Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins, Part A

Introduction

Okay, these characters have interesting names. I wonder if the message of this story is going to have a play on words involved.

King rewarded for his generosity

Ooh, the king thinks that all the fruits have jewels in them. Now he's greedy = bad thing to come

Oh, just kidding. All of the fruits had gems in them. However, I still think something bad is to come out of greed.

This truly is a brave king if he agreed to that so easily.

Interesting. There is some magic involved in this story, and the goblin has yet to prove that he is a good character. I wonder what his story holds.

The Three Lovers

"feasting on the beauty of her face" - kind of a creepy line

Woah. That was sudden!

Jeez, what is going on in this story? People really didn't like crying children back then.

Oh, okay. So all forgiven then? Killing children/people is okay when you can bring them back to life, apparently.

Oooh, here's the dilemma. The king is brave, but is he wise as well?

The answer he gave is interesting, but I'm not so sure that it's true. It must be some sort of cultural behavior that made the answer so obvious and acceptable to the king.

Brave, Wise, Clever

Counselor, wife, daughter = Moonlight

brave, wise, clever

"given" to me - another example of women in the past being treated like objects

I really don't like the answer this time. While it true that the brave man defeated the giant, one could say that he was simply working for someone as a soldier or something.

If there is another similar riddle, I'm going to try and guess the correct answer.

The Girl, Her Husband, and Her Brother

temple for goddess, bath for goddess where people come once a year to bathe

These are some interesting names.

That was a really strange puzzle. The answer seemed too plain, but I guess it only makes sense!

Food, Women, Cotton

Woah, that's pretty intense. As an eldest brother, you would think that he would show some leadership and take the turtle himself.

I don't understand how being a "specialist" in any of those particular domains has to do with carrying a turtle. Are they really that afraid of touching something "slimy"?

Could the hair not have been planted? It could have even been tested to make sure an imprint was left on the third brother's skin. 

Food, Women, Cotton 

from the UnTextbook

The Four Suitors

I wonder why the goblin doesn't want to be taken to the monk. Is he  going to be sacrificed or something like that?

Husband that is good-looking and knows a science

1 - tailor, 5 suits/day, give 1 to god, 1 to brahman, 1 to himself, 1 to wife, 1 to sell for a living.

2 - farmer, understands beasts+birds

3 - soldier, best swordsman

4 - can resurrect dead creatures

I didn't catch that the king was a warrior, or maybe all the kings back then were also warriors? I was honestly thinking that he was going to say the tailor, because he actually provides a service for the wife. Battle/bringing back dead creatures/talking to animals doesn't seem as obviously useful in a day to day life.

It is worth noting that the king is becoming visibly frustrated by the goblin's riddles. Is he about to make a mistake?

The Three Delicate Wives

King with 3 wives - riddle has to deal with the wives?

Bibliography: Twenty-two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder. Source.