I like how these stories all tie together through the frame of the Goblin and the king. It keeps the reader wondering, "Is the king going to get the corpse to the monk?" while still maintaining interest in the stories the goblin tells. That's one bonus-feature of tying your stories together; you get an added suspense element. And I could do this even with my single story for the week--tell is as a story told by a character who also has a goal of his own. Even if I go with my original baby-monkey story idea, the baby monkey could be relating the tale to his parents, or another character could be explaining what happened to the stolen gem.
Oh! I could tie the story of the baby monkey back to the goblin... maybe his adventure makes him bitter, because he never returns to his family, and he then becomes the goblin, pestering the king with stories... I'll have to see how the goblin's story ends, first.
Story of The Snake's Poison: "And the yellow mud dried and cracked, as if the lakes were broken-hearted at the loss of their lotuses." I think personifying nature this way really makes an impact on the reader. It does for me, anyway, and I'd like to utilize this style more.
The General's Wife: "He felt her beauty sinking deep in his heart like a victorious arrow of Love, and he fainted." Again, I love the imagery. The juxtaposition of love and being stabbed in the heart really drives the point home... of course, love can feel like a stab in the heart, I guess.
In the same story, the king dies because he burns with love for a woman he can't have; and he'd rather die than sin and marry her, even after her husband offered her to him. Although I wish there had been more clear motivation for this action on the general's part, the suffering of the hero, and his devotion to goodness over obtaining the thing he most desires, makes for a good ending, I think.
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