"The Disk" is a 1975 short story written by
Argentinian
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...
writer
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...
. It appears in the collection ''
The Book of Sand
"The Book of Sand" ( es, El libro de arena, links=no) is a 1975 short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges about the discovery of a book with infinite pages. It has parallels to the same author's 1949 story " The Zahir" (revised in 1974 ...
''.
Synopsis
The story deals with a woodcutter who lives in the midst of a deep wood in old England and who has never seen the sea. He tells the reader of the time a man appeared at his door and asked for lodging.
The woodcutter notes that the man was elderly, the visitor referring to England as "Saxony" which usage at the time was a sign of age.
The next day the visitor wishes to leave. Before he does, he claims that he is a King and is descended from
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
. He tells the woodcutter that he is exiled, but that he will always be a king because he holds the Disk of Odin.
The visitor claims the Disk of Odin is the sole thing in the world that has but one side. The visitor opens his hand and "shows" the disk. The woodcutter sees only an empty palm but when he touches it he feels a chill in his fingers and sees a flash. He lies that he has a full chest of gold and wants to trade it for the disk, but the visitor declines. When the visitor turns to leave, the woodcutter kills him with an axe and the visitor drops the disk face side down.
The woodcutter drags the visitor's body and throws it into the river. He then comes back and searches for the disk, which he never finds.
See also
*
Bibliography of Jorge Luis Borges
This is a bibliography of works by Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet, and translator Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986).
Each year links to its corresponding " earin literature" article (for prose) or " earin poetry" article (for verse). ...
References
*
1975 short stories
Short stories by Jorge Luis Borges
{{1970s-fantasy-story-stub