Week 10 Story: The Idiots in the Desert

The Idiots Who (Almost) Die in the Desert

"Hello?"

"Hey Athena, it's Set. Are you doing anything right now?"

"Nothing particularly interesting. Why do you ask?" Athena responded. 

"You need to come over, like right now. There are some guys traveling through the Thar Desert that you would be so proud of." 

"Ugh! Set, you know how much I hate watching people in your deserts. No one ever keeps their wits in your endless sand pits." 

Athena had a point. As the god of deserts and storms, I've see humans make a lot of stupid mistakes. Normally not something my friend Athena, the goddess of wisdom, would be interested in watching. But these guys...these guys were good. 

"Athena seriously," I told her, "you will love these guys. There's a caravan that's been traveling through the Thar for weeks like its nothing. They may make it out without so much as a sunburn." 

"Weeks? No way." Athena sounded amazed. "This I've got to see."

Wisdom

I normally don't like watching people travel through my deserts, especially the brutal Thar Desert. I check in every now and then, to make sure the oases are evenly dispersed and the animals have access to what they need, but when humans get involved...yikes. Doesn't usually end well. So I was shocked when I saw a merchant and his caravan traveling though the seemingly endless Thar. The group was huge. I never would have thought a group that big could survive. But I could tell these guys were different from the beginning. 

First, they only traveled at night, when the sand was cool and the unforgiving sun was hidden away. They also brought enough food and water to keep them healthy. They set up shades during the day while they rested. Finally, they had an incredible pilot. He navigated that group through the desert so efficiently. I was certainly impressed.

"Wow!" Athena exclaimed when she arrived and watched the caravan with me. "I am impressed. Finally, some humans who understand what it means to be wise." 

"I knew you'd love seeing them." I told Athena. "They'll be out of the Thar in just another day- oh no. What are they doing?"

"You have got to be kidding me." Athena stated. 

That's right folks, those idiots were dumping out almost all of their water. The pilot told them that they were only one day away from the city, so some genius thought it would be smart to shed the "extra weight" and dump out their supplies. 

"I mean, I guess they are going to be out of the desert by the end of the night," I said to Athena, "so it's not really a big deal..."

"Not a big deal!?" Athena yelled. "Those morons! And here I thought I had finally found a little wisdom on earth. Well I'm sick of it. These guys are going to have to just learn a hard lesson."

I don't really know how it happened, but all of the sudden Prometheus had arrived and he and Athena were thinking of a way to show these poor humans just how badly they messed up. 

"Aren't you two being a little dramatic?" I asked. The only response I got was an annoyed glance from Prometheus and an agitated glare from Athena. I stopped trying to reason with them after that. 

I'll admit, the plan they thought of was pretty good, if not a little cruel. When the caravan set out on what should have been their last hike, Athena and Prometheus made the pilot fall into a deep sleep, then turned the oxen's path just enough to make them walk in one giant circle all night long. They made sure to check with me to be sure the caravan would eventually be able to find some water, which I was glad of. Yeah, the guys made a mistake, but I really didn't want them to die in my desert. I was rooting for them. 

When the pilot woke up, just before sunrise, he looked to the sky and immediately knew what had happened. Poor guy. Everyone started to panic, and Prometheus and Athena just laughed and laughed. Okay, I laughed a little too. Eventually, they found the well that I knew was nearby. Not without effort, of course. We didn't want to make it too easy on them. Actually... I was kind of worried for a minute... but they found the water, hydrated, and definitely learned a very valuable lesson. 

"I bet those guys will think twice before they throw out all of their water in the middle of a desert!" Athena exclaimed. 

"That was pretty fun thought." Prometheus chuckled. "I love messing with humans. I just hope they think ahead a little better next time." 

They certainly did. A few weeks later, the same caravan was headed back through the desert. This time though, they made sure to keep their supplies until they had actually arrived to their final destination. I guess Athena and Prometheus' little prank worked. 

Author's Note: I chose to rewrite The Sandy Road from the Jataka Tales. This is the story of a merchant and his caravan that travel through a desert, then on the last day throw out their water and food supply. I kept the sequence of events pretty much the same, I just wanted to tell the story from a different perspective. I used gods from other cultures' mythologies as the dieties in charge of this story. Set (sometime Seth) is the Egyptian god of deserts, so I thought he would make a good narrator. Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom and Prometheus is a titan of forethought and a trickster. I thought this group would bring a fun perspective on the story and give more meaning to the events in an entertaining way. 

Set: God of the Desert

The Sandy Road by Ellen C. Babbitt

Sources: 

Set

Athena

Prometheus