The Lion and the unicorn
Were fighting for the crown;
The lion beat the unicorn
All round about the town.
Some gave them white bread,
And some gave them brown;
Some gave them plum-cake,
And sent them out of town.
(traditional nursery rhyme)
~~~
In a land where animals rule and unicorns prance happily through towns made of candy, there was a Unicorn named Estel and a lion named Uriah.
 |
| (Estel) |
Estel and Uriah were both born to royal families. They were very well known in their society and since they grew up together they knew each other very well. You could say the two may have fallen a bit into love, but they would never admit that. (Shh, it's our little secret.)
 |
| (Uriah) |
But there came a time- the time they had both dreaded for so long, to decide who the crown would be bestowed upon. So the families shackled the two together and told them who ever could escape first, could take the crown.
~~~
The Lion and the unicorn
Were fighting for the crown;
For the sake of keeping their love secret, they played along. Working against each other, so that the town would not suspect anything. Estel let Uriah appear to win, but they had another plan in mind all along.
Their act was very convincing and they knew they were going to succeed in their quest to be together.
The lion beat the unicorn
All round about the town.
They traveled as a pair, but shackled as one all the way across, through and around the town while all the towns animals came to watch. Once they reached the edge of town, they knew it was time to run. Surrounded by the towns animals they turned to each other, knowing it was finally their time. They shared a kiss before breaking free from the shackles. The towns animals and Uriah and Estel's families were furious and disgusted by this sight. A unicorn was not to be with a lion, it was absurd and unheard of and absolutely NOT ALLOWED. Everyone started throwing food at them, white bread, brown bread even plum-cake. So they grabbed what they could before turning to run. (It was smart to have snacks for their journey.)
Some gave them white bread,
And some gave them brown;
Some gave them plum-cake,
And sent them out of town.
 |
| (Estel and Uriah) |
They knew their actions had banished them from the town and that now neither would take the crown. But they had their love, and now they could run free... without a care or worry about what others may think. After all it is forbidden a unicorn and lion be together, but love knows no boundaries and that town was just too small for a love that big.
 |
| (Estel and Uriah) |
So they lived happily together, on the outskirts of town. No one knew them, they were no longer part of their royal families since each of them had turned their backs on the couple when they found out about their secret romance. But they had all they needed, they didn't need to be someone to everyone when they were already everything to each other.
~~~
Author's Note. So as you can see, I am a sucker for love and I'm sure I'll be writing about love the majority of this semester (promise I will attempt to branch out though). You can read the original nursery rhyme at the beginning of my story, as well as within it. I wanted to put a little twist on it- though the nursery rhyme depicted this as a battle where the lion conquers the unicorn, I thought it would be a bit more intriguing if they were in love (hopeless romantic, ok?). I really didn't base my story off of anything, just my own imagination. Though it may seemed a bit star-crossed lovers like and give a Romeo and Juliet kind of feel, though no one dies at the end. As for the name Estel- I did have some inspiration. We actually have a unicorn head hanging on the wall in my moms house, she named her Estel. So it only seemed right to name the unicorn in the story Estel as well!
 |
| Meet the original Estel! |
Bibliography. This story is based on the nursery rhyme "The Unicorn and The Lion" in The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang.
I thought your adaptation was really sweet! After reading your introduction I can definitely understand where this story came from :)
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reason I was really drawn to, "For the sake of keeping their love secret, they played along. Working against each other, so that the town would not suspect anything. Estel let Uriah appear to win, but they had another plan in mind all along. Their act was very convincing and they knew they were going to succeed in their quest to be together." I thought that was a very interesting and creative take on this nursery rhyme. It made for a very lovely story, very original. I audibly awww'd when I read "But they had all they needed, they didn't need to be someone to everyone when they were already everything to each other."
From what I've gathered so far from the course I think you'll have a lot of inspiration to write on the topic of love! Of course it's never a bad idea to challenge yourself, but hey, if it's what you like to write about.... write all about it!
Also, freakin' cool unicorn head. Nice.
This made me smile. It was a very feel-good story. All of the pictures are beautiful. Before I realized you created the name I looked up the poem by title, and then googled "Ester and Uriah." Your page was the top link! I think that counts as some form of internet cool points.
ReplyDeleteI like that you flipped the script in a lot of ways. I tried to that too. You went bright and shiny, and I went dark and twisty. It was also cool how they had a plan. I think the best part was the line about snacks. You took that bit of the poem and made a joke out of it. Well done!
I have to ask, though, did they have kids? Was it like Shrek were the dragon and Donkey have kids with mismatched parts from both? Maybe a Unicorns head, but gold, and it would have both the mane and horn. Tall like a unicorn, and the athletic build of a lion. The tail for this tale is tough. Maybe it would be long hairs like a unicorn, but they would all have the puff at the end like a lion.
Anyway, I liked that it was a love story! I'm trying to mix things up too by aiming for something out of my wheel-house. I usually like heroes and humor. It took me a while to write dark and depressing. It's hard changing things up!