Mangoes from Who Like It
I’ve always
been a big fan of mangoes. I’m not sure when it began, but it’s always kind of
taken over my life. I’d do anything for a ripe mango. According to my parents, there was this one
time when I was a baby that I thought the sun was a mango. Can you imagine
being so in love with mangoes that you think the sun is one?
It’s all
right though. One learns to live with their addiction to mangoes, as I
certainly have. Granted, I’m immortal so it was kind of a necessity that I
learn to cope with my addiction. Still, some days have been harder than
others….
The monkey
sat with his best friend, Aladdin. They hadn’t had anything to eat in a few
days and not only were their stomachs were chatting up a storm, but the bread
crumbs littered across the asphalt were beginning to look awfully delicious.
“We gotta
find something to eat,” Aladdin said.
Hanuman
nodded and at that exact moment a cart of mangoes rolled past their line of
sight. The mangoes glistened from early morning dew in the rising sun. They
were all perfectly ripe and ready for the eating. Hanuman’s mouth watered.
“Hey! Watch
it! You’re drooling on me!”
Hanuman
apologized and pointed toward the pristine mangoes excitedly. Aladdin shook his
head, not surprised by his best friend’s suggestion for food, and then they
discussed their game plan.
Less than
15 minutes later, and Hanuman was poised on the rooftop above where the mango
cart was parked and Aladdin was perusing a nearby jewelry cart.
An innocent
bystander also looking through the same jewelry cart walked away from the cart.
“Hey!”
Aladdin yelled at the man who walked away. “Stop that man! He stole a piece of
jewelry! Stop him!”
The owner
of the jewelry cart ran to some nearby security men and the burly man running
the mango cart ran after the jewelry thief and tackled the innocent bystander
to the ground.
By the time
they figured out the man didn’t steal any jewelry, Aladdin and Hanuman were
long gone and the mango cart was a lot less heavy.
Author's Note: The character of Hanuman (his origin story specifically) reminded me a lot of Abu from Aladdin. So I decided to do a story mash-up of sorts. Abu had the obsession with jewels, and I took that Hanuman was obsessed with mangoes. I took Hanuman's origin story and kind of shortened it down to what was necessary in the beginning of my retelling, and then put him into sort of an everyday hunger scene between Abu and Aladdin.
Buck, William (1973). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
This was very unique! Framing Hanuman's story as a "mango addiction" was funny, very much like one of those strange addiction/shopaholic/etc shows you see on TV nowadays. It was also very interesting how you combined Hanuman's story with that scene from Aladdin - I could instantly picture Abu stealing those mangoes! Very cute (and now I want a mango!).
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun story! This was so creative! I love how you related Abu to Hanuman. I can definitely see where Hanuman would have reminded you of Abu. I also like how you gave Hanuman a mango addiction and tied that into your story! This definitely seemed like a scheme that Aladdin and Abu would have been proud to come up with it! Great job!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story. I really liked how you incorporated Aladdin into you story and Hanuman was Abu! So great. It reminded me of my childhood! I could picture the entire story in my head, which means that you are definitely doing a great job of storytelling! Keep up the good work!!!
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ReplyDeleteI love the adaptation you have made for Hanuman and his addiction to mangoes! I can definitely picture him as Abu from Aladdin, planning out a robbery to get food. This story was well written. It made me really miss my childhood and Disney movies. It also made me really want to go watch Aladdin. Good job! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHey Tia, I just got done reading your storytelling post and this one is just as creative as the ones I have read in the past! I Love how you incorporated aspects of Aladdin into your story! I could definitely see similarities between Abu and Hanuman!
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