Along a wide gulf there existed a kingdom called Stone Kingdom, named for its steadfastness and resilience. There were many fishermen who sailed out into the gulf day after day to reap a bounty of delicious tuna. One such fisherman was named Strength, and he was fitting of his name. One day while Strength was out fishing, he felt a tug on his line that he knew belonged to something heavier than a tuna fish. Excited, he braced himself and reeled in his line as aggressively as he could. After a great struggle, at last his catch flopped into the small boat. Strength realized that it wasn’t a fish at all, but a man’s corpse.
As Strength was about to dump the body back overboard, it began to speak of its own accord. “Humble fisherman, I beg that you reconsider. If you take me to shore, I will reward you with magic power.”
Strength knew that these were a goblin’s words, and quietly he settled the body into a corner of his small boat. He suspected that the goblin would offer a riddle as he began rowing to shore, and sure enough the goblin spoke again before too long. “Let me tell run a puzzle by you to occupy our time.”
The goblin began, “There once lived a strong fisherman from a kingdom called Stone Kingdom. While out fishing, this fisherman found a goblin who promised him magic power in exchange for a trip to shore. On their way, the goblin asked the fisherman a tricky riddle. Did the fisherman answer ‘no’ to the riddle?”
Strength was no fool, and recognized that the goblin was describing their current situation. He did not know how to answer the goblin’s question, however. “Yes” was surely the wrong answer, because then the answer would be “no”. “No” was also incorrect, because then the answer would be “yes”. Strength stopped to consider the question further. At last, he had his answer.
“Nope.” said Strength, smiling. The goblin laughed and lept overboard. Strength readied his line, determined to catch the goblin once more.
Author’s note: This story is based on the traditional Sanskrit tale Twenty-Two Goblins. The original story features a goblin who asks a wise king a series of riddles. For every riddle the king answers correctly, the goblin runs away and has to be retrieved again. However, if the king refuses to answer the riddle, his head explodes. This continues until the king is honestly stumped. The riddle in my story is much shorter than those in the original, and the framing tale takes precedence. I wanted to throw in a paradox that the fisherman is able to solve in a really cheesy way.
Bibliography. Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur Ryder. Web Link.
Photo: Fisherman on a boat. Wikimedia Commons.
I like the paradox you used for the goblin's riddle. It reminds me of the whole "one of us always lies and the other always tells the truth" thing, except the fisherman had to find the correct answer for himself rather than tricking it out of someone else.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! I did not expect to laugh while reading this. I love that he managed to ace the riddle simply by saying no in a different way. Nope seems like such a silly way to get around it! I would have never thought of this kind of story myself. I read the original story too and I gotta say... this was a million times more enjoyable to read.
ReplyDeleteHey Dakota! I liked your story. I think that the last part of the riddle was very clever, but I think that you could have made the whole story longer. It help really brief, like there could have been more that you cut out. Adding some descriptions to fill out the setting and characters could help with this. What does Strength look like? What type of coast line is he sailing?
ReplyDelete