Achilles and the Fire
Once upon a time there was a farmer named Achilles. He was a
hardworking and intelligent man. Achilles was from western Oklahoma where
there is plenty of wide-open space for farmers to grow their crops. The
competition in this area was pretty hectic amongst the farmers due to there
being a lot of him.
Achilles was a great farmer, but he did not do things on his
own. He worked for a man named Agamemnon, who was the owner of the plantation.
Achilles didn’t like the way he treated the other farmers who worked for him.
One day an old man came over by the farm to ask Agamemnon if
he could buy back his one-acre of land that he sold to him 10 years ago. Despite Agamemnon having over 1000 acres he
said no and shunned him away. The old
man went back to where he came from and wept. The man prayed to the gods that bad
things would come for Agamemnon. When
Achilles tried to warn Agamemnon about this he ridiculed him and said that he
does not even need him anymore. Achilles quit and said that he would never work
for him again. Achilles became furious and almost struck him with a fist until
the goddess of Athene came down to give insight to him. She said not to hit
him, because Agamemnon will offer Achilles 100x his salary and beg for him to come
back. He listened and withdrew back to his house.
Achilles knew that he was now jobless and would run out of
money soon, but he didn’t care. He vowed to himself that he would never work
for Agamemnon again.
Over the next few months it began to get hotter and drier
than normal. It had not rained in over 3 months and everyday it was over 105
degrees Fahrenheit. Before long a wildfire sparked 50 miles away from where
Achilles lived. The fire was spreading
fast and there were no signs of it slowing down. The Fire Department had a hard
time controlling it due to it spreading so much, and over the next few days the
fire was only 10 miles away. All of the
homeowners and farmers tried to help as much as they can, but they were
struggling. Some of Achilles best friends and ex- coworkers went over to his
home and begged for assistance. They also said that Agamemnon would give him
100 acres and money if he would help stop the fire. Achilles still refused and
told his friends that he vowed not to assist Agamemnon no matter what the
offer. The only way he would help is if he were in danger. So is friends went
back to deliver the news.
As the hours passed by the fire spread closer and closer
toward Achilles house. He finally
decided to help the others stop the fire. Achilles was very intelligent so he
knew exactly how to stop the fire from spreading any further. He informed the
people to dig a trench around the area of their homes and fill it with water to
block the fire from spreading. Once
blocked the fire department will be able to contain it. So the people did what
he said and the fire stopped spreading. Achilles saved the farmers and the
citizens! Agamemnon apologized and gave him is reward that he promised, but
Achilles refused the reward and thanked the gods for being on his side.
Authors Note:
I based my story from
Homer's Iliad in the Un-textbook. The reason why I chose this story is because I love reading classical stories especially ones that involves greek gods and goddesses. My main goals for the story was so try and re-create the dilemma that Achilles faced in the original story. In it Achilles was a warrior for Greece and King Agamemnon ridiculed him and said he did not need him. At the same time the army of Troy started to attack the Greeks. Achilles was requested for assistance, but he denied. Eventually he helped push back the army and kill their leader Hector. In my story the fire is supposed to represent Hector and his army. I also changed Achilles from being a warrior to a farmer. Finally I changed the setting of the story to a farm in Western Oklahoma to try and relate more to the culture here.
Bibliography
Author of the original story called The Iliad for Boys and Girls by Alfred J. Church (1907).
