#as soon as he gets to the ‘the animals forgive me the trees forgive me’ part its literally all over

[judeiscariot]

i dont even have anything left to say about frank iero kimya dawson anyone else but you duet i just need to inform all of you once again that i think its pretty cool or whatever

[inkofthebrain]

GLUTTONY

[Lee (Bones and All) x Reader]

Warnings: Typical Bones and All things

Tags: No Maren (sorry bae ily) Mentions of religion/religious trauma, drugs & alcohol, no use of y/n, blue truck lives, future series, more tags will be added, briefly proofread

It was always nauseating, but you were thrown in such a frenzy that it was impossible to stop. A carving never to be quenched. You always believed you could change, maybe one day you will forgive yourself.

Hope has always been a sticky game. You, especially, used it to lure your victims. A guy at a bar grabbing your ass a few times before slipping something into your drink “hoping” to get lucky? You are observant. You always had to be. You knew his intentions before he could even begin to initiate the sick action.

You just so happened to have been dumped in a small town In the middle of nowhere northwest by a ride you managed to pick up in North Cali. There was talk of some animal killing a few of the locals and their pets. A perfect cover.

You let him take you home, pretending to be drunk off your ass, and then you pounced on him. Not even 10 feet into the house. You had struck him down with a lamp and started eating.

His flesh was warm and blood entered your mouth in a rush as you ripped it from his body, at this point the blood loss and pain had rendered him unconscious. It felt heavenly, it felt blasphemous.

As you stand above the man, half eaten and mauled, you turn your gaze to the cross above the door. There was no god. You learnt this early on.

No matter how often your mother tried to bash it into your head it would not click. You were an odd child born out of wedlock in a small religious town. You had always kept to yourself. Whether that was of your own doing or your mothers was something you had yet to figure out.

Your mother knew what you were, you had a sister. Your father had gotten to her and your mother had gotten to him.

The rest of your adolescence was spent in rebellion, but the night before your 18th birthday your mother quickly packed up a few things, took you up north for a “trip” and before you even woke up in the mildew smelling motel; she was gone.

Months later, here you were, walking along the interstate until you passed an abandoned barn and a familiar smell filled your nostrils. What you had thought was just your fathers cologne was here, in the middle of nowhere, emanating from a barn.

Your curiosity and better judgment bashed against one another as your legs gained a mind of their own and you crept closer, taking deep breaths and trying to pinpoint the source. Every nerve in your body was on fire when a figure emerged from behind the rickety wood.

“He's a few yards back if you wanna…” He looked to be at least a head taller than you and scrawny. With what was illuminated in the moonlight you were able to see the dirty ripped jeans he had on, or at least what was left of them, and a slight tinge of red in his hair that matched the red staining his skin.

“Were you..” you trailed off.

“I smelt you a few yards before you walked up” He says bluntly before beginning to walk away.

“I didn’t know I could do that” you said quietly, eyes following the strange man.

“Yeah well, ya can. He’s back there if you want a bite. I’m heading out of here” He says while walking, his strides were long but staggered due to his slight stumbling in the dark brush.

Before you could stop yourself you were jogging to catch up to him, staying a few feet back. You began to look around at your surroundings, the trees, the light from the moon shining through the overcast. Soon your body collided with a warm figure.

“Sorry” you said before taking a step back, he turned to face you, “it’s just, I ran out of money a few days ago and I’ve been walking trying to catch a ride since”

“So you want to ride with me?” He asks mockingly and you nod your head.

“I just need to get to the next town” You say, kicking some of the dirt below your feet, “Please?”

“What do I get out of it, huh?” He asks. You look up to meet his eyes before turning on your heels and walking away.

“Forget it, I knew it was a stupid idea” you grumbled as the sound of dried leaves crunched below your feet. It’s early fall and you need to find a town soon. Before the nights started getting too cold. Maybe you could wait for him to leave and hole up in the barn.

“I’m lee.” It was then you really noticed his voice. He sounded to be about your age but he had a sultry rasp that poked out when he spoke in a low tone. You stop in your tracks for a beat and say your name before walking on.

“I’m not an asshole you know,” he shouts out, “I just don’t meet many others”

You turned around and narrowed your eyes at him. The entire conversation seems redundant yet he keeps dragging it on.

“Ok”

“Ok.” He responded before clapping his hands together and taking a breath, he had taken a few strides closer. “I’ll give you a ride into town, I’ll get you a bite to eat—actual food. You look like you haven’t eaten in days.”

“I haven't,” you retorted. His demeanor was odd, he had an awkward posture and it was difficult to read his tone, much less his facial expressions in the dark.

“My car is this way.” He said before spitting a glob of blood onto the floor and turning away.

After watching him walk a few feet ahead you followed behind, keeping your eyes on his figure. Soon enough a truck entered your field of vision and as the two of you approached closer you could make out its tattered blue paint job.

Lee opened the door before grabbing a bag that was sitting in the cab and threw it in the truck bed before climbing in. He motioned for you to hurry up, and you did.

Once you made your way around and into the car you noted the smell of cigarettes and the tattered leather seats. The smell must be sticking to the leather.

“You’re a quiet one, aren't ya” he said as he started the car.

“I just don’t have anything to say” you shrugged your shoulders, looking ahead at the dark road.

“I don’t believe that” And with that we were on our way.

———

Next chapter (coming soon…)

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[son-of-a-ghost]

Care (Jeff the Killer x reader smut)

A/N Yeah, I haven’t written shit to post since early high school and I just graduated college.  This doesn’t make sense, but I had a good time writing it, so I’m sharing it with the void that is Tumblr.  Maybe someone will like it, idk.  

I am also aware that this is bad.  Shush.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Jeff, please!”

You called out, begging for him to slow down, but the killer didn’t slow down.  He kept up his brutal pace, pounding into your pussy with a vigor he usually reserved for murder.  Groans and growls escaped his lips, emanating from his chest.  

“Huh-huh too much!” you whined out again, and this time he snapped up his head to look into your eyes.  Piercing blue eyes clouded with lust stared deep into your soul, wild and out-of-touch with reality.  

Suddenly, it was like a switch flipped and he remembered where he was and who he was with.  He slowed his pace.

“Sorry, love, you just feel so good.  Do you need a break?”  He questioned, panting to regain his breath and composure.

You nodded a response, taking a deep breath of relief when he pulled out of you.  Every muscle ached and you had no idea how long you and him had been at it, you just know that it was becoming too overstimulating.  Jeff straddled your thighs, leaning down to kiss your lips, hands running through your hair to comb out any knots.  

Exhausted, you kiss him back, relaxing into his kisses and touch.  Despite how rough he can be during sex, these moments of kindness and compassion when he realizes he took it too far are part of what keeps bringing you back to his room night after night, begging for him to ravage you.  

Soon, your exhaustion took over your body and you fell asleep, Jeff still kissing your lips until he realized you were asleep.  He moved off your body to hold you while you slept, pulling a blanket up over both of you.  Subconsciously, you snuggled closer to him and he smiled; a real smile.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next night, Jeff wasn’t surprised to once again hear a quiet tapping at his door.  He already knew you were behind it, but what he wasn’t ready to see was instead of you being extremely turned on and needing him, your face was instead streaked with tears and you sniffled.

“What’s up?” he tried to casually say, but the concern colored his voice more than he would have liked to let on as he opened the door further to let you in.  

“LJ is a goddamn jerk, that’s what’s up,” you sniffled again.  

“He fucking stole my rabbit stuffed animal, and yeah, I know it’s so stupid to have it but forgive me that I have something from my childhood before this fucking place.  And he won’t give it back!”  Anger filled your voice as you relayed this short story to Jeff, plopping yourself onto his bed.  

He was a little stunned.  You had never come to him with a problem before.  Usually he saw you as a confident person who wasn’t afraid of any of the weirdos and demons that called the forest home.  Yet, here you sat in his bedroom, crying over a stuffed animal.  He was unsure of what to do, but what he did know was that this was something serious.  And he wasn't very good with seriousness.  

“Uh… uhm, do you want me to get you a new one?”  Jeff offered awkwardly.  In response, you wrapped your arms around yourself and hugged yourself.  A sniffle escaped your nose, followed by a quiet, “No.”  

Jeff walked to his bed and cautiously sat down next to you.  “Why can’t you get it back?  You’ve never been afraid of any of us before.”  

“I’m not fucking scared, I just can’t find it in LJ’s stupid carnival.  It could be anywhere.”  

Jeff felt the anger building in his chest that LJ had done something that had upset y/n so much.  He stood wordlessly and began walking towards the door.  “Wait, where are you going?” you called after him.  “Out,” was his one word response.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You sat in your room alone, watching the tree line outside the house for any animals.  You couldn’t sleep, you were still riled up from the events of the day and couldn’t stand the thought of trying to sleep without your stuffed rabbit.  Another sniffle held back another round of tears.  

Tap, tap, tap…

A light knocking sounded from your door.  You debated not answering it; you didn’t really want to see anyone right now.  But when the knocking came again, a little louder, you moved to open the door.  

Standing outside was Jeff, a little bloody, but gently carrying something behind his back.  Wordlessly, he revealed what he had been hiding.  

Your rabbit!

A huge smile overtook your face as you grabbed it and held it to your face.  It didn’t smell quite right anymore, but it was definitely your stuffed rabbit.  After hugging the rabbit, you hugged Jeff with an intensity he had never experienced from you.  

“Thank you,” you whispered into his ear.  

“No problem,” was his muffled response as he buried his face into your neck.  

This hug didn’t end quickly, and soon Jeff began kissing your throat, leaving nips where he knew your sensitive spots were.  You whined softly each time.  

Releasing him, you made eye contact with him and dragged him backwards into your room.  He shut the door behind him, especially as his dick started to swell and he could feel your heart rate pick up.  

Inside your room, you paused his advances to put your stuffed rabbit on a chair, off the bed.  You didn’t want your precious stuffed animal to be anywhere near the two of you while you were being ~intimate.~

Jeff grabbed your hips and pulled you closer to him when you turned around, kissing you roughly.  You giggled.

“You didn’t rescue my rabbit to get in my pants, did you?”  You questioned him.  

“Of course not,” Jeff laughed back.  “I did it because I care for you and this is something you were upset about.  I knew it meant a lot to you.”  

“...you care for me?”  You repeated.  “You’ve never said that before.”  

“Oh.  You think I let you into my room every night and let you sleep in my bed with my blankets and I don’t care about you?”  He questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

“I guess… yeah, that is what I kind of thought.”  

He shook his head.  “If I didn’t care about you, I would at the least kick you out of my room after I was done fucking your brains out.  Or leave you high and dry.”  

You whined, pouting.  “Ah, shush, I wouldn’t do that to you,” he responded to your pouting.  “Now, lay down.  I need you,” he commanded, pushing you towards the bed.  You laid down, giggling the whole time.  

[happilyhertale]

Destiny is all - Osferth x female!reader, Part 2

Summary: You are Finan's sister. You live in a village in Scotland, near the border with Northumbria. You lead a quiet life until your brother decides to visit you with his boys and your life changes completely.

Pairing: Osferth x fem!reader

Author’s note: Hey you (:

Now I am finally sharing my little Osferth story with you. The events are a little different from the story in the series. (No, Osferth will not die either). I hope you will enjoy it! English is my second language, please forgive me if I made any mistakes (:

And... Happy Easter (:

Warnings: Fluff

Word count: 3.8 k

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Other stories of mine

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

You get to accompany the boys. You joyfully hug Finan before you go back into the small house. The others are still lying on the floor and sleeping. Quickly you go into your room and pack up the essentials. You stand in the middle of your room and turn around for a moment. Your gaze falls out of the window. The trees of the forest are visible... How often have you sat there at the window and simply looked into the forest. Until the sun went down and the shadows of the forest started to play tricks on you.

Subconsciously, you may even have hoped that Finan would simply step out of the shadows of the forest. Somehow you are sad to leave your home. But the anticipation of being with Finan again outweighs your sadness.

You turn towards the door as you hear the boys begin to groan and grumble.

"Oi! Get up! We've got some distance to cover today!" you hear Finan say.

You have to grin and pick up your things.

The boys are now standing in the middle of your house, waking up. You can't help but look at Osferth. His eyes are very small and his dark blond hair is a mess. He looks cute. You turn around smiling and go out of the house to prepare your horse for the journey.

The boys follow you shortly afterwards and go to their horses. There is not much to hear. Only the birds are chirping in the forest. The boys quietly prepare for the next journey.

As you sit on the horse's back, you turn around once more, look towards your house. You smile and turn your gaze forward again.

The boys are not very talkative, but you blame it on the early morning.

A while passes and neither of you really talks much. Only a few grunts can be heard from time to time. You, on the other hand, enjoy the landscape and joyfully observe the animals that cross your path.

At some point Osferth rides up beside you. At first you don't talk and he smiles shyly at you now and then. You chuckle sometimes. But when Osferth no longer wants to put up with the pleasant silence between you, he keeps engaging you in conversation.

Your conversation doesn't seem to stop.

He asks you about what your childhood was like. What your parents were like and what Finan used to be like. To the last question you just reply with a grin, "Finan hasn't changed much"

Osferth chuckles.

You like the fact that Osferth is asking attentively and seems to be listening carefully. It's a nice change from the men who have no real interest but rather try to get under your dress.

You are riding through a quiet forest as the sun begins to set.

Suddenly Uhtred stops, "We should sleep there"

You look at Uhtred and see him pointing to a spot covered in meadow and moss. The boys nod to him and you dismount from your horses. As you slide off your horse and watch Osferth for a moment, you realise that you don't really know anything about him... You talked all the time and only answered his questions.

You suddenly hear rustling behind you and see Sihtric walking through the forest. He starts collecting wood to make a small fire.

After he successfully lit the small campfire, you quickly gather around it to warm up. But you soon realise that you are pretty tired. The boys are still sitting by the fire as you snuggle into your furs a little away from it. Snuggled into your fur, you soon fall asleep. In the night you notice that Finan is suddenly behind you. A pleasant warmth emanates from him. Up to a certain point you are glad that he is warming you. When you hear his snoring, you are no longer so happy. From then on, it was no longer possible for you to find a deep sleep. When his snoring becomes too loud, you kick him. He responds with a grunt. It also helps for a short time. But as soon as his snoring starts again, you give him nasty looks.

As the sun rises, you sigh. But you get up and the boys quickly follow you.

This day looks no different from the previous one. You ride, and after a while Osferth rides beside you again. This time it doesn't take so long for him to engage you in conversation. But now you want to know more.

He asks you in a sweet way how you usually spend your mornings. You answer him in detail, but quickly ask him a question before he can ask the next one.

"Osferth... How is it that ya are on the road with the boys?"

He smiles, "My uncle Leofric fought alongside Uhtred for a long time. He has spoken much of Uhtred. What a good man he is. And what an arseling he is at the same time... And well... After my uncle was killed in battle, I managed to convince Uhtred to let me fight by his side as well... as my uncle did," now his smile turns into a proud expression. You have to chuckle briefly when you see the expression, and he has to laugh briefly too.

"And that's how ya got your nickname? The boys just called ya Baby Monk?"

Now he looks slightly annoyed, "Not quite... I actually owe it to your brother..."

You grin at him, "And I take it ya don't like the name?"

He looks ahead at the road, "I don't know if I'd call not liking it... But I'm not a baby. Perhaps at the beginning.. But I have evolved well! But... I think it's okay if your brother calls me that"

You smile. He turns his gaze to you. When he notices your smile, he smiles shyly and looks ahead again. A soft chuckle can be heard.

"Osferth... May I call ya Os?", you ask softly.

He nods, "You may"

"Os..." you grin at him, "What was your childhood like?"

He hesitates suddenly and looks off into the distance.

"Os...?", you ask after a while.

He looks at you, "Lady... As you may have noticed, I am not a lord... I'm just a bastard. My childhood was not so... sheltered"

There is a sudden sadness in his eyes. He tries to smile, but the smile does not reach his eyes.

"My mother... she was a serving girl and my father... a... mhm... a highly respected lord. I found refuge in a Catholic church and yes... now I am Baby Monk", he winks at you.

You smile at him, "My Lord... I don't care what your heritage is. I believe ya are an honourable man"

His cheeks redden slightly and he looks forward again. You giggle softly.

As Finan speaks from behind you, "Baby Monk... are ya flirting with my sister?"

You turn to Finan and stick your tongue out at him.

Towards evening you arrive in a village. You are just tired. Your bottom hurts from riding and you long for a bed. You stop at an inn. You are so exhausted that your attempt to get off your horse must look very amusing. Osferth stands beside your horse and wordlessly offers you his hand with a smile on his lips. You have to chuckle slightly, but take his hand. Your eyes meet and you immediately feel your skin burning when your fingers touch it. You let yourself slide off the horse and stand in front of him. You smile at each other without either of you saying anything. At some point Uhtred stands behind you and clears his throat.

Osferth looks at him a little startled, "Lord..." he murmurs.

Uhtred grins, "Finan and Sihtric are already in the inn. I'll try to organise beds for us"

Uhtred just walks past you and winks at you. Osferth still look slightly startled, but he has to smile. Together you go to the inn. You look around for the others, but Finan spots you first.

"Ey!" shouts Finan towards you, holding up a mug of ale, "There ya are!"

You walk over to Finan and Sihtric. You joyfully accept the cup and take a big gulp. You let yourself slide onto the bench next to Finan. The inn is filled with conversation and laughter. The smell of sweat and stale ale fills your nose.

Osferth is sitting opposite you at the table and he suddenly seems almost shy. He talks to Finan and Sihtric, but every time your eyes meet he blushes slightly. You have to chuckle softly each time. He has to smile too, but quickly looks into his ale mug and takes a big gulp.

After a while, Uhtred joins you. He has a piece of bread in his hand and eats it.

"It seems there are not enough beds," Uhtred says as he joins you at the table.

"Lord?" asks Finan as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand after taking a large swig of ale.

Uhtred grins, "There is one free room with three beds... and now we just have to decide who gets to sleep in the same bed with y/n", Uhtred winks at you and you blush slightly.

Finan gives him a warning look, "That's not funny. Not one little bit"

Sihtric laughs. When you hear Osferth chuckle softly, your eyes fall on him again and he blushes immediately. Your cheeks get even redder and you take a sip of your ale.

"Ya needn't get your hopes up! She'll sleep in the same bed with me, of course!" Finan speaks out again.

Uhtred laughs again.

"I can share a bed with Osferth. He smells better than Uhtred," Sihtric speaks up before taking a drink of his ale.

Uhtred throws a piece of bread at Sihtric.

The boys laugh and you take the last sip of your ale.

You slowly stand up, "Boys... I'm going to bed"

The boys nod at you, but Osferth is the only one to respond, "Good night lady."

You smile at him.

"I'll be up in a minute," Finan replies.

But you doubt it, the boys don't seem to have had enough of ale by a long shot.

You leave and walk out of the noisy inn. You walk to your room, you just want to go to bed. But you don't long to share a bed with Finan. The last time you had to share a bed, you were children. But you remember that he takes up a lot of space in bed and pushes others out of bed to have enough space. And last night also brought back the memory of how loud he can snore.

You come into the room. It is small. But a small fire burns in the corner. Dusty curtains hang in front of the window. Laughter from the street comes through the window into the room. Under the window is a small table with two chairs. There is even a small vase on the table with a flower in it. You have to smile. But as you turn further into the room, you see only two beds.

"Oh no...", you murmur.

You go further into the room and discover a small alcove. There is the third bed. You don't hesitate for long and choose the bed. You take off your dress and lie down in the bed in your vest. You quickly fall asleep. Even the shouting and laughter from the street does not stop you. Half asleep, you catch the boys coming into the room. They are drunk and giggling like little girls. You turn your face to the wall. After a while there is silence, but Finan has not yet joined you in bed. You fall asleep again until you hear someone in the room running into a chair and swearing. You have already fallen asleep again when you notice the weight behind you dipping the mattress and Finan getting into bed with you.

You slowly wake up because you notice people shouting in the streets. Finan sleeps behind you. He has his arm around you. He hardly snores. His snoring seems quite gentle. You slowly open your eyes, it is still dark in the room. As your eyes adjust to the darkness, you realise that Finan's snoring sounds quiet because it is far away. You look down at your body. A delicate hand with long fingers lies on your stomach. These are clearly not Finan's fingers. Carefully, you look over your shoulder and see dark blond hair.

Osferth lies behind you, sleeping peacefully. You quickly look back at the wall. Suddenly you feel a warmth spreading through your lower belly as you realise that you are lying next to Osferth with only your vest on and he has snuggled up to you. You feel his warm breath on the back of your neck. He is breathing evenly and calmly. Your heart beats faster. You don't know why a monk has such an effect on you. But you have to smile slightly and your cheeks blush. You can't help but press yourself a little closer to him. Osferth reacts to your movement. He gives a short snore and moves slightly behind you and with one movement he pulls you a little closer to him. Your smile grows. Enveloped by his warmth and his warm breath, you drift back to sleep.

The sun shines into the room. Osferth is slowly waking up. He feels Sihtric snuggle up to him and he has his arm around him. He slowly opens his eyes and sees long warm brown wavy hair and that the body is far too delicate for Sihtric.

