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It had been 12 years since Rama ran away to the forest, where he met his amusing yet helpful monkey companions, Hanuman and Sugriva. Throughout the years, he had bonded with the two monkeys like no other creature had. The trio went on many adventures, finding more people to ally with and build an army with, including all of the monkeys that followed Sugriva. Rama oftentimes missed his family, especially his late father Dasharatha and his wife Sita. However, he knew he left his kingdom for a reason, and that when he came back he would be stronger than ever and be able to defeat Ravana at last. Sometimes when Rama was restless, he thought about running back to his home, but realized that if he wasn't patient and didn't look at all sides of the situation before tackling it, he would lose. He wanted to go back to Ayodhya only when he knew he could defeat Ravana. Until then, he would brood about waiting for the right moment. He didn't know when it would come, but he knew he would recognize it when the time came.
One day, as the three split up to hunt for food, Hanuman and Sugriva saw the most beautiful woman they had ever seen in their lives. They were behind a few evergreen bushes and were immediately mesmerized and could not find the will to move. They stared at her from afar, just waiting to see who she was or what she was in the forest for. After some time, they came to their senses and grew suspicious. The monkeys did not believe a single person was made to be that beautiful, so they assumed she was a demon, covering up her true self with a beautiful mirage. The two came up with a plan to trap her and take her to Rama to see what they should do. So, when her back was to them, Hanuman and Sugriva rushed at her, trapped her in their tails, and carried her to Rama. Rama heard the woman's cries from far away, and immediately recognized their sound - they belonged to Sita. Sita, his wife, his first and only love, his other half, his partner throughout life. Sita, the woman he loved since the moment he met her. How could he forget her voice? He began running towards the sound, and as soon as he saw Hanuman, Sugriva, and a tied up Sita, he noticed tears in his eyes. Once the monkeys realized this woman was of great importance to Rama and not a random demon, they immediately untied her and apologized for their behavior.
"SITA!" Rama exclaimed, at the same time Sita yelled "RAMA!"
The two rushed into each other's arms.
"Wh-what are you- How're you- Why are y- What are yo-" Rama stuttered.
"Rama, oh, Rama... My dear... How could you leave? How could you stray here, without telling anybody, without telling ME?"
"Oh, my beloved. I am truly sorry for what I have done. At the time I wasn't thinking. I wasn't thinking at all. I just ran. By the time I realized that I was actually running away and didn't want to be home, it was too late to turn around and warn people. I just panicked and left. I am sorry."
"Well don't apologize now, come back! Please! Rama, we need you. I need you. I tried looking for you day after day but Ravana had us locked away. I've been able to get away a few times but I never knew where to look for you. I finally had the chance to run here, and here you are! Please Rama, come back. The kingdom is in shambles, it is completely unrecognizable and Ravana will not stop conquering other kingdoms."
After hearing Sita's version of the kingdom, Rama officially introduced Sita to Hanuman, Sugriva, and their whole army that they had been planning on using against Ravana one day. Rama realized it was time. The moment he saw Sita, a fire lit up in his heart and eyes and suddenly had the urge to fight for his kingdom. He knew it was the right time.
As they gathered up the army and all their weapons, Rama hugged his wife Sita once more. She gave him strength, and he was happy to have her by his side as he fought for his rightful kingdom back.
Meanwhile, at Ayodhya, Ravana had just noticed that Sita was gone, She was supposed to be surrounded by rakshasas at all times, but somehow she had gotten ridden of them again! "Idiotic demons," Ravana muttered. Just as the words left his mouth, he heard a commotion. He looked over the horizon and saw hundreds of warriors on chariots and animals charging at the kingdom, wielding their weapons as they came. Ravana immediately recognized Rama and called for his army to get ready and fight back, but Rama's army was too huge and too fast for his enemy. His army charged through the various rakshasas fighting back, and as his people were fighting Ravana's army, Rama decided to head straight for Ravana. The two circled each other for some time, before Rama finally made the first move to cut off one of Ravana's heads. The head immediately grew back. However, Rama knew that Ravana's heads grew back slower as he got more tired. So, Rama rode around the entire kingdom and through the massive palace, up the stairs through the windows, across the huge dining tables, etc., until Ravana grew a little weary. Then, one by one, he cut off all of his heads until one of his arrows pierced Ravana straight through his heart. As soon as he defeated Ravana, all the rakshasas slowly disappeared and left the kingdom altogether. Rama had forgotten what it was like to fight in a battle like this, as he had been living in the forest for the past 12 years.
