Summer. Day 2.
Jack was making his usual trip to the animal farm. He had promised May that he'd visit her everyday. Jack smiled eagerly with anticipation. He always enjoyed playing with the little girl. He was about to make a right turn toward Barley's house, when he remembered that he had to buy the old man a bottle of wine. As he walked towards the winery, he was surprised to see someone wave at him.
"Hey, Jack! Haven't seen you lately. How's the farm?" "It's fine." "I'm surprised you're leaving your farm early. Finished already?" the old man inquired, a hint of disbelief in his voice. "No. I hired help. They are the ones basically running the farm right now." "Really? Help?" Duke raised an eyebrow. "Who?" "The sprites. They've been helping me since yesterday."
"The sprites.. yeah.." a look of dread clouded Duke's face. "The sprites..." he faintly added. "Anyway, I'd like to buy a bottle of your best stuff." "oh..." Duke weakly replied. "Ask Manna."
Jack bought wine for barley that day. He left the winery without saying another word to the somewhat disappointed duke. He arrived late that after noon, the buyer zack, had just left with his purchase.
"Hi budum", a purple sprite greeted jack "Hi bold. All the produce paid for?" "yeah budum. I took the liberty and signed the receipt for you. Zack was in a hurry you know." "and the money?" "Staid has it." "uh-huh" Jack nodded. He headed towards the blue sprite. "Hi Jack... budum" Jack gave the sprite an irritated look. "why do you keep saying 'budum'?" "force of habit budum." Jack slapped his head. "hopeless." He murmured. "can i have the money now?" "sure." Staid answered as he handed Jack the money. "see you tomorrow budum" Aqua, the light blue sprite interrupted. "We have to go home now. Timid is afraid of the dark, you know." "I take it you've finished all the chores." "but of course budum." Bold enthusiastically answered. "we've even fed the animals." He added. "gee, thanks." Jack said with a smile. He was glad he hired the sprites. Now he would be able to play with May all summer.
It was already late at night when Jack decided to pay his animals a visit. The chicken coop was spic and span. The floors were clean, the chickens were fed- it was beautiful! "Guess I made the right decision after all."
Summer. Day 7.
The sprites have been helping Jack for 6 days now. The farm was running in full capacity. Jack did nothing for the past 6 days but bum around. He made regular trips to the inn, flirted with the girls, drank wine, and danced all night long.
Summer. Day 8.
Jack planned to spend a quiet day with May and Barley. Just when he was about to make a turn, he saw a man wave at him. It was Duke. "Jack! Come here a sec." Confused, Jack started towards the winery. "Yep?" he replied. "the farm... how is it?" "fine... fine..." Duke nodded. "Jack, there's something I want to tell you." "about what?" "have you lost anything lately?" he asked, a look of concern was evident on his face. Jack thought for a second. "uh... none, I guess." "Jack", Duke placed his arm around Jack. "as a friend, I have to tell you this. The sprites..... well... they're not what they seem, except for Timid that is." "get to the point duke!", jack, irritated, snapped. "most of the sprites, with the exception of timid, are...well ...rather... kleptomaniacs. You can't trust them. They may appear industrious but really all they want is to steal you're crops. I should know, I had hired them once..." "and?" Jack interrupted. He looked more confused. "well, let's just say it didn't end up well." Jack raised an eyebrow. "The sprites used to be very helpful. Heck, they even worked for your grandpa once! Nobody thought that they were thieves. One day, when working for me, i noticed Bold was acting rather suspicious. I'd arrived earlier than expected, you see. I caught him off-guard with a grape tucked in his shirt. He tried to hide it at first, but the grape made him look plumper than usual. I tried to grab him but he bit my hand and ran away. I had to tell the Mayor. The Mayor, apparently disappointed, summoned the 7 sprite brothers. But they were nowhere to be found. Later on, we heard that Bold was convicted of stealing in another village. He served a two- year sentence in a correctional facility. Two years before your arrival, they returned to Mineral Village and swore that they had changed. True to their word, they offered help to the villagers which the villagers accepted with hesitation. A few of us, me included, couldn't trust the sprites anymore so we refused to accept their help. Pastor Carter was the only person who trusted them. He made them promise never to steal again. Although, they appear reformed, I still think they couldn't be trusted. If I were you, I'd keep a watchful eye..." "Bull! Jack said furiously as he turned around. "Thanks for ruining my day, you lying creep! You're just jealous I hired them first!" with that, he walked away. "Just keep an eye on them!" he called after the angry Jack.
