Lying Man
Once upon a time there was a golden circlet that the gods
made to give powers to humans that deserved it. The gods said if you didn’t
lie, didn’t steal, and didn’t kill you were worthy of this circlet to wear upon
your head.
There was a proud man that felt himself above all others. His
self-righteousness had no bounds and he thought himself the only person to
truly be worthy of these circlets. The man decided to approach the gods and to
tell them of his greatness and that he was most worthy of the circlet. When he
got to the gods alter, he was asked to step forward and say his name. The man
stepped forward and said, “My name is Donald Trump and I am worthy of these
circlets.” “I have a yuge respect for others, so I never lie, steal or kill.” Trump
explained. The gods then bestowed the first circlet upon his head.
Then Trump saw the next circlet on the alter. The gods then
said, “To be worthy of the second circlet the person must be humble, must not
lose his head at the height of fame, and must earn his wealth honestly.” Trump
thought to himself, smiled, and said, “I of course meet all of these qualifications.
I am the humblest person, I never lose my head even though I am the most famous
person, and all my wealth has been earned honestly.” The gods then placed the second
circlet upon his head.
The third circlet seemed to shine the brightest and Trump so
wanted it. “What do I have to be to get the last circlet?” asked Trump. The
gods said, “You must be kind hearted, respecting of others, and most of all
must value others above yourself.” Trump said, “I have all of these of course.
I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t. Place the last circlet upon my head.” Then the
gods placed the last circlet upon his head.
Trump felt a burning in his head he never felt before. He
cried out to the gods, “Please take this pain away I meet all the
qualifications….” “You have lied before us and shall live in pain for the rest
of your days. Also, all your hair shall fall out and you shall forever stand
out.” From that day on Trump had to wear a toupee and was orange.
Author’s Note: The original story is about a man that
thought himself greater than he was. The gods had wreaths they would bestow
upon men’s heads if they were worthy and met the qualifications. So, the man
lied and said he had the qualifications that the gods were asking for. In the
end he suffered greatly for his lies. When reading this I thought of Donald
Trump so decided to go with a satire story about it. I also included why he
looks the way he does. I changed up a bit of the qualifications but kept much
of the story the same. I also changed the consequences to orange skin and balding.
Bibliography: The Man Who Told a Lie by Marie L. Shedlock
Hi Dallas! I have gotten your blog multiple times and have always enjoyed reading your stories. I thought this was a really nice short story and retelling of the reading you did. I couldn't help but have a little laugh at the end, I think you did a good job with the story. The only thing that I would change in the story is to separate the dialogue from the rest of the story so the it's easier to read. Also at the end when he is said to be orange I think a little more context would be better to find out that its his skin that is orange. The only way to know that its his skin is if the reader goes on to read the authors note.
ReplyDeleteHi Dallas!
ReplyDeleteThis story was an absolute hoot to read because of its satire and humor. I laughed when Trump said “yuge” because I definitely read that in his voice. The end is also amazing when you explain that this is the origin of his toupee. I also laughed at the added “and was orange.” You did a great job of making this tale relevant to modern culture!
Hi Dallas!
ReplyDeleteI too have come to your blog several times and have enjoyed reading your stories. I found this one to be particularly funny. I was not expecting you to use Donald Trump in this story. I thought it was also funny that you used his punishment for lying about his character to be an orange balding man. Overall fantastic job with this story! It gave me quite a laugh.
Hey Dallas,
ReplyDeleteThis is my third time reading one of your stories. I really like seeing the common writing styles featured throughout your stories. I enjoyed reading this story because you added so many humorous elements to it, which I know will help readers engage and understand the message of the story better. I like how your author's note gives an insight on your satire and what influenced you to come up with this rendition.
Hi Dallas!
ReplyDeleteWow this story was actually really fun and humorous to me lol I was confused at first and actually started laughing when you said "Donald Trump." Anyway, I like how you used you used your story time to create a message. I felt that maybe the story could end a little different. Well done!
Hello Dallas,
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned Donald Trump as the name I definitely made a very audible laugh that I am sure my roommates hated. He was the right person to use for this story.I am glad that the last story of the semester was a funny one! Overall great story and I enjoyed reading it.