Author's Note. The story was inspired by the happenings of the short story
The Goblin and the Sneeze. A goblin lives in an old house and eats anyone who sneezes. The only way to stop the goblin is for someone to say "God bless you" and then the sneezer has to say "The same to you!" One day a father and son realized they must stay in the abandoned house because they had to wait until dawn to enter the city. The goblin stirs up dust to force one to sneeze and the father began sneezing sporadically. As the goblin goes in to kill the father, the son sees the goblin and yells "God bless you!" and the father returns with "the same to you!" The goblin is hungry so he comes out angry. The son does not react with hatred or mistreatment, but instead is kind to the goblin. He suggests he come with the father and son and be a decent person.
Now comes the next story! It is the continuation of the father, son, and goblin and where they go from here.
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The son grabbed the goblin's hand. Gobby looked up at his new friend, a tear in his eye. The three got up to the gate and the security guard stopped them quickly.
"He can't come in here!" the security guard yelled with a finger pointed towards the city. His eyes were red and fuming, for he had heard the stories of the goblin.
"It is okay, my friend! He is a changed goblin; he no longer wants to hurt people!" the son pleaded with the guard. Gobby smiled as big as he could with his crooked and yellow stained teeth showing fully. The guard grimaced and then looked away.
"He is your complete responsibility." The guard pointed at the son and father. "If he so much as kills a kitten it is completely on you." This was unnerving to the father, but the son agreed promptly and did not hesitate to take blame for any troubles his new friend could cause.
The guard opened the gate slowly and motioned for the three to enter into the city.
Gobby did exactly as he said he would. He held hands with both the son and father, and they walked merrily along the paved main road. They came across little shops, food carts, and salesman throughout the streets. They hadn't realized it, but suddenly the streets were very full of other customers. The father purchased three giant, juicy apples and they each ate one on a quiet curb.
Suddenly, Gobby heard something he thought he had put behind him.
"Aaachoooooo!" sneezed the donkey tied to the eggs and chickens cart. Gobby's eyes started burning, and his fingers curled. He took a few more bites of the apple trying not to draw attention to himself.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Gobby announced as he stood up. He had eaten the entire apple, even the core. "I will just run to that alley right over there and be right back." He pointed to a small opening between carts about a hundred feet away. Before he could hear an answer, he hurriedly rushed toward the alley... and the donkey.
With a quick flick of his sharp claw he cut the rope tying the donkey to the cart. He discreetly pulled the rope behind his back towards the empty alley. In a matter of seconds he was standing on the donkey's back, ready to take the first glorious bite of flesh he had tasted in months. He dug his claws in and as his face got closer he felt a sudden pain in his neck. He could no longer move. Wait, no, he was spinning. It was dark. Gobby blinked. He was on the ground, sideways. So dark...
"Well, you didn't have to go to quite that length," the son yelled as he turned the corner just in time to see his father standing over the lifeless Gobby. "Maybe stopping him with your hands could have helped him learn better than cutting off his head!"
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Author's Note, continued. I did not want to give away what was going to happen in the initial author's note, but I felt it was important to explain the story beforehand. The original story ends where the son, father, and goblin go about their merry way because the son changed him to be good.
The stories in "The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India" are painfully sad. The majority of the characters end up dying a gruesome death because of their foolishness. I really enjoy happily ever afters, so this was a branch out for me. This story was one of the few with a happy ending so I decided to rewrite it to match the rest.
The picture I chose came from the book listed above. I wrote the part of the story where they enter the city to look like the picture depicted.
Bibliography. This short story is called
The Goblin and the Sneeze and it comes from the book The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India written by W. H. D. Rouse and illustrated by W. Robinson in 1897.
