Monster History, Lesson 2
Some number of months had passed since Long Tail and Lithe had their discussion, and there had been a few changes. Silent Wind had been matched and married to another furry Mon called Soft Fur, for obvious reasons. This match was good not only for the pair, but for Long Tail and his friends as well, because he was now occupied out of pointing fingers at "trouble-makers". Long Tail, Sharp Mind, One Eye, and now Lithe were making plans to bring changes to the Mons' situation.
"Look, if we rebel, we need to surprise them," Lithe reasoned. "Then they'll have no choices made to surprise us."
"Not too bad, Lithe," Sharp Mind complimented. "But we need tons of supplies, in case something goes wrong, and the only way to get them is by stealing them. That'll give us away."
"He's got a point," One Eye concurred.
"They both do," said Long Tail. "I have an idea: we first sneak a few things out of the Mans' cave, to get the layout and stuff like that down. Then, we send one group to rebel, as both a statement and a distraction, and then we send another group to swipe large amounts of supplies while the Mans are all busy."
"Brilliant!" Lithe beamed, and she kissed her husband on the cheek.
"Well, that's all fine and dandy," interjected One Eye, "But where are we going to get enough people to pull a stunt like that off?"
"That's the easiest part," Lithe said. "Using our individual charms, we get the rest of the community involved and believing in our cause. Then we figure out who'll be best at what and assign them to groups, like some will do the actual stealing, others will hide it and organize it, and then the final group rebels and attracts all the attention. It's foolproof."
"Should we start now?" Sharp Mind suggested with a grin.
They set off to their task. Long Tail's mother was first to jump on the travois, so to speak. They got quite a few others in the community up to it fairly quickly. They even got Soft Fur, though she refused to try to get Silent Wind, her own husband, to join. Soon he and Wise Ear were the only ones left to convince.
One day, Silent Wind was complaining about the current situation when Long Tail was in earshot.
"If the Mans would just give us decent hides, we wouldn't have to replace them so often," Silent Wind grumbled.
"Complaining about it won't change it, Silent Wind," Long Tail interrupted. "Only action will."
"Since when have you been an expert on the subject?"
"Since I decided to take action to change things. The Mans have been treating us unfairly for years. They might have stopped if we had said something, but we didn't. Now is the time to tell them we don't like this, before we starve or freeze as a result of unjust treatment."
"You seem to have this thought out, Long Tail. But our parents and Wise Ear have always said that they are giving us a privilege in their hospitality, for letting us share with them."
"That may have been how it was intended," Long Tail agreed. "But then they got used to us always helping them, sometimes even doing things that they couldn't, and took it for granted. Then they began to give us the dregs of whatever they had, and got accustomed to bullying us and became addicted to feeling superior to us. Also, I think they trod us down, because they're afraid of us."
"Afraid of us?" asked Silent Wind, befuddled. "Why?"
"Because of our differences. They don't stand nearly the chance of survival we do. Every year, one of them freezes to death or gets stomped by some animal we hunt. But none of us have. Because we're different. Better adapted. We, spread among us, have fur, prehensile tails that can act as extra hands, some have better hearing or better eyesight, or even something resembling claws. Do they? No. They have to make ten tools to do what we can do by ourselves. They're afraid they'll go extinct if they don't keep us as downtrodden as possible."
Silent Wind considered his words. "That's an interesting perspective. What is it, exactly, that you propose we do about it? Negotiate?"
"That's been tried," Long Tail reminded him. "Remember when Wise Ear went to them and came back with spears thrown after him? What else could he have possibly been doing, considering that he's the only one they talk to?"
Silent Wind was quiet for a moment, pondering. It was true that Wise Ear was the only Mon that the Mans acknowledged. It did make sense, but he didn't entirely trust Long Tail, and said, "I'll ask him. I'll tell you if it changes my mind."
Long Tail grinned and bade Silent Wind farewell. His cooperation was practically in the bag.
About a day later, Long Tail's instincts and people skills proved correct. Silent Wind came by for a visit, and whispered over the fence, "You were right. He was trying to negotiate. He says we should have done something long ago, but nobody was up to it."