"Holy Lord..." he murmurs softly as he realises it is your body. You notice that he is awake and slowly turn your head towards him. He looks at you, startled, "Lady y/n! I am so sorry! I hadn't realised..." but you interrupt his rather less-than-quiet whisper by putting your finger to your lips to signal him to be quiet. He nods at you. Osferth has not yet taken his arm from you, but you have absolutely no objection to lying in his arms any longer. You turn in his arm and cuddle gently against his chest. Osferth just lies beside you, "Lady...? What are you doing?" he whispers.

You have to grin slightly into his chest, "The bed is small and this is the most comfortable way to lie... Is that alright?" you ask quietly.

He nods, "It's... certainly fine," he says softly. So you lie there, in the quiet of the morning and snuggled up to Osferth. After a while, Osferth even dares to put his arms around you. You listen to his soft breathing and how his heart beats regularly. None of you are talking. The grin does not disappear from your face. You feel Osferth lightly slide his fingers over your arm. The warmth of last night spreads through your lower belly again. You bite your lip lightly.

Until you hear Osferth whisper, "My lady... we should get up..."

You would like to lie there forever, but you just nod.

You both slowly stand up and you grin shyly at each other. Osferth steps out of the alcove further into the room and you put on your dress. When you are dressed, you follow Osferth into the room. As you walk further into the room, Finan suddenly opens his eyes. Finan looks at you irritated, still sleepy. When he notices that you are standing in the middle of the room and Sihtric is lying in bed next to him, his eyes grow wide.

"Osferth?!" he shouts in a sleepy voice, "Did ya sleep in bed with my sister?!"

Osferth begins to stammer, "I... It... No.. But yes..."

"Osferth slept with y/n?" mumbles Sihtric half asleep.

With a kick, Finan pushes Sihtric out of bed. Sihtric groans as he hits the floor.

As Uhtred mumbles sleepily, "That’s impossible... Osferth remains a virgin..."

Finan gives Uhtred a warning look and you have the feeling that he would like to kick Uhtred out of his bed too.

You notice that Osferth is blushing.

"No, he did not sleep with me. But I guess ya were too drunk to find the right bed," you reply to Finan.

"And besides, he was a more pleasant sleeping partner than ya... He doesn't snore"

Finan gives you a warning look.

You stick your tongue out at Finan as you gently grab Osferth by the arm and pull him out of the room.

You go out into the street to get something to eat. Osferth manages to organise a loaf of bread for you. You sit in the morning sun and eat your bread in silence.

You are sitting next to your horses. You stroke your horse from time to time as you notice how Osferth keeps looking at you.

"Is everything all right?" you ask gently.

He smiles shyly, "Yes... My lady... I... I just wanted to say that it was nice... this morning when you sought my closeness"

His cheeks turn a dark red and you chuckle lightly.

"I also found it very pleasant," you say softly.

"What did ya find very pleasant?" Finan suddenly grumbles behind you.

You turn to him, "..that you are finally here and we can ride off"

You're riding all day again. Finan is a bit grumpy during the day. And the fact that you try to annoy him from time to time doesn't lift his mood. Uhtred rides ahead. You are surrounded by the forest. Suddenly Uhtred stops and signals with his hand that you should stop. He points to the embankment next to you and behind some trees you see that Danes are riding there.

Finan looks questioningly at Uhtred, but Uhtred does not react. Uhtred leads you a little off the path to make progress under the cover of the trees. He makes sure you keep moving forward in the background. Towards evening you try to find a safe place to sleep. After a while you come to a small area covered in moss and surrounded by trees and bushes. Uhtred just nods at you and you immediately realise that you will sleep here. You dismount from your horses.

When you have tied up the horses safely and the boys are preparing the camp, you just stand around and look into the forest. It is getting darker and so the shadows cast by the trees seem even darker.

You get closer to the boys. They look kind of tense and don't really talk to each other.

"Uhtred? Why do you think the Danes are out here?" you ask quietly. It looks as if the others want to ask the question too, they look at Uhtred curiously.

Uhtred shakes his head slightly, "I don't know exactly. But it's not normal for Danes to travel so deep in this part of the country"

"Lord..," Sihtric says suddenly, "I could try to get some information out"

Uhtred looks at him.

"I mean, I am a Dane. I look like a Dane. If I appeared among the Danes, it wouldn't be noticeable. I could stay with them for some time and find out what they are up to," Sihtric continues to talk

Uhtred thinks for a while. He doesn't seem to think the suggestion is so bad.

"Lord, he's not wrong," Finan continues.

Uhtred finally nods to him, "Very well. Then set out and find their camp. We will wait for you in the next village"

Sihtric smiles and nods. He takes only what he needs and sets off.

The night grows darker and darker and with it comes the cold. You sit on your furs with one wrapped around you.

"Maybe we could make a fire?" you ask at some point.

Uhtred shakes his head slightly, "That would be too conspicuous. It would make everyone notice us"

"Well… At the latest when you start snoring, we'll be noticed anyway," you mumble.

Uhtred throws a stick at you and you laugh lightly.

"I can offer you some ale, I have some with me," Finan says to you.

"Why do you still have ale with you," you say, half laughing.

"Well, for moments like this. When it gets cold," he says before taking out the waterskin with ale. You drink from it.

You lie on your fur and look up into the sky. No clouds cover the sky and you see numerous stars. The trees rustle softly in the wind. Finan and Uhtred are sitting next to you and you can hear them murmuring softly. They talk about the Danes. You don't really follow their conversation, but you catch some things. What they probably want here and whether it would be wise to mess with the Danes now. And if they do, where will they hide you?

You listen to them and continue drinking the ale. And at some point you really notice that you are getting warm and that the alcohol is taking effect. After snuggling further into your furs, you hear the boys lie down after a while. Osferth lies next to you and also looks up at the sky. It is not long before the snoring of Finan and Uhtred fills the night.

You lie on your side and watch Osferth carefully. He eventually turns his face in your direction, "Lady... you're shaking," he says softly.

You didn't notice it, but now you do. Your arms are wrapped around your body and you feel your fingers going numb. Your whole body is trembling.

"It stops when I fall asleep..." you murmur.

"That doesn't really reassure me," he says softly.

You giggle softly. You see him smile slightly.

"Baby Monk is worried about me," you tease him. He snorts, but then grabs your fur in the darkness and pulls you to him.

You shriek softly, "Os!" you whisper, a little startled by the sudden movement.

"If you're frozen to death in the morning, I'll be in trouble with Finan... Besides, I can't fall asleep with your teeth chattering"

You hit him gently, he chuckles lightly. He puts his arms around you and holds you, just like he did in the morning. Only now he doesn't wait to do it. You feel the warmth emanating from him. You notice how you tremble less and your body slowly relaxes. Your faces lie side by side on the fur, you look at each other. You listen to his soft breathing. You slowly close your eyes and notice how you are getting sleepy. When your noses suddenly touch.

You gently caress your noses against each other. Your lips are close together. Suddenly you feel his warm breath on your lips. Your lips brush gently against each other. As he gently presses his lips to yours, you gasp briefly. Tender kisses are exchanged until you finally slowly fall asleep.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Tag list

@aemonds-wifey @hoshi-miharu-blog @arryn-nyx @aemond-targaryenx @praline357 @chainsawsangel @assortedseaglass @darkenchantress @aemondmama @melsunshine @sahvlren @tinykryptonitewerewolf @tssf-imagines @tosiaf @greenowlfactif @slytherinambitious @svtansdaddyx @sarahkimtae @sarahssm121 @drgonstone

[trickstarbrave]

People being wrong about Princess Mononoke is gonna be the death of me I swear

Ashitaka did NOT go on the journey to cure his curse. “Well then what’s the point if he was going to die anyways? Then the story is meaningless!” No it’s not. Princess Mononoke is a story about war, imperialism, and colonization.

Ashitaka is told he can’t cure the curse. It will slowly kill him. The poison from a conflict that has NOTHING to do with him will be the death of him. He is the last prince of their people and he doomed to die. He can sit here and die quietly, or he can lead to seek answers and resolve the conflict that caused it so no one else has to suffer like he did.

Both sides are morally grey. Lady Eboshi is not evil. She took in people others left to die: lepers, beggars, prostitutes. She wanted to build them a life they had agency in and could be proud of. A place they could call home, fall in love, have children in. She wanted to give them the ability to defend themselves. And in the end she made tools of war that poison those around her.

The forest gods can be finicky and cruel. The ape tribe are ready to rip humans apart and eat them in violence. They will kill and maim civilians for the crime of being on the same side. Their territorial battles get people killed. And they also will take in humans as their own and raise them and love them. They try to have balance.

Even the god of the forest, beautiful giver of life and guardian, is at night the thing of nightmares. A being that can curse those who look at it and roams the forest. He takes life away, sometimes in ways that seem too soon. He refuses to curse Ashitaka when he probably could. When his head is cut off in a rage he destroys the whole forest, poisoning it and killing all the animals and spirits within it.

Each figure thinks themselves justified. Are you going to condemn a widow mourning her husband who was ripped apart by wolves when his only job is to carry rice? Who never even shot a gun? Are you going to condemn the wolves protecting their home and the trees humans are uprooting for iron, weapons that are unnatural and rot away in their bodies? Condemn Nago who was driven mad by hatred and war till he couldn’t think straight and ended up trying to kill people who had literally nothing to do with the conflict?

It’s a cycle of violence. In the end more bloodshed won’t undo the tragedies. Won’t end the conflict. They will fight until they’re dead and the whole forest is destroyed along with iron town in total annihilation. Ashitaka cannot undo his curse caused by the conflict by killing them, or asking a higher power to undo it. He knows this.

In the end the curse was undone, but that wasn’t what he expected, and it still left a scar. Iron town and the forest were destroyed. But more people lived. The forest can grow anew. Eboshi resolves to build a new town that doesn’t need iron and smelters so they can live in peace and also be left alone by the emperor (hopefully). Both sides still don’t like each other and can’t forgive the other, but they’re also both victims of imperialism and colonialism like ashitaka’s people were.

The story has meaning. Sorry it isn’t a traditional quest where the hero uses violence or magic to undo all the wounds of the past. That’s not how real life works. We can dismantle institutions, but we cannot undo all the harm. More bloodshed or a higher power won’t resolve it.

[esmedelacroix]

14 days til' Christmas

going to your daughter's hockey game and running into singleparent!miguel o'hara ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

25 days til' Christmas ← previous part

--------------------------------------------------------

You watched as your daughter Mari waved goodbye to Gabi through the window. "I really liked playing Legos with Gabi, it's so much more fun with a friend," your daughter explained.

"That's so true when I was your age I used to love playing Legos with my little brother. We would build the sets together and play for hours," you said thinking back to the moments that you spent with your best friend in your childhood home.

You quickly ushered Mari back into the house not wanting her to catch a cold. "Mari! Get your overnight bag I packed for you and come downstairs your dad's going to be here soon!" you called out to her.

"Okayy!" she called back. You heard her little footsteps echoing above your head.

Soon enough she rushed down the stairs with her duffel and you handed her all of her gear. "Thanks, mama," Mari said as she motioned for you to bring your face closer to hers so she could kiss you on the cheek.

Just then you heard a knock on the door and realized you left the gifts that Mari had gotten for her dad under the tree. You opened the door for her dad and quickly rushed to stuff the gifts in her duffel(Mari wanted it to be a surprise).

"Hey Rafael, come in just packing one last thing," you called out.

You heard him greet Mari followed by her laughter. "Alright don't be too long," he called back, tickling her some more.

"Sorry about that, I almost forgot her favorite stuffed animal," you lied as you handed him her bag.

"It's fine I've gotten used to you never being prepared," he said as took Mari's hand.

"Not in front of her, we said we wouldn't do this in front of her," you muttered as you crossed your arms glaring up at him.

"What? I can't tell the truth? I don't even know why I only have weekend custody, look at this place! There are Legos all over the floor!" he said pointing at the mess.

"Ay dios mío[Oh my god], Rafael! You're scaring her," you said pointing your hand towards Mari working hard to keep your tone in check, unlike her father.

"I'm scaring her? You're putting her in danger by letting her play with such small toys, she might step on them," he said, keeping his tone down after realizing that Mari was starting to get upset.

"Danger? The only danger is you coming into my home and trying to instigate some kind of fight to make me look like the 'bad guy' in front of my own daughter. Mari is nine years old, she knows not to put Legos in her mouth, and she's not blind, she can look where she's walking," you said as you ran a frustrated hand through your hair.

"Okay, but were you even supervising to make sure she was okay?" he said, trying to find some kind of fault in your parenting skills.

"¿Eres estúpido?[Are you stupid?], Of course, I was. Miguel and I were watching our daughters play with Legos," you said as you simply guided him out of your house.

"¿Quién es ese cabrón?[Who is that fucker?]," he asked as he put Mari's stuff into the trunk.

"None of your business, don't forget to make time for Mari's game tomorrow, ¿Vale?[Okay?]," you said as you gave Mari a hug and a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry, me and your dad always fight all the time. I'll make it up to sweetheart, I promise," you whispered as you gave her one last parting kiss before she got in the car.

"Okay, I have a Hockey game tomorrow. Can I go now?" he sighed.

You rolled your eyes making sure Mari could hear you even though you knew she couldn't really understand, "Vete a la mierda[fuck you/fuck off],"

You slammed your door and texted him, 'If you forget to take her to her game like last time, I'll never forgive you'

You hated that you had to say goodbye to Mari every weekend and not see her for days. But you could sympathize with her father because he didn't get to see her on the weekdays.

You couldn't help but shake the feeling that Rafael wasn't as committed to parenting as he was before meeting his girlfriend. You could give two shits if he had started dating just months after your divorce but his girlfriend didn't seem too interested in Mari. On top of that Mari could recount multiple times when she would be dropped off at his neighbors because his girlfriend wanted alone time.

You weren't going to let the toxic thoughts plague you any longer and you allowed yourself to rest and go to sleep.

. . .

The next day was very relaxing. You were able to do some deep cleaning for the winter and since you work on your own hours you popped in and out of shifts and did some grocery shopping.

Once work was finally over and you finished eating an early dinner you checked your watch. Rafael was probably dropping Mari off for her game. She had to be there two hours in advance to prepare herself and warm up.

You had called her and her father in the morning and she seemed very excited about her game. You took your time getting dressed and doing your hair to go to her game. You know you were just going to end up bringing your look because of how passionate of a sports watcher you were.

It didn't matter what sport it was, you were going to scream whenever a player messed up and cheer on the team you thought was going to win if you didn't already have a favorite. To make matters even worse you had a tendency to eat like a pig when you watched sports.

That's probably why none of the single dads approached you at games. You went crazy when it came to being a supportive parent for your daughter.

Just as you were about to make some snacks for Mari's teammates for the end of the game someone was blowing up your phone. Rafael was blowing up your phone.

You picked up his call and put it on speaker as you prepared each teammate's bag. "What is it, Rafe?" you sighed.

"Heyy, mama listen, I don't want you to get upset, but Angela had to go out because she's not feeling well, and I completely forgot about dropping Mari off," Rafael explained in a hushed tone.

"¡¿Qué?!" you gasped hoping that it was just some sick prank.

"Please don't get mad, I'm sorry but it's an emergency. Mari is at Peter's house," he said.

"Seriously? Rafael, I knew you would choose her over your own daughter again. Wasn't feeling well? Just take Advil seriously, is she a child?" you yelled.

"Look I'm sorry I really am-" he started.

"No no, don't apologize to me. Apologize to Mari when you see her after her game," you said as you abandoned the snacks and put your coat on getting your bag and keys.

"Well, I can't make it to her game... Angelica is going to want to eat somewhere and she's vegetarian, she can't have the food at the stadium," Rafael explained.

"You gotta be shitting me. No. For Mari, find a way to at least make it to the end, or else," you threatened

"Or else what?" he instigated.

"Or else I have my lawyer ready. I have so many instances where you neglected our daughter and I can easily take full custody. Seriously, why pick her up just to take her to Peter's house?" you asked. You really didn't want to threaten full custody but he needed that push.

It may have just been a hockey game from anyone looking at the situation from the outside but it's about being there. Being present. I would’ve wanted both my parents present. You thought to yourself. It already hurt enough knowing Mari is different from others in her class and her parents aren't in love anymore. The least we could both do is be there for her.

All you heard was silence on the other lie so you hung up and got into your car. You definitely obeyed all speed limits and most definitely didn't run a red light or two 'on accident' just to get to Mari quickly.

You practically ran up the stairs to the apartment right next to Rafe's. You knocked on Peter's door fidgeting hoping your daughter wasn't upset and she wasn't posing on his evening.

"Hey, squirt!" Peter said as he opened the door greeting you Mayday in his arms obviously wanting to cry.

"Hey Peter, listen I'm sorry about Rafe," you started.

"It's fine, it's always a pleasure having Mari over. I would’ve taken her to her game but Mayday here isn't too fond of the cold," he explained.

Just then you heard Mari run to the door and give you a hug. "Hi mija[darling]," you said as you got on your knees to hug her back.

"Mommy I'm late!" Mari said with tears in her eyes.

"I know and Papa's really sorry but I'm going to get you there in time. Trust me," you assured as you quickly got all her gear and her bags.

"Do you need help with all that?" Peter asked.

"I got it!" you called down as speeded down the stairs.

Mari followed giggling cheering you on.

Once everything was in the trunk and all seatbelts were on, you drove to the Hockey rink. You weren't really speeding because you had your baby on board and you wouldn't allow her to witness your road rage. Well maybe.

You were doing a really good job keeping the yelling in check but there was a car pulling into the rink going at painfully slow speed. You honk your horn at them before driving over the grass patches to overtake them, flipping them off and yelling, "Do you even know how to drive?!"

You swerved right into a parking seat and hopped out of your car, opening the trunk and giving Mari all her stuff telling her to run into the auditorium and get her gear on.

She wasn't on time for the team stretch or for the team dinner but she was right on time for warmups. You already texted her coach about her situation. You were so lucky that he was so understanding.

You were just about to go into the auditorium before taking a look at your terrible parking job before just leaving it and walking in.

You got yourself some snacks and took your seat. Your eyes immediately scanned the ice for your little girl. There you saw her warming up. She was number 23 and she looked ecstatic. A lot more excited than she looked before any other game. That's weird. Is her father here for the first time in forever? You asked yourself to look around to see if he was sitting anywhere.

When you finally looked to your left you saw none other than Miguel?! "Oh my god, hi, what are you doing here?!" you asked as you waved and motioned for him to take a seat next to you.

"Well, my daughter's playing today. On the opposing team," he said as he took his seat.

"Well, then I guess we're rivals today. Best of luck to your daughter though," you said as you looked down and waved at your daughter.

"Best of luck to your daughter too. I hope she's not a crier 'cause her team is about to get crushed," he said.

"Really? So it's like that? You're on Miguel O'Hara. This is war," you quipped.

The two of you laughed at your stupid parental rivalry over your daughters' sports.

"You won't believe what happened when I was pulling in. I take it we were both running late but when I was entering the stadium, there was a car on the way and they were driving as slow as a grandma. I flipped someone off in front of my daughter for the first time. I swear when I find them I'm gonna.... do something bad that will make them regret it," you said, unable to think of a good threat.

Miguel laughed and shook his head before saying, "I'm pretty sure that was me," he chuckled.

Your mouth hung open in shock at his revelation. "And for the record, I do know how to drive," he said before sipping his hot cocoa.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry I didn't mean that. I speed all the time and have terrible road rage issues," you said, placing an apologetic hand on his shoulder.

"I thought you were going to do something bad to me that would make me regret it," he teased.

God, this guy knows what he's doing. With that naturally erotic voice of his. You thought to yourself as you felt the heat rise to your cheeks.

"Well, I'm very forgiving so I'll let you off easy just this once," you said, turning away from him, hiding your flustered expression from him.

Just then, the lights in the stadium began to dim and the game started. The two of you immediately entered sports spectator mode leaning forward and watching your daughters play.

The two of you occasionally yelled when there was a good play and whenever one of your daughters had the puck. Their positions were immediately rival to one another so whenever they were going against each other the two of them went insane.

It was nice to know that there was a parent who was just as crazy about his daughter as you were. The two teams were keeping up with each other pretty well; the score was 3 - 3. There was only one minute left and both teams were doing everything they could.

Luckily Mari's team was working on a fake pass. They weren't going to try it originally but you saw Mari make the hand motion to her team mate and she faked the pass well leaving open space for her to go up the goalpost and shoot with all her might.

Gabi was on her tail but she ended up making it. The stadium erupted with cheers for the team and they all hugged. After Mari celebrated with her team she immediately went to Gabi and pounced on her. She was overjoyed to see her and they were so happy to be playing against each other.

"How does defeat feel?" you asked Miguel while doing a little victory jig.

"Worth it," he answered as he saw you in such a euphoric state with ketchup and mustard on the corner of your mouth from the hotdog you were devouring during the game.

"Here got a little on your mouth," Miguel pointed out as he took out a handkerchief and wiped the condiments off your mouth for you.

"Thanks," you said sheepishly before being interrupted by the stadium erupting in applause randomly. When you looked up you saw you and Miguel on the screens in the center of the stadium for the Kiss Cam.

The two of you looked at each other awkwardly while everyone begged the two of you to kiss thinking you were a couple or something. You turned to him looking up at him. You could feel your heart pounding in your throat. He took the sides of your face in his big warm hands and gave you a quick peck and everyone cheered for you.

