The New Canterbury Tales: The Student's Tale
by Teresa C
Rated G (or K)
Disclaimers: The characters of Highlander: the Series belong to Davis/Panzer Productions. The Cookie Tree is by Jay Williams.
A/N: This is the third story in a cycle. The first two are The Warrior's Tale and The Watcher's Tale. You can find all my stories at my website, The Keep.
The SUV made slow progress through what had become a cascading blizzard. The swish-swish of the windshield wipers seemed loud as everyone in the car grew silent. A highway sign came into view, indicating a town could be reached by taking the next turn, but the details were obscured.
"Anyone catch the name of that town?" Methos asked, scowling at his map.
Joe and Richie murmured negatives. A blast of wind rocked the car like a boat on the sea.
"Whatever it is, we're going there," MacLeod said, watching carefully in order to not miss seeing the turn. Even at a crawl, the car slid as he made the turn. MacLeod corrected carefully and proceeded on.
"I know," Richie said, after a few minutes. "I could tell the story of the Snow Queen. What do you think?"
"I think you should think of something else, Rich," Joe said dryly. The two in the front seats did not respond at all.
Before long the blowing whiteness before them grew uneven and blotchy, and signs and buildings and a few parked cars resolved alongside their road. "There," Methos said. On the edge of their vision a warm light glowed in one building. The lit sign was difficult to read, but the word "diner" was clear. MacLeod turned toward it, and parked in front. A red "Open" sign hung inside the glass door.
The four men piled out, into the wind. Richie raced to the door, where he stopped, abashed, when he saw MacLeod waiting politely for Joe. Joe's footing was uneasy in the wind and he made more careful progress than usual. MacLeod, his hands in his pockets, stood upwind from Joe, looking around as if it were a warm Spring day and he could actually see anything. Methos, too, from the other side of the car, approached slowly, for no apparent reason, arriving at the door slightly behind Joe.
Richie opened the door for Joe. "Thanks, Rich," Joe said, and they all blew inside.
The place was a small diner with a counter and a half dozen tables and booths. Behind the counter, rag in hand, stood a large, hulking man in an apron. His smile was missing a front tooth. "Hello, gents!" he said. "Lovely weather we're having."
Only one of the tables had place settings, so the group settled in there, murmuring greetings to their host, who brought them all menus. The moaning wind rattled their windows.
After they'd ordered, Richie announced, "Okay, I've decided. I've got a story for you guys."
"Not the Snow Queen," Joe said.
"Nope. A better story. And I'll bet none of you guys know it."
"Let's hear it, then," Methos said.
The Students' Tale
"Once upon a time there was a village somewhere. Up on a hill, above this village, there was a castle where a wizard lived. He was a very powerful wizard, they knew, because you could see, you know, lightning and stuff coming from the castle. But no one knew the wizard or had ever met him.
"One morning everyone got up and started to go to work, and there in the middle of the town square was this huge tree. It was gigantic, and it hadn't been there before. While everyone was staring at it, someone noticed it had cookies on it. Chocolate chip cookies. They were growing on the tree. The kids were all for picking them, but their parents held them back. It had to be a magic tree, and who knows what it would do to you."
Richie looked around the table. "So, anyone know this one?" Everyone shook his head.
"Go on, Rich," said MacLeod.
"Cool. So the town council meets to talk about what to do about this tree. One guy says 'We can't touch this tree. It must have come from the wizard, and we don't know what he wants.' Another guy says, 'It could be a trap of some kind, with the delicious cookies as the lure.' And another guy says, 'We have to put a fence around it to protect people. It might be especially dangerous to the children.'
"So that's what they did. They built a fence around the tree and warned everyone to stay away from it. But every day the tree had more cookies. Different kinds, too. Luscious lemon cookies, and chocolate, and peanut butter, and those sugar cookies with the big chocolate kiss in the middle." Richie grinned. "My favorite."
Just then the host lumbered over and placed their plates in front of them. He gave them their drinks and sat down with his own drink at the table next to them, unabashedly eavesdropping.
"How do you like the story?" Richie asked him with snark in his tone.
"It's good," the man said with a gap-toothed smile. "What happens next?"
"What do you think?" Richie asked.
"Hmmm. I think some woman picks a cookie and eats it and then offers one to her husband. He eats it and the wizard comes down and kicks everyone out of the village."
MacLeod smiled back at the man. "Seems I've heard that story before."
"Well that's not it. Anyone else want to guess?" Richie looked pointedly at Methos.
Methos finished his cheese sandwich and licked his fingers. "How about, some bad kids steal the cookies and get punished, but some good kids resist temptation and obey their parents and get rewarded?"
"Nope," Richie said triumphantly. "Anyone else?"
Joe and MacLeod shook their heads.
"Well, one night the kids in the town get together and sneak over the fence. They eat every cookie on the tree and boy were they delicious! The villagers get up the next day and find all the cookies gone. They were in a panic, and some mother found cookie crumbs on her little boy's face. Almost all the kids had stomach-aches, too. The grown-ups got together all worried about what the wizard would do now, and what the cookies were going to do to the kids. They decided the best thing they could do was to apologize and beg for the wizard's forgiveness. So the town council sends a messenger up the hill with a letter apologizing for the kids eating the cookies. The messenger shoves the letter under the door and runs back down the hill.
"That night everyone waits, all nervous. The kids all get over the stomach-aches. And the next morning, there in the town center the tree is full of cookies again. As the sun comes up everyone sees there's a letter in an envelope by the tree. The town council guys unlock the gate and go slowly up to the tree with everyone standing around. One guy opens the letter and reads. 'Dear Villagers,' it says. 'I'm glad you enjoyed the cookies. Please accept this tree as my gift and enjoy its fruit for many generations. Sincerely, the Wizard.'
"The kids all let out a cheer, and before anyone could stop them, they poured through the gate and climbed all over the tree. That night they all had stomach-aches again. But the village enjoyed the magic cookie tree for generations. And they all lived happily ever after."
Richie looked around the table. "What do you think?"
"I liked it," Joe said. "It's a good story."
"What's the moral?" asked the host.
"You need to keep a better eye on the kids," Methos quipped.
"Yeah, not every wizard is going to turn out so friendly," said MacLeod.
"No, you guys," Richie cried. "The moral is, the world isn't always a dangerous place. You have to trust people sometimes."
Joe nodded. "And just enjoy the good things that are in front of you."
"It was a story one of my foster-mothers read to me, called The Cookie Tree. I figured you guys don't read many bedtime stories. I had to make some of it up, because I didn't really remember all the details." Richie blushed.
"Storyteller's license," Methos said. "Nothing wrong with that."
"Well, I did it," Richie said to Methos. "Now it's your turn."
"Speaking of enjoying good things," Methos said, addressing the host, "Innkeeper! Please tell me you have beer."
"I do," said the man, getting to his feet.
"Good. My tale is a long one. But, since the storm shows no sign of quitting, lets have drinks all around and get started."
A/N: This will be continued in The New Canterbury Tales: The Scholar's Tale.