Extra Credit Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins, Part A

(Beautiful woman saved from a giant; source: Wikipedia)

One of the common themes in this unit is the idea of deciding which suitor is most deserving of a woman. My favorite story that employed this trope was "The Brave Man, the Wise Man, and the Clever Man. To which should the girl be given?"

Plot:

• The goblin resolves to tell the king another story on their journey.
• In the city of Ujjain, there lived a virtuous Brahman counselor to the king named Hariswami. Hariswami and his wife had a son named Devaswami and a beautiful daughter named Moonlight.
• When Moonlight grew up, she grew self-aware of her beauty and told her parents that she would only consent to marrying a brave man, a wise man, or a clever man.
• Hariswami was sent by the king to a different land to negotiate a peace treaty. There, a Brahman man who had heard of Moonlight's famed beauty approached Hariswami to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. Hariswami explained Moonlight's terms and the man claimed to be clever. When asked to prove this, the man made a flying chariot and took Hariswami on a trip. Hariswami, being delighted, set the date for the marriage on the seventh day.
• Meanwhile, in Ujjain another Brahman man approached Devaswami and asked for Moonlight's hand in marriage. Upon hearing her terms, the man proved his bravery by demonstrating his skill with weapons. Devaswami was satisfied and after consulting astrologists, appointed the marriage for the seventh day.
• At the same time, yet another Brahman man approached Moonlight's mom and requested her hand in marriage. He proved that he was wise by being able to answer questions about the past and future. The mother then set the marriage for the seventh day.
• When Hariswami returned home, he told his wife and son of the clever man he had found. In turn, his wife and son told him about the brave and wise men, respectively. Hariswami was conflicted on what to do for there were now three grooms for his daughter.
• On the seventh day, all three men arrived to the house only to find that Moonlight had disappeared. The wise man concluded that a giant named Smoke-Tail had taken her to his den in the forest. The clever man took Hariswami and the other grooms in his flying chariot to the den and the brave man fought and killed the fearsome giant.
• Upon their return to Ujjain with Moonlight, there was a dispute on who the rightful groom was. Each suitor claimed that his skill was the most important in ensuring Moonlight's safe return.
• The goblin asks the king to make the decision. The king replies that the brave man should be given the girl because he risked his life for her safety and the other two were only his helpers. Upon hearing his correct answer, the goblin flies back to the sissoo tree, prompting the king to begin the journey all over again.

Characters:

• Hariswami - father to Moonlight, virtuous man who is unable to come to a decision on who should marry his daughter
• Moonlight - beautiful girl, confident in her beauty, knows that she deserves a clever, brave, or wise man
• Clever man - makes a flying chariot
• Brave man - skilled in weaponry
• Wise man - can tell the past and future

Bibliography. Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).