You just kept looking up at him tracing your hands over the lips that he kissed. "That wasn't too bad," you joked as you snapped out of the trance he put you in.

"Yeah," you said, shaking his head.

"We should probably go," you started.

"Yeah let's," he said.

The two of you walked down the stairs to go see your daughters in the lobby. Mari and Gabi immediately ran up to the two of you.

"Hey you girls played so well," you said as you gave Mari a hug.

"What do you say we go out to eat?" Miguel suggests looking at you for a nod of approval. You looked down at Mari who was giving you the puppy eyes.

"What the hell, why not?" you said.

"You wouldn't mind if I joined would you?" you heard a voice behind you say.

"Papa!" Mari exclaimed as she ran to hug him. You crossed your arms and rolled your eyes.

"Actually we would mind so maybe you should just crawl on back to your apartment," you said

"Hi I'm Rafael, I'm Mariana's dad," Rafe said, shaking his hand, acting all nice and angelic.

"Oh goodness I'm sorry, you probably just watched me kiss your wife. Look man I'm really sorry I didn't know she was married," Miguel apologized profusely to Rafael.

"No, you kissed my ex-wife, it's all good," Tafael corrected.

"Oh, well you could join us if you would like we were going to get a bite to eat," Miguel started before looking down at Mari who was pulling at his shirt, shaking her head.

"Mama and Papa are fighting right now," she whispered as you glared at Rafael.

"It's okay you all should go. I have things to take care of at my place, you played well today Mari," he said, giving her a playful nuggie.

He waved goodbye and signaled for you to call him later tonight. Probably so that he could explain why he forgot to drop off Mari and left her at Peter's house.

Dinner with Miguel was fine and thankfully he didn't mention or ask out Rafael after seeing how his presence alone upset you so much.

Your daughters had fallen asleep and were in the car. The two of you were outside conversing. "When can I see you again?" Miguel asked.

"You mean like when is our daughter's next playdate?" you asked not sure how you felt about meeting with Miguel alone.

"I was kind of hoping we could have a playdate," he said. You felt heat rise to your cheeks and ears. That voice of his always made the thing he said sound so forbidden but maybe this time it was intended.

"Maybe next week? I'm usually free on Wednesdays," you said.

"Okay it's a date, I'll text you, looking forward to it," Miguel said before getting in his car.

"It's a date," you whispered to yourself with the dumbest smile on your face. you turned around and did a little victory dance forgetting that Miguel was still in fact, right there.

. . .

next part → 9 days til' Christmas

----------------------------------------------------------------------

taglist:

@aripet22@to-the-endoftheline@primroselovessupernatural

[quietlyimplode]

the language of flowers and silent things

Whumptober 2023: Day 19 - A floral bouquet

Warnings: child abuse, nightmares

Word Count: 1.7k (gif not mine)

Summary: after Clint proposes, they both need time to recover and recuperate.

A/N: this is completely unread, forgive the mistakes bound to be embedded. I don’t have the energy to read it though.

Masterlist

Whumptober Masterlist

.

2011

IOWA

Recovery time is granted as a courtesy and requirement. It sets Natasha’s teeth on edge but even she can see that Clint needs it.

She wants the next assignment, the almost dying part not really phasing her. She’d almost died many times before.

If she was a cat, she would have used her nine lives by now. It doesn’t mean the panic for Clint doesn’t permeate into her dreams.

She dreams that she can’t breathe, and wakes up gasping, when she gets back to sleep, she watches Clint gasping for breath.

She performs CPR only to break his ribs and watch him die anyway.

It’s disconcerting and always results in her focusing on him sleeping into the hours of the morning.

He comments that she looks tired, but she always retorts that he does too.

.

There’s a cabin south of Iowa, he invites her to, she knew he had it but they’d never been able to go.

The dainty log cabin smells musty when they arrive, but as soon as it’s aired out, Natasha takes in all the details.

Surrounded by trees, the cabin is four rooms, a kitchen and main room all together, a bedroom and a bathroom.

There’s wood everywhere; bow and arrows on the walls, and a shot gun for good measure. He watches her surveil the place and stands in place, waiting for her assessment.

“Whatddya think?” he smiles.

“Did you make these arrows?” she asks in awe, touching them and continuing to look around.

“Yeah,” he nods, “the bow too.”

The wood fire sits inert and Clint promises to light it at night.

“Come for a walk,” he offers, taking her hand and leading to her to the door, “the weather is good and we can gather some wood.”

Natasha smiles and grabs her jacket as they head out.

The lake surrounds, birds chirping and flowers line the path they take.

It’s renewing in a way she’s never felt before; maybe that the air feels fresher than in the city, and whilst since they’d been released from hospital, breathing had been a little more labored, it feels like it can loosen off.

“Pick some flowers,” Clint prompts, “I’m going to get some twigs and kindling.”

It feels like an odd request, but Natasha follows it, starting with small flowers, pink ones that have tiny petals, she then finds some white ones, cutting them cleanly with her switchblade. She moves away from Clint and finds other flowers, longer ones that look like bells, the purple blending with the others as she traverses around the lake.

The yellow flowers spread everywhere, and she chooses them more selectively. Large petals, and smaller cone shaped ones.

As she heads back up the incline, Clint calls for her to come over.

“This one too?”

The delicate blue wildflowers were small, easy to pick and went well with the bunch that Natasha had picked

“They were my mums favourites,” she smiles.

She holds the bunch up for his approval and he smiles.

“Perfect,” he tells her.

They walk back, conversation easy, light gossip and commenting on the world around.

“Do you think it will storm tonight?” Natasha asks.

Clint shrugs, opening the door and allowing Natasha to enter first.

“Maybe, depends if the temperature drops, then you’re in for a chance.”

They both go about unpacking some food and Natasha starts cooking and cutting vegetables.

He sets about lighting the fire then puts her flowers in water and smiles as he places the forget me nots to the front.

“Tell me about her,” Natasha asks, “your mother? What was she like?”

There’s a beat of silence before Clint acquiesces.

“She loved nature. I think we would have got an animal if it wasn’t for him. I think she knew that if we did it would become another thing for him to destroy or use against us, but she made it up in other ways.”

He moves to the kitchen to help her, grabbing a carrot and chewing on it.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t —“

He waves her off.

“Nah, I want to, otherwise she just lives in my memories, and I’d like her to live in yours too,” he smiles, crunching down.

“She had brown hair, maybe a bit shorter than you, smart but in a clever way. Not book smart I think, as she struggled to read, but the way she could deduce and read people was easy. It always made me wonder how she ended up with my father.”

Natasha turns the portable gas heater on, and passes him the chicken for cooking.

“Did she like to cook?”

Clint laughs.

“No, not at all, we would eat the same thing over and over, meat and vegetables, or potatoes; there were lots of potatoes.”

He takes onions and places them in the pan.

“Barney liked to cook,” he says a bit more softly, “he’d take over from my mother when my father wasn’t home. He loved making sauces and mixing flavours.”

The sizzle on the chicken is loud and so the next words feel more for him than anything else.

“He found Barney once, cooking with my mother looking on, yelled and ranted that it was women’s work. He threw the hot saucepan at him and burnt him across the arm, here,” he says gesturing to his forearm.

“Barney still liked to cook, but was just more careful about how he did it after that.”

Natasha stands next to him.

“I’m sorry,” she tells him.

“It’s okay, I was telling you about her, not him.”

Clint puts the next piece of chicken on the small fryer.

“She liked stories, any stories. So I’d tell her them from school, also, Gus; he had the best stories, so I’d tell her them too. I think she liked to think about them, maybe they helped in some way.”

Natasha takes over the fryer, motioning to the cooked meat for cutting.

“She could be forgetful, and told me things usually more than once, but I didn’t mind. She had the kind of voice that when she spoke you’d listen regardless of what she was saying.”

He stops cutting and thinks.

“I think she would have liked you,” he says generously.

Natasha looks to the pretty little flowers.

“Yeah. I think I would have liked her too.”

.

The distinct smell of the wood fire brings Clint out of his nightmare. The disorientation makes him freeze on the spot dampening his breathing so that he doesn’t wake Natasha.

He ruminates on the images the dream produced, the dodging of beer bottles before one caught him, the way he was small and his father was big, and his mothers face, blood coming out of her mouth and the familiar bruise covering her cheek and throat.

He sorts the images and finds the truth in the lies, then separates it further, smelling and grounding himself with Natasha’s gentle breathing and the smell of the fires.

He’d hoped talking about her would be cathartic, and in a way it was. He’d just not anticipated the memories it produced.

He sighs wanting to get up but knowing it would wake Natasha.

If they get married, he’s not going to become like him. He’s not his fathers son, he is his mother’s though.

He pulls out his phone and googles how far it is to visit her and settles back down with a plan for the next day.

.

The grave reads Edith’s name, the date of her birth and death and words that read ‘beloved mother’.

The fact that she has a headstone at all is something Natasha can’t help but comment on.

“The circus helped us pay for it, it came about a year and a half after her death, maybe 6 months we’d both been there. We agreed to work for free to get it done.”

Gently, Natasha moves the moss and Clint pulls the weeds around it.

It takes them some time but they clear it and make it neat in its appearance.

Natasha pulls the little bouquet of forget me nots she’d picked and places them down.

Clint hugs her and they stand side by side in silence.

.

The ride home is comfortable, soft country music playing as Clint taps his finger to the beat.

“Do you think my mother has a grave?” Natasha asks, a question she’s never thought to think.

Clint reaches across and holds her hand.

“I hope so,” he says, squeezing it.

“Maybe she had a sister or someone to lay some flowers at her grave too,” she hopes.

Clint nods.

“Maybe she’s hanging out with my mother, wherever they may be.”

Natasha smiles, then laughs.

“They’d tell lots of stories to each other I think,” she says.

“My mother would like that,” he nods.

“Are you okay?” Natasha asks, squeezing his hand.

“I know you had… dreams last night, but do you think this will make sleep hard as well? Can I do anything?”

Clint shrugs.

“I don’t know. Maybe? Nothing you can do, but maybe we can play a game or watch a movie together before sleeping.”

He sighs.

“It’s been a long day.”

Natasha nods, opening the window then closing it with the smell.

It breaks the mood and he laughs.

“Cows are certainly an acquired smell,” he grins.

.

“She liked magic too,” Clint offers, the movie finishing.

“Can I show you some?”

Natasha feels a curl of excitement.

Giving him her full attention, he produces a bunch of flowers.

It makes her burst out laughing.

“Can you do it again?”

He pulls a coin from her ear and then makes the flowers disappear again.

She takes the coin and rolls it over her fingers.

Clint nods in approval.

He smiles again.

“One more.”

From her ear, he produces two rings.

“I know we were dying, and that you may have just said yes—“

She doesn’t even let him finish.

“I want to marry you Clint Barton,” she tells him, taking the rings off him and examining them carefully.

Both of them thin, one with a red ruby and the other larger in size but just as thin, the metal infused with a purple hue.

“They’re for us, like your necklace, no one has to see them.”

He loves that she puts it on straight away, kisses him again and then tries to imitate the magic trick.

“Teach me,” she requests, “show me how to do magic just like you do.”

.

[kalopses-sonderes]

“In Another Life”

Pairing: Self Aware! Millennial Tree Cookie x Gn Baker! Reader

Word count: 703

Summary: Millennial Tree loves you, how does he show it?

Notes: death, its rushed, this was gonna be fluff but its not

“Baker.. I love you.” Millennial Tree whispers against your skin.

It was late, the sun had already set. Everyone but you both were long asleep.

You and Millennial Tree were in your throne room with all the doors locked. You were seated on your throne, Millennial Tree was on his knees in front of you. His head on your thigh, kissing them every here and there.

“Aw, my dear Millennial Tree.” You lift his chin up with your finger.

“I love you..” He kissed your thigh. “.. I love you so much..” he tiredly said.

It could have been eleven pm or three am, time didn’t matter to either of you, but Millennial Trees tiredness started to seep through.

He was a desperate, lovesick mess you had wrapped around your finger. All he wanted was you. Your love. Your touch. Your everything. Your eyes to be on him and him alone. He basically melts everytime you show him any attention, he wants it all.

Millennial Tree grabbed onto your hand and kissed the back of it, then slow kisses up your arm until he couldn’t. He still stayed between your legs.

“I devote myself to you entirely. I will use my body in any way to protect you. I will do everything you say, I love you so much baker..” he continues to whisper against your skin, making eye contact with you.

You run your hands from his shoulders down his back, causing him to arch his back and him to gasp.

“B-baker.. Touch me how you please.” Tears form in the outer corners of his eyes and he tightly shuts his eyes from the sudden touch.

You run your hands back to his shoulders and to his cup his face. “My dear Millennial Tree, my favorite, my love..” You turn his face to the left slightly and to the right slightly like your examining it. You frown and say, “You know this is all a dream, correct? You must wake up soon.”

Millennial Tree frowns, he holds both of your wrist. “This can’t just be a dream.. I love you and this has to be real.” Millennial Tree sounded more desperate by the word, trying to convince himself its all real and not a dream.

“Its real in your dreams, but when you wake up its not. I will be gone again. You must let go of me Millennial Tree, I died long ago. Forget me-”

“I will never forget you! I never had the chance to tell you how much I loved you before you died, you died in my arms.. But I can do it now! I can make it right!” Millennial Tree cut you off, tears forming in his eyes.

“Millennial Tree! Snap out of it! You can’t make it right, Im long gone.. We will never be together no matter how hard we try.”

Millennial Tree started to cry, something he hasn’t done in a long time. “Im so sorry..” he said, barely above a whisper. “Its all my fault you died..”

“Let me go Millennial Tree, wake up and live on.” You caress his tear stained cheek as he closes his eyes. “I’ll always be watching over you.” Your voice gets quieter and more distant.

Millennial Tree shoots up. He looks around and hes back in his bedroom. The sun has slightly risen, the small bit of sunlight cast into his room leaving a golden glow on the walls and objects across his various bookcases. He rubs his eyes and feels a liquid touch his fingers. His tears. He slowly started to remember the dream and began to sob. Today was the anniversary of your death. He always visits your mausoleum, and today was no different.

He dreams this dream often, he hopes he never wakes up and stays with you forever.

He brought a bouquet of your favorite flowers, stuffed animal of your favorite animal, and a picture of you both together to your mausoleum.

“Hello Baker..” Millennial Tree places the gifts down. “I miss you..” Tears flood his eyes again.

“We’ll meet again, in another life time. I’ll save you then, unlike this lifetime. I’ll be everything I said I would be, please forgive me.”

Taglist:

@n0n-gh0stn4ry @cosmolumine @sorbella

[basicsofislam]

THE FEMALE COMPANIONS OF THE PROPHET (PBUH): Part 24

ASMA BINT ABI BAKR (radhiallahu anha): Part 2

Hz. Asma was very chaste and modest.

Chastity and modesty are the best characteristics of a woman. Once, she was carrying dates; she met the Messenger of Allah on the way. There were some Companions with the Messenger of Allah. The Messenger of Allah stopped his camel and offered his sister-in-law a lift. However, Hz. Asma did not get on the camel due to her modesty. She preferred to carry the heavy burden.

Asma was an open-handed, generous person.

She rose to an exceptional level especially after the Prophet addressed her as follows:

“O Asma! Do not tight your fist; otherwise, Allah Almighty will not send His grant to you.”( Musnad, 60: 352. )

She never left anything that she did not need at home; she would always give them away to the poor. She led a plain life. She advised her children to be generous. She said to them,

“Spend your money in the way of Allah. Give sadaqah. When you do not do charity, your money will not increase. Do not think that your money will decrease when you give sadaqah.”

Asma sometimes became ill like everybody else.

However, she never complained about it to people. For, she believed that illnesses came from Allah Almighty and that they eliminated sins. Besides, how would man appreciate health and thank Allah for it if he never got ill? On the other hand, illnesses were a great means of praying to Allah Almighty. Therefore, it was nonsensical to complain about illness and to groan by saying, “Aargh! Ow!” as if opposing qadar.

Hz. Asma was conscious of these facts. She welcomed illnesses with patience and reliance on Allah. Once, she had a terrible headache. She put her hand on her head and prayed as follows relying on Allah:

“My headaches a lot but the sins that I hope Allah will forgive are more.”

This great woman of Islam was also known for her austerity.

She would always be content with what she had, thank for it and would not want more. His husband, Hz. Zubayr, was a poor person. When he got married, he had nothing but a horse. Hz. Asma did her best to help her husband to meet their needs. She would carry dates on her head from a distant date tree that the Messenger of Allah had given her from war booty. She did housework, ground the date seeds to make animal food from them and carried water from distant places. When Hz. Abu Bakr saw that his daughter got really tired, he sent her a servant. Asma became very happy and expressed her gratitude as follows:

“My father pleased me so much by sending the servant that I felt as if I was freed from slavery.”

Hz. Asma paid attention to thriftiness; she avoided unnecessary spending. For, thriftiness was ordered by Allah and it formed the basis of the peace in the family.

Asma and Zubayr led a happy life but they sometimes argued.

However, they would soon make up. They acted as if nothing had happened between them. Once, they argued about something and could not settle it. Asma went to her father to complain about her husband. Hz. Abu Bakr addressed her in the best way and gave her the following glad tiding:

“My daughter! Be patient. If a woman has a good husband and dies and if the woman does not marry anybody else after him, Allah will bring them together in Paradise.” ( Tabaqat, 8: 251. )

Asma was both a good wife and mother.

She had 8 children (5 boys, 3 girls) out of her marriage with Hz. Zubayr. She brought up her children and educated them in the best way. She brought up great Companions like Abdullah bin Zubayr and Tabiun like Urwa bin Zubayr, who served as models for Muslims and who were ready to sacrifice their lives in the way of Allah.

The worst pain for a mother is definitely to see her child die especially if the child has become a young person. In that case, the pain would double and life would be unbearable. However, it was like that for a mother who did not believe in Allah and qadar or who had a weak belief. Would a mother who believed in qadar truly and accepted everything that came from Allah whether good or bad do like that? We see the best example of it in Hz. Asma’s life that it is not so. She encouraged her son, Abdullah, who saw the Messenger of Allah and listened to his talk to die in the way of Allah; when she heard that he was martyred by being killed in a terrible way, she showed great patience. There are a great example and lesson in her act and surrendering for today’s mothers. The incident took place as follows:

Hz. Abdullah was chosen as the caliph in Makkah after the death of Yazid when many Muslims paid allegiance to him. The Muslims of Hejaz, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, and Khorasan found him appropriate for the caliphate and paid allegiance to him.  Hz. Abdullah ruled Makkah for a few years with justice. However, Abdulmalik bin Marwan, who got hold of the Umayyad government, sent Hajjaj, who was known as “Zalim” (Cruel, Oppressor), against Abdullah in the 72nd year of the Migration. Hajjaj established a big catapult on Mount Abu Qubays and threw stones at the Kaaba.  Against this unjust and merciless act of Hajjaj’s, Hz. Abdullah defended the Kaaba heroically. However, many of his men joined Hajjaj by believing his promises. Thereupon, Hz. Abdullah went to his mother, who was 99 years old then, to consult her. He said,

“Mum! I have very few men and weapons left. It is very difficult for me to resist. The enemy promises to give me as much money as I want. What is your advice?”

Hz. Asma believed that her son was right and that his aim was not to obtain worldly possessions. Therefore, she asked him not to give up his right cause even if he faced death. She gave him the following advice:

“O, my son! If you think that you are right and that you are standing up for the Truth, then persevere and fight on as your companions were killed in this way. Think of your friends who were martyred. Do not be Banu Umayyad’s plaything. If you desire the world, it means you are a miserable wretch. In that case, you will have destroyed yourself and your men. If you say, ‘I am on the right path. My friends have become loose and I have become loose’, it does not fit chivalrous people. How long more you will live in this world? “O, my son! The best cover for you is death. I swear by Allah that a sword blow received in honor is better than living in humility and being whipped. Never accept humiliation because of fear of death in my opinion. I hope I will show patience about you.”

Hz. Abdullah had the same opinion but he wanted to find out about what his mother’s view was. Her words set his mind at rest. He kissed his mother’s hand. His mother kissed him on the forehead and sent him. Then, she opened her hands and prayed to Allah as follows:

“O, Allah! Have mercy on this noble slave of yours! Do not leave him hungry and thirsty in Madinah and Makkah streets. Grant him Your bounties in return for his righteousness to his mother. O, Allah! I surrendered my son to Your order. I show consent to Your qadar. Elevate me to the rank of those who are patient and grateful in return for the misfortunes to hit him.”

There was nothing else to do but to wait for the outcome.

Hz. Abdullah, who fought heroically, was martyred in the end.

When Hz. Asma was given this news, she was looking for a memento from the Messenger of Allah. She listened to the news of her son’s death calmly. When she found the memento she was looking for, it consoled her.

Asma had to show more patience because Hajjaj did not find it enough to martyr Abdullah; he had Abdullah’s dead body hung. Then, he stood opposite this martyr, insulted him and cut his head off. Then, he sent the head to Damascus. They swore that they would not put his dead body down unless his mother came and apologized. It was very difficult for a mother to see her son’s dead body hanging on the gallows. However, Hz. Asma showed patience and did not find it appropriate to apply to those cruel people and ask them about it.

