The boy who taught ravens to laugh
There once was a truly awful young boy, hated by all those around him. He was strong, and thought that this gave him the right to be mean to those around him. He would push those weaker than him around for no reason but his own amusement. And amused he was. Any time he saw someone hurt, he would laugh a hearty malicious laugh.
One day as he was trying to make an elderly lady trip as she walked past him, he was surprised to feel a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to turn around. Behind him stood a small man, no taller than the boy himself, with pitch-black hair. He said: "You are young. If you keep walking this path, you are bound to stay alone. You can still change. Won't you?" The boy answered with a sneer: "Why would I? I'm the strongest person here! No one can stop me." The man shook his head. "Well, we'll see." The boy wanted to threaten the man, but with a sudden gust of wind, he was gone.
The boy continued to terrorise his neighbours and peers for his amusement, and soon became an awful, strong young man, still hated by those around him. He left his small town in favour of a bigger city, where he found more people to terrorise. He was mean and awful and felt no remorse. He still laughed any time he saw someone in pain. But now, something was different. Ever since he had spoken to the strange man, a raven had taken to following the man around, staring intently at everything he did. This annoyed the man greatly, and he would kick and spit at the raven whenever he had the chance. No matter how he tried, the raven always came back to him and continued its quiet observation. After a while another raven started following, and then another, and another. It didn't take long before the man had a small army of ravens silently watching his every move silently. He kept treating those around him poorly, and when he laughed, so did the ravens. The small man visited him again. He said: "You are wiser now. If you keep walking this path, you are bound to stay alone. You can still change. Won't you?" The man answered with a sneer: "Why should I? I'm still the strongest person here! No one can stop me." The small man shook his head, and before the young man could come with a threat, a sudden gust of wind came and he was gone.
Eventually the young man became an old man, still horrible, still strong, and still followed by the ravens. And the ravens laughed. Not just when he hurt someone else, not just at the misfortune around him. They laughed all the time. There were hundreds of them now, laughing and laughing, showing no signs of stopping. The old man felt he was going mad. He begged around the city for help, but no one felt an ounce of sympathy for him. For the first time, the old man felt miserable, but the sight of his own misfortune did not make him want to laugh like others' always had. He felt alone and sad and remorseful and terrible. The old man did not laugh at this pain. But the ravens did. They laughed harder and louder than ever before, for this was the most miserable misfortune they had ever seen, and the boy had taught them far too well.
Summary
This fairy tale was told long ago to children, with the intention of teaching them that being mean will lead to a miserable and lonely life.
It originates from dwarven settlements in the forests of Owhaug, where ravens are seen as loud pests.
Spread
This is one of the more globally known myths of Kiopenem, in some variation or another.
Cultural Reception
Today the fairy tale is seen as too dark for children, but milder versions and similar stories are still told for the sake of the moral.
In Literature
In horror literature and gothic writing, this is one of the more referenced fairy tales. The small man with pitch-black hair shows up in fairy tales and later literature from all over the world, interpreted as anything between a god or protector of the unfortunate, to a fae-creature who tortures others for its own amusement.
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Wow, really nicely-written!
Thank you so much!