"It's not far now," said Ruskem. "Just over that hill." It was the next day and he was leading Moon and Felch to the shrew village.

"Ya t'ink dere'll be other ponies dere when we arrive?" Moon asked hopefully.

"I couldn't say," Ruskem replied, "but like I told you, ponies visit the village often."

They climbed the hill. From their vantage point on a rocky boulder strewn spur, they looked down. Far below, in a valley between the hill and the big mountain Moon and Felch had been heading for, were adobe huts with roofs made of rich alluvial soil. Moon could see shrews farming, planting seedlings, and gathering in their vegetable crops: mushrooms, onions, turnips, and stuff like that. The river ran right through the middle of the village, and a bunch of shrews were running around by its banks, but Moon couldn't tell what they were doing.

"Watch your step going down, amigos," Ruskem warned. "It's steep. Walk only where I walk."

Moon and Felch were grateful for the advice. The slope was a steep wasteland of thistle, fern, scree, boulders, and shale. They followed Ruskem, careful to only put their feet in the places where he had stepped.

When they reached the bottom, Bodjev, the tiny fat chieftain of the pigmy shrew tribe, was standing there with a large bunch of his warriors, each bearing a pine club, tipped with flint shards. Bodjev's torso was enwrapped in a once resplendent coat covered with yards of gold braid. Upon his legs were some rusty and ragged overalls. His feet were bare.

Bodjev scowled when he saw Moon and Felch. "What'd you bring those Juska here for, Ruskem?" he demanded. "Todos los chicos son muy malos!"

"These two beasts are my friends, senor," Ruskem hastened to assure him. "I can vouch for them. They stayed in my house all last night and didn't lay a paw on me or steal nothing."

"That's probably because you don't have nothing worth stealing," Bodjev growled.

Moon stepped forward. "Look, Bo, my name's Moon, an' da reason I got dese tats on my mug is cos I was captured by voimin. Dey marked up my face an' tried to make me a voimin too. I escaped, an' now dey hate me an' wanna kill me." This was basically the truth, but the way she told it, she made it sound as if the kidnap had happened only recently, instead of when she was a baby.

"What about the fox?" said Bodjev.

"Well, da fatheaded ferret who was da chief o' da tribe wanted to croak dis poor boob Felch too, for losin' his favorite knife, so I rescued 'im an' brought 'im along wid me. He's poifectly harmless- couldn't hoit anybeast if he tried." She put her arm around him. Felch tried to look as harmless as he could.

Bodjev folded his arms. "And why have you come here?"

"It's like dis, ya see- I hoid dat other ponies come ta your town a lot, an' I was hopin' ta meet some o' dem."

Bodjev's son Alfik was standing beside him. He said, "Ay caramba, look at the size of 'er, Daddy! Did you ever see a beast so big?"

Bodjev glared at his son and clipped him a good one on the ear. "You're not a little nino no more, Alfik. What'd I tell ya? My name's Bodjev, only Daddy when you were little. Bodjev now, 'member that!" He turned back to Moon. "We expect a boatload of ponies to arrive tomorrow."

"You mean we can stay?" Felch said.

"If Ruskem likes you, I guess you can be trusted."

"Bully for you, ol' pot!" Moon exclaimed, fluttering into the air just like her little sister Fahari had done a few chapters ago.

"Now, do you like snakefish pie?" Bodjev asked as he shook hands with Moon and Felch.

Felch smiled politely. "Never tasted it, sir, but I'll try anything once!"

Bodjev put his head on one side. "Good, eh? You come with me, and we'll all have snakefish pie."

Moon looked back at Ruskem. "You comin' with us?"

"No, I gotta get back to my own home," Ruskem said. "But best of luck to you, senorita. I hope you find the answers you're looking for."

"I hope so, too, Ruskem," said Moon. "T'anks for all da help!"

"Adios," he said as he turned to go back up the hill.

Bodjev led Felch and Moon to his house. On the way, they passed by the river and Moon got a closer look at what was going on there. The shrews on the bank were lassoing tiny creatures with ropes and pulling them out of the river.

"What're dose t'ings?" Moon asked Bodjev.

"Snakefishes," he said.