Once, while she was passing by her son’s dead body, she said,

“Will this orator not come down from the chair yet?”

They found this sentence enough and brought him down from the gallows. Then, they buried him.

Hajjaj sent some people to call Hz. Asma many times but Hz. Asma did not go to him. Finally, Hajjaj came to her house. He said to her mockingly,

“How did you find what I did to the enemy of Allah (Abdullah)?”

Hz. Asma was Hz. Abu Bakr’s daughter and Hz. Zubayr’s wife. She would not keep silent in front of this oppressor. She gave the following answer bravely:

“You destroyed my son’s world but he destroyed your hereafter.”

This time, Hajjaj said insolently, “Forget about this munafiq!” Hz. Asma did not keep silent. She said,

“I swear by Allah that he was not a munafiq. He performed fasting a lot. He performed prayers at night a lot. He fulfilled his duties of worshipping and visited his relatives.”

Hajjaj got very angry and shouted,“Get out!” Acting upon the courage she took from her belief, Hz. Asma said,

“The Messenger of Allah said, ‘A liar and a destroyer will come out from the tribe of ath-Thaqif.’ We saw that the liar was Mukhtar ath-Thaqafi. The destroyer can be nobody but you.”

One of the hadiths narrated by Asma is as follows:

“Paradise approached me so much that if dared I would bring one of its clusters you. Hellfire approached me so much that I started to say, ‘O Lord! I am among them. I saw a woman whom a cat kept scratching. I said, ‘What is the matter?’ They said, ‘This woman imprisoned this cat until it died. She did not give it anything to eat; nor did she leave it free to find its own food.’”( Ibn Majah, Iqamatu’s-Salat: 152. )

After her son was martyred, Hz. Asma got weaker. She died in the 73rd year of the Migration when she was 100 years old.

May Allah be pleased with her!

[ziteyra]

A fish out of water

A two part Oneshot

Part 1

Aounung X female! Metkayina

🌪️themes: veeeery slowburn, fluff, love, foreign environments, dates, fighting

🌪️ Warnings : none :)

🌪️ Characters: Aounung, little bit of Loak, female Metkayina Tribe Navi

🌪️ Summary: Anoung takes Loak up on a rekless bet on how long he would survive in the jungle. This is where he meets a mysterious forest Navi and slowly (or not) falls for her

🌪️ Wordcount (🥹) : ~ 4k

🐟 Notes: I am so sorry. I went incredibly overboard with this. Like jesususuususus. Don't know if even Eywa can forgive me for this half-finished monstrosity. Anyway, enjoy. Take your time. Have a nice week. Love ya

It all started with a stupid bet. Aou'nung felt remorse even thinking about it.

While beating Loak in of their thousand diving contests he went a bit too far with their banter.

As he usually did he called Loak all kinds of names. Both slow as a stone and as good of a fiber as his I ran. But Instead of playingly fighting the accusations as he always did he proposed something.

"Sure, I might not be fast in the water yet or the best at riding my Ilu but I bet you wouldn't even make it to the forest brother."

Aonung as stubborn as he was took him up on the offer. He fell right into the obvious trap. Telling their parents they wanted to have a tour of the coral reefs both Loak and Aou'nung snuck out without much hustle.

Thinking back at it Aou'nung had to congratulate himself both for his stupidity and bravery.

Loak landed the two of them on the outskirts of the forest just by the edge of the great cliffs that border the Metkayina territories.

"Well then, go on Aou'nung. I'll meet you back right here in three days. And if you swim back or leave in any way I'll tell everyone what a wuss U were." Loak grinned as he took off high above him on his Ikran. Aou'nung never really liked that animal, but now with him standing so close to the edge of the cliff and the forest right in front of him, he had to admit how useful one of them could be.

The first few hours were strange but easy for him. He felt the unknown terrain between his feet and saw many strange but beautiful animals he had only heard his father talk about.

As soon as the night set tho, both his mood and the forest changed completely. He couldn't just walk in a straight line through the forest anymore as he did the hours before neither could he trace back his steps. As beautiful as the big leaves and trees were in the day, they now just blocked every passage and every small ray of light trying to find its way to the ground. Even the calls of the once beautiful birds just echoed from tree to tree as Aoung had never heard it before.

He wasn't ready to admit defeat yet but he also knew that there wasn't much of a different choice for him but to keep going.

Right when the sun was completely gone from the sky and some tiny specs of moonlight could be seen he found a more or less safe and comfortable place to rest.

He had only taken a small woven blanket with him which he laid on the ground and moss beneath him.

Sitting down he realized how unwelcoming the forest truly felt to him. Even the shades of blue both of the sky he had seen during the day and of the flowers and trees seemed to be different from his skin. It seemed way more fitting to the patterns and tones on Kiri's and Loak's bodies now that he could take a closer look.

Although his blue skin seemed unnatural to him, there was still a soft glow coming from the familiar patterns on his body. In a way, he had rarely seen it. While the water usually reflected these lights and made them glow much brighter, here in the forest it seemed much more like small far away stars.

As much as he was fascinated by that it also startled him that there was a comparable glow coming from around him.

As he rubbed his eyes, trying to get them used to the odd lighting, he noticed that all the plants around him and even the tree bark emitted a glow much the same to his skin. Like the plants and corrals of the ocean, there was a glittering coming from almost every corner of the forest. A bit colder, he thought, than under the sea but maybe also not that different.

"Eywa lives and breathes in everything. Both nature and Navi, even if they are as strange as you" Aou'nung heard a voice coming from right above him. He tried his best not to jump to his feet immediately to not show any fear, but instead just turned his head in every possible direction.

"What are you, pale boy ?" the voice asked again, this time with a more fierce tone.

"Why would you care ?" Aou'nung replied. "And if you need to know, I'm the son of OLO'EYKTAN. I'm one of the most feared warriors of our clan and I am here to prove that a forest like yours is no match for me. They are nothing more than our island jungles."

"I see." The voice softened as without a sound a tall and majestic body Fell from the trees above him.

Before Aou'nung a tall Navi spanned her ornated bow a focused on him sharply with both of her yellow eyes. She was much taller than him and had skin as dark as the night sky with a pattern of glowing dots that seemed to hypnotize him the longer he looked at them.

Still, without fear in his voice, he answered: "I'd be grateful if you could help me navigate this forest of yours just for the next two days. I'm here more or less on a bet. With a friend of mine who looks just like you, he was a born Omatecicaya just like you, I suppose."

Her face remained unchanged but her head and long braids tilted a bit to the right. "Of whom do you speak? You surely are no son of our olo'eyktan. And you do not fit in here. You stink of fish."

Again Aou'nung shivered a bit under the harshness of her words, he could feel her judging gaze all over him.

" I come from the Metkayina. We belong to the sea like you to your strange forest. Now would you *please* take down your bow."

She didn't seem to move not even blink as Aou'nung slowly raised his hands and tried to carefully aim the bow away from him. "I am not your enemy, do you hear me?"

"You truly are no threat, fish men." His opponent answered. As quickly as she pulled to bow it disappeared behind her back. "But we can't leave you unsupervised."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aou'nung asked kind of relieved that the bow was gone but still concerned with her ominous answers.

"You will do whatever you need to do and I will keep an eye out for you. Now go!" The Navi snarred and as silent as a bird she disappeared into the tree branches above him.

"I don't even know your name," Aou'nung called out into the leaves above his head, now feeling kind of harmless being dismissed that easily. He at least wanted to make a lasting impression on that woman. And if she was anything like Loak that shouldn't be hard.

"Hey, did you hear me? What's your name? I'm Aou'nung, you know. The fastest diver of my village." He yelled into the night sky. But no one seemed to answer, only rustling leaves

and a little orange-eyed monkey screamed at his question.

Aou'nung squinted his eyes and looked closer at the animal. There seemed to be two or three just sitting in a smaller tree next to him.

An excellent choice to prove himself he thought, and even to gather something to eat.

Quickly brushing away all the smaller and bigger leaves in his path he made his way just under the tree. Securing his dagger on his bag he tried to grab a strong-looking liana and started to mount the tree, pulling himself upward.

It took him longer than expected and the moment he got close to the first real branch he realized that he was almost out of breath. He had no idea how to find a hold on the strong tree bark and even less how to coordinate his feet around the slimly Liana.

As he sat down on the shaky tree branch he couldn't see even a hint of the monkeys. Only the rustling leaves but this time coming from quite a distance beneath him.

A bit concerned with the height and not trusting the branch under him he pulled the remaining Liana up and wound it around his hips. Securing him like they used to secure small children, back in his village, to their parents when they go out onto the greater ocean for their first real swim.

While finishing his last knot, he felt something small pulling on his locks.

"I knew you'd come back eventually. And even if it was only to congratulate me on my climbing skills." he cheekily smiled. However, as an answer, he only got to hear a deafening scream of many small voices. Harshly turning around he found out where those screams were coming from.

He hadn't found the monkeys but much rather had the monkeys found him. More than 20 of them were gathered behind him hanging from branches and grinning their long sharp teeth at him. One of them had mustered up enough strength to sneak up behind him and was now holding multiple curls of his hair.

He only had enough time to pull back his hair as the monkeys unitedly started to jump towards him bringing the all tree branches to a concerning shake.

Even his half-hearted attempt at escape was quickly stopped by his own professionally bound knots which stopped him from even standing up and the monkeys started to gather around and on top of him only preventing him from completely falling off the tree.

It took more than an hour and in Aou'nungs mind more than days when the monkeys finally lost interest in him. He was lucky that he only had a few bite marks on his arms and upper body. The played with his hair tail and even his dagger with him unable to stop the rampaging hoard.

As he hung from his branch and the first small rays of sunlight reached his eyes a familiar face appeared before him.

"I am impressed Aou'nung, son of the olo'eyktan. I have never seen a fish be defeated by Syaksyuk so easily. They normally don't even hunt." She landed smoothly on his branch not even making it swing. Still, this time she got closer to him and inspected his bruises and spots. Aou'nung realized she smelled like the forest around him with a sweet aroma of earth and flowers all mixed like the green nature around him. She reminded him nothing of Kiri or Loak and if at all much more like their mother. As she carefully caressed his wounds he finally found his voice again.

"Couldn't have left me hanging a bit longer could you ?"

She smiled and Aou'nung thought to himself that maybe just for that, hanging around on an old tree branch for hours was worth it.

"You did not attack them, that was very good of you. Eywa says do not attack what you do not need or what doesn't hunt you. One day we all go back to her." she still smiled and her voice sounded like a song Aou'nung hadn't heard since his childhood.

"Again, I still don't know your name. How can I even thank you for your rescue if I don't know it."

"You do not need to, I did not rescue you, Aou'nung," she whispered, continuing to smile.

While Aou'nung tried to process those words she again disappeared into the woods but this time looking back at him with a grin on her face.

Aou'nung knew he shouldn't have been surprised but still, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. Now, a little less hopeless and still with her faint smell in his memory he started to loosen the knot binding him to the tree. He almost forgot about his bet with Loak, now focused on a new mission. To find his secret follower again and at least find out her name.

Still shaking in his legs he managed to balance himself on the branch and look around to fully take in his surroundings. Sadly, he couldn't quite remember which direction she climbed off to but he was sure it couldn't have been far.

Though his eyes weren't even yet comfortable with the night he could already feel the sun rising again under the thick roof of leaves the forest made up above him.

Not risking to climb any higher he decided to make his way downwards again in the hopes of many being able to find some kind of footprint to follow. Although he didn't expect much he still felt disappointed reached the ground. His feet and hand bruised by the climbing, he lay close to the ground like he once saw Loak do it when. Back then he remembered, Loak tried to teach him and his sister about their technics of hunting and gathering by reading the footprints and clues the animals of the forest left behind. And even though he could make out some kind of marks on the ground he could neither identify which animal they belonged to nor which way they were heading.

Laying on the ground, his tail twitching restlessly, he felt like an idiot. A fish out of water he thought. How Loak would laugh at him for being even worse at this than he was at diving. Even while Loak wasn't that bad at it as Aou'nung had to admit to himself.

Words of his father came to his mind back when he thought about talked the always present Way of the water.

Like a river, Aou'nung, finding his way through a mountain, must be ever-changing. Never resting until we can be one with Eywa. All our senses must help us to be like the water.

Aou'nungs stomach clenched together as thought about his father. He had never been this far away from home and the only thing keeping his mind straight was the memory of a Omatecicaya he might never see again.

"All our senses," Aou'nung spoke to himself and closed his eyes. He knew he would never be able to find anything familiar on those strange forest grounds but there was one thing he could recognise again. Both her smell and her step were something he would surely never forget again.

And he knew that she had to be somewhere around him. Watching and waiting for him to perhaps embarrass himself again. He smiled thinking of her many even being truly impressed by his skill and immediately concentrated himself.

Underwater, the smell was not as important but one thing he learned was to recognize even the small ripples and waves animals and Navi made while navigating through it.

Just like that, he spend the next hours rigorously hunting an illusive smell and the image of a Navi that just wouldn't leave his mind. Only did he stop when reaching a great clearing between all the trees and bushes. He didn't know how long he had been walking but he saw the sun standing bright above his head. When he looked around he felt a sense of accomplishment as his search brought him to an arrow garnished with the same ornaments he had seen on her bow a while back.

Pulling out the arrow from the thick tree he saw something behind it that he never expected to see at such an unfamiliar place. A great and running river broad and lively almost like the ones he knew from home.

Walking along the river he recognized a familiar voice, but not in the lovely tones he remembered, much rather screaming and cursing in ways he had rarely heard before. Gripping the arrow tight Aou'nung immediately started sprinting towards the noise.

Arriving at another clearing where his Navi, he had searched for so long was fighting intensity with a big menacingly looking fish.

Not a second went by and Aou'nung immediately jumped here to help. He knew that fish although he had rarely seen it out in the open ocean. It has scales as thick as a stone and if you didn't know where to hurt it you were better of leaving it in peace. But Aou'nung knew exactly where his weakness was, using the arrow he still held in his hands, he rammed it right under the giant fin of the fish hitting it right in the heart. Just in a few seconds The big twitching body Lost all its strength and fell onto the two jamming them together.

"Little fish! What are you doing here, is supposed to be the one guarding you." She gasped out in surprise but quite possibly also because of the fish pressing heavily on her chest.

"Well you kind of neglected your supervision duty and at last, didn't even tell me your name. I had to come and find you."

And there it was again that beautiful smile Aou'nung had hoped to see. "Well then, you did. Aou'nung defeater of the great Syaksyuk's would you know to help me get rid of this big fish?"

Now it was Aou'nung's time to smile as he pushed away the fish from both of the back into the water. "I know these fish," he says, still gasping for air a bit. " But I never expected them to be here, they belong on the islands of my home not in these sweet rivers."

"It's the RDA, they are disturbing Eywas's peace. Fish are where they're not supposed to be and people are fleeing their homes." now stopping to smile and looking at Aou'nung.

"I never thought of that." He replied, now feeling almost nervous, seeing her again all tall and mighty standing before him.

"You said, you are here because of a bet? Well then it is a dangerous bet, these days it is not safe in the forest for fish like you. Please, go home you see what can happen" Even the last bit of Aou'nungs confidence faded as he heard that but he wasn't about to leave. Not until he proved himself, that was his goal.

"Well then, you think a little fish like me can't prove himself worthy of knowing the name of a Syaksyuk like you? Then let me show you." even before she could react to being called a Syaksyuk Aou'nung pulled her close to him and threw himself into the running river. He knew he did more than just surprise her when he saw the astonished look on her face.

Again he couldn't help but smile.

The waters they were in now, although of an unfamiliar river, felt like a piece of the home had found him between all these strange plants and animals. Aou'nung was with that, more than ready to show her a part of his world.

"Aou'nung what are you trying to do ?? Do you want to drown me ?" She screamed at him as they both resurfaced, her gasping for air.

"Well, you never wanted to tell me your name. So, since a little fish out of water isn't probably worthy of hearing it, I wanted to show you what a fish in water can do. Even if it's not the ocean."

To his surprise, he heard her laugh out loud for the first time. "No my little fish. That is now what I meant. But go on." she grinned "Show me what makes you so special, son of the great olo'eyktan."

With the hand of her sentence, she quickly put her hand on his head and pushed him beneath the water's surface.

Satisfied with her approval, Aou'nung wasn't going to come up again that quickly.

He dove around her once or twice as he watched her head over the water follow him.

A bit along the river bed he spotted something. While there weren't any Ilus or coral reefs for him to show of to her he had discovered a little swarm of glowing fish in the distance.

Completely in his element again he gestured her to follow him but waited unsuccessfully for a response.

He reemerged from the water just to have a clear look at her happy but slightly confused face. "You are very quick underwater, that I must admit. But what was it that you wanted to show me Aou'nung? I couldn't hear a thing."

" This is the language of the Metkayina." he moaned. More annoyed by himself than her. How could he have forgotten the countless days he spent teaching Loak and Kiri just the simplest of things? But he knew it wasn't in vain. And it did also make quite an impression.

"I can teach you a few phrases if you like. But first follow me, as quietly as possible. Or just hang onto me if that's easier. " he exclaimed all proudly feeling a bit like his father once teaching him.

"Sure you can little fish, but I want to grab onto your tail no matter how nice you ask" she boldly countered his daydreams and brought him back to the river.

Sighing he dove back under the water with her right at his tail and although she was by far not as good or quiet of a swimmer as him, they did manage to reach the small swarm.

Aou'nung smiled at her astonished face underwater and signed just the word for fish to her.

Slowly and again and again he repeated it until she picked on and started to do it herself.

Looking incredibly proud of herself, Aou'nung pulled her back above the water worried she might forget to breathe as focused as she seemed.

"Look little fish !!! I can understand you." This time not talking to him but the swarm right in front of them. " You couldn't have been a better teacher Aou'nung. But what are those called? I've rarely seen them before."

"They are similar to your Sloapek," Aou'nung responded knowing that he at least managed to show off a bit. " Or pincer fish as the sky people call them. Small and harmless to us, but for little prey it can be quite deadly." Saying that he pinched his fingers together like two big claws and started wandering towards her.

"Although they look quite pretty, especially at night, just one bite and they got their prey caught forever." He says as he now furiously started to tickle her, water splashing all around them and both of them laughing.

Her laugh sounded beautiful to Aou'nung, like the sounds of those many colorful birds he saw on his first morning in the forest.

He couldn't remember if he ever heard anything more calming to him.

Hours passed for what felt like minutes to Aou'nung as they playfully swam and splashed through the river. Only when the sun started to set did they both realize how much time had passed.

"Well, I suppose you did you did keep your promise and continued watching over me. You even continued to hide your name from me."

" That is true little Aou'nung. But I realized I want more than that. Maybe I should have shown you our world from the beginning. Come on, now you can follow me.”

he didn't need to hear that twice. Without a word more spoken the two of them left the water.

Her wet hair gracefully wound along her shoulders and swung in the tact of her steps.

Over and over he was fascinated by this mysterious creature, like fire and rain her mood changed and he was willing to change with it just to be hers.

[meowkanchi]

jealous?? dunno

this is my first time writing fanfics so I apologize. Hope you'll like it!

13+ no bed scenes just kissing and some words.

Avatar!Quaritch x Female!avatar!reader

You were make your weapon sharper then suddenly heard a scream, you got that something was on. You ran to the place where was noice, you saw sky people, and avatars but they were hurting other avatars, so you tried to fight them, but they got you because you were fighting with not only one person. You were pissed because you couldn't save your people.

: Oeru txoa livu.(forgive me)

I said that to the Tonowari and Ronal, they smiled and nodded to you.

Quaritch noticed it, and did sign to make me stand up, people who were holding you made me stand up, I was upset and wasn't even looking at Quaritch.

*Quaritch smirked*

:I see, what's your name, girl?

:None of you business, skxawng.(idiöt)

he turned serious and stopped smiling, he told his people to leave, mean that they're leaving

My emotion was visible, I was mad happy, I smiled slightly to Tonowari and Ronal, they smiled.

Quaritch was looking at me for the whole time, then, I noticed that someone was looking at you. I saw Quaritch coming to me, and suddenly he took you, I was upset but got over it quickly.

*I sighed. *

: What's wrong? *he smirked*

I ignored him to the whole time they were going.

They put me in some room, similar where was Spider, I were just sitting because being aggressive or whatever, won't make them free me. Quaritch came in the room

:Hey, how're you doing?

I ignored him, and turned my head other way,

he turned my head back with his hand.

Q:look, I'm not going to do anything with you, unless you try to escape,well, I need you to help me with something.

Y:Me and help you? nah I'd rather die here than helping you.

Q:that's not a big deal, come-on, you don't have a choice.*smiling*

Y:still a no.

Q:let me say a favor, don't be a kid.

Y:go on, then.

He smiled slightly

Q:I need you to teach me more Na'vi things, as soon as possible.

Q:Please?

Y:you don't look like you could learn anything

he looked at me seriously

Q:When are we starting?

Y:I don't care, stupid.

Q:Then, shall we start? *slight smile*

i started teaching him words, phrases and teached how to ride animals, etc.

When he jumped on Ikran i was sure that no one is looking at me , because all of his people were looking at him, i wanted to try to escape, i have pretty good skills with jumping etc.

