Fractured Fairy Tale, Essay Example

Many generations ago, or maybe it was just yesterday, three pandas lived together in a small wooden pagoda in a bamboo forest. One spring morning the pandas prepared a meal of bamboo and rice for their mid-day meal, and left it to cool on the table as they went to amble through the forest. Just then a small boy passed by their pagoda on his way home from the Spring Festival. He was very hungry, and he smelled the aroma of cooking rice wafting from the open windows. Looking around and seeing no one, the boy removed his shoes and passed between the door gods on either side of the entryway. On the table the boy saw the servings of tea, rice, and bamboo, and could not help himself. He began sipping at the tea and sampling the delicious food. After each bite, he was careful to place the chopsticks back in their place out of habit.

As the food settled in his stomach, the boy began to look around the house at the beautiful architecture. The pandas had decorated their home with a collection of idols to ward off evil spirits that rivaled even those in the boy’s own home. This was truly a safe place, though the boy, and as he began to relax he started to feel slightly drowsy. “What could it hurt to curl up for a quick nap?” thought the boy, as he made his way towards the nearest bed. It was the most ornate and carefully-wrought of the three hand-carved beds, and the boy felt himself drifting off to sleep the moment he laid his head upon the cushions.

Just as the boy had fallen fast asleep, he was jolted awake by the sound of the pandas returning from their mid-day stroll. The boy was a bit scared, but was more embarrassed than scared for having taken advantage of the panda’s good will. He was about to run away through the rear door when the largest panda spotted him. “Stop,” said the panda, as the boy trembled with fear. “Who are you and what are you doing here?” The boy looked at the floor and responded “Honorable panda, I am just a hungry boy on my way home from the festival.” As he anticipated the worst, the panda approached him with his paws extended, and grasped him tightly.

“Well, then, young boy, you must have a meal with us!” The pandas took the boy to a nearby restaurant, where the panda family and their guest had a lavish meal of shark fin soup, fish, rice, and assorted sweets. The restaurant was hot and noisy and crowded, and the pandas and the boy had a wonderful time. “Never have I eaten so well!” the boy exclaimed to his hosts. “I am grateful for your hospitality, especially after I helped myself to your food and tea earlier. I apologize for my behavior, and I hope you will forgive me.”

“Of course we forgive you, young boy,” replied the father panda. “You were a guest in our home, and we were not there to welcome you. It is you who should forgive us!” At this, the pandas and the boy were all happy, and the boy felt so grateful to his hosts that he proclaimed “I am going to pay for this meal for all of us!” This angered the pandas greatly, and the father panda protested loudly that the boy would not dishonor him or his hospitality by paying the bill for the meal.

The boy responded to the father panda that he must do something to repay his hosts for their graciousness, and insisted that he pay for the meal. The boy and the three pandas all lunged for the dinner check, crashing into each other and falling to the ground. They suddenly realized how silly they looked, and decided the only fair way to settle the matter was to each pay for the other’s meals. By the time they got everything sorted out they were hungry again, and they all went back to the panda’s house for dessert.