Book 3: STONE
CHAPTER 7:
THE ENCHANTED HOG-MONKEY
Jip held her rabba-roo close as her mother comforted her. "It is only a little storm, honey." She said in her soothing voice. "No need to be afraid."
"But…there's loud noises and…" Jip said as she trembled, a young girl of four years old.
"Fine, would a story help you get some sleep?" her mother asked. "We have a big day tomorrow. We are moving into your cousin, Aer's home."
"I know…and I'm scared…" Jip stuttered.
"Oh, I thought you liked Aer." Her mother said as she poked Jip's nose. Jip's mouth curled into a smile and the mother reached over and took out a box. She pulled out a scroll and cleared her throat.
The Woman and the Rabba-roo
Once upon a time, in a place far, far from here, there was an elderly woman who had grown old with age and now had a hunched back. She was always in a bad mood. All her children had grown up and left the house, making it dark and empty. She had a walking stick and all the children of the village mocked her. She tended her garden every day, because it was the only thing that kept her from feeling lonely. One day, she saw that her vegetables were disappearing. 'What could that be? I hope not one of those mean children in town' she said.
She stayed up all night, far past her bed time, to catch the theif. She heard a 'thump' and a 'hop' and a great whimper. She took her lantern and went to the garden; there she saw a large rabba-roo. It was eating her vegetables. 'Go away!' the old lady shouted. 'I have a cane and I will use it!' The rabba-roo did nothing. It sat there with those big eyes and whined at her. For you see, the rabba-roo had also had children and they had also left the home. The rabba-roo hippity hopped to the woman, and the woman looked at her and saw many things. One of them was that the rabba-roo was lonely too. The woman's heart broke. She said: 'All right, you may stay.'
The rabba-roo was so happy that it leapt in the air and did a little dance. The rabba-roo and the woman grew happy again, and soon rumors about it reached their children's ears. They came home with their partners and their children. And the house was full of joy. The woman realized that she had such loving and caring people in her life and, that, no matter how long we are separated, erverything will come to a good end and life will continue.
Jip sat awake. She was a girl of six years old now. She was sleeping in her bed, listening to the storm outside her window and the sound of shouts coming from the room beside her. She heaved a sigh and sat up. She lit the candle next to her bed and leaned over the side.
She pulled up the box, decorated with fairy tale characters and painted purple and pink and gold. She snapped the hatch and unrolled another story.
The Tale of Twenty Cabbages
There once was a cabbage merchant that went from town to town, offering his cabbages and advice to all that would listen. He knew how to perform tricks and amazed large crowds with his great mind. One day, he was called before the king.
The king was having a great feast for the people of his city and wanted the best cabbage to be served. The merchant was happy to oblige and hurried over with twenty cabbages. They were all big and the ripest he had ever grown. While on the way, he spotted an old beggar woman. She had to feed her children but had no money to pay for supplies.
The merchant gave two of the cabbages to her and went on his way with a grin. As he walked, he came into an area that was very suspicious and spooky. He was jumped by four men, each of whom wanted to see him perform. He did some magic tricks for them but they were not amused. Before they did away with him, he offered to give each of them one of his great cabbages.
The robbers had heard of the man's cabbages and agreed to the offer. The cabbage merchant escaped with is life and now only had twelve cabbages left. On the road to the castle, the merchant saw that the road was flooded. He attempted to cross but was pushed down stream, losing some of his cabbages and leaving him wet.
He continued on to the castle now with nine cabbage still in his grip. As he went he met a fierce Lion Turtle.
The Lion Turtle, a wise being, demanded that the merchant solve a riddle to pass to the castle on the other side. If he answered wrong however, he would lose all his cabbages. The merchant agreed, thinking that his luck would continue.
'What rises with the sun but falls with the moon? What beast is vicious and firry yet gentle and tame? What is the beast that watches from the sky? '
The merchant had no answer to this riddle and gave all of his cabbages to the beast, which vanished in a puff of smoke. The cabbage merchant entered the festival with no cabbages to give. The king was offended and ordered the merchant to be beheaded. But before he could be done away with, an old woman spoke up from the crowd.
It was the same lady that he had given cabbages to earlier. She said that he had given some to her and that he did not deserve to be killed.
The robbers also spoke up from the crowd, saying that he also gave them cabbages and that he knew quite a few tricks for entertainment.
A fisher and his wife then spoke up and said how some of the cabbages had ran into their boat when the river overflowed.
The king was glad to see that the merchant had a good heart but the cabbages were still gone. Then, from the sky flew down a large green dragon. It appealed for the merchant as well.