I climbed up kinda high, but not, they were looking for me, I was about to leave, but wanted to learn more about Quaritch, so i can fight and defeat him properly, and from that high i decided to call him.

Y:HEY!! YOU!!! I'M HERE, C'MON CATCH ME IF YOU CAN! *you smiled and winked at him when he noticed.*

he looked at me slightly shocked and mad(?)

Q:Get out of there, I'm not going to run for you.

Y:..oh...then, I'll be going home then, bye babygirl!

I turned away and pretended to leave, but I just climbed up on the tree.

He got nervous mad and shocked at once, he sended everyone who was with him to get me, and started climbing up too.

When they get up here he was mad because he thought I left

I chuckled

Y: quiet-Nah.. why's he so dumb *I smiled with my teeth*

something got behind me and scared me so I screamed and fell right into Quaritch's hands

Y:FUCK! THIS AIN'T FUNNY AT ALL

He didn't understand what happened. I fastly jumped of his hands and climbed up on that tree to check who or what was there.

Q:Hey, get off there we..already know you're here.

Y:shut up for a bit I gotta check something.

Y:*..damn, I could prank him again...even if he will be mad as fuck, I don't really care about it, slay*

I yelled on purpose, like someone did something to me, but when I tried to get higher I got my leg injured a little

Y:Damn, that's hurts bithc

Q:Are you okay?

I jumped of a tree, but my leg didn't hurt, but blood and injury was still on my leg tho

he looked at you pissed, but he looked like he was scared for me

you smirked and laughed

Q: you got injured and me pissed.

Y: C'mon man, it's fine I can treat my injury myself and about other I absolutely don't care..damn

he looked at you mad and jealous and closed his face with his hand, he looked very pissed.

I saw that face expression

Y:Damn, why so mad? it's just a joke, let's already go, or I will lose all my fucking blood *chuckle*

he looked at me through the slit of his fingers.

Y:Hey, what's your name?

I looked at Lyle, and he replied

Y:Okay Lyle, please, let's go, tell your friend that my wound won't treat itself. *I turned tired and serious*

he walked away, telling everyone that we're leaving, even thought Lyle always walks with Quaritch, we were walking together.

Y:psst, Lyle, what's his name? I just didn't have a time to ask him.

L:Quaritch. Colonel Miles Quaritch.

|||sorry if the name is wrong|||

Y:Thanks man.

Y:Also,is he always that serious, or mad? dunno

L: Actually, no-

Quaritch turned around and saw us together talking, he looked upset even more damn.

Q:Lyle, come here right now.

Lyle left, and I was walking alone

when we got back, I was super tired, and came in my "room" as fast as possible, and sit in the corner and tried to sleep. Then I felt cold the door opened and Quaritch walk in, he still was upset looking. I looked at him with empty expression, and then stood up, We had eye contact, but he looked away.

Y:what did you wanted hmm?

Q:I- *cough*..nevermind, yes I wanted to learn more.

Y:fine let's do it.

I was tired but strong, so being tired is nothing for me, and suddenly I thought about home, I was thinking how everyone without me? happy? sad? I hoped that I'll get home soon.

I started teaching him, it was starting to get funny and I got good mood,and he's too.

When we ended, he was about to leave, but when I layed and was ready to fall asleep, he stopped and looked at me, my eyes were closed and I didn't knew he didn't leave

Y:Ah, I hope that I'll go home soon, I really hope they're miss me, hah that's obvious, I'm the best only!

Quaritch smiled and left.

The next day when he came in the room, I was working out ofc, even thought I have abs doesn't mean I won't workout.

He watched me doing it, until I end

Y:hah..that was okay.

I looked at him, and sat down, so I could listen to what he want.

Q: Let's go, be ready.

Y: Woah, okay Miles!

He looked at me with tense eyebrows

We left, and I understood that we're going back home

I was happy and he saw that, all the time we flied he was looking at me and doesn't even hide it, I noticed that he looking at me, so I looked at him imperceptibly, I saw that he was breathing heavily. Then I looked at him opened and he looked away as he coughed, he turned away, making it like he looking where we already are.

When he turned around Lyle was standing at his back, Lyle scared Quaritch a bit

I saw it and was holding my laugh and I punched table and then laughed..I coughed a lot then

Quaritch saw it, he was about to come to me, but my eyes were at Lyle and it looked like my eyes were telling Lyle to get me so we could leave and Quaritch won't beat me up/jk

Lyle ran and took my hand and we ran away.

L:Wait, if he won't beat you, then he will beat me?!

Y:You should've thinking before doing.

I was sitting relaxed, but Lyle was in other place, Quaritch came there , my eyes were closed, and I didn't looked like I was about to open them.

Q: We're here, let's go

I opened my eyes and we walked together. While we were walking he was saying things he was learning.

Y: Well, you're all good, mind already free me up?

Quaritch looked at me and walked away without an answer

Y: Ey Lyle come here!

Lyle was walking with Quaritch, when I called him he turned around and came to me.

Quaritch looked at us jealously-madly obv. I layed my hand on Lyle's shoulder, that made Miles more jealous than earlier. Lyle saw jealous miles and told me that, Lyle was close to me and that made Miles EVEN MORE JEALOUS OML.

We both saw that, and it looked like he would kill both of us, we turned away and go back a little to go not so close to Quaritch.

Y:Fuck..I think we're in huge troubles

L:at least not only me

Y:Stupid

When we were done, we came back in place, I was looking at what other people were doing because they wasn't telling me to be in my "room"

I decided to go to other place, when I came in, I saw Quaritch. I made look like I didn't saw him, I came to other people and talked to them. While I was talking to them Miles was looking at me and drinking something.

Nn:you know, we have new clothes for you, it's in [ ] , go and wear it, ok?

Y:Alright, hope it's hot madame

The woman I was telling that laughed. I left.

I wore that new clothes, it sure was hot, when I came back to that girl Quaritch still was there and he was talking with some people who we're flying with.

I came in and Miles looked at me, he coughed, I walked to that woman from earlier.

Nn:You look awesome! Do you like it?

Y:Yes, I'm so hot.

Nn:haha! you're right!

Q:[ ], come here.

Y: okay, see you madame !

I walked to Quaritch he looked at me from bottom to top, someone distracted me and I wasn't paying attention , but while I was distracted Quaritch saw breathing heavily and he closed his face with his hand because he turned red.

When I was back with him, I looked at him.

Y:Ey,Why're you covering your face Quaritch?

He started breathing even more heavily, because he was down when you were calling him by his name LOL. He didn't say anything and quickly left, I decided to follow him, I was doing it quietly.

He walked in empty room, I listened from the door. I heard him still breathing heavily and mumbling something. I was about to leave because it was boring, but suddenly I heard him groan a little and saying my name. AND NO, he wasn't doing anything just yk.

I was actually traumatized/jk and ran away, he heard that someone was there and left. He didn't saw anyone and didn't think someone was listening to him. When he came in the same room as me. I wasn't able to look at him after that, I just left the room when Quaritch came in, he saw it.

I started ignoring him, or just whenever he came to me or tried to talk to me, I was leaving quickly, because I was embarrassed about what I heard.

I was outside it was so cold outside that there was steam, I was breathing and Quaritch walked outside too, I wasn't looking and I didn't knew who came. I wasn't in clothes and it was kinda cold where we was. He saw me without any, even thought the cold was not a problem to avatars he still got scared and took my hand and take me inside. I looked at him smiled slightly and left. I came to a random woman and I was bored so I decided to talk to her and make Miles jealous LMAO.

I came to her, I grabbed her chin up to me, and said hi in some flirty way

Y:heya lady! how're you doing ?

Nn: I- haha, I'm alright! *she smiled*

I smiled back and we were talking, I looked at Quaritch and he sure was jealous , he was looking at me like I did something illegal.

I was walking and making circles, because I was bored.

Y:Hey, Quar- *Nah shit* I meant Lyle, how close we are to the place?

Lyle answered, and Quaritch glared at me, I looked at him nervously and sighed.

I rested on some chair, the chair was too small for an avatar so I fell, but Miles catch me. It was awkward, I stood up

Y:Uh, thanks, man?

We flied to the place, it was high there, when we get out we were walking and came to General Ardmore. Quaritch and She were talking, and I was having fun, jumping and walking everywhere. Suddenly he was me became serious, and I left in some room after asking something from somebody. I was working out because I was bored. When he finished talking to General Ardmore, he came in the room and saw me doing push-ups. I was doing for a quite long enough I was already sweaty. I noticed that he came but I didn't pay attention cause I was busy. When I finished I was out of breath and groaned not that loud because I was tired.

The atmosphere was awkward because no one talked. He coughed and left

Y:He's weird lately damn.

He walked in the bathroom and locked the door. He was breathing like a lot more heavily bruh😭✋🏻

He was hrd and couldn't get calm because he couldn't stop thinking about you, he almost groaned and he wasn't able to imagine that you don't belong to him, you wanted all of you to be his.

At that time, you already took a shower and your hair was a little wet. Quaritch calmed down, when he walked out of the room he saw you and Lyle talking to each other, we was quite close by now.

He was looking jealous and obsessive at me, I felt that look, the feeling was like he almost made a hole in me, I came closer to Lyle and asked him to look if Miles looks at me, Lyle looked at Miles and saw him looking at me like a some kind of psycho lol.

Lyle whispered me and I looked at Miles, when I looked at him he quickly turned away.

At night, Quaritch was ready to sleep and looked if everyone was asleep, everyone was except for me. He entered the room, I looked at him and he looked at me and asked why I'm not sleeping.

I ignored the question, at that time Miles looked kinda attractive.

Y:Yo, you're attractive babygirl, hahha

I said that as a joke and thought he would understand, be he didn't. He blushed a little and bite his lower lip, he was looking at me intensive.

it was awkward and I was already feeling nervous and then he started walking closer to my bed, I smiled nervously at that time. He was Infront of my bed and we both had an eye contact.It was visible that he was nervous, he wanted to leave because of embarrassment but he didn't because then he won't have a chance, maybe.

He took my wrist and grabbed my chin, I could hear how he was breathing.

Q:*My heart is beating so fast..sh¡t*

I wanted to say something but he kissed me like it was his last kiss, even thought we just kissed he groaned. We were kissing for a long time and he didn't let me breathe, when I was out of breath and tried to hit him with my other hand he grabbed another wrist, and then I bit his tongue. I was looking at him weirdly and nervous, he was embarrassed and nervous because he was thinking that now I have bad thoughts about him. He was about to leave but I grabbed his hand and pushed him closer and kissed again. We were just kissing and we ended up just sleeping.

THAT'S IT, sorry for such typical plot, it's my first time writing, and you can give me some tips or ideas If u want, and English isn't my first language so, sorry!!

[stupendouspeanutstarlight]

Undiscovered Future - Pt. 5

OH MY two posts one day! Sorry to disappoint, but it's not that special ; ( The post isn't very long just under 1k, but I wanted to write a little more, and the place I ended seems like a good ending point!

______________________________________________________________

Waking up the next day next to all of her family filled Savanna’s heart with love. Trying not to disturb anyone, Savanna managed to untangle herself from Jake’s arms. Moving to sit outside the pod and enjoy the tranquillity of the silent village, she took a deep breath and relaxed. Savanna had never thought she’d meet her dad, and hadn’t expected to find a family as good as this. Although happy, Savanna couldn’t help miss Nali and the swamp village. Her features fit in much better here, and her body is designed for the trees, but she couldn’t help miss the daily duties of fishing and swimming. Sitting contently, swaying her body in the morning breeze Savanna heard movement. Neytiri came out of the pod and sat next to Savanna. Both sat silently enjoying the view of the rising sun and seeing the village come to life. Neytiri couldn't help observing the young girl, her skills were vouched for by the Marsh people, and she saved her sons lives in battle, but she still required training on some of their ways. 

Turning her body to face Savanna, Neytiri spoke, “Child, you are a fierce warrior.” Savanna became bashful at the sudden compliment and turned to face Neytiri, “but you must learn some more skills! I would like to teach you, if you would take my guidance?” 

Beaming Savanna lunged forward to hug Neytiri, “Of course! I would be honoured to learn from you! I will do my best to be a wonderful student.” 

The excitement and adrenaline Savanna had at the beginning of training was beginning to wear off as Neytiri taught her to ride a Pali. Savanna’s mother had compared them to an animal on Earth, a horse, but Savanna had no experience riding an animal on land. She had tamed an ikiran, rode an aquatic serpent that was called a serli, but was not able to master the pali. She has impressed Neytiri with her bow, spear and tracking skills, but this was something she just couldn’t get. After many attempts, the only thing Savanna had accomplished is eating an inhumane amount of mud. Laying on her back in a pile of mud Savanna grumbled, “I think I’m going to die from mud consumption!” 

Walking over to stand above the teenager wallowing in self pity, Neytiri crossed her arms. She couldn’t help but smile, Savanna was so much like Jake. A man who tamed Toruk Makto, but struggled to learn on a pali. “Stop whining ma child. Get up!” Lifting Savanna’s muddy body off the ground and dragging her towards the Pali. Neytiri placed Savanna’s hand on the creature's neck and said, “You must be one with her, feel her emotions! You are rushing like a child! Try again.” 

Hoping back onto the pali, Savanna decided this was the time, she connected the bond and took deep breaths. She pictured the pali calmly walking towards the water, and she did. Savanna pictured running towards the edge of the field, and she did, but in her excitement she forgot to focus and toppled into a bush. Neytiri rode over on her own pali, she was laughing at the poor girl. “I almost had it that time!” 

“I know sweet girl, I know.” Lowering herself from her pali, Neytiri approached Savanna and helped her onto her feet, “You will get it perfected soon.” 

Familiar voices approached and both the women looked over to see Jake and Neteyam approaching on their own palis. Neteyam noticed his mom first and sped towards them, but when he got closer he saw her appearance Savanna, “You are so filthy!”

Grimacing, Savanna looked at her arms and legs, and she was caked in mud. “It’s wonderful to see you as well, Yam!” Her tone laced with sarcasm, Savanna flicked mud at Neteyams face. 

“Ew, Savanna that was uncalled for!” 

“You’re right Neteyam! I’m sorry, can you forgive me?” Walking over to Neteyam as innocent as she could, she yanked him off his pali and into a mud pile. The two began to wrestle in the mud, sliding around and hissing at each other. 

Jake, arriving to both his eldest children squabbling and covered in mud, looked at the fond smile across his mates face, “Ok you two, cut it out. Go get cleaned up!”

After cleaning up in a nearby pond, Neteyam and Savanna playfully shoved each other as they raced to get back to where Jake and Neytiri waited. When they arrived their joy was quickly broken as Loaks voice came over the comms, “Come in, come in”

“What is it boy? What’s going on? Where are you?” Jake shot Neytiri a nervous look. The one day both his responsible children were busy training, he didn’t want to think about the trouble Loak was getting into. 

“Avatar bootprints… We are out near the old shack.”  Savanna and Neteyam both froze, they could see the anger building in Jake and the worry in Neytiri's eyes.

“Do not engage! Loak head straight back! Who are you with?” 

  “Spider, Kiri… and Tuk.” Hearing Tuk’s name Neytiri gasped and hugged herself, clearly becoming overcome with worry. Neteyam noticed his mothers distress and went to try and soothe her. 

“We are coming, Loak, get out of there!”

When the four of them were almost in the area of the old shack a new voice came through the comms, "Hey Sully, miss me?"

_____________________________________________________________

Taglist: @elegantkidfansoul

[shadowcetra]

Who is Eden?

This page is under construction, the story needs revamping. Forgive me for such a long wait for the change. I hope to get the backstory and information rewritten soon.

Triggar warning: The  backstory contains parental death.

Name: Eden Inbar

Many of the characters in the Final Fantasy Universe have unique names (such as Yazoo, Rude, and Cloud); I wanted to try to stick to that.  Her father gave her the name Eden, in hopes she would be as beautiful and bountiful in blessings, but he had no intentions in her falling into sin like those within the Garden. Eden is to represent the Garden of Eden in that sense. As the story progresses, Eden gradually becomes corrupted with the jealousy and the frustration in her struggle with her heritage and identity, she betrays the Planet and what she holds dear, thus resulting in her losing that spiritual light.

 Not only she represents the fall of Eden, but her story is to illustrate Judas Iscariot, the disciple who committed betrayal out of greed. Ultimately, her story is to reveal that even the most faithful can fall. However, her story is to also show the radical power of forgiveness, how it can revive the dead spirit.

The last name, Inbar, means “Amber” in Hebrew. The amber eyes are a major characteristic of Eden. They are supposed to be inherited from her Cetran roots. From what I gathered, Ancients are known to have earthy traits; an example being Aerith’s green eyes and brown hair. Eden is given amber eyes not only because it is an earthy color, but it also represents her darker motivations. Amber is the color of sap that bleeds from wounded trees; when Eden betrays the Planet, she hurts all that is connected with it such as the people, animals, plants, and trees.Their blood stains her conscience.

Race: Cetra/Cosmo Canyon Native

Appearance: Eden stands about 5’ 3’’, and has medium tan skin from her mother and father. She is also considered underweight due to her subpar hunting skills. She is not always successful in catching food; and with the gritty, bleak world Final Fantasy VII is set in, many of the population were poor and couldn’t always afford necessities. Eden is one of those who struggle greatly.

She also has various scars from her hunts and battles. Three claw marks are seen on her left collarbone; three huge, jagged scars rip over her left rib cage and reach down her side. She also has scars from a bite wound on her right arm.

I based her appearance loosely on the Egyptian and Middle Eastern backgrounds. She bears the tattoos around her eyes and on her cheeks that are iconic of Egyptian relics, and wears three piercings on both ears (a golden ring, silver stud, and silver ring), the ivory fang gauge is seen only on her left ear. Two thin, silver lip rings are on her bottom lip.

There is also a tattoo on her left wrist, hidden beneath her arm covering. It is a small sun symbol with two eagle feathers. It’s to honor her late mother.

Each of the eight thin braids, each braid held together by a gold band. Her bangs are long, angled, messy, and jagged.

The choker she wears around her neck is hemp braided with a gun-metal, swirled tribal pendant that loosely resembles a beast’s paw. The dark satchel strapped to her hip often carries sleep materia and other small items she can manage to stuff in. She also has hazel eyes, to give an indication of her connection to the Planet. She also wears baggy, acid-stained jeans and furry boots.

From what I gathered from Cetra (Ancients) depicted from the Temple, they resonate with an appearance of those from Egypt and the surrounding area. I am aware that Aerith does not look as exotic (light skin tone, no eye markings) but I wanted to try to reflect what the Cetra ancestors may have looked, or intended to look.

Personality: Eden can be cunning, and she relies on this trait when facing a troubling situation; often choosing to stick to the shadows and tricks rather than facing someone head-on. Eden can’t stand the thought of losing control and is known to fight viciously and dirty when cornered. Preferring to be quiet and simply observe, she struggles with social interactions, especially first time meetings. She is paranoid towards others, thus she doesn’t trust easily. The woman is also victim to envy, as she can become very jealous towards those who are more skilled or more blessed than she is. She broods quietly instead of talking about her problems; and can seem dishonest, selfish, and stubborn.

However, towards those who grow close to her heart, she becomes protective and does her best to be dependable. The Ancient becomes more playful to those she loves and often becomes touchy-feely with them. She is rather insecure, due to her fear of the LifeStream and belief that she is cursed, and often looks towards intimacy as a means to help combat with her insecurities.

Parents:

Her father’s name is Cassiel, which is the name of the archangel of tears and solitude in the Kabbalah. He is an Ancient, and because of his heritage, he questions and fears of what the voices will do to him. Because of his fear, He tries not to get involved with the Planet’s troubles, despite the Planet’s urgings for him to act.

Her mother’s name is Nizhoni, which I found means “Beautiful” in Navajo. She is a Cosmo Canyon native, and a passionate supporter of AVALANCHE and the Planet. She tries to give as much as she can to support their cause.

Past:  A dull thud struck the floor, followed by a tired breath as the disturbed red dust hung around the large, burlap sack. The older man stopped from stocking one of the shelves and turned his head, dark eyes gleaming to see the young woman standing before him. “Nizhoni,” he greeted, taking his small glasses off and wiping the lenses with a worn cloth hanging from his pocket. “It’s good to see you. I hope you’re well.” The woman nodded, “it’s good to see you too. I brought some dried meat and furs for the courier to take to Midgar, hopefully they’ll find some use for them.” The woman was about to reach down for the sack as she continued. “Maybe they can sell the furs for some gil. Cassiel managed to take down some really—“ “Nizhoni,” the man interjected, stepping towards her and taking a gentle hold on her should to stop her from leaning over. “You know you shouldn’t be travelling so far and wearing yourself out like this. Not in your condition.”

        Nizhoni let out a sigh, placing her hand on her full abdomen. “Cassiel already gets onto me about this. I’m a grown woman,” she replied, trying to not let her annoyance show. “I’m fine, the baby’s fine.” The shopkeeper gave an apologetic smile. “I understand, but you look like you hadn’t slept in a while.” His smile faded slightly as he caught sight of the dark circles under her eyes. “These trips are hard on you as it is, and with the baby on the way…” Nizhoni shook her dark messy bangs from her face; an intense light gleamed in her eyes. “This is something I want to do, feel called to do. AVALANCHE is struggling as it is, the least I can do is offer supplies. Besides, this may be my last trip, until the baby is born.”

