Reading Notes: The Cave of the Beasts, Part A

This week I chose to read some stories from China. The one that I focused on is called The Cave of the Beasts. I was interested by the name first, and was surprised throughout the story. First, the plot is crazy to me! A dad abandons his children because they eat some wild duck eggs that he found. Sure, maybe he wanted them for himself, but would you really drop off your kids in the middle of nowhere because they ate your food? It was also bizarre because the daughters went home to their father after he had abandoned them. As if nothing had ever happened. I thought surely there would be a catch. I don't see why the daughters were so forgiving to him, but it is just a story.

I would definitely change some things in my version of the story. I could have the father abandon the girls for doing something much worse, not simply eating wild duck eggs. I could also have the girls get revenge on their father for leaving them in the woods. Or, I could even make the daughters get eaten by the wolf and fox who lived in the cave. This way, when the father decides to come back for them, they are gone. He will feel terrible because he ultimately left them alone to die.

The story is more focused on the girls, but I think the wolf and fox should have more of a focus. Even the title suggests it is about them. I could tell the story from one of their perspectives to put a new twist on the story.

Although I thought this story was a bit crazy, I really enjoyed it because it was unexpected. I thought 

I could predict what was going to happen next, but every time I was wrong. 

Story source: The Cave of the Beasts from The Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm

Cave in the woods

Source: Pixabay