There were a lot of things I liked about this story, in particular that the king, despite being of royalty, was an avid hunter and he did so with his lifelong companion, his goose.
Normally royalty at this time doesn't really do this, unless they are well protected by their knights or some other sort of military force. I know in ancient times, the kings were the strongest warriors and that's why they got to rule over everyone else, but since then things have changed.
Another key aspect I want to focus on is the main conflict of this story: the goose's death which forces the king to desperately take the mysterious man's offer to bring him back. Not only is the relationship touching, but it shows a normally very powerful man at his weakest point. It was also a big theme in the story, that the king was grower older and thus weaker.
For my story:
1. The main character needs to be someone who normally has a great position of power, but also has a soft spot for some sort of animal companion who partakes in one his/her dearest hobbies. This tight bond is crucial. (Business leader, politician, Military head, Professor, etc.)
2. The main conflict doesn't have to involve aging, but something needs to change that forces the main character to experience loss of her companion. The pain needs to be so strong that she does something desperate to regain the companion. (Toxic environment, malicious human, violent animal fight, complete gunfire accident, etc.)
3. The resolution doesn't have to end as well as it did for the king. If I kept with the original plot, then the main character would make some sort of deal, give up something else that is valuable to him in exchange for some magical healer / wizard healing / reviving his companion. Otherwise, the king's misfortune could never be relieved despite him trying to give up / act in order to save his companion. This is much darker than the original tale, but it's more realistic and relateable.
Initial idea:
Roberta is a powerful CEO now, but she's been with the company since its inception. She's well respected by all of her employees, and she's won countless awards from the most prestigious of business journals and magazines across the world. However, she has a secret hobby that she rarely reveals to anyone. On the third weekend of every month, Roberta goes geocaching, an activity where adventurers seek out treasures left behind by fellow treasure hunters around the world. She's not alone in this endeavor, however! She also brings along her most loyal of friends : her golden shepherd, Ollie. They've been doing this ever since Ollie was a just a little pup, and its Roberta's favorite thing in the world, even better than tripling her company's stock value every two years.
Good things can't always last though it seems. One day while in the middle of a particularly tricky geocache hunt, Ollie runs ahead like he normally does, but this time he seemed a lot more anxious to get to the prize. Roberta finally catches up to him, unfastens the rope that surround the box that Ollie had been clawing incessantly, and reveals some doggie treats. Before Roberta can snatch them away from him, Ollie snatches one in his mouth and swallows it without hardly chewing.
From there, Ollie suffers some kind of breakdown, poisoning that Roberta is unable to do anything for. (She's very far away from her car).
From there, it could again go two ways: Roberta realizes that one of her business enemies is behind this and somehow found out about her hobby.
OR it could introduce a magical person of some sort, who desires Roberta's company, or shares, or position, or something else valuable. She only is able to get Ollie back after giving a lot up.
Bibliography: "King O'Toole and His Goose" from Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. Source.
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