Week 3 Storytelling: Sneaky Criminals

It was a rainy and cold day in 1850.  Three robbers and an elderly woman were gathered around a small table in the corner of a crowded pub.  As they whispered plans to one another, their server brought them a loaf of rye bread and a slab of aged cheese.  When the server caught wind of the word "kidnap" murmured, he couldn't help but quickly look up and then tried to look down naturally in order to play it off.  The criminals noticed what had happened and told the boy to meet them behind the restaurant.  The server assumed they were going to pay him off to stay quiet so he followed them out back.  Within seconds, the robbers and the woman were face-to-face with a mule instead of a young man.  They high-fived each other while transferring their gold and luggage from their trusty, but exhausted, horse to the mule they now had. Through the pouring rain, the four of them invited the biting cold as they walked to a neighboring hotel and carried out the next part of their plan.

The robbers were informed by a doorman at the hotel that a wealthy diplomat and his daughter were staying in the hotel for the weekend.  The robbers winked at the doormen while he slipped them a key as they entered the hotel and walk casually up the stairs to the third floor.  They saw the diplomat's daughter just leaving her room and they sneaked out from around the corner and bound her from behind while pressing their dirty hands against her mouth to keep her silent.  Completely shocked, the girl did not even have time to resist and the men and the elderly woman pulled her along as they whisked her away into their own hotel room.  The girl was obviously shaken and tried to reason with the criminals but to no avail.  In order to keep her from asking too many questions, the old woman tried to distract her by telling her a story.

Author's Note:  My storytelling post is based off of The Captive Woman that is a part of Apuleius's "Cupid and Psyche" story from The Golden Ass.  The story was translated by Tony Kline.  I chose this story because I thought it was interesting and didn’t require too much background to re-tell.  For example, I didn’t want to do a later story from the unit because I thought the reader might have been more confused.  I wanted to make the story a little bit more modern but also make it based in the past enough to allow a picture of gas-lanterns, high-profile criminals, and dreary nights set in.  I kept the idea of the story the same but just added in different details/imagery.  For example, there was no mention of a pub where the criminals discussed their plans – I wanted to add that in as well as the dreary night so the feeling of suspense would hopefully be felt.  Also, the time period was a bit later than when the original story was written.  My version was set in the 1800s when I imagine gas lanterns were used and criminals were more able to run rampant.  I chose the image that I did in order to provide a face to the criminals.  Although I found these pictures on my own and they’re not from the story, I thought they would do the job. 

 

Two criminals - a couple of the kidnappers may have looked like this.

Source:  Wikipedia