Apparently disturbed, Jack went back to the farm. For the first time in 7 days, he felt uneasy with the fact that he left his farm under somebody else's care. "it wouldn't hurt, i guess." He nervously told himself.
As he approached the farm, he saw the purple sprite lying beside the bin. The sprite apparently had his sleeves up. Jack's face went white. A tattoo prominently rested on Bold's bicep. It was a kanji script that read 'bad'. Jack could feel his legs buckle. He never knew Bold had a tattoo. He remembered Duke. "What if he was telling the truth", he asked himself as he approached the resting sprite.
Bold was alarmed at the sudden appearance of jack. He immediately stood up and rolled down his sleeves.
"Hi budum. What brings you so early today?" bold greeted jack "Just wanted to check on you guys. Anyway..Bold..I never knew you had a tattoo." "Oh this little thing?", Bold raised up his sleeve showing his tattoo" It's just henna. The guys and I were bored so we thought we tattoo ourselves just for the fun of it. "Looks good on you" "Thanks budum"
Jack stayed on the farm that day. He went to check all his animals. They were all there. Jack checked the bin. The eggs were arranged neatly and were all accounted for. "that lying creep..." Jack thought. "I never knew he'd stoop so low..." he said, sadly shaking his head. "Jack! What are you doing here?" Jack turned around. It was Chef, the red sprite. "Chef! I was just checking." Chef looked at him disapprovingly. "Zack has just arrived. He wants you to sign the receipt. Bold wanted to sign it himself, but since you're here, I reckon, you'd like to do it, being the owner and all." "Thanks, Chef."
It was a quarter past 5 and Jack was counting his profits when Staid, the blue sprite, approached him. "Jack, there's an important matter that we'd like to discuss with you." Staid said, lacing his fingers. "what is it?" "since we've worked for you, we'd like to get paid for our services" he answered, twiddling his thumbs. "oh... yeah... payment..." Jack laughed as he slapped his forehead for being such a doofus. "could you wait a sec? I'll just go get your payment." Staid rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Thanks Jack!"
Five minutes later, Jack returned with seven boxes of flour. "here." he said proudly as he handed them the boxes. "One for each of you." The sprites looked at each other, then at Jack. "What the fuck!" Staid hollered. "is this some kind of a sick joke?!" "What the fuck are you thinking, budum?!" Chef screamed. "We worked our asses out for you and all we get is this?!" Hoggy snapped. "Well, fuck you, budum!" Hoggy held his middle finger at Jack. It was an obscene gesture. "What the hell are we supposed to do with this?!" Bold angrily shouted, throwing the flour at Jack. "Eat it?!" Jack was surprised. He was appalled at the way his "friends" reacted. "But I thought..." he tried to reason. "You thought nothing, you son of a bitch!" Aqua angrily interrupted, slamming the flour at Jack's feet. Jack felt scared. He was surrounded by seven little guys, who were obviously pissed off at him. "But the book said you love flour!" "Book my ass!" Nappy, the youngest sprite, stomped his foot. "Basil knows shit!" "Did you know that it's people like you who cause the death of us sprites?" Bold screamed. His face was red all over. He looked capable of killing Jack. Jack looked even more puzzled. "Death?" "Yes. Death." Bold answered, cockily tilting his head. "My brother Brainy died because of people like you!" "Brainy?" Jack asked, even more confused. The revelations hit him like hammer blows to the head. "Yes. Brainy... the eight harvest sprite." Bold answered through clenched teeth. "eight? But I thought there was only seven of you..." "oh, he thought we were seven.." Hoggy, the fat yellow sprite danced in a mocking manner. "J-j-jack, Brainy was... he was the oldest of us eight." Timid shyly interrupted. "We... we used to work for the village and were paid poorly.." "and do you know what they paid us?!" Staid