Before humans there were animals, and they lived together in harmony. Birds, rabbits, cats, dogs, bears, wolves, and creatures of all kinds shared fields, forests, rivers, lakes and food, of which there was an abundance. For many years these animals lived as equals and all was well.
One day, as Rabbit was grazing in the meadow with the other animals, he looked up and saw Hawk soaring through the sky. Hawk landed gracefully in the middle of the meadow and was immediately surrounded by the other animals, who peppered him with questions about his journey. The animals delighted in Hawk’s stories, where he would tell of his travels over lush landscapes, deep valleys and oceans blue. Hawk had the gift of flight, and he could go where no rabbit could. As Hawk told his story, Rabbit began to feel the stirrings of jealousy in his heart.
Rabbit turned to Mouse and said softly, “That Hawk…Are you sure you trust him?”
“Why, whatever do you mean Rabbit?” said Mouse.
“You’ve seen how quickly Hawk spills from the sky to snatch his prey. And look at those talons! So sharp they are. He could snatch you right up before you even saw him coming.”
“Oh, Rabbit…” said Mouse. “He wouldn’t!” Mouse began to shiver.
Seeing the effect he had had on the mouse, with growing bitterness Rabbit began to tell his wicked tale to anyone who would listen. Soon rumours began to spread that Hawk had caught and killed a frog. No, it was a spider. No, a mouse! Soon the animals shifted from admiring Hawk’s pointed beak and knifelike talons to being afraid of them.
As fear spread among the animals, hatred grew. Mice became afraid of Cat’s claws and fangs, and so they hid from her. Wolves grew threatened of Buffalo’s size and strength, and so they became enemies. Animals would tell their children tales about the animals of whom they should be afraid. Gone were the days of harmony, which gave way to Predator and Prey. Soon, raccoons killed hawks, hawks killed snakes, snakes killed mice and so on. This is how evil came into the world.
Rabbit was filled with regret over the stories he had told. But once you tell a story, you cannot take it back.
When I told this story out loud, I obviously forgot a few minor details. I didn’t tell it exactly as it was written, and my tone was conversational with plenty of um’s and ah’s. The people I told my story to focused on details that I didn’t think about when I was writing and telling the story. They thought the story was about jealousy and spreading rumours. I was also asked why I “blamed the animals” for bringing evil into the world and not humans. I think telling a story out loud really illustrated for me how much listeners have the power to respond to, change, and interpret an oral story.
I loved Thomas King’s take on storytelling- stories can be dangerous, and they can be powerful. Stories matter, and they should be treated with care.
Works Cited
Hey Marissa!
I liked your story because it tells how the world came to be, but in an alternate perspective (how jealousy has led to the primarily predator-prey cycle that we see today). It really shows how words can become a larger force/form and change how we think about each other, from feeding on the fear of the unknown. I can understand the feedback you’ve gotten as my story as well (though hypothetical and abstract) can also confuse people–but the general response on how evil first came into the world makes sense, to me. Like one of your links mention, “people use stories to make sense of things” but not everyone thinks the same to begin with.
I feel that your story could be illustrated into a children’s book. Did you have a general audience in mind when you were figuring out how to develop the story, or did the story form through other ideas? In considering and adjusting to your audience and as long as the moral of the story is the same as you intended it, I believe your story must have been intriguing to listen to.
I wrote my story with the view that when we let fear get away from us, it can lead to anger and hatred. I think part of the reason why I chose jealousy as something that can lead to hated is because it ties into fear. I also think jealousy is a common quality in a lot of villainous characters. I like watching Disney movies: the evil queen in Snow White, the mother in Tangled, Gaston from Beauty in the Beast were all jealous of someone and that contributed in part to their villainy. So I think the stories that I have been told and have grown up with influenced that decision.
I wasn’t really thinking too hard about an audience when I wrote my story, but I think I might have sub-consciously modelled my story on other First Nations stories. I just remembered that in grade 4 we did a whole unit on First Nations culture and we were told a story about a white raven. We had to create our own story about an animal that had a moral. I guess I didn’t really think about my audience until I was actually telling the story, and if I were to tell it again I’m sure I would adapt it in different ways depending on who I was talking to. Thanks for commenting!
Hi Marissa,
I like how you personified animals- it really made it feel like a traditional story. It actually reminded me of the recent children’s movie ‘Zootopia’. They both explore the idea of the predatory nature of animals and how they deal with these instincts while still trying to co-exist.
The story I wrote also revolved around rumours and jealousy so it was really interesting to read yours. What made you gravitate towards this topic? Did you find that the idea of jealousy and evil had some sort of correlation to you? Also, do you think that rumours have to be spread with purpose in order to be evil? For example, a person who is spreading rumours that they think are true, is that evil as well? So interested to hear your thoughts. Also, I love that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Tedtalk.
I just recently read Watership Down, which is a book about talking rabbits, so that’s partly why I decided to write about animals, but I agree that these kind of animal stories feel more “traditional”. I loved Zootopia! Especially how it was basically an allegory for human racism/discrimination. I wonder why we like to tell stories about human nature through animals?
And as I wrote in my other comment, I wrote my story with the view that when we let fear get away from us, it can lead to anger and hatred. I think jealousy can lead to fear, or is a product of fear, and that unchecked fear can lead to hatred. As for your question about rumours, things that are said without intention can still have an impact, and can still be “evil” or lead to evil, because like we’ve been told, once you tell a story you can’t take it back 🙂 Thanks for commenting!