I liked the way you used your framing device. Having only one voice on the transcript seemed odd at first, but it really let the character's personality come through well. You struck a beautiful balance between telling the story clearly and keeping strictly to the speaker's voice - well done there. I think you might have done a better job of addressing the theme, though: the contrast here is between strength and cleverness, or cunning, or perhaps naive hubris, but not *intelligence*. In any case, this was an enjoyable read.