interrupted. He was fuming with anger. Jack shrugged. "Curry! They paid us curry powder! They could've paid us bread, but noooo... it was curry powder." Staid mockingly rolled his eyes while cocking his head. "Now tell me Jack, who's the dickhead that would EAT curry powder?" "but why did you not make curry with your curry powder?" Jack curiously asked. "'cause we were only paid curry! CURRY!" Chef shouted at Jack's ear. "We were not paid anything else. Now, how are we supposed to cook curry when we don't have rice.. or vegetables... let alone, cooking utensils!" Jack fell silent. "B-b-brainy, one day... was so hungry, he ate 4 packs of curry... He... he suffered from diarrhea and died. The people of the village did n-n-nothing to help... when they learned that it was the curry that killed Brainy, they just shrugged their shoulders and decided to pay us flour instead." Timid was explaining when he was cut off by his brother, Nappy. "now here you are" pointing at Jack. "giving us flour.. what the hell are you thinking about?! All we wanted was bread on the table." Nappy broke down into tiny sobs. "b-b-but the tea?" Jack stammered. "there is no tea budum." Nappy shook his head sadly. "It's all pretend. The only possessions we ever had are our beds and the clothes on our back." "B-b-bold was placed in jail for two years when he was caught stealing rice to feed us, in another village." Timid added. "so the tattoo is real?" Jack asked. He felt a sense of relief as things started to calm down. "yeah, budum..." Bold answered. "it's real..." "Im sorry..." Jack apologized. He felt sorry for the sprites. He offered to pay them 100G a day. "I hope that helps." "thanks budum" the sprites spoke in unison. They acted as if nothing had happened.
Jack paid them money from that day on. They were even allowed to take 1% of his harvest- with Jack's consent, of course. Jack knew they'd steal it anyway. He had been observing them, and he knew bad habits are hard to break...
.
Jack was making his usual trip to the animal farm. He had promised May that he'd visit her everyday. Jack smiled eagerly with anticipation. He always enjoyed playing with the little girl. He was about to make a right turn toward Barley's house, when he remembered that he had to buy the old man a bottle of wine. As he walked towards the winery, he was surprised to see someone wave at him.
"Hey, Jack! Haven't seen you lately. How's the farm?" "It's fine." "I'm surprised you're leaving your farm early. Finished already?" the old man inquired, a hint of disbelief in his voice. "No. I hired help. They are the ones basically running the farm right now." "Really? Help?" Duke raised an eyebrow. "Who?" "The sprites. They've been helping me since yesterday."
"The sprites.. yeah.." a look of dread clouded Duke's face. "The sprites..." he faintly added. "Anyway, I'd like to buy a bottle of your best stuff." "oh..." Duke weakly replied. "Ask Manna."
Jack bought wine for barley that day. He left the winery without saying another word to the somewhat disappointed duke. He arrived late that after noon, the buyer zack, had just left with his purchase.
"Hi budum", a purple sprite greeted jack "Hi bold. All the produce paid for?" "yeah budum. I took the liberty and signed the receipt for you. Zack was in a hurry you know." "and the money?" "Staid has it." "uh-huh" Jack nodded. He headed towards the blue sprite. "Hi Jack... budum" Jack gave the sprite an irritated look. "why do you keep saying 'budum'?" "force of habit budum." Jack slapped his head. "hopeless." He murmured. "can i have the money now?" "sure." Staid answered as he handed Jack the money. "see you tomorrow budum" Aqua, the light blue sprite interrupted. "We have to go home now. Timid is afraid of the dark, you know." "I take it you've finished all the chores." "but of course budum." Bold enthusiastically answered. "we've even fed the animals." He added. "gee, thanks." Jack said with a smile. He was glad he hired the sprites. Now he would be able to play with May all summer.