"He should bring it up again. Practically the whole community is up to it now. And my buddies and I have a plan ready. If you can get Wise Ear to bring it up at the next community meeting, I'll reveal the plan then. Can you do that for me?"
Silent Wind hesitated, and then said, "I suppose so. Do you mean the meeting tonight?"
"That is the next one, isn't it?" Long Tail smiled. "Thanks, Silent Wind. It's a big help."
"If you say so," answered Silent Wind reluctantly, and went on his way.
The moment Silent Wind's back was turned, Long Tail did a little victory dance and galloped into the house.
"We got him!" he exclaimed, causing Lithe to jump about a foot in the air. "Silent Wind is going to help us! He talked to Wise Ear, and he's been supporting action long before anyone else has! And he's bringing it up at the meeting tonight!"
"Wait, Long Tail," Lithe interrupted. "I don't know what you're talking about; you're talking too fast! Can you repeat that, slower this time?"
Long Tail relayed the entire incident to his mate, and she was thrilled.
"This is wonderful!" she exclaimed. "We can finally get something going!"
"Yes!" He picked her up and twirled her around. "It will happen!"
The meeting went beautifully. The plan was accepted so quickly that Long Tail was nearly knocked off his feet. Soon everyone was making suggestions and improvements. They soon had nearly every detailed worked out. They would set it in motion in a month.
Just a month! It was happening, not just a promise or a dream. Finally, the dream was becoming a reality.
Would the Mans be in for a surprise!
****************************************************
Okay, that was mostly talk. All right, it was all talk. I'll make something happen next chapter. I've kind of cornered myself into it. I'd like to thank my first three reviewers for being so positive and for catching on to my little connections (Did anyone catch on to Slug Singer, by the way?). That bit that Pit Bull Lady gave me on the legends of an intelligent reptile race was very interesting, and I would like to thank her. So, Thank you, Pit Bull Lady! And I feel I need to thank whatever Pixar employee it was who had that little monster history bit put on the disc, because it was my inspiration! Of course, so was Fiddler on the Roof, and Clan of the Cave Bear, too. Okay, I'm rambling now. I'll just shut up now.
Some number of months had passed since Long Tail and Lithe had their discussion, and there had been a few changes. Silent Wind had been matched and married to another furry Mon called Soft Fur, for obvious reasons. This match was good not only for the pair, but for Long Tail and his friends as well, because he was now occupied out of pointing fingers at "trouble-makers". Long Tail, Sharp Mind, One Eye, and now Lithe were making plans to bring changes to the Mons' situation.
"Look, if we rebel, we need to surprise them," Lithe reasoned. "Then they'll have no choices made to surprise us."
"Not too bad, Lithe," Sharp Mind complimented. "But we need tons of supplies, in case something goes wrong, and the only way to get them is by stealing them. That'll give us away."
"He's got a point," One Eye concurred.
"They both do," said Long Tail. "I have an idea: we first sneak a few things out of the Mans' cave, to get the layout and stuff like that down. Then, we send one group to rebel, as both a statement and a distraction, and then we send another group to swipe large amounts of supplies while the Mans are all busy."
"Brilliant!" Lithe beamed, and she kissed her husband on the cheek.
"Well, that's all fine and dandy," interjected One Eye, "But where are we going to get enough people to pull a stunt like that off?"
"That's the easiest part," Lithe said. "Using our individual charms, we get the rest of the community involved and believing in our cause. Then we figure out who'll be best at what and assign them to groups, like some will do the actual stealing, others will hide it and organize it, and then the final group rebels and attracts all the attention. It's foolproof."
"Should we start now?" Sharp Mind suggested with a grin.
They set off to their task. Long Tail's mother was first to jump on the travois, so to speak. They got quite a few others in the community up to it fairly quickly. They even got Soft Fur, though she refused to try to get Silent Wind, her own husband, to join. Soon he and Wise Ear were the only ones left to convince.
One day, Silent Wind was complaining about the current situation when Long Tail was in earshot.
"If the Mans would just give us decent hides, we wouldn't have to replace them so often," Silent Wind grumbled.
"Complaining about it won't change it, Silent Wind," Long Tail interrupted. "Only action will."
