Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Juan Camilo Vsquez Barrera

Childrens Literature
Final Project

The Bottle Imp

By Robert Louis Stevenson
Keawe an Hawaiian islander, decides to take a vacation to San Francisco. While
touring the city and admiring the beautiful homes he notices one small and
remarkably beautiful house that he begins to covet.
The owner of the home beckons him in. Upon entering the home the old man
feeds Keawes envy and covetousness while showing him around the beautiful
home.
As it turns out, the old man has a magic bottle containing an imp that will grant
the holder all of his wishes. He sells the bottle to Keawe at the very low price of
fifty dollars.
There are, however, certain caveats that go with the bottle. The owner must
not be in possession of it when he dies or he will burn in hell for eternity. It can
only be sold for less than what the current owner has paid. And lastly, the
owner must be content with what he has or evil will fall upon him.
Keawe takes the bottle back to the ship for the journey home. He is worried
about what he has done. After confiding the entire chain of events to his friend
Lopaka, he is convinced by Lopaka that he should make a wish for the very
house that he wants. If this comes true, Lopaka will buy the bottle from him so
he can get the schooner that he wants.
Upon arriving home Keawe discovers that his uncle and nephew have died
leaving him the heir to a beautiful plot of land and exactly enough money to
build the home of his dreams. Keawe is distraught at the price that has been
paid for the fulfillment of his wish. Lopaka buys the bottle and departs leaving
Keawe to his possessions.
Keawe accepts the good fortune and begins living a life of contentment until he
sees the beautiful maid, Kokua. He desires her over his own soul. He is granted
her hand in marriage but before they can be wed he discovers a leprous lesion
on his body.

Realizing that he cannot marry Kokua in this condition, he decides that he must
seek out the magic bottle and purchase it back so that he can be cleansed and
marry his love. When he finally tracks down the bottle he finds that the price
has dropped dramatically. The current owner has paid two cents. He must sell it
for one.
Keawe decides that he will forfeit his soul for Kokua and so he purchases the
bottle. His leprosy is healed but immediately slips into despondency when he
begins to dwell on the eternal flames of hell. His subsequent marriage to his
beloved does not improve his demeanor.
He finally confesses his plight to his bride and to his delight she presents him
with a plan to go to a country where a penny is not the smallest coin. They will
go to France and sell the bottle for four centimes.
Unfortunately they are unable to sell the bottle and Kokua, because of her love
for Keawe decides that she will secretly buy the bottle through an intermediary.
She tells the intermediary the whole story promising that she will buy it back
from him after he obtains it. The intermediary buys it for four and she in turn
buys it for three. Keawe discovers this and convinces another intermediary to
buy it for two with the promise that Keawe will then buy it back from him for
one centime. The intermediary is a greedy and wicked man and once he
obtains it refuses to sell the bottle back to Keawe.
Unable to convince the wicked man that he is facing damnation he watches as
the man walks away with the bottle. Keawe and Kokua are free to resume their
lives in bliss.

Major Characters
Keawe : The main character of this story is a native of Hawaii. He is an
educated, intelligent and God fearing man. Stevenson describes him as poor,
brave and active. He comes into possession of a mysterious bottle containing
an imp that grants wishes.
Lopaka: Is Keawes friend, confidant and traveling companion. Lopaka
encourages Keawe to use his new-found treasure for material gain.
Kokua: Is a beautiful maiden that Keawe desires with all his heart and soul. She
loves Keawe and desires nothing more than to be his wife and to love him.
Activities:

1. Which was the power of the bottle?

a) Make you happy.
b) Make you poor.
c) Make your wishes come true.
2. Who was Keawes best friend?
a) The imp.
b) Lopaka.
c) Kokua.

3. Color the house of Keawes dreams:

4. Complete the sentences with words in the box:

Ill

Hawaii

Flames of Hell

Honaunau
France

Beautiful
Leprosy

Old
Intermediary

Fifty

Maid
Greedy

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)

The first owner of the bottle looked __________ and __________.

Keawe was from ____________.
Keawe was afraid of ______________.
Keawe dreams with a __________ house.
Keawe and Kokua travel to __________ to sell the bottle.
Kokua was a beautiful __________.
Kokua bought the bottle through an ___________.
Keawe heals Kokuas ___________ by buying the bottle again.
__________ is a region in Hawaii.
Keawe bought the bottle for ________ dollars.
The last owner of the bottle was a ________ and wicked man.

5. Complete the crossbar:

2
2

1
4

Horizontal:
1.
2.
3.
4.

The
The
The
The

article that Keawe bought at the begininning.

beautiful maid that makes Keawe fall in love.
illness that gets Kokua.
place that Keawe is afraid of.

Vertical:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Keawes best friend.

The main character.
The thing that lives in the bottle.
The first thing that Keawe wants, since he got the bottle.

6. Color the place where Keawe came from:

7. Use your imagination, and draw the imp as you think it is:

8. Chart:

Places:
Hawaii
Honauna
u
France

Main
Characters:
Keawe
Lopaka
Kokua

The Bottle Imp

Power of the
bottle:
Make your wishes

Main argument:
A bottle that make
your wishes come
true, but if you die
while you are the
bottle owner, you will

Owners of the
bottle:
Napoleon
Captain Cook
Old man
Keawe
Lopaka
Kokua