The Dancer
The Deceitful Director and the Dancer
There once was a deceitful director that lived in New York City. He lived his life trying to one-up all of the other directors in Broadway. While he had directed many successful shows in the past, none of his recent musicals were striking up an audience. He knew that his shows were lacking talent, so he decided to scout out some of the best performers in the city.
Meanwhile, many singers were unhappy with the roles they had been booking. Their characters didn’t fit their vocal ranges or their talents were not utilized enough. Unless they booked a new gig soon, many were going to be struggling to pay the rent and be forced to live on the streets of Manhattan. But one day, a turn of fate appeared at the studio’s door…
“Hello singers! I am here to find the most talented singers and place them into the greatest show Broadway has ever seen! I need all vocal parts – sopranos, altos, tenors, baritones. There is a space for everyone in my show IF you can make it to the top!” exclaimed the director.
Because the singers felt doomed, none of them believed that they could change their luck let alone be good enough to make his show. All but one singer: Cynthia. Cynthia was the the best singer in the group, so she decided to take the director up on his offer. The director showed Cynthia around the new theater, allowed her to try on some costumes and even let her perform on stage.
(New York State Theater. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons)
When Cynthia came back to announce how wonderful her experience was, all of the singers were envious and wanted to become a part of the new show. One by one, the singers lined up to audition and be cast in the new show. However, once the director had completed his cast, he told them that they would be performing on a cruise ship rather than on Broadway. Desperate for jobs, the singers reluctantly agreed to join Cynthia. What the singers did not realize is that this ship would never come back to New York…
One day, the director realized that his “show” would be nothing without dancers to accompany his singers. After many attempts to cast a dancer, one dancer, Alicia, agreed to check out his theater. After learning of the show being on a cruise ship, Alicia became suspicious. She realized that she had not seen any of the singers since they had left on their cruise.
Being the clever dancer she is, Alicia refused to live on the cruise ship. Instead, she demanded that a private yacht be bought for her to live on, and then she would get onto the cruise ship only during her performances. The director reluctantly agreed, knowing that this would cost him a lot more money, but he knew it would be worth it to complete his evil plan.
On the day Alicia boarded her yacht, she asked the director to join her as they sailed away. While Alicia and the director sipped on celebratory drinks as they sailed into the sunset, Alicia sipped with a smile as the director choked and fell onto the deck. She had poisoned the director. So although she was alone with only her drinks and yacht, she sailed off into the sunset knowing that she was truly embarking on the greatest show of the seas.
(Riding off into the sunset. Web Source: Pixabay)
Author Note and Bibliography: This story was inspired by The Cunning Crane and the Crab from The Crab and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. In this story, a cunning crane sees that a pond inhabited by fish was drying up. Seeing this, he notes a wonderful opportunity for an abundance of food... for himself. However, he knew he would have to trick the fish into his beak. He tells the fish that he will carry them one by one in his beak to a new pond that is full of life. This new pond would become their new home. After one fish agrees to test the waters and be the guinea pig in the crane's beak, he returns to retrieve the good news of the pond to the fish community (the fish that agrees is Cynthia). One by one the fish accept the crane's promise only to be eaten! Finally, a crab took the crane up on his offer (the crab in my story is Alicia). However, he refused to be carried inside of his beak. Instead, he grasped the crane’s neck with his claw as he flew to the new lake. The crane tried to trick and eat the crab, but since he was at the mercy of the crab's grasp, he eventually agreed to take him to the pond. Just before entering the pond, the crab broke the crane’s neck and cut his head off, leaving the crab to prosper in the new pond.