Muhammad's Luck

Week 6 Story: Muhammad's Luck

This story is a sequel to Muhammad Tirandaz, the Archer.

Previously, Muhammad Tirandaz the archer became known for his abilities and ended up not only employed by the King, but he also earned the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the King’s armies. Now, this may make Muhammad sound like a very skilled warrior. However, the comical events related to Muhammad and how he drove off an entire army from their attack on the King’s city involved anything but skill.

Muhammad had been strapped to a horse which he did not know how to ride. This resulted in him uprooting a tree from the ground in his attempt to stop the horse once he had dropped the reins. The enemy army only saw the image of Muhammad holding a tree as he flailed about while attached to the horse. Muhammad had screamed a phrase while this happened, which led the enemy army to believe that the King's army intended to ambush them.

This silly but effective event is the reason Muhammad stood, once again, near the King’s throne as he listened to information about a possible new threat to the kingdom. A few of Muhammad’s top officers in the army joined him in his meeting with the King.

The King explained, “We have heard from some scouts and night guards that a suspicious figure has been lurking around lately. Muhammad, I want you and your officers added to the night patrol of the palace’s inner chambers. I fear this figure could be an assassin who is on a mission for my head.”

Muhammad immediately agreed to the King’s orders, as he was confident that he could be helpful again. It is uncertain if Muhammad realized he lucked out in the past or if he truly believed he had some impressive skills, but he remained determined to accomplish the task given to him. His officers nodded their heads as well soon after. The King had more to say to Muhammad and his team.

“There is one more thing. The inner chambers are rigged with traps, but guards who know what to look for should have no trouble getting around them. The traps are meant to assist us, so use them to your advantage if you encounter the suspicious figure.”

Again, Muhammad and all the officers nodded in acknowledgement of this information. The King dismissed them and they headed to their designated patrol areas to prepare for the night. Muhammad was not familiar with the traps the King spoke of, but he figured he would be able to deal with them anyway.

Later that night, the guards had started their patrols. Muhammad paced back and forth in a smaller part of his patrol area. He was bored. After a few minutes, Muhammad decided to walk further down the hall he was currently in. This hall was a couple floors above ground level and Muhammad had not been all the way down it yet. Muhammad had not seen any of the traps the King spoke of in the small area where he paced, but he also did not know what to look for.

This was a problem now as he unknowingly approached a trap that was in the middle of the hall, further down. The trap would drop Muhammad down two floors to ground level if he triggered it by stepping on the hidden pressure plate. Since this was Muhammad, of course he triggered it.

He stepped on the pressure plate and continued his walk for about a second before a spot on the floor opened and he immediately fell, unaware of what he had done. Luckily, the floors in the palace were not very high so Muhammad survived the fall with some injuries. Under normal circumstances, the trap is intended to drop whoever triggered it down to the bottom level and leave them flat on the floor.

In Muhammad’s case of his strange but hilarious luck, he landed square on the suspicious figure everyone was supposed to be looking for. Muhammad's weight flattened the figure as the trap dropped him upon them. The force from being dropped knocked the air out of Muhammad as he landed. Humans were softer than the hard ground, but that did not seem to matter much in Muhammad's case since he fell from two stories high.

Another guard in a nearby hallway heard the sound that echoed from where Muhammad landed on the suspicious figure and went to see what happened. The guard saw the pile of Muhammad and the figure and called for the other guards. Muhammad, somewhat dizzy and probably bruised, collected himself and stood while the guards arrested the suspicious figure and confirmed them to be an assassin.

The King and everyone else in the city praised Muhammad for his amazing feat of catching the assassin so quickly. Again, no one knew that Muhammad was just a silly man with incredible luck. Though nothing in these situations went the way Muhammad or anyone else imagined them, he was still able to be successful.

Author's Note

I wanted to write this story because the original was something I enjoyed very much. Muhammad is a determined but somewhat clueless character, so I really wanted to write a new story about him since the first one made me laugh a lot. I thought the best way to continue Muhammad's story was to tell another story where he does something silly but ends up saving the day again. I wanted this story to convey the idea of having the ability to be successful even if things do not go as planned. I think Muhammad is a great example of that idea. With that idea in mind, I thought this story was a good fit for my portfolio. Though this story has a different feel than the other stories featured in my portfolio, it still teaches a lesson that I think is important. For me, the lesson in this story is more than someone just having incredible luck, but instead it shows that not all is lost when something does not go as expected. By some means, it is still possible for good things to happen. Considering this lesson, I hope the story can help inspire people to not give up on whatever it is they are trying to do.

Bibliography. "Muhammad Tirandaz, the Archer" from Persian Tales, translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919). Persian Tales Unit.