The cute mini movie 'Forces of nature' from the DVD inspired this scene!

Also want to mention that the Once-ler may seem a bit OoC but in this AU he is considered selfish, rude and bitter, and that includes towards his family.


The Brave Lil' Barbaloot

Chapter 3: Forces of Nature


The Once-ler had a towel wrapped around his waist as he walked back towards his tent after taking a quick bath in the river. He toweled dried his hair, put on his blue pajamas and settled a pot of tea over his wood burning stove. He looked out his window and admired the burlap sacks of Truffula tufts and piles of chopped up wood, all waiting to be sold. He gazed out at the valley which seemed very calming and beautiful at night; the stars seemed fuller and brighter out here and the air was crisp and gentle. Normally any person would be awe stricken at its natural beauty; the Once-ler however, wasn't thinking about that at all, he simply unbuckled the leather straps that kept his tarp up and it rolled down, completely blocking the scenery.

"The forces of nature…" he snorted, "Yeah right."

He grabbed a piece of Truffula fruit from one of the bushels that he kept inside to keep the animals from getting into it and took a big bite, he sat down at his wooden desk and promptly rested his pointed boots up on top of it. He was too excited and self satisfied that he didn't think he'd be able to sleep tonight, he couldn't wait to rub his family's nose into his pending success, especially his mother who laughed at him, talked down to him and encouraged the rest of his family to do the same.

And he didn't plan to share a penny of it.

He felt like celebrating, after discarding the eaten fruit he reached over from the side and what emerged was a giant bag of marshmallows; one of his guilty pleasures. He ripped the top open and let a bunch roll out onto his desk; he picked one up and popped it in his mouth. He leaned back in his chair and enjoyed the sweet sugary taste in his mouth.

"You know, I think I'll give my boss a call and give him my version of a two weeks notice." He chuckled and reached over to his radio phone.

The animals that were nothing but little dark silhouettes at night tip toed throughout the valley and kept themselves as hidden as often as they could. After all of them piled up into one bush, one silhouette that turned out to be the Lorax popped out from the top and gazed at the tent that was glowing with an artificial light. He used his hands and cupped them over his eyes to imitate binoculars, he gazed over at the window but he quickly saw that it had been covered. The Lorax scowled, he looked down at the others that were hiding and motioned them to follow him, with that they all emerged, the Lorax leading the group as they quietly approached the tent. He gently shushed them before he jumped and grabbed onto the wooden window ledge, he pulled himself up and lifted the tarp just enough for the Lorax to see the Once-ler but not enough for him to be noticed.

"You heard me," the Once-ler spoke loudly and full of confidence, "I'm done working for that stupid excuse you call a company." He reached down and popped a marshmallow in his mouth.

"You scrawny punk!" O'Hare exclaimed through the receiver, "Nobody talks to me like that!"

While he still munched on his marshmallow, he let out a harsh laugh, "Well I just did, so I guess you'll have to live with it."

The Lorax shook his head disappointingly, "That beanpole's rotten behavior knows no bounds does it?" he muttered to himself. He observed at the small white fluffy things that were on the table and how the human took a liking to eating them.

He got an idea on how to execute his plan.

The Lorax took careful aim and with his finger he shot a tiny white spark of magic at the marshmallow closest to the human, causing it to glow once it hit. He watched anxiously as the human reached for said marshmallow,

"And what are you going do for money huh?! You have nowhere to go!"

The Once-ler stopped his hand inches from the faintly glowing marshmallow, the Lorax held his breath.

"Oh you don't have to worry about me, let's just say I found a good start to my own company. Have a nice life shortie!" He hung up on his former boss and let out a triumphant laugh, he finally reached down and picked up the marshmallow, he tossed it into the air and caught it with his mouth, munching away at the sugar and the tiny bit of magic along with it.

The Lorax dusted his hands with a grin, he promptly hopped off the ledge and chuckled, "Phase one is done, now we wait until midnight…."

o~~~~~~~~~~~o

10:45 pm.

"Why am I so tired all of a sudden?"

The Once-ler wasn't sure what had happened, he was all excited an energetic an hour ago, he even made a pot of tea and decided to do a little knitting; a highly secretive hobby of his but now he was extremely groggy and tired, he drank most of his tea but the caffeine hadn't helped at all. He let his knitting needles fall to his lap in defeat and rubbed his stomach as it made many interesting noises,

"I guess I overdid it on the marshmallows."