     The man nodded, bending down to pull the bag up. “I understand,” he repeated; Nizhoni was a headstrong woman, and from he learned in times before, there was no winning an argument with her. “I will make sure these will get to them.” He shuffled towards the counter, pausing to turn back towards her. “Please Nizhoni, just…just take care of yourself, all right?” She gave a slight nod, “I will. I haven’t died yet, have I?” The woman gave him a forced smile before turning towards the door. “Thank you, I really hope that will help them.” With that, she stepped out into the sun-soaked village.

       For another hour, she rode across the crimson earth, dark eyes focused on the familiar path before her. The chocobo that carried her over the sloping rock, her hands tugged at the reins to halt the bird. The chocobo let out a complaint, shaking its pale yellow head.   Her eyes fell on the small adobe house nestled behind the ridge. She sighed, thankful to finally be home. She pulled on the reins slightly once more, signaling for the bird to step down the rocky path towards the house. As she approached the house, a young man stepped out. His large, calloused hand slipped underneath his long chestnut brown hair, rubbing the back of his neck. His honey-hued eyes glanced up to see the smoky black-haired woman riding towards him. He sighed, a weary worrisome look upon his face. He should have known she would go off, he had known since he first opened his eyes to see her side of the bed empty.

      Nizhoni smiled towards him, but it soon faded as she looked into his face. She turned the chocobo towards the hitching post beside the front window, slipping off the bird. “Was wondering why the bed was so cold.” The male Cetra started, stepping closer. “Oh, you just got up?” Nizhoni teased back, tying the lead on the hitch post onto the chocobo’s halter, letting it eat the freshly picked vegetables from its trough.

        “Didn’t get to come back until really late at night, tracking griffins is near to impossible.” He reached over to slip off the bags off the chocobo’s back. “Which brings me to the question…”  Nizhoni sighed, here it comes… “Why were you running around in the canyon so early in the morning? You know how dangerous it is before sunrise.”  The woman looked towards him, putting her hands on her hips. “You don’t think I can take care of myself,” she asked, already feeling weary with her husband worrying over her. “Of course I do,” Cassiel smiled weakly. “It’s just with a baby on the way, I don’t want you to put yourself under so much stress.” He closed his eyes for a moment, almost afraid to know the answer to his next question. “You’ve gone back to give supplies to AVALANCHE again, haven’t you?”

       Nizhoni’s eyes never left his face. “And what if I have?”  A heavy breath escaped from Cassiel’s broad chest, his hand rubbing his face. “Nizhoni, you know the trip over puts a lot of stress on you. The doctor warned you about this. Besides,” he opened his eyes, but kept his focus on the earth. “AVALANCHE is not our concern.” The woman narrowed her eyes to hear such words. “Not a concern? Cassiel, it has everything to do with us! With the Planet! They’re our only hope of saving it from ShinRa’s destruction and—“ “It’s not our fight,” Cassiel spoke, his tone cold. She stared at him, her hands clenched into fists. “Listen to yourself,” she snapped, “If anyone’s, it’s your fight Cassiel! You hear them, those voices! You keep saying they cry out to you. The Planet needs you to—“

       “Enough,” the Ancient roared, his eyes glaring at his wife. She didn’t take a step back, her eyes remained locked defiantly on his. Cassiel hung his head, turning from her to look up at the horizon. “Those voices have also been the ones that killed my people. I can’t trust them.” His eyes grew vacant, “you know I can’t.” “You don’t know that,” Nizhoni urged. “If you just have faith and listen.”  “No,” Cassiel grunted, “I won’t stand here and listen to my loved one speak for those demons.” The Ancient turned his head back towards Nizhoni who bore a glimmer of sorrow in her eyes. “Come on, you need to kick back and rest,” he said, turning back towards the house. Nizhoni watched as he stepped into the house, before looking towards the painted canyon. “Gaia, help us.” The words slipped beneath her breath as she pressed her hand onto her stomach. She stared for a moment longer before following after Cassiel. Rest sounded wonderful to her at that point.

        The several months passed like grains of sand; on a cool, still night, the young couple rushed into Cosmo Canyon’s Inn. The tense air broke with the quaking sobs and pained cries of the woman as she writhed in her bed, her husband and a midwife at her side. Cassiel’s calloused fingers gently caressed the stray strands of her hair that stuck upon her sweat drenched face. Nizhoni let out another cry, tears squeezing free from her tightly shut eyes. “Just relax,” the male Ancient murmured, pressing his head against hers, mind frantically searching for a better way to console her as her quivering hand tightly gripped his. “You’re doing well, Mrs. Inbar,” encouraged the midwife as she made preparations for the birth.  “I just need you to keep taking deep breaths and push for me.” The struggle felt like ages for the three in the room; finally, Nizhoni’s cries suddenly fell into a ragged breath, and the feeble cries rose. Cassiel’s lifted his head slowly, eyes gleaming bright with tears. Never did he believe such a thing could ever happen to them… “It’s a girl!” The midwife announced, excitement brimming in her voice as she took the baby into clean thick cloths. “A girl…” the man repeated, tears streaming down his weary face. “A beautiful girl.”

        He turned his eyes towards Nizhoni, who lay still on the bed, eyes closed. “Did you hear that, love? We brought new life to this world. A girl.” He gently shook her, but the exhausted woman never opened her eyes. “Nizhoni, did you hear me? Our new daughter, Eden, open your eyes and see her.” His eyes widened slightly, worry soon began to thread into his confusion. “Nizhoni?” Glowing orbs formed over her body, sending him into a wild panic. “No! Nizhoni, no! Darling, please!” He shot to his feet, gripping onto her. The midwife held the baby in her arms, horror and tears apparent on her visage. “Oh Gaia…” She turned and threw the door open, crying in vain for help. “No, Nizhoni. Open your eyes… Open your eyes!” His voice rang out in desperation, his large frame trembling like a child. “You can’t let them take you! Nizhoni!” No matter how much he roared, the ghostly orbs continued to float away from the woman. He frantically tried to hold onto her body but within seconds, his panicked hands only gripped onto the sheets. He stared down at the empty bed, and then slowly sank to his knees. He buried his face into the side of the bed, the sheets twisted into his grip as his tears of joy became sobs of heartbreak.

       Two days went by after her passing, the Ancient stood by the window, his hazel eyes glazed as he stared out into the village. The midwife sat in the chair still at the bedside, examining the tiny infant in the bundled carrier “She seems to be getting stronger.” She commented, cradling the drowsy child. “Why did I let her keep giving supplies to this damned place? I should have known this would do something to her.” The older woman looked up as Cassiel’s voice growled, unable to catch all he said. “What?” The man narrowed his eyes, glaring towards the blazing sky. “Taking these trips to help those idiots fighting in Midgar, they wore her down, killed her!” The midwife looked up at him, before gently placing the baby back into the woven, basket-like cradle. “You don’t know that, Mr. Inbar,” she tried to gently reassure him. “These tragedies can happen without cause. I understand you’re in pain, but you have a young one to think about.” He looked back at the corner of his eye, allowing the silence sink in between them. “A young one…” He turned around; his eyes fell upon his sleeping child. “If she were to stay here, she’ll follow her mother’s dangerous path. She’s cursed already, with these damned voices.”

       The old woman stared at him, concern bright in her grayed eyes. “What do you mean?” He glanced towards her, but only for a moment, his wounded heart messily gathering his decision. “No, I won’t let her. Those demons killed my ancestors, took my wife away, they won’t have my child!” The midwife stumbled before him, placing herself between him and Eden. “I’m sorry, Mr. Inbar, but I can’t allow you to take her in the state you’re—“ The Ancient shoved her aside, causing the woman to stagger back towards the bed. Cassiel stepped towards the baby, gently sliding the carrier over him so the baby rested snug against his chest. He carefully supported her head and hurried off from the room. “Stop!” The midwife cried out, but he continued on, determined to save his daughter from the voices of the LifeStream and their manipulations. Surprised squawks rang out from the nearby stable before a chocobo burst from its stall, carrying the wayward Ancient and his child into the wilds.

-To be Continued-

[thereaderinsertlady]

(crawls in through your window) um hello yes I have a Valentine letter hehe 👉🏻👈🏻

This one is for my favourite Kirby anime character, Escargoon… and I’m very sorry for the massive self indulgence 😂💕

It ended up with slightly tsundere vibes, I didn’t mean for that to happen but I always end up being a tsundere when it comes to this kind of stuff, oops 🫣

And thank you for doing this event, it’s a really sweet idea!💗

Now to go and drown in my embarrassment (flies away)✨

(Also I did write it by hand but it looks like image submissions are turned off, but I’ll still share the photo on my page on Valentine’s Day if I’m not too embarrassed haha💗)

I’ll stop rambling now; here’s my letter!💕

—x—x—x—

Hi Goonie💗

Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m not very good at stuff like this, but I wanted to send you a letter anyway.

I’m glad I have you.

We’ve had our ups and downs, but every challenge we’ve faced together has only strengthened our bond, right? At least, I hope that’s how you feel too.

Ugh, my cheeks are heating up just writing this sappy stuff. You’d better not let anyone else see this letter or I’ll never forgive you.

Come and visit me soon, OK? I know you’re always pretty busy, but I miss you when you’re not around. And if you don’t come visit me soon, I’ll just have to come to the castle and embarrass you at work, and we wouldn’t want that to happen would we? 💗

Love, Rosie

The letter arrived in your mailbox at the end of the day on Valentine's Day, surprisingly. Perhaps the mailman decided to do some overtime to get everything mailed away? Regardless, the letter you received seemed like it was typed out on a typewriter. It still felt warm.

[Dear Rosie, Sorry that this letter may come in late! The King won’t leave me alone, and I’ve been running around the castle– he’s very big on Valentine’s Day, apparently. I managed to quickly type this out (my handwriting is horrible, as I’m sure you know) to say that I’m happy I got to meet you all that time ago! I’d love to spend more time with you. Maybe we can meet up on that one bridge, and have some alone time? The one that’s near the cherry blossom tree? I’m hoping I can sneak out late at night at some point, but let me know of an exact date when we can meet up. With care, Escargoon.]

[aqua-loves-writing]

Rebellious flame chapter 2 part 4

Yeah, sorry it took so long to upload this, but the inciting incident is here! CW for violence and blood

Just as the sun began to rise, they were able to reach the village, but they didn't know what to make of what they saw.

The houses were either crashed or burned to the ground. The farm animals kept running all over the place across the now blood-filled streets. No living soul in sight.

Alice panicked. She sat on the ground covering her ears.

This can't be happening. This can't be real. I tried to help them, but I couldn't do anything. Did mom and everyone else survive? Or did they get them too? They can't be dead, please don't tell me they're dead, please, please, please.

"Alice, please, listen to me."

"Professor?"

"Smell these," he picked up some flowers, "It will help you calm down for now."

Doing as she's told, she took his flowers and smelled them a bit.

"Better?"

"I…I don't know."

Unsure what to do, he reached out his hand, "Close your eyes."

"What?"

"A child like you shouldn't see these horrid things. Hold my hand and I'll help you walk through the village, does that sound good?"

"Yeah."

Holding onto his hand tightly, the two of them traversed the village. They carefully hid behind crates and fallen carriages, but fortunately enough no hooded mage was in sight.

"Be careful, you could trip here."

"Got it. I just hope we find mom and the others soon"

"Yes…child."

"Yes."

"When we're safe and sound, I promise, we'll tell you the entire truth."

The truth?

"It was painful, that's why we had to hide it away for long from you. We planned to tell you when you were older, and look where that got us."

What is he talking about?

"I hope you'll find in your heart to forgive, but…we'll accept if you choose to hate us as well"

Alice couldn't figure out what he was talking about, "What are you-"

"Alice!?"

All that she wanted to say suddenly escaped hearing that all-so-familiar voice.

"Mom?"

Opening her eyes, Alice saw her mother all torn up and wounded, the chief right behind her.

"Mom! Chief!"

Running into Talisha's embrace, she couldn't stop herself from crying into her chest.

"I'm here, I'm here."

Adam left the two of them alone as he explained everything to the chief.

"I see, that's what happened. We suddenly found several mages inside our village attacking anything in sight, that impostor must have let them in."

"I apologize…for not being able to-"

"Adam please, it wasn't your fault this happened. Besides, they wanted you to escape and live on, so please, carry on their last wishes.

"I know," he teared up once more, "I know."

The chief smiled with hints of grief across his face, "Talisha, are you two ready to go?"

"Alice?"

"Can I still keep my eyes closed? I'm..still scared."

Talisha sighed, "Of course."

They slowly go their way through the forest, and after a while, they finally reached the training area

"Stand back you all."

Reaching one of the trees surrounding the area, he pulled down one of the branches, causing a flight of stairs to appear down on the ground.

"Sweetie, want to open your eyes now?"

"Oh," she paused, "Let me keep them closed for one more moment please."

"Right," Talisha seemed worried.

She must be so disappointed in me right now? We're being attacked and I refuse to even look at her. I need to open my eyes now, but I can't. Why can't you do it you stupid-

"You think she'll be ready?"

Huh?

Without them knowing, Alice overhears Adam and Talisha whispering to one another.

"Look at her, she can't even look at anything right now, if we tell her she might-"

"And what," Adam spoke out, "You know what she's like, she'll want to know the truth sooner or later, and look what keeping quiet about that had led to!"

Talisha was quiet.

"Listen, I understand but-"

"I know you're right, but could you and the chief…be with me when we tell her? Just this once?"

"...Of course."

Mom, professor, what were you hiding away from me?

"I see the entrance!"

"Finally!"

"Isn't that great Alice! We'll finally be able to escape!"

Alice held her mother's arm tightly and couldn't move.

Alice?"

"That smell, isn't it blood?"

"...What?"

The adults looked at one another.

"Talisha, you stay with Alice. Adam, you come with me."

"Oh, going already?"

A chill went through their spines when they heard a chilling voice.

"It can't be-"

"Rue!"

Alice opened her eyes finally, "Rue?"

She saw a woman wearing black armor, a white cape waving through the air, entering the tunnels, many hooded mages following behind her, "The reunion just began, you know it's rude to leave so early."

"You," enraged, Talisha sparked large flames, "How did you find us?"

"Is that how you greet an old friend? Of course, I didn't expect the likes of you to know proper manners-"

The chief attacked her with his flames but they dodged it, "Talisha! Get her away from here!"

"Got it," she carried Alice and was able to fly through the tunnels avoiding the mages in her way, but she stopped in her tracks once she saw what happened outside.

"What," she saw all of the villagers trapped by the mages with knives against their necks, "Everyone!"

"Heh, don't tell me you were about to abandon everyone just to save that child, that doesn't surprise me, after all, it wouldn't be your first time doing so."

First time? What is she talking about?"

"Rue," the chief sparked large flames that surrounded her, "Let everyone go this instant! You'll gain nothing with this, and you know that better than anyone else-"

Before he was able to finish speaking, two mages appeared behind him, knocking him out in an instant.

"Chief!"

"Oh, quit your yelling, the man was past his prime anyway. Now, Talisha, how about you and your daughter come over for some nice tea? If you come along, we might let your villagers go their merry way, and if you don't, I might have to take Alice myself"

"You piece of-"

"Mom, behind you!"

At a moment's notice, Talisha was able to dodge a mage's attack and kicked him in the face.

"Oh you think you're so slick, don't you Adam."

Right as he was about to blast her away with flames, she summoned her own and blocked them away.

Tch," he moved away, "Annoying as always."

"And you aren't?"

Talisha and Adam did their best to fight them off and protect the entrapped villagers. Alice meanwhile, stood in the middle of it, her body shaking and her eyes devoid of light

What should I do? Should I run? No, I can't leave mom and the professor behind. Should I fight, but I might get in the way. Is there nothing I can do? Do something, you idiot, something, anything, just, move!"

"Alice!"

Right as she was about to get stabbed by a mage, she was pushed and the sword cut through Adam.

No

Adam was able to spark his last flames, pushing away the mage and destroying his sword at the same time

No

He looked back at Alice, with a smile on his face before he fell to the ground.

"Uncle!"

"Adam!"

Talisha kicked the mages surrounding her to get to him and created a large ring of flames surrounding Alice and Adam.

"Uncle, stand up, please," she shook his body several times, "We still have time, we'll just have to get rid of these guys and we'll be safe alright! So please, stay with us!"

Unable to stop herself from crying, Adam gently put his hand on her shoulder, "Sorry kid, this is the end for me…"

"Don't!"

"Now I can meet up with your dad and hunters as well, heh, I wonder if they have good drinks in the world beyond…"

"Stop! Just, stop!"

"Goodbye…and thank you."

His body slowly dissolved into ashes, only his coat remaining. Alice grabbed into his coat crying her heart out.

"Oh, poor Adam," Rue appeared behind her, "That's the best way he could have ended up, for some people must die, may he repent for his wicked way wherever he is."

"Shut it you monster!" Alice tried to punch her, but Rue blocked it.

"Is that all you got? How disappointing. Can't believe he'd sacrificed himself for the likes of you."

"Let go of my daughter-" before Talisha was able to do anything, a mage knocked her out and she fell to the ground.

"Mom!"

"Pathetic," Rue chuckled, "Now where were we?"

She grabbed Alice in a choke-hold with her left hand and sparked gray flames on her other hand, "Don't worry little girl, your time to shine is yet to come, until then, goodnight."

She shoved the flames into hers and Alice was knocked out.

[atlantean-studies]

Fox Lore #2 (Stories By Culture)

JAPANESE

Enough is Enough!

The foxes who infested the house and grounds of Major Counselor Yasumichi's old mansion were always making mischief, but since they never really did any harm, Yasumichi let the matter pass. They got naughtier and naughtier as the years went by, though, until one day he angrily decided that enough was enough. Those foxes would have to go.

He announced a grand fox hunt to his household, for the next day. The servants were to bring bows and arrows, sticks, or whatever weapons they could devise, and flush out every last one. They would surround the house, and men would be posted not only on the garden wall but on the roof as well, and even in the space between the ceiling of the rooms and the roof. Every fox that showed itself would be killed.

Near dawn on the fateful day Yasumichi had a dream. A white-haired old man, looking rather like an aged menial, was kneeling under the tangerine tree in the garden, bowing respectfully to him.

"Who are you?" asked Yasumichi.

"Someone who has lived here in the mansion for many years, sir," the old man answered nervously. "My father lived here before me, sire, and by now I have many children and grandchildren. They get into a lot of mischief, I'm afraid, and I'm always after them to stop, but they never listen. And now, sir, you're understandably fed up with us. I gather that you're going to kill us all. But I just want you to know, sir, how sorry I am that this is our last night of life. Won't you pardon us, one more time? If we ever make trouble again, then of course you must act as you think best. But the young ones, sir -- I'm sure they'll understand when I explain to them why you're so upset. We'll do everything we can to protect you from now on, if only you'll forgive us, and we'll be sure to let you know when anything good is going to happen!"

The old man bowed again and Yasumichi awoke. When the sky had lightened, he got up and looked outside. Under the tangerine tree sat a hairless old fox which, and the sight of him, slunk under the house.

The perplexed Yasumichi gave up his fox hunt. There was no more troublesome mischief, and every happy event around the house was announced by a fox's sharp bark.

Fox Arson

A retainer who served the governor of Kai was heading home one sundown from the governor's mansion when he saw a fox, gave chase and shot at it with the kind of noisemaker arrow used for scaring off dogs. He hit it in the back leg.

The fox yelped in pain, rolled over, and dove, limping into the brush. As the retainer went to retrieve his arrow the fox reappeared in front of him, and he was about to shoot at it again when it vanished.

A quarter of a mile from home he saw the fox running ahead of him carrying a flaming brand in its mouth. What could it be up to? He spurred his horse on. On reaching the house, the fox changed into a human being and set the house on fire. The retainer was ready to shoot as soon as he got within range, but the human changed right back into a fox and got away. The house burned down.

Beings like that exact swift vengeance. It's better to leave them alone.

The Fox In The Brothel

In a time of our honorable forefathers, there dwelt in a mean mountain village of Settsu Province a poor faggot-cutter who followed the way of Lord Buddha, taking no animal life for the solace of his belly and praying as a devout man should for the eternal welfare of his spirit.

One day in a ravine he came upon a vixen, caught by the paw in a trapper's snare, which with many a moan and with tears running down her muzzle para-para seemed to beseech him for succor, so that in pity he would have released her. But being minded to rob no honest man, he trudged a long ride down the mountain to his hut, and taking from a hiding place in the thatch a piece of silver, the fruit of weeks of toil, he returned to the ravine and set the vixen free, and wrapped the silver piece in a bit of cotton cloth, he tied it to the snare and went his way. The vixen, when he released her, fled not, but as thought understanding his heart, fawned upon his feet and licked his hands and followed him limping tobo-tobo to the mouth of the ravine, where she gave three sharp barks and sprang into the thicket.

Now on the third evening thereafter, as the man squatted in the mouth of his hut resting from the sweaty labor of the day, on a sudden there appeared before him a damsel, clad in a brown-silk robe, who called to him, and he, seeing her rare beauty and thinking her some great lady strayed from her cavalcade, prostrated himself before her and begged her pleasure.

