Week 7 Story: Finding His Happiness

In the distant past, there once lived a stonecutter. He was a well-renowned craftsman who knew exactly what was needed for certain items. Although he worked day and night t gain the reputation he had, he went to bed every night with a certain emptiness to him. 

One morning as he was chiseling away at the mountain for stones, he overheard two weary travelers talking. One said to the other that there was a ancient spirit that lived in the form of a woman. She lived atop the very mountain the stonecutter had been chiseling away at! She granted the wishes and brings happiness to anyone who seeks her help. When the stonecutter had heard of this he immediately gathered his belongings and started traveling up the mountain in search of filling his empty void. 

Eventually the stonecutter reached the top of the mountain. There lied a cave and inside was the very woman that the travelers were speaking of. The stonecutter introduced himself and asked the spirit to become a rich prince who had everything in the world. Alas, the spirit made the man a rich prince and when he returned home he returned to a castle as high as the skies with everything he could imagine. 

One day, the sun above scorched the lands he lived in. It was so hot and bright that the stonecutter reused to go outside and stored himself away in the depths of the castle. Every day he would look outside to see people up and about, embracing the heat. This made him yearn to become the sun, so he trekked back up the mountain and asked the spirit to make him the sun. And so he became the sun above all. 

His happiness soon faded when the day came where the clouds hid the suns rays. He had begun to become very bored of shining down on the lands, so when the clouds came to hid his might he became very upset. He cried from above to the spirit to make him a cloud, so that he may always be seen in the sky. The spirit below heard his cries from above and granted his wish and so he became the clouds.

Days and weeks went by and the man became weary again. Becoming the clouds between the lands and sun was not enough for him again. He became sad and rain poured down on the land for days. Towns and villages were destroyed by his unhappiness. When he looked down and saw that the mountains held their shape through all this rain, he began to wonder. He wondered if the immovable, strong, and calm mountain was the key to his happiness. And once again he begged the spirit to become the mountain below him. Once more the spirit turned him into a mountain. 

He stood tall and mighty every day. The sun and and rain could not move him one bit! And so he finally found his true happiness... but not for long. One day as the sun was bright the man heard something beneath him. He looked down and saw the very man he used to be: a stonecutter. He then began to realize that nothing he wished for would bring him true happiness because the stonecutting man was the key to his happiness. He took for granted his occupation and life and never appreciated what he had. Although he knew that he had asked so much from the spirit, he tried once more and asked to be reverted back to the man he once was. The spirit having realized that he discovered his true happiness, turned him back to a stonecutter in an instant. 

The stonecutter awoke back inside his household. Everything was the same as it used to be, as if nothing had changed except one thing: his happiness. He felt very grateful and in debt to the spirit, so he traveled once more to the top of the mountain. When he reached the top he expressed his gratitude and thanks to the woman. She was happy to help the man find his true happiness and disappeared back into the mountain in the form of a spirit and the man lived his days in eternal happiness. 

(The Stonecutter, Source: Pinterest)

Author's Notes:

The original story was very similar to my own. There was a stonecutter who also wanted to be something more. At first he wanted to be rich, then a prince, then the sun, the clouds, the mountain, and finally back to being a stonecutter. The spirit of the mountain granted him his wishes and turned him into whatever he desired. In the original, the stonecutter felt very selfish and didn't appreciate what the spirit had done for him, so I changed that in my own story. Also I gave the spirit a physical form and gave it a place atop the mountain. This rendition was more about finding the stonecutter's true happiness and provided a more detailed background and ending for the reader. 

Bibliography: "The Stonecutter" by Andrew Lang. Web Source

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales Part A

There were 6 fairy tales in Part A of this reading and one of them really stuck out to me for a possible storytelling idea. This is the story of the Stonecutter who is never satisfied with himself. First we becomes a rich man, then a prince, then the sun, then the clouds, and then the mountain. Finally, he revert back to a stone cutting man with whom he is satisfied. In this story he seems like a very selfish individual and always wants to be something else, never satisfied with what he has. I would like to change that in my rendition and provide a sense of humbleness for the stone cutter. In this story the stone cutter is transformed by the mountain spirit who he takes for granted. I would like for him to be a grateful person in the end. I want to also make a mountain spirit an actually person or animal because a spirit is hard to imagine. That way the reader can relate more to the mountain spirit and it will give it a sense of purpose and meaning. Everything else I would keep the same because I do enjoy what the stone cutter wants to become and in each succession. It makes sense in that order.

Japanese Fairy Tales by Andrew Lang, link to online reading

(Stonecutter, Source: The Henry Brothers)

Reading Notes (Extra Credit): Dante's Inferno Part A

In Dante's Inferno the visual cues are very strong in each aspect of the comedy. Details are given at key moments to show the reader what it is that Dante is seeing at the moment. For instance, the part where Dante and Virgil come to the gate leading to hell they see a cave with an inscription at the top basically saying "abandon all hope, ye who enters". I love the visual cues and I want to try and replicate that in my project. This will help the reader get a better sense of the environment.

Another aspect of Dante's Inferno is the character of Dante himself. Dante is basically having a midlife crisis and is lead to the path towards evil and hopelessness when Virgil steps in helps Dante, guiding him through the circles of hell. Even throughout his journey, he is constantly afraid and saddened by what he sees. I want my character, Charley, to embody these same emotions when he travels through hell with Death. However, in my version, Charley will be taught a "lesson" for his constant sinning, so the emotion of scared and afraid will play a huge part in my rendition.

The wide array of fictional characters, hero's, gods, goddesses, poets, beasts, etc. is very eye opening to me because that gives me free reign when picking my own people for Charley to visit. The endless possibilities is very assuring because I can pick and choose anybody in recent history or current history. Not just ancient history like Dante did.

Lastly, I like the structure of hell itself. First there is the gateway to hell where there is a ferryman who takes them on a boat to the first circle of Limbo. Each circle goes deeper into the Inferno and with each decent there is an increase in wickedness and evil. I want to keep this aspect of the original story in my own. It creates a very easy visual cue for readers to imagine as my character makes his way down to the center of hell. However, since I'm only doing 3 stories, I won't have time to visit all 10 circles of hell, so I'll have to cut it short and visit only 3.

Dante's Inferno by Dante Alighieri, link to online reading

(Circles of Hell, Source: Pinterest)