The King D-Bo
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Once upon a time, there was a King named David Boren, also known as "DBo" who was the King of the University of Oklahoma. Although DBo was very successful at what he did, one thing had been haunting him for years and years, causing DBo to lose sleep at night and even drive himself to insanity trying to figure it out.
There was a grade goblin somewhere around this University and DBo had spent over ten years trying to find him until one night, the grade goblin approaches DBo. The grade goblin was a goblin who at night, would fly around campus, able to get into any building and get into any room and any teachers computers and adjust grades and get test files.
DBo knew of this grade goblin but was never able to catch him and finally, on a foggy, rainy night, the grade goblin felt so sorry for DBo and thought he was so pathetic for not being able to find him for so long, he approached DBo's palace (pictured above). He said "DBo, I know I have haunted you for years and years and years and I am to the point where I feel more guilt than pleasure with all the good I am doing your students but all the pain and insanity I am causing you. Each night I will come by your palace and ask you a question, if the question is answered correctly, I will leave you and this place alone forever. If the answers are not answered correctly, I will continue to haunt you until you get the answer right." These questions consisted of just about anything, historical questions about the university, questions about the goblin himself, questions about DBo's staff and students and even athletics.
DBo accepted this challenge, as he was just ready to get rid of this goblin once and for all and stop all this craziness going on at his University. Keep in mind, this goblin was slick, he could fly, he could hide just about anywhere imaginable but you could never see him long enough to know what he really looked like in detail. On the other hand, DBo had nothing but knowledge. DBo was the smartest King in the world but did not have any powers, such as flying or hiding so he knew he had to rely on his knowledge to stop this grade goblin. DBo was so anxious and angry and wanted this grade goblin gone immediately that he studied every possible question that may come across him.
The goblin did not come by for at least a week, making DBo impatient and even more angry until finally after the eighth night of not showing up, the grade goblin shows up and flies on top of DBo's castle. The goblin says "The first question and only question of the night I will ask you is HOW MANY CASTLES ARE THERE ON THIS CAMPUS?" DBo didn't know the exact number so he started to panic, as he did not want to deal with the grade goblin much longer and wanted to get rid of him immediately. DBo did know one thing though and that was if the goblin was around you for more than 5 minutes, his powers would rub off on you. DBo started to make conversation by asking "well what do you classify as castles? Can you be more specific with your question? I would also like a few seconds to think" as DBo was saying anything at this point to try and pass time so he could get to that 5 minute mark.
The grade goblin knew everything but one thing and that one thing was that his powers could spread if he was around the King longer than 5 minutes. Eventually 5 minutes goes by and the goblin is still lingering around DBo's castle as all of a sudden DBo bursts into the air on track to catch the goblin. DBo flies around chasing the goblin for about an hour until the goblin eventually runs into the football stadium light pole and falls. DBo approaches the grade goblin and pulls of his mask only to discover Greg Fenves, the president of the University of Texas. DBo had finally caught the man who had been driving him to insanity over the last ten years. The grade goblin, identified as Greg Fenves was hacking into all of OU's computer systems to adapt everything that OU was doing so that he could bring it back to Texas. In the meantime, he would hack into professors' computers to adjust students grades and reported that the teachers were the ones adjusting the grades and that DBo was signing off on it. All this time, all this horror, all this pain, all this insanity, DBo had finally found the villain..... only fitting that that villain came from the University of Texas.
Author's Note: The Twenty Two Goblins is based on tales told by goblins, or "vetala" in Sanskrit, a supernatural creature that inhabits human corpses. The stories are told to the King Vikram. King Vikram faces many difficulties bringing the vetala to the tantric. Each time the king tries to stop the goblins, they tell stories that eventually end with a riddling question that the King is forced to answer. If the King is unable to answer, the vampire will remain in captivity. If the King answered it correctly, the vampire would escape and run back to his home, which was a tree. They are very interesting tales and told in 22 sections, hince the title "Twenty Two Goblins." I will admit I was not crazy about the overall story itself and I couldn't find myself getting really interested in it but I took the plot idea and kind of had some fun with it as I made a story involving David Boren and the University of Oklahoma student body. I thought involving the University of Texas might add even a little more spark to it and an ending that no one was expecting. The whole goblin and king thing really got me thinking and I have been meaning and wanting to write a story involving OU's campus and even David Boren as a "king" because i think it allows the students to really relate to the story a lot better and makes it much more interesting to read.
Bibliography: Twenty Two Goblins by Arthur Ryder (1917)