Said she: "Abase not thyself. I am the fox which thy humanity set free the other night from the snare, and whose life thou didst purchase with thy silver piece. I have taken this form in order to request thy favor as I may, and I will serve thee with fealty so long as thou dost live."

At which he cried: "Esteemed mistress of magic! Not for my unparalleled worthlessness is thy high condescension! I am eight times rewarded by this thy visit. I am but a beggarly forester and thou a repository of all beauty. I pray to thee, make not sport of my low condition."

Then said she: "Thou art a poor man. Suffer me at least to set thee on the way to wealth."

Asked him "How may that be done?"

She replied "Tomorrow morning don thy best robe and thy stoutest sandals and come to the mouth of the ravine where thou didst rescue me. There thou shalt see me in my true form. Follow whither I lead and good fortune shall be thine. This I promise on the word of a fox." At that he prostrated himself before the damsel in gratitude, and when he lifted himself, she had vanished.

Next morning, when he came to the ravine, he found awaiting him the vixen, who barked thrice and turning, trotted before him, leading him by paths he knew not across the mountain.

So, they proceeded, she disappeared in the thicket whenever a chance traveler came in view, and he satisfying his hunger with fruits and berries and slaking his thirst from the rivulets, and at night sleeping under the stars. Thus, the reaches of the sun wound up the days till on fourth noontide they descended into a vale where lay a city.

At sundown they came to a grove hard by the city's outer barrier where there was a shrine to the fox deity, Inari. Before this, the vixen barked thrice, and bounded through its door. And presently the woodsman beheld the damsel issuing therefrom, robed now in rich garments and beauteous as a lover's dream leaping from the golden heart of a plum blossom.

Said she "Take me now - who am they daughter - to the richest brothel in yonder city, and sell me to its master for a godly price."

He answered: "Barter thee, to the red-hell hands of a conscienceless virgin-buyer? Never!" Then, with a laugh like the silver potari of a fountain, she said.

"Nay, but their soul shall be blameless. So soon as thou hast closed the bargain and departed, I shall take on my fox shape in the garden and get me gone, and thus the reward shall be thine and evil intent shall receive its just deserts."

So, as she bade him, he entered the city with her and inquiring the way to the quarter of houses of public women, came to its most splendid rendezvous, which was patronized only by brazen spendthrifts and purse-proud princes, where all night the painted drums went don-a-don and the samisen were never silent, and whose satiny corridors lisped with the shu-shu of the velvet foot-palms of scarlet-lipped courtesans.

So great was the damsel's beauty that a crowd trooped after them, and the master of the house, when he saw her, felt his back teeth itch with pleasure. The faggot-cutter told him his tale, as he had been prompted, averring that he was a man whose life had fallen on gloomy ways so that he who had been a man of substance was now constrained to sell his only daughter to bondage.

At which the proprietor, his mouth watering at her loveliness and bethinking him of his wealthy clientele, thrust ink-brush into his fist and planked before him a bill-of-agreement providing for her three years' service for a sum of thirty gold ryo paid that hour into his hand.

The woodsman would joyfully have signed, but the damsel put forth her hand and stopped him saying: "Nay, my august father! I joyfully obey thy will in this as in all else, yet I pray thee bring not reproach upon our unsullied house by esteeming me of so little value.” And, to the master of the place she said: "Me thinks thou saidst sixty ryo."

He answered: "Were I to give a rin more than forty, I would be robbing my children."

Said she: "The perfume I used in our brighter days cost me ten each month. Sixty!"

Cried he: "A thousand curses upon my beggarly poverty, which constraineth me. Have mercy and take fifty!"

At this she rose, saying: "Honorable parent, there is a house in a nearby street frequented, I hear, by a certain prince who may deem me not unattractive. Let us go thither, for this place seemeth of lesser standing and reputation than we had heard."

But the master ran and barred the door and, although groaning like an ox before the knacker, flung down the sixty gold ryo, and the woodsman set his name to the bill-of-agreement and farewelled her and went home rejoicing with the money.

Then the master, glad at the capture of such a peerless pearl of maidenhood, gave her into the care of his tire-woman to be robed in brocades and jewels, and set her on a balcony, where her beauty shone so dazzling that the halted palanquins made the street impassable, and the proprietor of the establishment across the way all but slit his throat in sheer envy. Moreover, the son of the daimyo of the province, hearing of the newcomer marvel, sent to the place a gift of gold, requesting her presence at a feast he was to give there that same evening.

Now this feast was held in an upper room overhanging the river, and among the damsels who attended the noble guests, the fox-woman was as the moon to a horde of broken paper lanterns, so that the princely host could not unhook his eyes from her and each and every one of his guests gave black looks to whoever touched her sleeve.

As the sake cup took its round, she turned her softest smile now to this one and now to that, beckoning to each to folly till his blood bubbled butsu-butsu with passion and all were balanced on the thin knife-edge of a quarrel.

Suddenly, then, the lights in the apartment flickered out and there was confusion, in the midst of which the damsel cried out in a loud voice: "O my Prince! One of thy guests hath fumbled me! Make a light quickly and thou shalt know this false friend, for he is the one whose hat-tassel I have torn off."

But cried the prince (for he was true-hearted and of generous mind): "Nay, do each one of you, my comrades, tear off his hat-tassel and put it on his sleeve. For we have all drunk overmuch, and ignorance is sometimes better than knowledge." Then after a moment he clapped his hands, and lights were brought, lo, there was no hat left with a tassel upon it. At this, one of the young blades, laughing at the success of the artifice, began to sing the ancient song which saith:

       The hat thou lovedst,                Reed-wove, tricked out with damask,        Ah me, hath blown away,                Into the Kamo River-        Blown amidst the current.                While I wandered seeking it,        While I wandered searching it,                Day-dawn cam, day-dawn came!        Ah, the sawa-sawa                Of that rustling night of autumn,        There by the water,                The spread-out, rustling water!

But the damsel, crying that with the affront unavenged she would not choose longer to live, ran into the next chamber and, stripping of her clothes, cast them from the window into the swift current, while she herself, taking on her fox form, leaped down and hid in a burrow under the riverbank. So, the party of the prince rushed in and, finding the window wide and her vanished and seeing the splendid robe borne away by the rushing water, deeming that she had indeed drowned herself, made outcry, and the master of the house plucked out his eyebrows, and his folk and the gallants put forth in many a boat, searching for her fair body all that night, but naught did they discover save only her loincloth.

Now on the fourth evening after that, as the faggot-cutter sat in his doorway, the damsel appeared before him, robed in a kimono of pine-and-bamboo pattern, with an obi of jeweled dragonflies tangled in a purple mist. Asked she: "Have I kept my fox-word?"

He answered. "Aye, eight times over. This morning I purchased a plot of rich rice land, and tomorrow the builders, with what remaineth, begin to erect my mansion."

Said she then: "Thou art no faggot-cutter henceforth, but a man of substance. Look upon me. Wouldst thou not have me to wife?" But he, seeing how her carriage was as graceful as the swaying of a willow branch, her flawless skin the texture of a magnolia petal, her eyebrows like sable rainbows, and her hair glossy as a sun-tinted crow's wing, and knowing himself for an untutored hind, knelt in abasement before her and spoke.

"Nay, wise one! Doth the smutty raven mate with the snow-white heron?"

Then she said, smiling: "Do my bidding once again. Tomorrow return to the city and to the brothel where thou didst leave me, and offer, as the bargain provided, to buy me back. Since the master of the house cannot produce me, he must need pay over to thee damage money, and see that thou accept not less than two hundred gold ryo." She saying, she became a fox and vanished in the bushes.

So next morning he took his purse and crammed it with copper pieces and betook himself across the mountain, and on the third day he arrived at the city. There he hastened to the brothel and demanded its master, to whom he said, jingling the purse beneath his nose: "Good fortune is mine. For, returning to my village three days since to pay my obligations with thy sixty ryo, I found that my elder brother had died suddenly in the next province, leaving to me (since he was without issue) all his wide estates. So, I am come to redeem my beloved daughter and to return thee thy gold plus the legal interest."

At that the master of the house felt his liver shrink and sought to put him off with all kinds of excuses, but the woodsman insisted the more, so that the other at length had no choice but to tell him that the girl had drowned herself.

When he heard this, the woodsman's lamentations filled all the place, and he beat his head upon the mats hata-to, crying out that naught but ill treatment had driven her to such a course, and swearing to denounce the proprietor to the magistrates for a bloody murderer, till from dread to see his establishment sunk in evil repute, the man ran to his strongbox and sought to offer the bereaved one golden solace.

Thus, with two hundred more ryo in gold (for mindful of the maiden's rede, he would take no less) the woodsman returned to his village, with an armed guard of ten men for an escort, where he rented a stout godown for the money's safekeeping.

The night of his return, as he sat on his doorstep, thanking all the deities for his good luck, the fox-maiden again appeared before him, this time clad only in the soft moon-whiteness of her adorable body, so that he turned away his face from the sight of it.

Asked she: "Have I kept my fox-word?"

And he answered, stammering: "Eight hundred times! Today I am the richest man in these parts."

Said she: "Look upon me. Wouldst thou not possess me as thy concubine?" Then, peeping despite himself betwixt his fingers, he beheld the clear and lovely luster of her satiny skin, her breasts like twin snow-hillocks, her bending waist, and the sweet hidden curves of her thighs, and all his senses clamored like bells, so that he covered his eyes with his sleeve. 

And said he: "O generous bestower! Forgive the unspeakable meanness of this degraded nonentity. My descendants of the tenth generation shall burn the richest incense before the golden shrine which I shall presently erect to thee. But I am a man and thou art a fox, with whom I may not knowingly consort without deadly sin!"

Then suddenly he saw a radiance of the five colors shine rainbow-like around her, and she cried out in a voice of exceeding great joy, saying: "Blessing and benison upon thee, O incorruptible one! As a fox I have dwelt upon the earth for five hundred years, and never before have I found among humankind one whose merit had the power to set me free. Know that by the virtue of thy purity I may now quit this animal road for that of humankind." Then she vanished, and he built a shrine to her in the mouth of the mountain ravine, and it is said that his children's grandchildren worship before it to this day.

CHINESE

On Fox Spirits

All that I have learned about fox spirits is from magazine articles as well as stories from my grandparents, so this is by no way an authorative account. Anyone who knows more is welcome to contribute. -- Galen Jang

Fox spirits occupies the same mythological niche as the faerie in Western mythology. They are beautiful beyond endurance, elusive, powerful, mischievous and vindictive.

In Chinese mythology, the human form is the pinnacle of creation. All animals, and sometimes plants seek to achieve human form on their way to immortality. Of these animals, foxes seem to succeed the most.

They do this by absorbing the essence of the moon and the sun. Some folklores maintain that foxes achieve this by conducting rites of worship during full moons. After a few centuries, they will acquire the ability to change into human form.

Most fox spirits in stories are females.

They usually appear as an extremely beautiful woman. The male fox spirits, rare as they are, appear either as erudite and handsome men, or wise old men. You can tell a fox spirit from a human from their tails.

Some of them have not quite mastered the human form. While the body looks human enough, the tail remains. They solve the problem by tucking their tail inside their pants. The ones who do master the human form can be enticed to show their true form by getting them drunk. So, if your friend remains human after a good night of drinking, you can believe that he's human.

If they are killed, they revert back to their original form. It's the women who were dangerous. They usually seek to copulate with human males. They use the sexual act itself to absorb their partner's energy in order to add to their own powers. Such relationships, if prolonged, result in sickness and eventually death for the man. So, if you see a beautiful woman who wants to have sex with you for no reason, watch out!

Most fox spirits are not as brazen as that. The fox spirits ordinary people have experienced are much more elusive. They live in attics or some deserted room in a large house. You never see them. You know they're there because of the noises they make.

The difference between fox spirits noises and ghost noises is, of course, fox spirits make the noises day and night! Sometimes the fox spirits throw things, such as rocks and tiles, into the yard or against the door. You know people aren't responsible for the disturbance because you can't see anybody around the house.

When a family is haunted by a fox spirit, they set up a shrine in the abandoned attic. Incense sticks are burned regularly. Sometimes food is also offered. Things usually quiet down after that. Most of the time, the fox spirits leave their landlords alone if the landlords leave them alone. Sometimes, the fox spirits will even take care of any thief or burglar who is foolish to rob such a house.

Pu Sung-Lin said that the belief of fox spirits was limited mainly to northern China. In southern China, the main belief is in a much more malevolent sort of spirit called Wu Tong.

The spirit in the story "Story of Tseng Shi" may be a Wu Tong. However, the belief of Wu Tong seems to have died away in the south in the last two centuries. My grandparents grew up in Fujian which is definitely southern China, yet the only spirit they know about is the fox spirit. The malevolent Wu Tong lost the war for the belief of human beings. Will the fox spirits now lose the belief of the human beings as well?

King of the Nine Mountains

Translated from Liao Tsai Chi Yi

There was a man surnamed Li living in T'sao Chou. He possessed the greatest wealth in town. Behind his mansion, he had an empty lot which was going to waste. One day, an old man came to him and offered to rent the property with one hundred pieces of gold. Li refused on the ground that the lot had no house on it.

The old man said "Please accept the money and don't worry about the rest."

Li didn't understand, but he accepted the money just to see what would happen. After several days, the old man came to him and said "I already moved in, but we're so busy setting up our new household that we neglected good manners. Today, my children shall prepare a banquet for you, the landlord. We hope you will grace us with your presence." Li went to the lot and, to his surprise, discovered a brand-new mansion there.

As he entered, he saw that the inside was lavishly decorated and furnished. Jugs of wine lined the walkways and the scents of good tea wafted from the kitchen. As the banquet began, he was toasted by the old man. The wine tasted of the finest vintage. He saw and heard many men, women and children, maybe more than a hundred in total, living in the mansion.

He then knew they could not be ordinary human beings, but fox spirits. As he returned from the banquet, he returned with death in his heart. He bought sulfur and other flammable material from the city market and, with the help of his servants, secretly placed them all around the new mansion. When he was finished, he ignited it.

The fire blazed and sent black smoke upward toward the heavens like a black and evil mushroom. The smell of burning flesh and the screams of the dying filled the senses. When the fire died, he and his servants went into the wreckage. There they found the charred bodies of hundreds of dead foxes.

While he was inspecting the carnage, the old man entered the mansion. The old man's face was contorted with grief and anger. He said "I have never wronged you. I gave you hundreds of pieces of gold in good faith. That is not a niggardy amount of money. How can you bury your conscience and slaughter us! I must avenge the cruel deaths of my family."

Then the old man left. Li thought the old man would just try some supernatural tricks on his family, such as throwing bricks at his house, but years passed and nothing happened.

Then tens of thousands of bandits gathered in a nearby mountain. The local officials could not gather enough forces to suppress them. Li worried about the safety of his large family as well as his rather large fortune. Then an astrologer who called himself the Old Man of Southern Mountain arrived at the town.

The astrologer became famous because he seemed to know everything, and everything that he predicted had come true. Li invited the astrologer to his home and asked about his future fortunes. The astrologer stood up from his seat in respect and said "This is the true emperor!"

Li was both afraid and astonished. Then he accused the astrologer of lying. The astrologer said "Since ancient times, all the dynasties have been founded by emperors who came from common birth. Who among them is born emperor?" Li began to believe him. The astrologer offered to become Li's military advisor and asked him to prepare armor and weapons.

Li worried that no one would follow him. The astrologer said "I will go into the mountains and speak for the true emperor. I shall tell them of your grand destiny and the bandits will surely follow you."

Li became glad and sent the astrologer along. Li then began to prepare as the astrologer instructed. The astrologer returned a few days later and said "Your great prestige, plus my tongue has convinced all the bandits to follow you." Li looked outside and saw thousands ready to follow him, so he made the astrologer into his chief advisor.

He then made a great banner, proclaiming his own imperial status. He then fortified his positions in the mountains and the sound of his name shook the neighboring prefectures.

When the prefecture sent an army against Li's army, the astrologer led the defense and easily destroyed the small government army. The prefectural magistrate became sorely afraid and asked for help from the principality magistrate. The principality magistrate dispatched a larger and better equipped army.

That army went into an ambush prepared by the astrologer and was again destroyed. The prestige of Li became great and his army swelled. He then styled himself the King of Nine Mountains.

The astrologer told Li that the army needed horses. He told Li of a caravan transporting imperial horses from the capital. Li ambushed the caravan and took all the horses. His prestige swelled still more and so did his pride. Li now gave the astrologer the title of Lord Protector. As for himself, he believed that he would soon wear the dragon robe.

The provincial governor was very alarmed by his robbery of the imperial horses. He received reinforcement from the imperial government. He divided his army into six columns and attacked Tsao Chou. The banner of the imperial army filled the mountain valleys around the King's fortress.

The King of Nine Mountains became afraid and asked the astrologer for more advice, but his subordinates could not find the astrologer. The great king looked down on his enemies and said "I never realized how powerful the imperial government is."

Soon, his fortress was broken and he was captured. Because he committed the crime of attempted usurpation as well as banditry, Li and his entire family were executed. It was only then he realized that the astrologer was the old fox he betrayed.

KOREAN

The Salt Peddler and the White Fox

Long, long ago, there was a salt peddler who was very poor. One day, as he had been doing every day, he left his house early in the morning with a sack full of salt on his back. He travelled from one village to another, peddling salt to the villagers. After his last visit for the day to a remote village, he headed for home. He was virtually dragging his feet due to exhaustion from the day's work. He was still far away from his home when dusk settled in. It became completely dark in the middle of a rugged mountain with the dense growth of bushes and trees. Overwhelmed by fatigue and darkness, he could proceed any longer; so, he looked around to find some shelter for the night.

After a while, a huge rock caught his eye, He managed to reach the rock, whose top could be seen against the night sky. He put down his empty A-frame back carrier. He then noticed a cave-like hollow spot at a corner of the underside of the rock. The cave was large enough for him to crawl into and stretch himself; so, he settled in for the night. His eyelids became heavier and heavier. He was about to fall asleep, when he heard a strange sound. He became wide awake. So frightened was he that his hair stood on end. "What could it be?" With both jaws pressed against each other and holding his breath, he peered into the dark. He could not see anything unusual. He stuck out his head slightly. He could hear the sound more distinctly. it was a faint voice of a woman.

Since it was unmistakably a human voice, he felt a little relieved. "But what is she doing at this time of the night and on this rugged mountain?" Curious, he crawled out of the cave to look around. However, he could not see a woman or anything else unusual. So, he came back to his shelter and lay down, hoping to sleep.

The salt peddler tried to forget everything and was ready to sleep, when he heard something, again. It sounded even more strange coming from somewhere above. He crawled quietly out of the cave, again, and looked up at the top of the rock. And he almost screamed! He saw a white fox, with her long tail drooping, sitting on top of the rock and grinding a human skull against the surface of the rock. The peddler was all but petrified at the frightful sight. But with all the courage he could muster, he crawled ever quietly toward a big tree nearby and watched every move of the fox behind it. The fox apparently did not notice him. She kept grinding the skull, occasionally turning it and apparently making it into some kind of container.

After a while, the fox was trying the skull container on her head and, when it did not fit well, she muttered with an irritated voice. She kept grinding and then tried it on, again. She repeated these several times, until finally she was satisfied. "Now, it fits! It's perfect." She wore the skull container and made several tumbling feats like an accomplished acrobat.

The whole scene gave the peddler icy chills in his spine. Though scared and shaking, he was staring at the fox so that he would not miss anything she did. After several more tumbling feats, the white fox suddenly disappeared and, instead, there stood a stooped old woman. Tidying up her hair, she talked to herself: "Oh, dear me, I'm a little late; they must be waiting for me anxiously." Then, she jumped down and started walking toward the village the peddler visited last that day. The peddler soon became more curious than frightened, and decided to follow the old woman. Often, he had to run to catch up with her. When the granny finally reached the village, she went straight into the house of the wealthiest in the village. "Here I am, finally!" When she announced her arrival, there was a commotion in the house, people dashing out to meet and greet her and asking why she was so late. The old woman seemed to know why she was expected there. She went straight into the room reserved for the housewife and her guests. The peddler then approached the gate and asked for an overnight stay. Well known to the villagers, he was led to a male guest room across the women's living quarters. It was close to midnight. The peddler lay down on the floor, trying to listen to every sound coming from the women's room across a small courtyard. He could hear only indistinguishable noises. After a while, everything quieted down. Then, suddenly, there was a loud gong sound, followed by someone chanting incantations with intermittent interruptions by low, steady gong sounds.

The peddler could swear that the chanting voice he heard was that of the old fox-woman. He sensed that something terribly wrong was going on in that room. "Without knowing the real identity of that old woman, they are letting her chant spells. The old fox must be cursing on someone, pretending to be exorcising some evil spirit," he thought. He felt he must do something about it. Just then, a farmhand of the house came into the room to sleep. "What's going on there? Is anybody ill?" asked the peddler.

The farmhand casually said that because the old master of the household suddenly fell seriously ill, the family invited the granny, an old acquaintance who had the reputation of being the magic chanter in the vicinity, for her service. He hardly said that before he started snoring. Things were as the peddler had suspected. Except for occasional gong sounds, it was rather quiet. Perhaps, family members all fell asleep. The salt peddler came out of the guest room and tiptoed across the court yard toward the women's quarters. The old woman's chanting was almost imperceptivity low and mumbled. He stepped quietly up onto the wooden floor and sat in front of the paper-pasted sliding door of the room.

