Storytelling for Week 3: The Failed Heist

Authors Note: In Apuleius's story, the scene opens up to Lucius, who is a man turned into a donkey, in a bandit camp with a girl who got taken hostage by bandits from the night before. His story gives no details on how this came about. The bandits are all sad about their fallen friends, and lamenting about how the heist did not work out. So I felt like this gave me enough details to write a background story on how the heist happened. I knew from the few details in the story what I needed to include, and also what I needed to elaborate on. While I understand why Apuleius did not add this in his original fable, I thought that it would be fun to write and a good addition.

I chose the image because it had the donkey in it, who's perspective I wrote the story from. I thought it was a good image that helped to personify the donkey, and give the reader something to imagine as they read my story. In this image, he looks not willing to eat and work with the person, which is kind of how he is made out to be by the author.

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As soon as the sun set, the bandits began to break camp and pack up their things. Lucius, the donkey, could feel the excitement in the air, for they knew that the potential for a huge payout was in front of them. He had seen them scouting the area for weeks, trying to find where the owners hide their valuables, and planning how the best way to approach would be. 

As they began to ride out, their large group of about twenty men grew silent, for stealth was absolutely necessary. Lucius was also a vital part, because they were going to use him to carry out the valuables. He really would've rather stayed at the camp, but he had no choice. As they approached the estate, they readied their weapons. They got to the back door of the house, and forced their way in. Lucius was wearing saddle bags on his back, so they brought him inside too. A few of the robbers immediately went upstairs to make sure that the guards were taken care of. The others began filling my saddle bags. 

Soon, a loud commotion from upstairs was heard. There was lots of yelling and then several guards came down. The robbers who had gone upstairs apparently had not done their job. Most of the robbers around Lucius immediately began to panic and drew their weapons. They engaged in battle with the guards while a few others began to explore other parts of the house in search of more loot. 

Screaming was soon heard as the robbers returned, one of them carrying a girl. "She tried to club me!" the robber yelled. Apparently she had been hiding and tried to strike the robber in order to defend her parents estate. He grabbed her because he could not bring himself to kill this girl. He threw her on the back of Lucius, in the process knocking off the saddle bags, and hit Lucius on the behind to make him move while more guards amassed in front of him. Soon he turned and ran, with a few others that survived the attack. The spoils had all be lost. It was an utter failure, all they had to show for the raid was a single girl. But, there was hope, for she had rich parents who would surely pay a ransom for her. 

Donkey from Apuleius's story

Source: UnTextbook

Bibliography: This story is based on Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche written by written by Apuleius and translated by Tony Kline. Link