"Since when have you been an expert on the subject?"
"Since I decided to take action to change things. The Mans have been treating us unfairly for years. They might have stopped if we had said something, but we didn't. Now is the time to tell them we don't like this, before we starve or freeze as a result of unjust treatment."
"You seem to have this thought out, Long Tail. But our parents and Wise Ear have always said that they are giving us a privilege in their hospitality, for letting us share with them."
"That may have been how it was intended," Long Tail agreed. "But then they got used to us always helping them, sometimes even doing things that they couldn't, and took it for granted. Then they began to give us the dregs of whatever they had, and got accustomed to bullying us and became addicted to feeling superior to us. Also, I think they trod us down, because they're afraid of us."
"Afraid of us?" asked Silent Wind, befuddled. "Why?"
"Because of our differences. They don't stand nearly the chance of survival we do. Every year, one of them freezes to death or gets stomped by some animal we hunt. But none of us have. Because we're different. Better adapted. We, spread among us, have fur, prehensile tails that can act as extra hands, some have better hearing or better eyesight, or even something resembling claws. Do they? No. They have to make ten tools to do what we can do by ourselves. They're afraid they'll go extinct if they don't keep us as downtrodden as possible."
Silent Wind considered his words. "That's an interesting perspective. What is it, exactly, that you propose we do about it? Negotiate?"
"That's been tried," Long Tail reminded him. "Remember when Wise Ear went to them and came back with spears thrown after him? What else could he have possibly been doing, considering that he's the only one they talk to?"
Silent Wind was quiet for a moment, pondering. It was true that Wise Ear was the only Mon that the Mans acknowledged. It did make sense, but he didn't entirely trust Long Tail, and said, "I'll ask him. I'll tell you if it changes my mind."
Long Tail grinned and bade Silent Wind farewell. His cooperation was practically in the bag.
About a day later, Long Tail's instincts and people skills proved correct. Silent Wind came by for a visit, and whispered over the fence, "You were right. He was trying to negotiate. He says we should have done something long ago, but nobody was up to it."
"He should bring it up again. Practically the whole community is up to it now. And my buddies and I have a plan ready. If you can get Wise Ear to bring it up at the next community meeting, I'll reveal the plan then. Can you do that for me?"
Silent Wind hesitated, and then said, "I suppose so. Do you mean the meeting tonight?"
"That is the next one, isn't it?" Long Tail smiled. "Thanks, Silent Wind. It's a big help."
"If you say so," answered Silent Wind reluctantly, and went on his way.
The moment Silent Wind's back was turned, Long Tail did a little victory dance and galloped into the house.
"We got him!" he exclaimed, causing Lithe to jump about a foot in the air. "Silent Wind is going to help us! He talked to Wise Ear, and he's been supporting action long before anyone else has! And he's bringing it up at the meeting tonight!"
"Wait, Long Tail," Lithe interrupted. "I don't know what you're talking about; you're talking too fast! Can you repeat that, slower this time?"
Long Tail relayed the entire incident to his mate, and she was thrilled.
"This is wonderful!" she exclaimed. "We can finally get something going!"
"Yes!" He picked her up and twirled her around. "It will happen!"
The meeting went beautifully. The plan was accepted so quickly that Long Tail was nearly knocked off his feet. Soon everyone was making suggestions and improvements. They soon had nearly every detailed worked out. They would set it in motion in a month.
Just a month! It was happening, not just a promise or a dream. Finally, the dream was becoming a reality.
Would the Mans be in for a surprise!
****************************************************
Okay, that was mostly talk. All right, it was all talk. I'll make something happen next chapter. I've kind of cornered myself into it. I'd like to thank my first three reviewers for being so positive and for catching on to my little connections (Did anyone catch on to Slug Singer, by the way?). That bit that Pit Bull Lady gave me on the legends of an intelligent reptile race was very interesting, and I would like to thank her. So, Thank you, Pit Bull Lady! And I feel I need to thank whatever Pixar employee it was who had that little monster history bit put on the disc, because it was my inspiration! Of course, so was Fiddler on the Roof, and Clan of the Cave Bear, too. Okay, I'm rambling now. I'll just shut up now.