Week 1 Storytelling: Lucky For Me

THE LUCKY MAN AND THE SEA

"Two men, one of whom was considered lucky, and the other unlucky, went out fishing in the sea. A storm arose, and upset their frail craft. They swam for their lives; but, as the shore was far, and the sea rough, they gave up all hope of seeing land again.

The man who believed himself specially unlucky said to the other, "But for me, you would be safe; it is my ill-luck that has raised the tempest."

While the other was endeavouring to reply, he felt a rock under the water, and stood upon it, as if in water knee-deep, and soon gave a helping hand to his com- [85] panion. "Behold," said the latter, "to the lucky man the sea is knee-deep?'"

(Original fable)

“The Lucky Man And The Sea” by Ramaswami Raju, from Indian Fables (1902). Web Source: The Baldwin Project.

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"Lucky For Me"

On a morning like any other, two unordinary men went to find work in a small coastal village.  The first man, who was called Felix was looking for a small job to help pass the time while on his countrywide expedition.  Felix was embarking on a journey of self-discovery and adventure before his plans to attend medical school.  Financing his journey was of no issue since Felix was born into one of the country's most powerful families.  As he arrived at the village the townsfolk immediately took notice of the traveler, whose golden hair and warm smile distracted them from their daily duties. 

With the town's attention centered on Felix, the arrival of another traveler went seemingly unnoticed.  A young man, who was similar to Felix in age and stature, was unfortunately dissimilar in finance and family.  The people who knew the second man growing up called him Mal, but he was unsure if this was his birth name, since he had never met his parents or any surviving family to confirm his identity.  Mal often drifted from town to town looking for work, but because he received no schooling growing up, any job that came his way would soon be lost to "unforeseen circumstances."  People often had a hard time warming up to Mal.  He was raven-haired and had sharp, angular facial features that made him look unapproachable.  

Eventually, both men heard news that a local fisherman was looking for help bringing in his nets during the busy fishing season.  Felix and Mal agreed to share a boat as they drifted out to sea to retrieve the fish from the nets.  As they sailed further from the dock, Felix told tales of his previous adventures that all seemed to include him being caught in impossible circumstances before miraculously escaping at the dire moment.  Mal would not have believed him if he did not have tokens to go along with each of his tales.  

Suddenly, the amber sun disappeared behind the clouds.  When the two men were over a mile away from the shore, rainclouds appeared as dark as Mel's hair.  The fiendish wind pierced their sails as Felix and Mal scrambled to turn their small boat back towards dry land.  Alas, their boat was too small to last against the bellowing winds and thrashing waves and it soon split in half with both men being pelted into the water.  Felix and Mal attempted to swim back to land, however it seemed impossible as the currents kept pulling the men deeper into the sea.  

Picture of a 1796 oil painting done by J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) entitled “Fishermen at Sea.”  Source: Wikipedia.

"I'm sorry friend, but I never should have stepped off shore.  Quite literally there always seems to be a black cloud that follows me wherever I go," said Mal to Felix as he assumed it would be best to atone for his misfortunes before the sea swallowed him.  

As Mal was talking, Felix felt the wind start to calm down, this in turn caused him to relax as he stopped thrashing about in the water.  His foot graced a rock and he began to feel around with his feet and discovered that somehow, the water was only knee-deep.  

As Felix stood upon the rocks, the waves lessened and he reached out to Mal with a triumphant grin.  "Oh Mal, had I not just been telling you of my excursions? And how they always end with a timely escape.  Stick with me and I'll get us out go any bad situation!" Felix exclaimed as he laughed and started to march down the improbable rock path towards the shore.  

"At least when you're unlucky all of the time, you don't have to be thrust into terrible situations just to be thrust out of them."  Mal mumbled to himself as he followed Felix up the path, with newfound affection for his afflictions.  

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Author’s Note: This story was based on "The Lucky Man And The Sea" from Indian Fables written by Ramaswami Raju where two men, one who was lucky and the other unlucky, are fishing when a storm arrives and their boat is destroyed.  They are swimming for their lives when the lucky man stands up and says, “To the lucky man the sea is knee-deep.”  In my interpretation I decided to add a backstory for these two characters and even gave them names (Felix means "lucky, successful", while Mal is short for Malvolio and means “ill fated”.)  I added adjectives that stood for darkness and light to further express the contrast between Felix and Mal.  I also decided to end the story on a happier note with Mal realizing being lucky isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.  I chose this image because I felt like it has a great contrast between light and darkness, which was a motif throughout my story.  I wanted the reader to take away that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  If you’re used to always being lucky, then maybe you don’t realize that there are probably quite a lot of unlucky things happening to you as well.