Storytelling for Week 13: Fortune Favors the Bold

Once upon a time there were two men named Luke and Henry. They were best friends, having grown up together and known each other for many years. After many years of education and striving to learn the skills needed to succeed in life, these two men decided that it was time for them to go out into the world and travel. In this manner they would learn needed life skills, as well as forming connections and discovering how to take care of themselves and how to actually deal with other people. The men traveled together for over a month before they came across a stream one day. As it was a hot day, they decided to stop and rest next to the stream, in the shade of an old oak tree. They spoke of the future they hoped to have and their dreams, as well as the expectations that others held for them. Time passed quickly while they talked, leading to them setting up camp along the stream. They wanted to make sure that they were in a safe location and close to water, so this was an unexpectedly good discovery for them. Once they had set up camp, Luke and Henry spoke for a brief amount of time about random topics before going to sleep. In the morning, they discovered that someone had been to their camp while they were asleep, leaving behind a rock with a message engraved upon it. Upon closer inspection, the duo discovered that the message was actually a challenge that promised a grand reward upon completion. Luke, who was generally the more outgoing of the two, surprisingly decided he didn't want to waste his time on this. "After all," he said, "there is no guarantee that this will actually be true. It is likely that some random vagabond saw our camp and decided to play a trick on us for their own amusement." Henry, however, decided that he wanted to try to fulfill the challenge anyways. Because of this, the two came to the mutual agreement of splitting ways for a time. Luke continued on to the nearest town, while Henry worked to succeed and win his prize. He had to swim down the river through a whirlpool, followed by carrying a heavy lion statue to the top of the mountain. While the task was daunting, Henry was not scared. He fulfilled his end of the bargain and succeeded. Upon his arrival to the top of the mountain, he discovered a hidden city. The lion statue that he was carrying came to life and started roaring, bringing the people flooding out of the gates. Henry then discovered that the challenge was to find a successor for the king, who had just died. By choosing the bold path with no guarantee of success or even truth, Henry had proven his bravery and his ability to make difficult decisions with unknown consequences.

Authors Note
This is from the story Two Travelers.  I did not change very much, but I chose to emphasize the bond between the friends and how they acted rather than on the challenges faced. I thought this story was interesting because it taught the message that fortune favors the bold.

(Image of the goddess Fortuna; Image source Wikipedia)