Chapter 1 - Jatayu
The first time I dared to pop out my head was when the man finally took off his sandal. I was relieved the man hadn't spotted me. I was also thirsty and tired, and thinking perhaps I should escape. I carefully looked around. I saw I was under a tree in a forest, where the man had left his belongings. He had walked far off into the distance, so I felt I was safe for a while. I stretched my legs and ate some wonderful grass. I sucked some water from a nearby root and was feeling quite refreshed. That's when the ground started to tremble beneath me. Not far off, a giant chariot crashing towards me through the forest. I drew close to the tree for safety but could not look away. I had never seen a creature like the one holding the reins. It was huge like a human but blue where humans are beige and had ten heads! Ten heads, my children! I could hear screaming and saw a pretty human woman in a mound of earth sitting next to him. She was crying and was visibly frightened. Then, to my horror, an eagle swooped in right by me and landed in the chariot's path. Children, I swear on Beetle Tradition, I felt the tip of the eagle's wing as he landed! It was terrifying. What was also terrifying was to think how this mighty eagle was going to be trampled like an ant under the great chariot. But, another surprise, the chariot stopped! This was all happening just a few feet from me. One thing we must remember as beetles is what a privilege it is to be small enough to go unnoticed but large enough to stand and hear and look with our eyes and observe the gods' creation. I heard what the eagle said to the ten-headed beast, whom he called Ravana. He told Ravana that he would let him go free if he would give up the pretty woman. I learned from the short conversation that Ravana had stolen the woman from her husband. This eagle, even though he was a bird, seemed like a mighty hero to me. He was standing up to a much larger beast to save a human woman, not a fellow bird, from trouble. Why, you wonder? Well that is the best part, my sons and daughters! He had promised a human friend of his - someone named Dasaratha - that he would protect his son, Rama. You guessed it, Rama was the husband of the woman in the chariot. Now this wonderful bird had tried to stop Ravana, even offering to let the beast go if he would just release his captive. Ravana just laughed him off and started to leave. Then, the mighty eagle, whom I think was named Jatayu, attacked! He gathered up a wind with his huge wings and created a dust storm. It was hard for me to see in the dust but I could tell he was diving at the ten heads with his beak and then his claws and then with his beak again! He clawed at the beasts pulling the chariot and even at the chariot itself. The chariot started to fall apart with mighty crashing noises right before my eyes! Then the saddest thing occurred. Ravana uttered some chant or language, and Jatayu became weaker for a moment. In that moment, with crushing blows, the evil Ravana cut off Jatayu's wings and struck him in the chest. I heard a whimper from the woman as Ravana picked her up and carried her off into the sky. Yes, the sky! Even though Ravana had no wings, somehow the evil creature could fly. Minutes later I saw two human men running through the dust. I knew just by looking at them that one must have been Rama. They were grieved when they saw heroic Jatayu lying on the ground. Then, children, I saw this bird do something else that was incredible. He used his dying breath to encourage another. He looked into Rama's eyes and said, "Do not despair. You will succeed in the end." Jatayu had just given his life up for the son of a friend and instead of being weak or angry or sad, he spoke hope to Rama! Now that is the kind of character I want to see in you, dear ones. Be brave in death, be loyal to your friends, and try to lift others up always, even when things are looking grim. After all I had seen, you can imagine my hesitation to run off into this forest. Also I thought that the man carrying me might head back to where he came from and I would be home again. Well, he did in fact come back, but not right then. Instead he carried me onward to see many more amazing sights before I would see home again. Author's Note: For this story I used a beetle as a narrator. I used a first-person style as the beetle is giving an account of what he's seen. I believe that first-person narrative is the best way to draw a reader into a story. In the original story there is no mention of a human in the forest dressed in a red garment. I added this to get the narrator at the scene of the story. Also, in Narayan's original dialogue between Jatayu and Ravana, it does not explain Jatayu's promise to Dasaratha. I had to add these details into the dialouge for the beetle to have understood the story and retell it. Also, in Narayan's book Ravana does not utter a chant to weaken Jatayu. He uses a special word, "Chandrahasa". I felt that using the term chant saved the reader from having to learn about Ravana's gift from the gods, since that was not necessary to the telling of Jatayu's death. I chose to highlight Jatayu's bravery in death and his loyalty to Dasaratha and in turn to Rama. I also used his dying words to Rama to show Jatayu's character and selflessness. These lessons made the story a sensible one for a dying beetle to a pass on to his many children. Bibliography |
Now I have already explained that I got carried away on a human man's sandal. What I did not explain is how bumpy a ride it was! Up and down for hours and hours, holding on for dear life. At one point we were in a cart being pulled by horses - dreadfully large creatures. It was then that I found a nook in the sandal where I could rest and not have to hold on. That was a huge relief. Anyway, as scary as it was, I am so thankful to have been dragged away on that man. Otherwise, I would never have seen so many wonderful things.