Storytelling Week 6: Backyard Exile

Tootsie, the face of exile (Photo by Me).

Waffle, the face of exile (Photo by Me).

The Owen puppies approached the forest as night began to fall, they walked directly into the darkness not looking back on the life that they have left behind them.

Tootsie looked to Waffle to talk about what was to come of them now that they have been banished to the backyard, a backyard that looked a lot like a forest, recognizing that they did not know the next time they would be allowed to reenter the house. Tootsie told Waffle that they must live among the squirrels, the wild cats and the birds as peacefully as they can. As they embarked on their first night in the big outside world Waffle began to think of ways to help them during this time of trial and tribulation.

Waffle thought to call upon the great Sun God, she asked that the Sun God watch over them and help them during this time of need. She recognized the Sun God as the creator of all the creatures that now surrounded them in their new living space. Waffle and Tootsie began to fall into a slow sleep after Waffle had finished calling upon the Sun God for help.

They awoke to the next morning to a bowl that was filled to the brim with food, food that was going to help them sustain in their new journey. For twelve long cold brutal nights Waffle and Tootsie were banished to the backyard. This was more than a backyard though to two dogs who had lived their lives in the comfort of the indoors their whole lives. They entertained themselves by chasing the squirrels and laying under the warm sun. Waffle and Tootsie were promised that one day they would return to the safety of the indoors. This promise filled them with hope and helped them to not stress or fret too much about their current situation.


Authors note:
This story is based on the Life in the Forest story from the Mahabharata. In the orginial story the Pandavas enter exile into the woods. Their exile last twelve years and they spend their time speaking with the brahmins and sages. They also call upon the Sun God to help them in their times of exile. The story talks about some of the things they do during their exile to the forest. I thought that this story would be easily adaptable to make my own. I tweaked the story a little bit and of course incorporated my two dogs into the story. I did eliminate some of the characters because I only have two dogs and couldn't fill every role, but that worked out to be alright because not everyone of the Pandavas was mentioned in the original story.