thousands. As he continued to grapple
with his decision he began thinking of his own family. He thought of his son
and daughter and his beautiful wife. He realized that he could not live with
himself if something happened to his family. He closed his ever so tightly and
with all his might brought down the sword, killing the king instantly. He then
picked up the royal crown and placed it upon his own head. As he walked out
onto the castle’s balcony that overlooked the entire kingdom, he was overcome
with emotion. As he admired the beauty of his new kingdom he made a solemn vow
to rule with fairness, humility, and honor. This is the story of the humble man
who killed the king.
The King's Crown - Source PxHere
Bibliography: Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, The Pretty Stranger who Killed the King, by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).
Authors Note: This story is based off the story The Pretty Stranger who Killed the King.
In this story a witch disguised herself as a pretty woman. She then seduced the
king in an effort to gain his trust and affection. Once she had accomplished
her goal and gained the trust of the king, she killed the king and fled the
nation. Instead of deceiving the king by a way of looks and appeal, I wanted to
focus on a different form of deceiving. My
goal was to have a humble and righteous man gain to trust and become the
confidant of a ruthless and barbaric king. The humble man, David, then had to
battle with his own morality to save his people. In comparison to the other
story, my story deceives by using wit instead of physical appearance to
accomplish the same end goal.
Hey Jarad, good story. I just wanted to give you some feedback on a couple things. First it looks like you used the wrong word in the third paragraph. The word "infecting" should be the word "inflicting." Second, I am a little confused as to why David is now the king after killing the previous one. I don't think I have ever heard of succession through regicide so it might be worth explaining to the reader why it works like that in this instance. Maybe they have a strange way of doing things or maybe the people just love David that much, but either way it is worth a mention. Anyway, great story. I look forward to reading more.
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Hi Jarad, I found your story really interesting, and also found it interesting that you named the protagonist David. It really likens this story to the biblical story of David and Goliath, and perhaps you meant it to. The only thing I would give as advice is to use spellcheck, as there were just a few grammatical errors or misspellings in the text. Anyway, have fun with your future stories!
ReplyDeleteHi Jared! I really liked your story. It was very well written and had a formal tone to it. I have not read the original story but it sounds like you put an interesting twist to it by switching the gender rolls. I like how you made the main character a humble man that ends up doing a dirty deed. It gives an interesting twist to the morals of the main character. All together I think you did a good job! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteHi Jarad! I thought this story was pretty interesting. There are some interesting overlaps with the story of David in the Bible. He became a trusted advisor of King Saul like your David. I also appreciated a different approach to gaining trust. This kind takes time. I wonder if he would have a harder time betraying the king after spending all of that time with him? Overall, good work!
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