Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

The Winged Horse Saving the Men

Source

The many stories included in the anthology all seemed interesting, but the one that grabbed my attention the most was the story of the goblin city. The story states that on the island of Ceylon, there was a city full of female goblins. These goblins had no husbands, but they were able to marry if they chose to. The goblins would marry travelers who stumbled upon their city, and once the goblins were tired and bored of their new husbands, they would eat them. One day, a ship arrived at their city and it was full of men. The goblins knew that they could now have a lot of new husbands, and with that came lots of man flesh to feast on. Though the goblins were arguably evil and barbaric, they were smart. They knew that the lack of man and civilization would set off an alarm in the men who arrived that something was wrong. To hide the fact that the city was only inhabited by female goblins, the goblins used their magic to make the illusion that the city was thriving with many people tending the fields and going about their day. This illusion allowed for the men to feel comfortable and the goblins took them to the city and picked out their husbands. One night, the captain of the ship woke up and saw that his new goblin wife had returned from the prison where she feasted on man. His wife, under the impression that her husband was asleep, munched on the bones of her meal and sang to herself "man’s meat, man’s meat, that’s what goblins like to eat!" This lead to the captain piecing together the puzzle, and soon he knew that he and his men were in danger. The next morning, he gathered his men and told them about what he saw. Some men were rightfully worried, while others dismissed this claim as a silly dream the captain had imagined. Those who believed the captain began looking for opportunities to leave the island before they were eaten. Luckily, a fairy who hated the goblins sought to save the men. The fairy instructed her flying horse to go to the men and carry them off of the island. The horse flew towards the men and spoke in a human voice "Who wants to go home?" The men all climbed on the horse, and though the horse looked normal sized, (besides the white and gold wings) all of the men fit on its back. It is explained that the fairy shrunk all of the men once they climbed on the horse so that they would all fit on its back. The horse flew the men back home, while those who chose to stay were feasted on that night.

Bibliography:
The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse
Link to the story can be found here