Week 2 Story: Lila and the Lotuses

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful maiden. This woman was so beautiful that she was sought out by all types of men, but her father was very protective and would only agree to marry her to a man with honor.

One such man who sought after the maiden was a king from a distant land known as Arthur. Now, in his kingdom Arthur is known for marrying beautiful women and then murdering any daughters they have. Knowing the maiden's father would not give him her hand if he knew him, Arthur disguised himself as a nice traveling lord. He charmed both the maiden and her father with his bright smile and his flowery words, and after a few short weeks managed to win the father's approval and married his new young bride.

After their marriage, they traveled back to Arthur's kingdom. After revealing his deception to his bride, his demeanor changed completely, and he threatened what would happen to her and any future daughters.

The maiden, distraught with her circumstances, sought to escape the castle and Arthur's kingdom. However, it was not until she realized she was pregnant that she found the courage needed to succeed. The woman managed to escape at night and took refuge in a tiny cabin far away. There, she gave birth to her daughter, Lila, and raised her to be a fierce, smart, and strong woman.

One day, when Lila was grown, she asked her mother, "Mother, who is my father?"

And the mother replied, "Until now, it was not safe for you to know. But, I assume you will not stop asking until I tell you?"

Lila laughed, "You know me so well, mother!"

"Very well, my daughter. Your father is King Arthur. However, you must not go looking for him. If you do, I fear you may lose your life. You see, he does not let any daughter of his live past birth, so I escaped as soon as I learned I was pregnant with you."

Lila was shocked. "You mean, had you stayed, my own father would've killed me? And he's been doing this to all of his daughters for who knows how long?"

The mother confirmed this, and Lila thought for a moment. But, she knew what she must do. "Mother, you have raised me to be a brave and strong woman. But I cannot just stay here and do nothing to help these women and their daughters. I must go meet my father!"

And with that, Lila gathered up some food and her favorite bow and arrows and set off. The journey was long, but for Lila it felt short as she kept thinking of what she would do when she met her father. She was sure she could reason with him, and show him that his daughters were capable of greatness. 

After she finally arrived at the palace, she was brought before Arthur. He was furious that he had been tricked by a wife of his. Looking at his daughter, he knew he had to kill her so that she did not threaten his rule. Deciding to trick her, he greeted her warmly and decided to throw a ball in her honor. He figured the chaos of a ball would be perfect for disguising her death.

During the ball, Arthur danced with his daughter. He assumed she would know none of the steps, and thus had them dance near a steep cliff so he could easily explain his attempt to push her off of it as her own clumsiness. What he did not know, however, was that Lila's mother was a great dancer, and thus Lila was quick on her feet. When she observed her father's movements and realized what he had planned, she managed to swing them around and away from the cliff, avoiding her potential murder.

Arthur, knowing he needed to act quickly, decided to have a nearby ogre hiding in a lake kill her. With his plan in motion, he called Lila before him the next day. "My daughter, you have indeed proven you have what it takes to rule this kingdom. I have decided to abdicate the throne to you. However, before you can wear the crown, you will need to go gather the lotus flowers that will adorn your hair for the ceremony. Bring us three blue lotuses and four purple ones from the lake south of the castle."

Lila, eager to bond with her father despite last night's murder attempt, agreed. When she got to the lake, however, she noticed signs of people entering the lake but not leaving. She realized that an ogre lived in the lake, and her father still sought to kill her. Ashamed at her childish naivete, she decided that she would win the crown and the people's support by accomplishing this herculean task.

Finding a branch situated over an area of the lake where blue and purple lotuses floated, Lila shot an arrow with a rope tied to it at the branch so that she could swing over the lake. After the better part of the afternoon, Lila managed to snatch the right amount of lotuses from the lake without falling in. 

While gathering her flowers to head back to the castle, the ogre observed her. What a clever and brave young woman! She must be a queen! The ogre, appreciating the strength and power Lila had, called out, "You there! Are you not a queen? How clever must you be to have attempted this!"

Lila, laughing, replied, "I am not yet a queen, but I will be when I bring these back and force my father to crown me one."

The ogre, realizing she must be Arthur's daughter, decided to help her. Together they traveled, until they reached Arthur's throne. Arthur, shocked that Lila had succeeded, realized this meant she would now be queen. He succumbed to his old age and fell dead. Lila was crowned the next day, and lived happily as queen.

Image of a Lotus Flower on Water next to a Lily Pad.

No Changes Made. Uploaded by Devanath on 02-19-2016. Source: pixabay

Author's Note: This story is based off of the Buddhist Jataka "The Monkey who Gathered Lotuses". I decided to make the character of Bodhisatta a woman, as I often find female heroines more interesting than male ones. However, in making Lila a woman, I knew I would also have to change the first murder attempt because it does not physically make sense for Lila to be able to hug her father so strongly she could kill him. Thus, I decided to make Arthur try to push her off of a cliff. Most of the rest of the story is similar, albeit in a different setting and with the characters humans instead of monkeys.

Bibliography. "The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses", or the "Tayodhamma Jataka" from The Jataka: Volume 1, as translated by Robert Chalmers. Web Source.