Week 3 Storytelling: Hanuman in Ravana's Court

      Hanuman pats himself on the back as he realizes the clever plan that he's made up. If he lets Ravana somehow capture him, then maybe, just maybe, he can convince Ravana to give up his foolishness and surrender to Rama. So instead of sneaking around quietly in the woods and trying to avoid trouble, Hanuman starts causing crazy ruckus and chaos around the kingdom in hopes that Ravana will hear about it and come out to capture him. Sure enough, after about 30 minutes of troubling the citizens of the land and causing mad chaos, Indrajit sneaks up behind Hanuman and captures him. When Hanuman wakes up, he is surrounded by Ravana and his entire court. 
Ravana looks at him and says, "What are you doing here Hanuman? Why are you causing trouble in my Kingdom? For even stepping foot here, I should have you killed."
Hanuman looks up and says, "Ravana, do you know how strong Rama is? You have taken Rama's most precious possession and love of his life, Sita. You have broken his heart and led him on a wild goose chase around so many countries. Rama is overwrought and will definitely defeat you when he gets the chance. Don't you think that maybe you should surrender instead of embarrassing yourself later on?"
       A flash of anger passes through Ravana's eyes and then a conniving smile falls in it's place, "Hanuman, you think that Rama, out of everyone, can defeat me? You must be out of your mind. I am better than Rama in every way, shape, and form. I can defeat Rama with my eyes closed and I will show this to you as soon as I get my hands on Rama. That coward doesn't deserve a beautiful woman like Sita. You are a fool Hanuman and you deserve to be killed."
Before Hanuman can respond, Vibhishana steps in and says, "Ravana, my dearest brother, stop! Hanuman is only telling you this for your own good. Why not listen to him and give him a chance to explain himself? Hanuman is loyal to his friends and it is not fair that you kill him just because he is here to warn you about what his friends might do to you. Why don't you show him the truth of your words instead and kill Rama first? Actions speak louder than words Ravana."
Ravana chews over everything that Vibhishana just said and decides that Vibhishana is absolutely right. But Ravana isn't content with just letting Hanuman off with a warning. No God, let alone a foolish Monkey God, can walk in here and just insult him the way that he did. So without warning, Ravana sets Hanuman's tail on fire and tells the court to dismiss him and throw him out in the forest. The guards pick Hanuman and his burning tail up and start guiding him to the gates of the city. Before they realize what's going on, Hanuman turns around, whips his tail, and quietly but quickly sends out a curse that burns the entire city of Lanka down. 

(Image Information: Photo retrieved from Ravana burning Hanuman's tail)

Author's Note: I chose this story because when I was doing my reading assignment earlier, I realized that the story of Rama and Hanuman in itself, could have so many added details and dialogue. I was already imagining the extra events and details when reading and when I saw this as one of the prompts, I decided it was a great way to portray what I was thinking in my head when reading the story. My main goal of this story was to show what Ravana and Hanuman were thinking while they were interacting.

Bibliography: Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.