Soon, Rama, Sita, and the rest of the warriors with Hanuman and Sugriva had released all the captives of Ayodhya that Ravana had locked away. Everyone rejoiced when they saw Rama, as they knew Ravana must have been defeated. Finally, the people of Ayodhya were happy again. Finally, Rama was back as king.
Author's Note: I got a lot of good critiques on Part 1 of this Lion King themed story, The One Where Rama Runs Away. So I thought I would continue the story to the end. I decided to have Sita find Rama in the forest, just like Nala finds Simba in the Lion King. I even kept the little confusion Timon and Pumbaa have with Nala at first by having Hanuman and Sugriva think Sita was a demon. Although Nala in the Lion King is simply hunting for food and runs into Simba, I had Sita come looking specifically for Rama in my story. Also, just like Simba goes back to his home, fights Scar, and takes his rightful place in the kingdom, I had Rama go back with his army, defeat Ravana, and take on the position of king. I paralleled it with the actual Lion King, just changed the character names and switched around certain details. I also tried incorporating some of the Jataka Tales in the first paragraph. The End of the World story is about a rabbit that hears a coconut fall from a tree and thinks the world is ending so he immediately starts running, and as he is running, he tells all the other animals the same thing, so they all follow him. Eventually, they get to the lion and he figures out what the sound actually was, and teaches them a lesson to not be so quick to lose judgement. I had Rama kind of take on the role of that lion when I mentioned he was impatient, but that he had to keep the mindset of looking at all sides of the situation and assessing it before jumping to conclusions. Hope you all liked the rest of the story :)
It had been 12 years since Rama ran away to the forest, where he met his amusing yet helpful monkey companions, Hanuman and Sugriva. Throughout the years, he had bonded with the two monkeys like no other creature had. The trio went on many adventures, finding more people to ally with and build an army with, including all of the monkeys that followed Sugriva. Rama oftentimes missed his family, especially his late father Dasharatha and his wife Sita. However, he knew he left his kingdom for a reason, and that when he came back he would be stronger than ever and be able to defeat Ravana at last. Sometimes when Rama was restless, he thought about running back to his home, but realized that if he wasn't patient and didn't look at all sides of the situation before tackling it, he would lose. He wanted to go back to Ayodhya only when he knew he could defeat Ravana. Until then, he would brood about waiting for the right moment. He didn't know when it would come, but he knew he would recognize it when the time came.
One day, as the three split up to hunt for food, Hanuman and Sugriva saw the most beautiful woman they had ever seen in their lives. They were behind a few evergreen bushes and were immediately mesmerized and could not find the will to move. They stared at her from afar, just waiting to see who she was or what she was in the forest for. After some time, they came to their senses and grew suspicious. The monkeys did not believe a single person was made to be that beautiful, so they assumed she was a demon, covering up her true self with a beautiful mirage. The two came up with a plan to trap her and take her to Rama to see what they should do. So, when her back was to them, Hanuman and Sugriva rushed at her, trapped her in their tails, and carried her to Rama. Rama heard the woman's cries from far away, and immediately recognized their sound - they belonged to Sita. Sita, his wife, his first and only love, his other half, his partner throughout life. Sita, the woman he loved since the moment he met her. How could he forget her voice? He began running towards the sound, and as soon as he saw Hanuman, Sugriva, and a tied up Sita, he noticed tears in his eyes. Once the monkeys realized this woman was of great importance to Rama and not a random demon, they immediately untied her and apologized for their behavior.
"SITA!" Rama exclaimed, at the same time Sita yelled "RAMA!"
The two rushed into each other's arms.
"Wh-what are you- How're you- Why are y- What are yo-" Rama stuttered.
"Rama, oh, Rama... My dear... How could you leave? How could you stray here, without telling anybody, without telling ME?"
"Oh, my beloved. I am truly sorry for what I have done. At the time I wasn't thinking. I wasn't thinking at all. I just ran. By the time I realized that I was actually running away and didn't want to be home, it was too late to turn around and warn people. I just panicked and left. I am sorry."
"Well don't apologize now, come back! Please! Rama, we need you. I need you. I tried looking for you day after day but Ravana had us locked away. I've been able to get away a few times but I never knew where to look for you. I finally had the chance to run here, and here you are! Please Rama, come back. The kingdom is in shambles, it is completely unrecognizable and Ravana will not stop conquering other kingdoms."
After hearing Sita's version of the kingdom, Rama officially introduced Sita to Hanuman, Sugriva, and their whole army that they had been planning on using against Ravana one day. Rama realized it was time. The moment he saw Sita, a fire lit up in his heart and eyes and suddenly had the urge to fight for his kingdom. He knew it was the right time.
