Reading Notes: Jataka Anthology-Goblins, Reading B

The men riding away on the Fairy's horse. Source: W. Robinson

Goblin City:

• Summary: 
• This story is about a town full of goblins who eat people. The she-goblins catch their prey by marriage. They will marry a man and when they eventually tire of him, they eat them and the process starts over. In the story, a ship crashes near the coast of Goblin City, and all the she-goblins went and tended to the men. To keep the men's suspicion at bay, using their magic, the she-goblins made shapes of men and women in various location and performing multiple tasks to make the city look normal. the sailors bought this scam and felt secure in the city. The she-goblins then persuaded the sailors to marry them, telling them that their own husband had been gone at sea for three years, and that they must be drown or lost. The sailors fell for this. All this time the she-goblins husband has been held in a prison, waiting to be eaten. One night, once all their husbands were asleep, the she-goblins went to the prison to feast. The wife of the captain of the ship, had woken up while his wife was gone and when she returned, he saw her munching away and saying, "Man's meat, man's meat. That's what goblin's like to eat." The captain was terrified, but pretended to be asleep. The next morning he tried to tell he crew about what he saw, but only some believed him, while other said he was dreaming. The captain and the other tried to plot an escape but it seemed impossible as their ship was gone. All this time, there was a fairy who despised the goblins and she was determined to help these men. One day, while the men were out for a walk, the fairy sent a beautiful winged horse to rescue the men and take them home. Some of the men came and the other stayed behind where they were devoured by the she-goblins that very night.
• My Ideas: 
• My idea for this story is to retell it in the captain's perspective and add dialogue. While reading the story, I asked myself why the sailors decided to stay in Goblin City. Was there a curse that the goblin's put over them or were the goblin's just that cunning? Maybe the clothes they gave the men were charmed or maybe the whole town was a charm. With this version, maybe I could change the ending, what if the captain and the she-goblin fell in love and maybe she helped the men to escape and went with them. Also, maybe the she-goblin could go to the fairy and have her change her into a human so she could be with the captain. 
• I could also retell the story in the perspective of the fairy. I thought it was odd that right at the end, the fairy just swooped in and saved the day. I could possibly include some background to why the fairy hates the goblins, maybe they ate her husband. There are really endless ways to change this story. We could also have the fairy team up with the sailor and capture all the she-goblins so they could never do this again.
• Bibliography:  Rouse,W.H.D. The Giant Crab and Other Tales from Old India. Goblin City.