'I have watched the merchant through his travels and he is a noble, selfless, and kind person. Cabbages or not, he deserves his life.'
The king agreed and let the merchant live.
The moral: Be kind to everyone, they may just save your life one day.
"What do you have there?" one of the children asked as she peered over Jip's shoulder.
"It's a story." Jip said as she snapped the scroll shut. She was a girl of seven years old. She turned her shoulder to the girl and tried to act like she was mature.
"What's it about?" she asked.
"Well, it's the Enchanted Hog-Monkey." Jip said as she clutched it close to her chest. "It's my favorite."
"You spend an awful lot of time reading those things." The girl said as she tried to unroll the story.
"Well, I love them." Jip explained in her young voice, her hair long and dark. "They make life magical and wonderful. I love them."
"Yeah, but they are just stories." The girl said.
"They are not just stories!" Jip shouted. "They are more than that."
The Island of Gold
A man and his family lived on an island, in the middle of the ocean. The man was a fisherman and his wife tended their garden. One day, the man caught a large fish in his net. 'If you let me go, I will give you anything.' The fish said. The man did not realize that he had just caught the Ocean Spirit.
He kept the fish and dug a large hole in the backyard. He filled the hole with water and placed the large fish in it. 'Let me return to the sea and I will give you what you want.' The man was greedy and decided to make a deal with the Ocean Spirit.
'Give me what I want and I will let you go if I am satisfied.' The man said. The Ocean Spirit agreed and began to grant the man's wish.
'I wish to have a large castle to live in.'
The Ocean Spirit obeyed and a large palace appeared in place of the small hut he had lived in. It had servants and chefs and lots of room for his family to play. But the man was not satisfied. He again returned to the fish and said, 'I am unhappy. Give me an island of gold.'
The Ocean Spirit obeyed and everything on the island turned into gold. The water was gold and the food was edible gold and his family wore golden clothes. But the man was not satisfied. He again returned to the fish and said, 'I am unhappy. Make for me a wife more beautiful than my own.'
The Ocean Spirit obeyed and replaced his wife with a woman far more beautiful. But the new woman was vain and only interested herself in the golden castle and island. And the island was so bright that everyone could see if for miles around. But the man was not satisfied. The man again returned to the fish but before he could wish the fish stopped him.
'You have asked for many things, mortal. You will have one more wish and then I will take my vengeance.' The Ocean Spirit said sternly. The man stopped to think. He did not want to incur the spirit's wrath and plotted how to escape it. He smiled and said to the fish, 'I wish to have the largest, fastest ship in the world.'
The Ocean Spirit agreed and the largest, fastest ship appeared in the golden dock. The man quickly got onboard the ship, forgetting his family and set sail. He tried to sail as far from the fish as possible, but the man was ignorant. He did not understand that the fish was really the Ocean Spirit.
The Ocean Spirit caused the seas to become stormy and shook the ship around. He then sent a large wave and smashed the ship upon the very golden island the man had wished for. The fish then sunk the island, sparing the family the man had left behind. It then swam out to sea and was never seen again.
Jip was now a girl of eight years old. She was sitting in her room. The shouting had stopped in the house as her father had left. Her mother did not seem troubled but that must have been from the shock. There was a knock at the door as Aer entered. "Are you okay?' She asked as she walked in.
"Yeah." Jip softly replied. "It's just…"
"Just what?" Aer asked as she sat down on the bed next to her.
"This isn't what usually happens in the stories." Jip said as she held the Enchanted Hog-Monkey in her hands.
"Jip, those are just stories." Aer said as she grabbed Jip's shoulders.
"No they are not!" Jip shouted as tears welled in her young, innocent eyes. "This is supposed to be life. This is just a twist in the story that's all."
"You can't base life around a fairy tale." Aer explained.
"Yes I can. Life is like these stories and pictures." Jip said resolutely. She turned her back to Aer and grabbed the box of scrolls. She held it close and shook her head. "I know it is."
The Lemur King
There once was a clan of lemurs that lived in the southern islands. They had a great society, which was led by their king. One day, the king proclaimed that he was going to leave the colony and spread his rule throughout the land. The lemurs did not want to see their king leave but they wished him luck anyway.
The new king was an oaf. He made terrible decisions, such as not preparing for winter and not being able to make any sort of useful decree. The people sent for their old king to return. He did and the lemurs were happy again.
The king then heard about some lemurs in another region that needed his help. The lemur king once again left his throne to help. The lemurs were not happy to see him leave but wished him luck anyway.
The new king was timid. He locked himself up in his bedchambers and refused to leave. He was skittish and was always shaking with fright. The lemurs did not want someone so weak leading them so they pleaded for their old king to return. The lemur king returned to his throne and the lemurs were happy.
The lemur king once again decided to leave. He wanted to see the world around him. The lemurs were not happy to see him go but they wished him luck anyway.
The new king was a tyrant. He executed subjects and passed harsh laws that oppressed them. They over threw their new king and asked the old king to return.
But the old king did not return and the lemurs were left with no one to lead them. They decided that they must lead themselves and so they did. It took them a while but eventually they all forgot about their old king and began to thrive once more.
Jip was now eleven years old. She had already met Bakiko and Ran-fo and they were now resting upon the floor of her bedroom. She sat up in bed and looked around. She got up and began to pack her things in a sack. "Where are you going?" Bakiko asked as he awoke to the sounds of Jip packing.
"I'm leaving. I'm going with Aer." Jip said.
"Aer? Where is the girl going?" Bakiko asked as he threw the covers off of himself.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I know that she's leaving and I have to go with her." Jip said as she slung the pack over her shoulder.
"Then where are you going to put that?" Bakiko asked as he gestured to the box of stories that was on her bedside table.
"I'll have to leave it here." Jip said absent mindedly as she realized that she would have to leave them behind.
"Well, we're going with you." Bakiko said as he rolled up his mat and woke up Ran-fo. Ran-fo was up like a light and merely reached over to grab his already packed sack.
"Okay then." Jip said as she walked over to the box and opened it for the last time. Knowing that this may be the final time she pulled out her favorite fairy tale for the last time.
The Enchanted Hog-Monkey
Once upon a time, there was an Enchanted Hog-Monkey that was so happy and good that he could make rainbows and sunshine. He could put a smile upon any one's face and all around him there was joy and fun. The entire world was good so long as the Enchanted Hog-Monkey was happy. And every day, the Hog-Monkey would play with his friends in the forest and they would run across the entire world.
One day the Enchanted Hog-Monkey had so much fun in the woods that he wandered off and got lost in the large woods. He made a game of it, pretending that the trees were his new friends, but it was not the same. Time began to pass and the Enchanted Hog-Monkey grew scared of his situation.
The skies turned grey and the world began to become gloomy. The flowers withered and the animals began to become evil and horrible. The Enchanted Hog-Monkey began to cry and the skies dropped rain onto the world. Lightning began to shake the air and the world became even more gloomy.
As the Enchanted Hog-Monkey tried to return to his friends he fell into an evil trap. He was stuck in this hole, listening to the evils of the world above him. Days passed and the Hog-Monkey sat in his hole, saying to himself 'I know it's today'. For he was waiting for his friends to come and rescue him.
One day, as the Enchanted Hog-Monkey dreamed of an escape from his trap, he felt something on his head. He looked up and saw his friends around the top of the hole. They were still happy and joyous as the gloom of the world did not affect them. 'Do not weep, friend. We have come to save you.' His friends told him. They lowered a rope to him and the Hog-Monkey climbed out of the hole and into the embrace of his friends.
As the Enchanted Hog-Monkey's mood brightened so too did the world. The skies cleared and sunshine shone down upon the happy world. His friends had all been affected by the Hog-Monkey so much that no matter what happened, they could never be as sad as he was. And they played once more and the world was glad forever more. And the Enchanted Hog-Monkey was the happiest of all, for your friends are always good and kind and trustworthy and they will always be there for you, no matter what.
And they all lived happily ever after.
"LIGHTS OUT!" the foreman shouted as the lights of the prison instantly extinguished. But the screams did not. The cell was cold and small and the bars let in the pale moonlight from the tall windows on the ceiling. Two guards passed with one inmate, who was kicking and screaming blood curdling screams. A body fell to the floor outside her cell from the chute that emptied out of the execution chamber, the head came later.
People could be heard shouting to the spirits to let them live. Most of these prayers went without answer. A woman and her children were led past towards their new cell, whip marks clearly upon their backs. The mother tried to comfort her son but the tears pouring from her eyes were not helping.
One guard slammed on the bars of her cell, jingling them and causing her to jump out of her skin. "You're next." He said as he flashed a grin of his rotting teeth. He chuckled and clunked the bars again and left.
Jip sat in the corner of her cell, knees tucked up against her. "I know it's today." She said softly, the Enchanted Hog-Monkey waiting for her friends to save her from this hell.
