No Shortcuts

This story was written by Miss Faith Medina and was used by Raffy Berina in the Storytelling Contest in the RSCUAA meet, 2nd place.

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Once in a land far, far away, there lived three young and talented friends who wanted to become the best leaders of their land.  They are Nadeil, Venus and Raffy.  They have the best of everything but they get bored doing the usual stuff, training and all.

 

So one day, they meet in their usual hangout under the coconuts in a grove, and plan for their long travel.  Then, when all things are set, they presented their plan to their parents.  To their dismay, however, their parents disapproved their plan.  

That night Raffy cannot not sleep.  He thinks of possible ways of how they can escape.  The next day, he calls his friends and they are all excited of the new plan.  However, they just have one problem.  They needed a good disguise to get out of the island. So they are left with one last option- to seek the help of a sorcerer.  The idea seems odd, but after some considerations, they finally agreed and sealed the plan. At the end of the week, they are all set to go.  They left their homes by midnight and met at the riverside near the forest where the sorcerer lives.  They can hear strange sounds as they walk through the thick woods.

“I feel some mosquitoes biting me!”, Venus complained.  “My feet are so tired”, Nadeil whined.  “This is just the beginning so don’t act like babies.  Just think about how challenging this is going to be for us, ”  Raffy reminded his two friends.

Hoooh, Hoooo Hoooo (sounds of an owl). “What’s that”, Nadeil asked looking tense and nervous. “It may be a bird”, Venus replied. Then a strong whistling sound echoes.  The tiger wakes from his sleep . .Grrrh, Grrh,Grrh , Grrhh. The wild ram jumps out “maahh, maahh maahhh” and the boar becomes irritated “weekkk. weekkk, weekkk.” by the noise the three were making.

The three friends were so afraid and clung to each other in desperation.  Suddenly, all the sounds stopped except for what seemed to be the pacing steps of – the sorcerer.  “What are you doing here?”  the sorcerer asked.  “Ah, Uhm, Ahh, we’re here to ask for your help,” Raffy finally regained the courage to speak. “What kind of help huh?” the sorcerer inquired.  Raffy explained their plan and the sorcerer became silent for a moment.  Then, he smiled and . . . “I am willing to help you but in two conditions: you will train my son to become an excellent archer and you will become animals until you finish the task.”“We agree,” the friends said in unison. “Very well then so take your sleep now and early tomorrow, your work will begin,” the sorcerer ordered.

The next day. . . Nadeil woke up surprised to see Venus starting to look different.  “Raffy, look! Venus, what big ears you have!, Nadeil exclaimed.  “Oh, Nadeil, that may be better, look at you, what big mouth you have! Hahahah. Raffy laughed.  Then, the ladies became silent and when they can no longer control it (giggles) Ohh Raffy, what big eyes you have!(continue giggling).  Not long after, Venus turned into a rabbit, Nadeil became a snake and Raffy changed to an owl.

(Sound of the snake) “Venus, what shall we do to train the sorcerer’s son?” Nadeil asked.  Venus just looked at her and tried to mimic the sound but could not (sounds of a rabbit). “ I can’t understand you,” Venus tried to explain.  (Sound of an owl) “Hello girls, what are you talking about?”  Raffy inquired.  Then they started to cry.  They realized they were tricked by the sorcerer. When the sorcerer heard the cries, he laughed at them.  “Hahahaha.... that is what you get if you try to escape.  You cannot always use the short cut,”  he stressed. And you know that.

Meanwhile, their parents set up and paid a rescue team trained for all sorts of battles and after three days, found the sorcerer’s place.  The soldiers performed a ritual, engaged in several duels, and finally defeated the sorcerer who gave up and released his prisoners.  The three friends were reunited with their parents.  

 “Thank you so much Dad, Mom.  From now on, we promise to obey you and be committed with our training.  We realize that we cannot be excellent leaders if we are impatient and disobedient persons.”

(as narrator, to the audience) So see, the way to being excellent is paved with long and arduous struggles.  There is no short cut..if we want to be the best leaders, we have to learn how to follower first.  Commitment and hard work are the best way towards the path to excellence. ..and that’s how my story ends.