The Tale of a King

and A Magpie

VERONICA R. CABIGTING
 The Tale of a King and
A Magpie

ONCE, there was a king named Agelaus

who was obsessed with power. He was oppressive
yet fearful and feared the power that his children
may hold. He cast them deep within his kingdom,
in the darkness of its prison, helplessly bound in
chains.
 Basilia, his beast wife, was enraged. Despite
pretending that she understood her husband's fear
of losing his superiority to his sons, she secretly
inspired them to join her in a plot to overthrow
Agelaus. None replied. Most were afraid of the
idea of defying their father.
It was then when the youngest, Odysseus,
stepped up.
 "I will help you, mother.

I have grown too tired of this

prison. I feel nothing but hate for
\ Father and his cruelty to my
siblings and me.
I've been aching to release
us from the prison he
unjustly imprisoned us.”
That evening, Basilia used her magic to summon a small
Magpie that could shred the chains into pieces. She
instructed the Magpie to shred the chains binding Odysseus
to his cell, which the Magpie followed. It only took a few
minutes for a quarter of the chains to be shredded. At that
very moment, Odysseus felt a rush coursing through his
veins. He was finally getting out of that hell. The freedom
he longed to have.
 It was there. The sense of
desperation in Odysseus’ eyes. He saw
in his eyes that he’d do anything to enact
revenge on his father. But his conscience
can only take revenge so long as the
action is non-fatal.
Or can’t it really?
 “A fine set of nails you
have. Very pointed,” spoke
the Magpie.
Odysseus looked at the
bird, confused. “What are
you suggesting?”

“I am suggesting that you, a beastman, would be

able to put an end to the king’s life without much effort.”
“Call me all you want. But one thing I am certain
of–I am no savage.”
“Imagine the good you could do for this kingdom;
how better it would be once you become king.

And… for all that he had done to you and

your siblings, isn’t this a good enough price
to pay?”
 What Odysseus didn’t know was that the Magpie
was the embodiment of his inner thoughts. The thoughts
that were begging to be released.
Without hesitation, he striked, slashed and sliced,
all before the bird’s eyes. Years of anger and resentment
towards the king inspired Odysseus’ arms to tear
through every bone and strand of flesh.

And the king was cut into

bits and pieces, never to
be recognized again.
 Odysseus had done the deed in cold blood.
But the kingdom didn’t know that. Along with the
townspeople, his siblings granted him the title king. But
what would a young man who knows nothing of ruling
do when given a chance to rule?
Nothing. The kingdom’s
economy declined. Everyone’s
day-to-day life quality declined.
Soon, the townsfolk start fawning
over an exiled princess from
another kingdom. She was
responsible, capable, and
everyone trusted in her capability
to make the kingdom better
again.
Odysseus and the bird force
her into marriage, in hopes of
doing so.
 Soon after their marriage, Odysseus became
intimidated by his wife’s dominant attitude. He disliked
how she would give orders to their people, and how she
would spend all her time thinking about her plans for
the kingdom.
“She is too obsessed with the kingdom’s
wellbeing,” Odysseus muttered.
“Perhaps her aim is to overthrow you as king by
showing the people more of her good qualities,” replied
the Magpie.
Odysseus became paranoid. He ended his wife’s
life to make sure she doesn’t betray him. And one
by one, ate his sons so that they wouldn’t kill him.

After time passed, Odysseus

became afraid of the bird too.

But the bird wouldn’t die. It would

keep reappearing every time Odysseus
tried to end its life.

Soon, he understood.
He wasn’t talking to a bird. There was never a
talking bird. He had believed that there was a
talking bird, due to him wanting someone to
support his actions.
And just like that, it was like history repeated itself.
Odysseus became the very person he loathed.
 SUMMARY

This is a story about a king’s child, who at

first only wanted to be free together with his
siblings. Soon after he feels what it’s like to be
free and to have power over everybody, he
becomes selfish and only wanted to keep that
power for himself. Turning his inner thoughts
into a bird he could talk to in real life, he was
able to keep up the act until he finally realized
what he had done wrong.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Veronica Cabigting is a
Grade 9 student from SPIS,
one of the most prestigious
schools in Saudi Arabia. She
had always been interested
in literature, often making
storybooks as a child. That
was until she lost her bag
filled with her first book
series named “Mama de
Papa.”