The Woman With a Heart of Gold

In a remote town covered in rich greenery located in Australia, lived the most beautiful woman the world had ever seen, named Mia. She had golden locks with vibrant green eyes and a freckled face. Her appearance was breathtaking, but within her was the most true, desirable, and constant beauty. Mia’s heart was gold without the slightest impurity. This is a quality all yearned to have, regardless of the consequences.

Just outside Mia's village in nearby waters, lived a crocodile named Henry. Henry was the oldest crocodile to reside in his area, considering most crocodiles died if they did not retrieve a kind heart. The crocodile must find a human with a completely pure heart, endlessly shining like gold. When they find the human, they must kill them by eating their heart. The challenge is finding a person who obtains a genuine heart, reflected in their life’s work. This can be attributed to their unwavering kindness, carrying out good deeds, and love for people from all walks of life. There was a myth in the village that crocodiles who find and eat a golden heart will live as they desire for eternity.

One day as Henry was searching for food, he saw Mia in the distance by a field of peonies. Mia was enjoying the scenery and gazing at the endless blue skies. This was immediately after she had been scolded by her mother for being too trusting of the world. It was hard for Mia to brush things off, because she believed everyone and everything was deserving of being cared for and appreciated. Mia was told not to wander, because what lurks in the waters was a signature of death waiting. The waters were murky and defiled. But even more so undesirable were the creatures that called the abandoned lake their home.

Mia was wise, but the landscape around her was too enticing. As Mia dipped her toes in the fresh water, the crocodile arose. Henry asked Mia, "My dear, what are you doing in these parts of the village?"

Mia responded, "Oh! You startled me. I am simply enjoying the gracious gift of life."

"There is much wonder to be seen, on the other side of the village next to a willow tree," Henry said.

"Oh my! Would you please take me there? I cannot swim, and I do not have a boat," exclaimed Mia.

Henry slyly gestured. His scaly body swished the water as he navigated to Mia. "It would be my pleasure for you to accompany me,” said Henry.

Mia stepped over and plopped down on Henry's back. The journey to new sights began. Along their journey, they saw a dove gracefully cutting through the air, furry creatures grazing in the distance, and the sun rise and fall. As Mia and Henry neared their destination, Henry stopped in the middle of the waters. "How foolish you are, my dear. Your heart is too gracious," said Henry. "I will eat your heart, and live a life of abundance for all eternity."

Mia sat on the crocodile's back sobbing because she was overwhelmed with frustration. Mia told Henry that he tricked her. Feelings of resentment and hatred boiled within her. She made it known to him that ugly hearts never reap a beautiful life. Henry refused to believe what Mia was saying. But Mia insisted she was telling the truth. "How do you think my heart became gold? If you let me live, I can show you." Henry found Mia’s counter very appealing. He did not want to actually hurt Mia, but he wanted to live forever. Nothing would stand in his way of achieving his goal. But, seeing that there was a choice to be made, Henry had a change of heart to let Mia live.

Henry took Mia’s offer. As soon as he reached their destination, he sat Mia down next to the old willow tree. Mia with a gracious heart said, "You have done well by me, so you will live and prosper." Henry showed a gracious heart by sparing Mia’s life. He could have devoured her heart, but he chose the latter alternative instead. What Henry failed to realize is that you can achieve a pure heart of gold by doing good deeds. It seems that this lesson was learned far too late for Henry to harvest the benefits. Unfortunately, as soon as Henry heard the truth about the myth, a mob of angry villagers came to Mia's rescue. One villager killed Henry with a single shot by a harpoon.

Mia cried out in sadness, because Henry willingly chose to spare her life. Although Henry initially deceived Mia, he chose to turn his deceit into goodness. This represented the truth that goodness exists in us all. Mia could not bring Henry to life, but she used him as an example of pursuing kindness in all aspects of life. She acknowledged his original intentions were ill, but her heart of gold would not allow her to disregard the goodness she saw in him. That is why Mia chose to use her journey with Henry as a way to open people’s hearts and strengthen their love for life. She stressed that we are only as good as the acts we commit and the intentions we manifest. Therefore, killing Henry did not reconcile or justify the villager’s actions because they were just as bad as Henry’s initial goal. Regardless, in the end Henry was remembered for his gracious gesture, not his malicious plot.

Author's Note:

I really appreciated the overall theme of the original story, and also wanted to center the story on a rounded lesson. This story is based off of "The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart" by Marie L. Shedlock. In the original story, the crocodile plans to capture the heart of a monkey for his wife to eat. He deceives the monkey appealing to his hungry desire of plentiful fruit. But along the way the crocodile reveals his true intentions to the monkey. The monkey thought swiftly and told the crocodile that there was a fig tree nearby full of monkeys' hearts to eat. The crocodile takes him to the tree, in exchange for letting him live. The crocodile gets tricked and journeys back home empty-handed. I changed the monkey into a strong female human character. I kept the crocodile, but changed the title of the story to center on the moral point of my story. In my rendition, the crocodile deceives a woman with a golden heart. He wants to eat her heart, because he believes he will live forever as the result. The woman convinces the crocodile to spare her life, in exchange for living forever, because the way to actually achieve a heart of gold is relative to fulfilling good deeds. But the crocodile learns too late and is killed as the outcome. Additionally, I altered the location of the plot but still made the scenery similar. The story ends with the crocodile being killed by a villager. I chose to focus on the aspect of being a good individual and leading as an example for others. I took out the rhyme towards the end, and added commentary regarding the overall moral of the story and its significance of being kind to others as a legacy to follow.