He put his knitting project off to the side and pushed himself up on his feet though that proved very difficult, he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. He managed to get to his bed and collapsed onto his mattress; he barely had enough energy left to lift his arm and turn off the light above his bed. Before he even realized it, his eyes shut and he fell into a deep slumber.

o~~~~~~~~~~~o

11:55 pm.

The Once-ler tossed and turned in his bed, his forehead was beaded in a cold sweat and occasionally he would crouch and wrap his arms around his stomach as it continued to make noises.

Storm clouds began to gather and circle around the tent from high above. All of the animals that have camped out outside the Once-ler's tent had fallen asleep long ago, including the Lorax who had his long arms rested on his stomach as he leaned against a tree. He stirred awake when he heard a rumble of thunder above him, he looked up at the newly formed clouds.

"Looks like it's starting."

A loud rumble of thunder jerked the Once-ler awake, his bangs were sticking to his forehead from the sweat and he had a glazed look in his eye.

"Wh-what's going on?"

He looked around his tent as it began to shift with the increased gusts of wind outside. A bright flash of lightning caused him to nearly jump out of his bed in fright, he rolled off the side and pushed himself onto his feet, he went over to the window and lifted the tarp. Indeed there were storm clouds outside but something seemed off; not too far in the distance he could see that the rest of the valley was as calm as he had seen it before he fell asleep, from what he could see the storm clouds were only gathered above his tent and only his tent.

There was only one explanation; this was that Lorax's doing.

"Knock it off Mustache!" He shouted out towards the field, a hint of worry in his voice, "This isn't funny!" He had to admit, this whole thing did spook him out; perhaps that little furry meatloaf was serious about his warning…

He sharply turned around when he heard his clock go off. 12:00am.

The Once-ler doubled over, the strange noise in his stomach went away and instead was replaced with pain. He shuffled over to his bed and gripped onto the metal railing to help straighten up, he was oblivious to the glow that settled in his stomach briefly before it burst like a bubble and spread throughout his body before it faded.

He began to feel strange.

The first thing he noticed was that his skin started to feel itchy, really itchy. He could hardly contain himself as he reached underneath the clothes of his pajamas and scratched vigorously at his arms, his chest and his back. A strange yet warm feeling suddenly coated his ears, he instinctively reached up to feel them and when he did he didn't like it at all. They felt fuzzy. Ears weren't supposed to feel fuzzy. He hesitantly turned his gaze over to the small mirror at the corner of his desk from where he was, he could get a good view of his face, he cried out at the site.

The ears he was so used to seeing everyday in the mirror were not the same, instead they were replaced with large round ears that reached from the top of his head to end of his jaw line, and they were coated in a soft black fur. With shaky hands he reached up to feel them, he even gave them a hard tug; the sharp pain confirmed him that they were indeed real.

His nose suddenly began to pick up new smells around him; the old cup of tea over by his desk, the ashes from his wood burning stove along with several other things in his house. He never smelled any of this stuff before but now was it not only noticeable, it was almost overpowering. While he was distracted by this new heightened scent, that same strange feeling came back except this time it was on his nose, he turned his attention back to the mirror and saw that his usual round nose has change to a wider, flatter and wetter nose. He tapped it a couple times before he officially snapped,

"What's going on?!"

Another strange feeling came from his tailbone, he looked over his shoulder and gazed down at the bump from his pajamas; he stretched his pants and boxers slightly and discovered a black bushy tail had emerged. He found himself stumbling backward until he fell back on his bed; the itching had returned, only this time he noticed there was a faint trace of black fur creeping up from his skin of his hands.

The shadow of the Once-ler was seen on the wall behind him, it showed him crying out before it seemed like he was melting away. Once his shadow was out of sight, everything became quiet; the clouds outside ceased their swirling and slowly evaporated away, the skies once again became clear and calm.

o~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Once everything had calmed down for sure, the Lorax emerged from his little hiding spot along with several of the animals. With their help he reached to the door knob and opened it, they all trotted inside and they waited on the Lorax as he climbed up onto the bed.

Though it was dark inside the tent, there was enough moonlight creeping through the tarp that the Lorax was able to see enough; all that was on the bed was the interesting blue nightwear that the human wore but he was nowhere in sight, instead there was a little black furred barbaloot sleeping peacefully and soundly, his head was barely poking out of the top shirt.

The Lorax quietly chuckled, "Never mess with nature kid."


To Be Continued….