Felch knew what the tiny creatures were. He had seen them once before. "Elvers, mate! Those are little tiny eels. There's shoals an' shoals of 'em. Where'd they all come from? We've been down this whole stream on our way here and didn't see a single one." The wide brimmed hats the fisher shrews wore made them look like cowboys, except they were roping eels instead of cattle.

Bodjev took Moon and Felch to his hut, which was bigger than the others. His wife, Chich, came to meet them at the door. "These are my new friends, Moon an' Felch," Bodjev said. "You be cookin' lots a snakefish pies for us, quick now!"

As Bodjev passed through the door, Chich gave him a sharp whack on the behind. "Don't tell me what to do in my own kitchen! One day I'll bake you in a pie!"

Bodjev turned to Moon and Felch with a rueful smile. "Haha, that's mi esposa, always makin' jokes. She really loves me very much."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Moon and Felch were seated at a table with Bodjev, his family, and some of his friends. The shrew chieftain had many sons and daughters, and their table manners were little better than atrocious. They stole food from each other and engaged in pie fights of amazing savagery.

If anybeast had told Moon that she would enjoy snakefish pies before she had tasted the dubiously named dish, she would have declared them mistaken. But the pies were absolutely delicious, round and flat with a soft white pastry crust and a filling that did not resemble anything that looked, smelled, or tasted like eel. It had a texture of oatmeal and a flavor of salt, parsley, and sage. Moon and Felch ate six apiece.

But after everybeast had finished eating, the sound of a gong came from outside. All the shrews set up a pitiful wail, then lurched to their feet and headed outside. Moon and Felch got up and followed them.

A shrew was standing in the town square, banging on a gong. All the other shrews were gathering around him. "What's going on?" Felch asked Bodjev.

"It's an old pygmy shrew law," the chieftain explained in a subdued voice. "We gotta make sure the snakefish come back nex' year."

"Hmm. How d'ya manage ta do dat?" Moon said.

Chich dabbed her apron at her eyes and sniffed. "Every time the snakefishes come; we must choose one shrew to meet Yo Karr."

"I don't like the sound of that," Felch said.

Moon took his paw. "Come on, cul. Let's go see what's goin' to happen!"

The shrews all headed into a cave at the foot of the mountain. Moon and Felch went in too.

The river ran through the cave, opening into an underground lake. The cave ceiling was smooth limestone rock, with one long stalactite hanging down.

The gong was struck again, and an old shrew in long robes cried out, "Get in line! Get in line!"

All the shrews formed an immense line.

"Should we be doin' dis too?" Moon asked.

Bodjev shook his head. "You two are only visitors, so you get off. Lucky you."

The shrews began chanting. "Yo Karr, Yo Karr, Yo Karr!" They passed under the stalactite, one by one.

Felch and Moon stood off to the side. "What in the name o' fur 'n' feathers's goin' on 'ere?" Felch wondered.

Moon shrugged. "Prob'ly some silly old ritual dat goes back as far as anybeast can remember. Look, da ones who've passed under it are goin' off ta stand by da walls again."

Felch watched with growing interest. "I wonder who Yo Karr is?"

Dinat, one of Bodjev's pretty daughters, was passing beneath the stalactite now. Plock! A fat drop of water fell from the tip, landing right on her face. A mighty cry arose from the shrews as the line broke. "Yo Karr!"

Dinat began to cry. Her family huddled around her, hugging one another and weeping. An uneasy feeling had been building up in Moon's chest. She went over to Bodjev and pulled him away from the group. "Listen, Bo, I don't like dis. Now gimme da dope once an' for all, what's goin' on? Why are ya all blubberin' like dis, huh?"

Tears ran openely down the fat little chieftain's face. He pointed to the deep lake near the cavern's center. "It's the law. You look, you'll see."

From the blue-green translucent depths, something came rushing up and broke the surface. Moon felt herself go stiff with fright. It was a gigantic eel, a much larger version of the ones the shrews had been hunting.

Moon's mane bristled with horror and anger as she yelled at the pygmy shrew chieftain, "You're not goin' t'let 'em feed your daughter ta dat t'ing, are ya?"

Bodjev hung his head and turned away. "It is the law. So that the snakefish will return, Dinat must go to meet Yo Karr."

Moon dashed to the shrewmaid's side and put a protective hoof around her shoulders, roaring defiantly, "Not while Nightmare Moon Juskarath Taggerung's around she ain't! I'll drop da foist one who puts a paw on 'er!"