Storytelling for Week 11: The Master And His Pupil

The Master And His Pupil

Once upon a time, there was a great sorcerer. He was able to live for hundreds of years because of his magic, allowing him to become the most powerful sorcerer the world had ever seen. As the years went one, he became bored and wanted to allow himself to die of old age. So he decided to take a pupil under his wing to pass on his knowledge. 

The sorcerer searched for years. He wanted to be one-hundred percent sure of the person he selected to teach because his magic in the wrong hands would be catastrophic. Finally, in a town of the North, he found his pupil. It was a young man by the name of Aladdin. Despite being a peasant and living on the streets, Aladdin shared all he had with the others, often receiving nothing in return. There was a purity in his soul that the sorcerer had never seen before. 

He approached Aladdin the following day and told him his story. Aladdin was amazed and wanted to hear more. Not once did he interrupt the sorcerer or try to one-up his stories. Once the sorcerer was finished telling him his life story, he told him that he would teach him if he would like. Without hesitation, Aladdin told him it would be his honor to carry on his legacy. 

Due to the immense knowledge the sorcerer had attained over his long life, it would take many years to teach him everything he knew. Aladdin was fully aware of the commitment required, but he would do anything to get off of the streets. 

The young man was the hardest worker the sorcerer had ever seen, as they trained relentlessly. His talent and power had soon surpassed even his own. Aladdin wanted to become the best and most legendary sorcerer to have ever lived, and he did. The sorcerer could now rest easy knowing that his legacy had been passed down. 

(The Karate Kid)

Author's Note

I chose this story because of how easily adaptable it was. Having seen Disney's Fantasia and Sorcerer's Apprentice, I knew I could do something fun. In the version of the story that I read, the pupil was an idiot and wasn't taught anything. He was more of a servant to the sorcerer than his pupil. The sorcerer's spells are all in a leather book that the pupil hadn't been able to read. One day he forgot to lock the book before he went out and the pupil's curiosity about the book led him to open it and read a spell. In doing so, he summoned a demon and nearly died had the master not realized he forgot to lock it and returned. I decided to make it more of a master and pupil relationship with my story because it is in the title after all. I thought Aladdin's character would be a good fit for his pupil, since he came from nothing.

Bibliography

Title: The Master And His Pupil
Author: Joseph Jacobs
Year Published: 1890
Web Site Source: Mythology and Folklore Un-Textbook

Reading Diary B: English Fairy Tales

English Fairy Tales

The Three Little Pigs

This was one of my favorite stories when I was a little kid. I had not read it in so long that I forgot some parts of it, so it was fun to read the story again. I always that it was funny that the first two pigs built their homes out of straw and furze because in no way would that be stable. Also, if the wolf could blow it down, then how could the simple force of the wind not do the same? For some reason, I thought the two other pigs survived, ran away from the wolf, and hid in the third pigs house. The third pig is very clever in this story and continues to deceive the wolf, even though the wolf is trying to do the same to him. In the end, the pig outwits the wolf, boils him, and eats him for dinner.

The Master And His Pupil

Since I am a big fan of science fiction, I really liked this story. The notes before reading the story mention that Disney's Fantasia is another version of this folktale, so I was very interested in the story from the beginning. I remember seeing the movie many times as a child and even seeing the show at Disney World. Even more recently, there was another Sorcerer's Apprentice movie made with Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel. This is how I pictured each character while reading this story. Overall, the pupil is pretty stupid and the master apparently does not like to teach him things. For this reason, it feels more like the pupil is more of a servant or slave for the master. The pupil should have never began reading spells from the book if he could not understand any of them. This nearly killed him, as he summoned a demon without knowing what to do afterwards. Although the pupil should not have opened the book and read from it, the master could have actually taught him how to use it to prevent this from ever happening.

(Mickey Mouse in Fantasia)