It was already late at night when Jack decided to pay his animals a visit. The chicken coop was spic and span. The floors were clean, the chickens were fed- it was beautiful! "Guess I made the right decision after all."
Summer. Day 7.
The sprites have been helping Jack for 6 days now. The farm was running in full capacity. Jack did nothing for the past 6 days but bum around. He made regular trips to the inn, flirted with the girls, drank wine, and danced all night long.
Summer. Day 8.
Jack planned to spend a quiet day with May and Barley. Just when he was about to make a turn, he saw a man wave at him. It was Duke. "Jack! Come here a sec." Confused, Jack started towards the winery. "Yep?" he replied. "the farm... how is it?" "fine... fine..." Duke nodded. "Jack, there's something I want to tell you." "about what?" "have you lost anything lately?" he asked, a look of concern was evident on his face. Jack thought for a second. "uh... none, I guess." "Jack", Duke placed his arm around Jack. "as a friend, I have to tell you this. The sprites..... well... they're not what they seem, except for Timid that is." "get to the point duke!", jack, irritated, snapped. "most of the sprites, with the exception of timid, are...well ...rather... kleptomaniacs. You can't trust them. They may appear industrious but really all they want is to steal you're crops. I should know, I had hired them once..." "and?" Jack interrupted. He looked more confused. "well, let's just say it didn't end up well." Jack raised an eyebrow. "The sprites used to be very helpful. Heck, they even worked for your grandpa once! Nobody thought that they were thieves. One day, when working for me, i noticed Bold was acting rather suspicious. I'd arrived earlier than expected, you see. I caught him off-guard with a grape tucked in his shirt. He tried to hide it at first, but the grape made him look plumper than usual. I tried to grab him but he bit my hand and ran away. I had to tell the Mayor. The Mayor, apparently disappointed, summoned the 7 sprite brothers. But they were nowhere to be found. Later on, we heard that Bold was convicted of stealing in another village. He served a two- year sentence in a correctional facility. Two years before your arrival, they returned to Mineral Village and swore that they had changed. True to their word, they offered help to the villagers which the villagers accepted with hesitation. A few of us, me included, couldn't trust the sprites anymore so we refused to accept their help. Pastor Carter was the only person who trusted them. He made them promise never to steal again. Although, they appear reformed, I still think they couldn't be trusted. If I were you, I'd keep a watchful eye..." "Bull! Jack said furiously as he turned around. "Thanks for ruining my day, you lying creep! You're just jealous I hired them first!" with that, he walked away. "Just keep an eye on them!" he called after the angry Jack.
Apparently disturbed, Jack went back to the farm. For the first time in 7 days, he felt uneasy with the fact that he left his farm under somebody else's care. "it wouldn't hurt, i guess." He nervously told himself.
As he approached the farm, he saw the purple sprite lying beside the bin. The sprite apparently had his sleeves up. Jack's face went white. A tattoo prominently rested on Bold's bicep. It was a kanji script that read 'bad'. Jack could feel his legs buckle. He never knew Bold had a tattoo. He remembered Duke. "What if he was telling the truth", he asked himself as he approached the resting sprite.
Bold was alarmed at the sudden appearance of jack. He immediately stood up and rolled down his sleeves.
"Hi budum. What brings you so early today?" bold greeted jack "Just wanted to check on you guys. Anyway..Bold..I never knew you had a tattoo." "Oh this little thing?", Bold raised up his sleeve showing his tattoo" It's just henna. The guys and I were bored so we thought we tattoo ourselves just for the fun of it. "Looks good on you" "Thanks budum"
Jack stayed on the farm that day. He went to check all his animals. They were all there. Jack checked the bin. The eggs were arranged neatly and were all accounted for. "that lying creep..." Jack thought. "I never knew he'd stoop so low..." he said, sadly shaking his head. "Jack! What are you doing here?" Jack turned around. It was Chef, the red sprite. "Chef! I was just checking." Chef looked at him disapprovingly. "Zack has just arrived. He wants you to sign the receipt. Bold wanted to sign it himself, but since you're here, I reckon, you'd like to do it, being the owner and all." "Thanks, Chef."
