Assignment 1:5 The Story of How Evil Came to the World

Your task is to take the story about how evil comes into the world, the story King tells about the Witches’ convention in Chapter One of The Truth about Stories, and change it any way you want, except the ending. You can change to place, the people, the time – anything you want. But, your story must have the same moral – it must tell us how evil came into the world and how once a story is told, it cannot be taken back. First, learn your story by heart, and then tell the story to your friends and family. After you have told the story a few times, post a blog with your version of the story and some commentary on what you discovered about story telling.

My story of how evil came into the world is the story of a young man named Bear. He lived by himself, beside a mountain and a river, in a cave where he made a life for himself with all he needed. Bear was content with his life. He had enough berries, fish from the river, and shelter to keep him safe.

One day, Bear was fishing in the river, when he saw another young man fishing on the other side. Bear usually caught only a few fish at a time, because he could only save them for one extra day, and did not want to take more than he needed. He noticed that the other young man, however, already had a few fish, but was still fishing. The other man caught another one, and put it in his pile. Bear thought, “he must have a big family to feed.” Bear kept fishing, trying to catch his usual three fish. The other young man still fished. He fished and fished. His pile was getting bigger and Bear noticed that there were fewer fish in the river. He became nervous that he would not be able to catch enough food for himself – this is the first time he ever felt this. Finally, Bear asked his fishing companion a question: “Hi there. My name is Bear. How come you are still fishing? You have so many fish already.” The other young man said, “Hi Bear. I’m Fox. I have enough fish for myself right now, but I want to make sure I have enough fish for myself for a long time.” “Are you travelling away from the river for a while?” asked Bear. “No.” Said Fox. “I live nearby. In fact, I just moved to the area. I plan to save my fish to make sure I always have enough food for myself.” “Ok. But you’ve fished so many fish out that I’m having trouble finding my usual three.” “Well, that’s exactly why I’m doing this. Just think, had you saved enough fish, you wouldn’t have this problem.”

Bear was concerned for the first time about not having enough food. He wandered along the river a ways to a spot that had more fish (further away from Fox). He thought to himself, “I don’t like this feeling of being scared that I won’t have enough food. I’m going to have to fend for myself, like Fox.” Bear fished for a long time. He caught many fish in this new location. Once his pile was so big that he would have to make two trips to take the fish back to his cave, he stopped fishing. Hungry, he started out to his cave with the first pile. It took a few hours to go to the cave, drop off the fish, and then come back to the fishing spot. When he got back to the fishing spot, he cried out. “Hey! My fish are gone!” There were spines and bones, but no fish. There was nothing edible left in his pile. They had all been eaten. Bear thought, “Ok, I need to fish enough again, to at least carry a second load back, otherwise this trip would have been pointless.” He tried to fish, but there were very few fish left in the river. He gave up, not catching a single one. On his way back to the cave, the sun began to set. Bear was hungry, and a little sad. When he got back to the cave, the fish were rotting. They had been out of the water, in the hot sun, and then in the cave for many hours. None of them were edible. Now Bear had no fish to eat, and the river had no fish to catch.

Bear was hungry, sad, and angry. He was angry at Fox, his new neighbour. He was upset at himself, for believing Fox’s story: the more you take for yourself, the better off you’ll be. Bear had believed this story, but it wasn’t true. It was based in greed. Bear had never felt anger at a neighbour, or greed, or the desire to take more than he needed, but today he had experienced all of these feelings. Bear wanted to forget all he had learned from Fox, but of course, once Fox made the suggestion, it couldn’t be taken back. And that is the story of how evil came into Bear’s world. Once told, a story is loose in the world, so you have to be careful with the stories you tell and you have to watch out for the stories you are told.

 

My story about Bear and his meeting with Fox was inspired by the idea that human greed, individualistic goals, and overconsumption could be a possible foundation for evil in humankind. Bear and Fox didn’t help each other, or work together, they helped themselves, and eventually Bear lost everything. Had Bear and Fox decided to be friends who support each other, and fished enough fish for two days of eating, there would have been enough to give to the other neighbour for an extra emergency day, and still enough in the river for future days. I worry that people today are so focused on their own goals, that we’ll ruin the world and our resources for ourselves and our future generations.

I also hope my story, which I’m careful to tell, reminds those reading it of how important it is to make sure the things you suggest to others are true. If you’re not sure, and don’t have the expertise to know, it might be wiser to wait until you do know, before speaking. Even with the best of intentions, spreading incorrect information can have residual harmful effects. We are powerful beings who can create narratives. We create them all the time. It is important to take this seriously, to not take your power for granted.

Works Cited: