Week 2 Story: The Man who was a Blacksmith

There once was a man who made his living as a blacksmith. The work was hard, the shop was hot, and he did not feel well. He prayed to his God, "Oh please Lord, make me a stone. I go to work every day and sweat bullets, I cannot operate in this extreme heat. I need some peace. Being a stone in the cool mountains would be much better."

His Lord made him a stone. 

One day, a stone cutter came along, collecting stone for his work. He began to cut into the stone that used to be a man. "OUCH!" The stone cried out in pain. "Dear Lord, this is too painful, please make me a stonecutter. Yes, my life would be much better as a stonecutter." His God did just that, and thus he was a stonecutter. 

This new job as a stonecutter proved to be very tiring. He felt even more tired than in his life as a blacksmith. One day, while resting from his work as a stonecutter, the man was basking in the sun, he thought it felt nice and thought it might be pleasant to be the sun. "Dear Lord, this life as a stonecutter is much too tiring. Please make me the sun." The sun he became.

The Sun proved to be hotter than his life as a blacksmith. Looking at the moon, he thought it would be cooler to be the moon. "Dear Lord, Please make me the moon, for the sun is much too hot."

His Lord made him the moon. This was the worst of all, he thought, for the sun was shining directly onto him, making him even hotter than when he was on the sun. 

"Please Lord, make me a blacksmith. I miss my old life and at least in that life, I know what to expect.

His Lord did not act, instead, he spoke to the man for the first time. "I am weary to make you a blacksmith. You can't seem to make up your mind and you have asked to be the moon, so the moon you shall remain."

"Please my Lord!" The man cried out in agony. "If you make me a blacksmith I will not wish to change or take your mercy for granted. Please, I cannot go on as the Moon."

His Lord, the merciful God he was, considered this and restored him to his original life. 

It is there, in his old yet new life, where he found true happiness. He went to work every day joyfully, taking pride in his craft despite the heat that accompanied his work. He even longed for it when he was away. He eventually met a woman and started a family with her, going to work every day with pride so he could provide for them. Even when his work started to strain him again, he didn't mind because he was doing it for his family. He was finally at peace with his life. 

(blacksmith: spiral on fire by bernat...)

Author's Note:

This is a basic retelling of "The Man in the Moon," with a twist ending. The man goes through all of the same steps he did in the original story, exploring the same theme of being discontent in one's current position no matter what it is. However, instead of leaving the man as the moon, as the original story did, I decided I would give him his final wish. This choice represents the possibility for growth. Yes, we all make mistakes in our life. In his case, it was that he was longing for a life that was not his own instead of enjoying the pleasures that he could find in his current life. Through his experiences, the man learned the value of his original life and was able to grow and find true happiness upon his return to that life. I also turned the wise man in the original story to his God, making the merciful choice more fitting for the ending in my retelling.

Bibliography. "The Man in the Moon" from Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson. Web source.