There was once a thoughtful and progressive Prince who craved good stories. He announced a competition: the first tale-spinner who could tell a complete story without needing to stop for explanations or revisions would be installed in the palace as Narrator Laureate.<\/p>\n
Bards and fabulists soon began to stream in from across the land to entertain the Prince. They were subjected to various elimination rounds until ultimately a small group of finalists was brought before the Prince.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll right,\u201d said the first teller, \u201cmy story is called \u2018Little Red Riding Hood\u2019\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cI\u2019ve heard that one before. It\u2019s about a piece of clothing, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell \u2026 no,\u201d said the teller, \u201cit\u2019s the name of a little girl who wears a red cape that covers her head and shoulders\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why mention \u2018Riding\u2019?\u201d asked the Prince. \u201cWho was riding what? And why didn\u2019t the girl have her own name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPoint taken, your Majesty,\u201d said the man. \u201cI\u2019ll start afresh. My story is now called \u2018Little Red Dupatta\u2019. It\u2019s about a girl called Manali who lives with her parents near a great forest. Her grandmother, however, lives alone deep within the forest\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n
The Prince stopped him. \u201cRight: She\u2019s supposed to deliver food to her grandmother but meets a talking wolf along the way. The wolf runs ahead of her, swallows the grandmother whole and is about to eat the girl too but just then a friendly woodsman appears out of nowhere and kills the wolf\u2013\u201d He shakes his head. \u201cIn my view, it\u2019s deeply implausible. I mean, the grandmother returns to life completely unharmed by gastric juices! What are we supposed to learn from this? That girls can behave irresponsibly and grandmothers can live alone in forests so long as there are Woodsmen who can be relied upon to pop up exactly when required!\u201d He shook his head. \u201cSorry, doesn\u2019t work for me. Next please!\u201d<\/p>\n
To read the full article, please visit the Paper Cuts Magazine.<\/a><\/p>\n ——————————————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n