As they gathered up the army and all their weapons, Rama hugged his wife Sita once more. She gave him strength, and he was happy to have her by his side as he fought for his rightful kingdom back.
Meanwhile, at Ayodhya, Ravana had just noticed that Sita was gone, She was supposed to be surrounded by rakshasas at all times, but somehow she had gotten ridden of them again! "Idiotic demons," Ravana muttered. Just as the words left his mouth, he heard a commotion. He looked over the horizon and saw hundreds of warriors on chariots and animals charging at the kingdom, wielding their weapons as they came. Ravana immediately recognized Rama and called for his army to get ready and fight back, but Rama's army was too huge and too fast for his enemy. His army charged through the various rakshasas fighting back, and as his people were fighting Ravana's army, Rama decided to head straight for Ravana. The two circled each other for some time, before Rama finally made the first move to cut off one of Ravana's heads. The head immediately grew back. However, Rama knew that Ravana's heads grew back slower as he got more tired. So, Rama rode around the entire kingdom and through the massive palace, up the stairs through the windows, across the huge dining tables, etc., until Ravana grew a little weary. Then, one by one, he cut off all of his heads until one of his arrows pierced Ravana straight through his heart. As soon as he defeated Ravana, all the rakshasas slowly disappeared and left the kingdom altogether. Rama had forgotten what it was like to fight in a battle like this, as he had been living in the forest for the past 12 years.
Soon, Rama, Sita, and the rest of the warriors with Hanuman and Sugriva had released all the captives of Ayodhya that Ravana had locked away. Everyone rejoiced when they saw Rama, as they knew Ravana must have been defeated. Finally, the people of Ayodhya were happy again. Finally, Rama was back as king.
Source: The Lion King scene where Nala finds Simba, but scares Timon and Pumbaa in the process, since no one knows each other yet.
Author's Note: I got a lot of good critiques on Part 1 of this Lion King themed story, The One Where Rama Runs Away. So I thought I would continue the story to the end. I decided to have Sita find Rama in the forest, just like Nala finds Simba in the Lion King. I even kept the little confusion Timon and Pumbaa have with Nala at first by having Hanuman and Sugriva think Sita was a demon. Although Nala in the Lion King is simply hunting for food and runs into Simba, I had Sita come looking specifically for Rama in my story. Also, just like Simba goes back to his home, fights Scar, and takes his rightful place in the kingdom, I had Rama go back with his army, defeat Ravana, and take on the position of king. I paralleled it with the actual Lion King, just changed the character names and switched around certain details. I also tried incorporating some of the Jataka Tales in the first paragraph. The End of the World story is about a rabbit that hears a coconut fall from a tree and thinks the world is ending so he immediately starts running, and as he is running, he tells all the other animals the same thing, so they all follow him. Eventually, they get to the lion and he figures out what the sound actually was, and teaches them a lesson to not be so quick to lose judgement. I had Rama kind of take on the role of that lion when I mentioned he was impatient, but that he had to keep the mindset of looking at all sides of the situation and assessing it before jumping to conclusions. Hope you all liked the rest of the story :)
Akriti!
ReplyDeleteGreat job with this story. I just read your project today, so I was really excited when I saw you did the continuation of the lion king story. You do a great job of staying to the original stories you are retelling, while adding hints of the epics into them. I really enjoyed this story and how you incorporated a small theme from the Jataka. I love that you made Sita such a gracious character, which stays true to who she is portrayed in the Ramayana. I know that if I were in Sita's situation I would have been angry with Rama.
Great job! I can't wait to come back and read more of your stories.
Hi Akriti!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your story! I don' think I have read your actual storybook yet so I will have to do that this week! While I didn't catch onto the lion king plot until the end of the story, once I realized it was there I really liked it. Your are an excellent writer and I look forward to reading more of your work.
-Elizabeth
Hi Akriti,
ReplyDeleteThis is another good story. I think I like this one even better than the one I just commented on. This one had a lot better dialogue and I think you did a better job of making the chracters interactive. You had great flow with this story and it was an easy and smooth read. It seems like you are doing a great job with you stories. I will definitely be back to you page later this semester!
Brooks
It took me a minute, but by about the second paragraph I realized this was a Lion King story and was ecstatic! I think finding the parallel between the stories is fantastic and clever, and probably a whole lot of fun! It makes me want to go back and read part 1, as I haven't had the chance to read it yet. The emotion in Rama was very apparent, and I'm glad you let us see that side of our hero. I'm a big fan of this happy ending:)
ReplyDelete