The Jester and the Stranger's Language

The Jester and the Stranger's Language
By Swapna Dutta; Illustrations by Sudheer Nath

There was a King in a far away land who loved getting to know and interacting with his citizens. One day, there was a man who came to court whose background was unknown. No one could guess because he spoke several languages flawlessly. His job was to read aloud the scriptures to the King, which he did in perfect Sanskrit. He became known simply as, "The Scholar". The King was curious as to the Scholar's origins and so one day, he seeks the help of his wise Jester who eventually finds the truth out by sneaking into the Scholar's home at night and then stepping on the Scholar's toe in the dark, thus prompting the startled Scholar to cry out in his own language. The King, the Scholar, and the Jester become friends.


The Jester and the Stranger's Language by Swapna Dutta; Illustrations by Sudheer Nath . Pitara kids network. Web 4 February 2011.
< http://www.pitara.com/talespin/folktales/online.asp?story=62&page=1 >

Audience This is not quite a story for younger audiences because there isn't much action. Rather, the interesting thing about the story is its subtlety. It makes one think about the intricacies of language. So, younger audiences would not appreciate the subject matter. It's perfect for adults, and particularly good for people interested in learning other languages.

Why did I choose to tell this story? From its title to the story's plot, this story caught my eye because I’m a language teacher & learner and it’s every language learner’s dream to learn a language so well that no one can tell that it’s not your language.

For the language classroom:
This is not a "Ha-Ha" story, but it is an interesting one. It went over very well in the ESL classroom. They readily predicted and could identify with its ending. Some of the suggestions given to me in our storytelling class that I'll need to heed are- Make the "discovery" more into a moment -say something like, " and the jester got what he came for." Also, make the final scene of the story in the throne room more clear. With retelling the story, I decided to have the Jester simply arrive early the same day and "whisper" something to the king.