It was a quarter past 5 and Jack was counting his profits when Staid, the blue sprite, approached him. "Jack, there's an important matter that we'd like to discuss with you." Staid said, lacing his fingers. "what is it?" "since we've worked for you, we'd like to get paid for our services" he answered, twiddling his thumbs. "oh... yeah... payment..." Jack laughed as he slapped his forehead for being such a doofus. "could you wait a sec? I'll just go get your payment." Staid rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Thanks Jack!"
Five minutes later, Jack returned with seven boxes of flour. "here." he said proudly as he handed them the boxes. "One for each of you." The sprites looked at each other, then at Jack. "What the fuck!" Staid hollered. "is this some kind of a sick joke?!" "What the fuck are you thinking, budum?!" Chef screamed. "We worked our asses out for you and all we get is this?!" Hoggy snapped. "Well, fuck you, budum!" Hoggy held his middle finger at Jack. It was an obscene gesture. "What the hell are we supposed to do with this?!" Bold angrily shouted, throwing the flour at Jack. "Eat it?!" Jack was surprised. He was appalled at the way his "friends" reacted. "But I thought..." he tried to reason. "You thought nothing, you son of a bitch!" Aqua angrily interrupted, slamming the flour at Jack's feet. Jack felt scared. He was surrounded by seven little guys, who were obviously pissed off at him. "But the book said you love flour!" "Book my ass!" Nappy, the youngest sprite, stomped his foot. "Basil knows shit!" "Did you know that it's people like you who cause the death of us sprites?" Bold screamed. His face was red all over. He looked capable of killing Jack. Jack looked even more puzzled. "Death?" "Yes. Death." Bold answered, cockily tilting his head. "My brother Brainy died because of people like you!" "Brainy?" Jack asked, even more confused. The revelations hit him like hammer blows to the head. "Yes. Brainy... the eight harvest sprite." Bold answered through clenched teeth. "eight? But I thought there was only seven of you..." "oh, he thought we were seven.." Hoggy, the fat yellow sprite danced in a mocking manner. "J-j-jack, Brainy was... he was the oldest of us eight." Timid shyly interrupted. "We... we used to work for the village and were paid poorly.." "and do you know what they paid us?!" Staid interrupted. He was fuming with anger. Jack shrugged. "Curry! They paid us curry powder! They could've paid us bread, but noooo... it was curry powder." Staid mockingly rolled his eyes while cocking his head. "Now tell me Jack, who's the dickhead that would EAT curry powder?" "but why did you not make curry with your curry powder?" Jack curiously asked. "'cause we were only paid curry! CURRY!" Chef shouted at Jack's ear. "We were not paid anything else. Now, how are we supposed to cook curry when we don't have rice.. or vegetables... let alone, cooking utensils!" Jack fell silent. "B-b-brainy, one day... was so hungry, he ate 4 packs of curry... He... he suffered from diarrhea and died. The people of the village did n-n-nothing to help... when they learned that it was the curry that killed Brainy, they just shrugged their shoulders and decided to pay us flour instead." Timid was explaining when he was cut off by his brother, Nappy. "now here you are" pointing at Jack. "giving us flour.. what the hell are you thinking about?! All we wanted was bread on the table." Nappy broke down into tiny sobs. "b-b-but the tea?" Jack stammered. "there is no tea budum." Nappy shook his head sadly. "It's all pretend. The only possessions we ever had are our beds and the clothes on our back." "B-b-bold was placed in jail for two years when he was caught stealing rice to feed us, in another village." Timid added. "so the tattoo is real?" Jack asked. He felt a sense of relief as things started to calm down. "yeah, budum..." Bold answered. "it's real..." "Im sorry..." Jack apologized. He felt sorry for the sprites. He offered to pay them 100G a day. "I hope that helps." "thanks budum" the sprites spoke in unison. They acted as if nothing had happened.
Jack paid them money from that day on. They were even allowed to take 1% of his harvest- with Jack's consent, of course. Jack knew they'd steal it anyway. He had been observing them, and he knew bad habits are hard to break...
.