Wetting his forefinger and gently pushed it through the paper door. Then he peeped into the room through the hole. All but the old woman was sleeping. The old fox-woman was still chanting spells with her eyes closed and with a gong stick in her right hand. The peddler listened carefully to her chanting in order to discern what was being said. "...this is mine, my feast... if this old stock ... Dies.... Die...die...hurry up and die! After you are dead, your soul, too, will be mine. Die! Die! Hurry up and go to hell! The sooner..., the better...." This old witch must be smiling, too, though the peddler could not see it. The peddler felt indignation. It was upsetting to see the family members sleep without knowing what was really going on. He could not merely sit there doing nothing about it. He slipped down from the floor and went to a storage room. He came out with a wooden pestle and dashed into the family room. Everyone got up from sleep and looked at this midnight intruder with a pestle in his hand.

Without a single word, the peddler struck the old chanter hard on the head with the pestle. Everyone in the room jumped up and stepped aside, astonished and dumbfounded. And the old fox-woman fell flat with the barking sounds of a fox, and turned back into a white fox with a cracked human skull on its head. While all this was happening everyone in the whole house gathered in the room, looking at one another and at the blood-covered fox. The peddler then told them about what had happened since that evening in the mountain.

"How horrible! It was close! The master would have died...." Next morning, the old master recovered as suddenly as he had fallen ill. The salt peddler was richly rewarded by the master, and from that day on he lived happily without having to peddle salt any longer.

The Fox Girl

From Korean Folktales by James Riordan

There was once a wealthy man who had a son but no daughter. So badly did he want a daughter that he spent much of his time praying at temples and consulting fortune tellers. Finally, his prayers were answered and a girl was born: she was the apple of her father’s eye and could do no wrong.

When she was fifteen years old, the girl went mushrooming on the mountainside and was so engaged in her task that she did not notice the gathering shadows of dusk. Meanwhile, at home, her parents were becoming anxious, and they formed a search party to comb the hills. However, just as they reached the top of a ridge, they spotted the girl through the gloom in the valley below. Her father was much relieved.

“Where have you been, my dear?” asked her father “We were so worried for you; a wild beast could have killed you.”

"Forgive me, Father,” she replied. “I was so tired that I fell asleep beneath a bush; when I awoke the sun was already going down.”

The incident was soon forgotten. But a few days later a strange thing happened: one of the master’s cows died in the night. Next night another died, then another. The bodies showed no sign of wound or illness. The master was so concerned that he ordered the cowherd to keep watch all through the night to catch the culprit.

That night, the man hid behind some hay in the corner of the cowshed and waited patiently.  At midnight he was astonished to see the master’s daughter creep into the shed and approach a cow. Anxiously he watched her oil her hands and arms with sesame oil; then to his horror, she slipped her arm into the cow’s belly and pulled out its liver. And she ate it.

The poor cow rolled over and died.

In the morning the cowherd went to the master and recounted all he had seen.

The father, who loved his daughter with all his heart, shouted angrily at the man, “How dare you invent such wicked stories against my daughter.  You will pay for these lies.”

And the man was dismissed.

Next night a second cowherd was set up to guard the cows. He too hid behind some hay and witnessed the daughter’s odd conduct: she oiled her hands and arms, thrust one arm into the cow’s belly, pulled out the liver and ate it. And the cow rolled over and died.

Next morning, he went to the master and told him the story.

The father still would not believe such tales of his beloved daughter. So, the man was also dismissed.

A third herdsman spent the night in the cowshed and reported all he had seen. He too was sacked.

Thus, it continued: Each night a cow died. Then, when no cows were left, the pigs began to die, and then the horses all of the same mysterious ailment. In the end, all the cowherds, swineherds, and stable boys were dismissed and no one from the village would work for the rich man. All that was left of the once-mighty herd of cattle was a solitary old horse.

Next night, the master sent his only son to solve the mystery. The young man concealed himself behind some hay and kept watch. In the middle of the night, he heard footsteps and the barn door opened. It was his sister stealthily entering. In his relief, he was about to cry out to her. Yet something in her look stopped him: her eyes were sly and narrow, her thin lips cruelly curled, her face stony and stern.

He stared in disbelief as she greased her arms and thrust them into the horse’s belly, pulling out its liver. With blood dripping from her lips, she then chewed and swallowed the steaming meat.

He dared not breathe until she had returned to the house.

At dawn he called his father into the barn and showed him the dead horse.

“Father,” he said grimly, “you will not like what you hear; but I must tell you the truth. It is my sister. She it is who came in the night and ate the horse’s liver.”

His father stared at him with hurt and anger in his eyes. He was silent for a moment, then shouted at his son, “You must be madly jealous of your sister to make up such tales. No doubt you fell asleep and had a nightmare. Get out of my sight, I don’t want you in my house.”

Not knowing where to go, the disconsolate son wandered off into the hills. After several months he came upon an old monk struggling across a mountain stream. Having helped the monk to safety, he was invited to stay the night at a nearby temple.  And there he told the story of this sister. The old man nodded sadly.

"Yes, I understand,” he said. “That night, when your sister was in the hills, she must have been eaten by a fox who took her form, the very likeness of your sister. So, it was really the fox who killed the animals.”

"Then I must return at once,” the lad exclaimed, “and warn my parents.”

"I fear it is too late,” said the old monk. “Morning is wiser than evening. Set out tomorrow.’

Next morning, the young man was given three small bottles: red, green, and blue.

"Take this horse,” said the monk, “and use the bottles as I have instructed.”

With that the boy thanked the monk and rode off down the mountain track. It was several days before he arrived home. Once there, he could hardly believe his eyes: the house and yard were overgrown with weeds. And there, in the middle of the yard, was his sister, sitting in the sun, catching lice and worms, and eating them.

"My dear brother,” she cried on seeing him. “Where have you been all these months? How I’ve missed you.”

She went to hug and kiss him, but he drew back in alarm.

"Where are Father and Mother?” he asked.

"They lie in their graves,” she replied, giving no explanation for their deaths.

Realizing that she had eaten them too, the young man knew he had to escape before she killed him as well but how? Suddenly he had an idea.

“Dear Sister, I have come a long way and I’m very hungry,” he said. “Could you prepare a meal?”

He thought he would escape while she was cooking. But the fox girl was cunning.

"Assuredly, dear Brother. But I shall tie a rope to your leg and the other end to my waist.”

She left him in the yard while she went to prepare some food; every now and then she tugged on the rope to make sure he had not run away. After some time, he managed to undo the knot, tie the rope to a gatepost and ride swiftly away on his horse. It was some time before the fox girl realized she had been tricked.

She rushed after him with the speed of a fox and it was not long before she was gaining on him. He glanced back and, to his horror, saw her rapidly catching up, reaching out her hand to grasp his horse’s tail. Recalling the old monk’s instructions, he swiftly took the little red bottle from his pocket and threw it behind him.

The bottle instantly burst into a ball of red fire, blocking the fox girl’s path.  Although the flames singed her hair and clothes, she raced round the fire and was soon overtaking her brother again. This time he threw down the green bottle and straightaway a dense green bush of brambles sprang up, barring her way.  Although she was scratched and bleeding from the thorns, she fought her way through and began to catch up with the fleeing brother.

Just as she was about to grab the horse’s tail, however, he took out the blue bottle and desperately cast it behind him. This time it formed a mighty blue lake that soon engulfed the fox girl who splashed and thrashed in the water before sinking below the waves.

As the brother watched from the shore, he saw the dead body of the fox float to the surface of the lake. At last, he had killed the fox who had taken his sister’s form.

NATIVE AMERICAN

Why the Fox has a Huge Mouth

One day many years ago, at a time when his mouth was still small and dainty, as in fact it used to be, the fox was out walking and happened to notice a huaychao singing on a hilltop. Fascinated by the bird's flute-like bill, he said politely, "What a lovely flute, friend Huaychao, and how well you play it! Could you let me try it? I'll give it back in a moment, I promise."

The bird refused. But the fox was so insistent that at last the huaychao lent him its bill, advising him to sew up his lips except for a tiny opening so that the 'flute' would fit just right.

Then the fox began to play. He played on and on without stopping. After a while the huaychao asked for its bill back, but still the fox kept on. The bird reminded him, "You promised. Besides, I only use it from time to time; you're playing it constantly." But the fox paid no attention and kept right on.

Awakened by the sound of the flute, skinks came out of their burrows and climbed up the hill in a bustling throng. When they saw the fox playing, they began to dance.

At the sight of the dancing skunks, the fox burst out laughing. As he laughed, his lips became unstitched. His mouth tore open and kept on tearing until he was grinning from ear to ear. Before the fox could regain his composure, the huaychao had picked up his bill and flown away. To this day the fox has a huge mouth - as punishment for breaking his promise.

The Dancing Fox

Foxes love to dance. They dance in the dark with young women who slip quietly from their beds and come running out into the night.

But the fox who dances must wear a disguise. He must hide his long, bushy tail. He must wrap it around him and stuff it inside his trousers, though when he does, he is really too warm. He perspires. Yet still he is able to dance.

Now, one of these foxes was young and amorous, and he never missed the nightly dancing. Toward morning, however, as the cock began to crow, he would always hurry away.

This fine fox was a subtle flatterer, a favorite with all the young women. Each of them wanted to dance with him. And as it happened, one or another would sometimes feel slighted and grow resentful.

One of them once, in a fit of pique, drew her companions aside and pointed out that the fox always left before dawn. Who was he? And why did he run away?

The young woman wondered. Then they made up their minds to catch him and hold him until it was daylight.

The next night, when it was dark, they made their circle and began to dance. Soon the fox appeared, as usual disguised as a young man in shirt and trousers. Suspecting nothing, he danced and sang. The girls made him heady with their caresses, and he became more spirited and more flattering than ever.

As soon as the cock crowed, he started to leave. "No, no," they all cried, "don't go! Not yet! The cock crows six times. You can stay till the fifth."

The dancing continued, and there were more caresses. The fox forgot that he had to leave, and at last the white light of dawn appeared. Frightened, he tried to flee. But the young women held him. They entangled him in their arms. Then suddenly, with a growl, he bit their hands, leaped over their heads, and ran.

As he leaped, his trousers ripped open and out flew his tail. The girls all shrieked with laughter. They called after him and mocked him as he ran out of sight, his long, bushy tail waving between his legs. Then he disappeared and was seen no more. He never came back again.

Kajortoq, the Red Fox

One Summer Day, Kajortoq, the red fox, left her brood of cubs in the den and went out in search of something to eat. On a vast plain she met Aklaq, the brown bear, and said: "Cousin, it has been a long time since I last saw you! What is the matter with you?"

"I am hungry," replied Aklaq.

"Me too. I really am," said Kajortoq. "Let’s hunt together. You go this way and I shall go that way."

"There is nothing this way but ptarmigan," complained Aklaq, "and they are afraid of me. Every time I get close to them, they fly away."

"It is easy for me to catch them," remarked the fox. "But," she added, "I am afraid of men."

"I am not afraid of men," said Aklaq, "but I am unable to catch ptarmigan."

"In that case," declared Kajortoq, "wait for me here; I shall go and get you some ptarmigan. I shall not be long."

Aklaq waited and Kajortoq soon returned with a few ptarmigans. The brown bear was full of joy and thanked his companion again and again. He was very hungry and ate the ptarmigan at once. When he had finished, he said, "You were very kind to bring me some ptarmigan. In return I shall now bring you a man. Wait for me here."

Kajortoq waited but the bear took a long time to return, and when he did arrive, he had no man. Instead, he staggered along; he was losing blood and behind him the ground was red. A man had shot an arrow at him and had wounded him in the side. The shaft of the arrow had broken and the point remained in the flesh.

Kajortoq sympathized: "Cousin, I feel sorry for you. Let me take care of you." Kajortoq built a stone fireplace, lit a fire, and heated some stones.

"Stretch out here," she told the bear. "Stretch your legs and even if I hurt you, do not move. If you stir, you will die because I shall not be able to remove the arrow."

The bear stretched on the ground. The fox took a red-hot stone from the fire and applied it to the wound pushing harder and harder on it. Aklaq moaned and howled with pain, but soon the howls stopped; he was dead.

Kajortoq stood on her hind legs and danced around the bear, laughing loudly: "I can brag to myself. No one could do this but I. I have had enough to eat for a long time." The fox did not return to her lair but remained at this place for the duration of the summer, feeding herself on the meat of the bear.

When winter came, she had run out of provisions. The bear had all been eaten; there was nothing left but the bones. She placed them in a pile and buried them under some boulders.

A while later she saw Amaroq, the wolf, coming toward her and went to meet him. "How are you, cousin?"

"Not too well," answered Amaroq, "I am very hungry."

"Have confidence in me," said Kajortoq. "I shall show you what you have to do to get some food. Do you see that river in front of us?" She pointed to a nearby river covered with a thin coating of ice. Here and there water could be seen through holes in the ice.

"Go over there," suggested Kajortoq. "Try to catch some trout. I am going to make you a fish hook. All you have to do is sit near the hole, tie the hook to your tail and let it sink to the bottom. Remain seated and do not move until the sun sets. At that time, you will pull in your hook. There will be a trout caught on it. Believe me, that is how I caught mine."

The wolf sat beside the hole without moving. Meanwhile, the red fox set out along the shore saying that she was going to look for something to eat. Instead, she hid behind a small hill to watch the wolf, but being careful that he did not see her.

Amaroq stayed where he was for the entire day, confidently awaiting the results of his fishing. By the time the sun had reached the west he realized he had caught nothing. He growled in anger, "Kajortoq lied to me. I am going to run after her and eat her!"

He tried to get up but his tail was stuck to the ice. He pulled on it again and again until all of a sudden it came free; his tail had broken. Frothing with rage and bleeding profusely, the wolf searched the plain for traces of Kajortoq. The fox, however, had slipped away to hide in her hole.

The wolf soon discovered her den and cried, "Come out of your hole so that I can eat you!"

"What are you saying?" answered Kajortoq, sticking her head out of her den to look. As she did so she bent her head to one side and kept one of her eyes closed. "I have never seen you before. What do you want?"

"You deceived me today and I have lost my tail. Now I am going to eat you!"

"I know nothing about that," replied Kajortoq emerging from her hole. "Did you ask that red fox over there? It must be him. I heard someone pass my door a little while ago."

Impatiently, the wolf left Kajortoq to run after the other red fox. Kajortoq saw him go and kept watching until the wolf fell from his wound. By the next morning, having lost all of his blood, Amaroq was dead. Kajortoq stood up on her hind legs and started dancing in circles around him. "I can boast to myself. No one could do this but I."

She lived on the wolf all of that winter. When she had eaten all his flesh, she made a pile of the bones and went elsewhere in search of food.

One day she saw coming toward her a brown female bear who looked larger and more terrifying than any bear Kajortoq had ever seen.

The bear addressed the fox angrily. "Did you know my son? He left last spring to hunt but he did not come back. I have found his bones near this hill."

“I know nothing about it," answered Kajortoq. "I did not see him. I shall follow you and you can show me where his bones are."

They left together. The fox recognized the place where she had killed Aklaq. Seeing that the female bear was crying Kajortoq pretended to be full of sorrow.

"Tears won’t help you," she told the mother bear. "I believe I know who killed your son. Wait here awhile for me."

Kajortoq climbed to the top of a hill. From this vantage point she looked in all directions and saw another brown bear. She returned in haste to the female bear and said, "The one who killed your son is over there. Go and attack him. He is big and strong but I shall help you."

While the bears fought Kajortoq jumped around pretending to help. In fact, she only spattered blood on her hair. At length the female bear killed the other bear. She turned to the fox and said gratefully, "You helped me, thank you. Take all this meat. I am tired and wounded and do not want any of it." The bear started homeward, but died of her wounds before she was out of sight.

Kajortoq once again danced for joy and was happy. The two bears would provide plenty of meat for a long time to come.

Coyote & The Rock

From Coyote & Native American Folk Tales retold by Joe Hayes, Maripose Publishing, 1983.

Once Coyote and Fox went walking together. They came to a big, smooth rock. Coyote spread his blanket over it and together they sat down on the rock and smoked their pipes.

When they stood up to go, Coyote looked down at the rock and said, "What a nice rock this is! I think I'll give it my blanket. My blanket will keep this good rock warm and dry."

Then Coyote walked off with Fox, leaving his blanket behind covering the rock. They walked down the hillside toward the river. But they hadn't gone far when dark clouds gathered above and a cold rain began to fall.

Coyote hugged himself and shivered. "Brrrrr! Now I wish I still had my blanket." And he told Fox, "Run back and tell Rock I want to borrow my blanket for a while."

Fox ran off up the hill, but he returned without the blanket. "Rock wouldn't let me have it," he told Coyote. "He says it's his and he wants to use it."

That made Coyote angry. "That selfish rock!" he muttered. And he ran back up the hill and jerked the blanket off Rock.

"Rock," Coyote growled, "you've been lying there in the sun and rain for a thousand summers and winters. It wouldn't hurt you to get a few more raindrops on you. I only wanted to borrow my blanket for a short time to keep dry. Now I'm taking my blanket back. You can lie here uncovered for the rest of time!"

Coyote threw his blanket around himself and Fox and they continued their walk down the hill.

Soon the sun came back out and Coyote and Fox sat down again to talk. But just when they sat down, they heard a strange noise above them -- a-thump-thump-thump-thump -- a-thump-thump-thump-thump.

"Fox," Coyote said, "run up the hill and see what is making that noise."

Fox disappeared over the crest of the hill, but he soon reappeared, running as fast as he could, with his tail stretched out behind him. "Coyote!" Fox barked, "Run for your life! The rock is after us!"

Fox dived into a badger hole, but his tail didn't quite make it out of the way. Rock rolled over the tip of Fox's tail and to this day it has been white.

Coyote turned and dashed toward the river. He leaped into the water and swam to the other side. Coyote shook himself and sat down on the bank to rest. He knew the rock would sink if it tried to cross the river after him.

Imagine Coyote's surprise when he saw the rock roll into the river and begin to swim across -- a-blub-blub-blub-blub -- a-blub-blub-blub-blub.

Coyote ran into a thick forest. Surely the trees would stop Rock. He reached the center of the forest and paused to catch his breath. Coyote heard a terrible crashing and thundering as Rock toppled the trees and knocked them to splinters. And on it came -- a-thump-thump-thump-thump -- a-thump-thump-thump-thump.

Coyote ran toward the prairie at the far side of the forest. When he reached the edge of the trees, he met Bear.

"Bear!" Coyote panted. "Please help me. A rock is after me!"

Bear roared, "Waaaahhh! I'll swat that rock with my paw!"

Bear sat down to wait, and when Rock came past, he swung his paw. "Aaaooouuuuu!" Bear rocked back clutching his broken paw against his chest.

The rock rolled on -- a-thump-thump-thump-thump -- a-thump-thump-thump-thump.

Coyote ran across the prairie, and he saw Buffalo grazing on some green grass. "Buffalo!" Coyote begged. "Please help me. A rock is after me."

Buffalo snorted, "I'll butt that rock with my head!" And Buffalo lowered his head and charged at the rock. They met -- Boom! Buffalo flew through the air. His horns were broken and his head split wide open.

And the rock rolled on -- a-thump-thump-thump-thump -- a-thump-thump-thump-thump.

Coyote ran and ran. Now the rock was right at his heels -- thump-thump-thump. He saw a lodge ahead of him, and standing near it were two old women with stone hatchets in their hands. The women called to him, "Run between us, Coyote. Run between us!"

Coyote did. And then the rock passed between the old women, they lowered their hatchets -- crack! The rock shattered into a thousand pieces.

Coyote lay on the ground with his heart pounding, panting for his breath. The old women walked to the other side of the lodge and whispered to each other. But Coyote could hear what they were saying.

"How nice and fat Coyote is," the old women whispered. "He'll make a fine meal for us."

Then Coyote knew the old women were witches. He'd better plan his escape. He saw some jugs of water beside the lodge and he crept over and dumped the water out.

When the old women returned, Coyote said, "I'm thirsty from that long run. Could I have a drink of water?"

They said, "Certainly. Drink from one of those jugs over there."

Coyote walked over to the jugs. "These are all empty," he told them. "But that's all right. I'll take one down to the river and fill it."

Coyote picked up a jug and walked off. As soon as he was sure the women couldn't see him, he threw the jug to the ground and ran off laughing to himself.

When coyote didn't come back, the witches realized that he had tricked them. They began to argue, each one accusing the other of letting Coyote escape.

Finally, they grew so angry they picked up their stone hatchets and hit one another over the head. And that was the end of those witches. And it's the end of the story too.

But not the end of Coyote. He had many more adventures.

FRENCH

The Fox and the Little Prince From Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's -- The Little Prince

The Little Prince was in a French countryside, and wandered through a field. He hadn't seen anyone for miles, and the last person he talked to was a grown-up that told him to go away, since he was so busy. So, the Little Prince is all alone in this meadow, in the middle of no place, lonely, bored, and sad. All of a sudden, a small tuft of gold and red fur peeks up behind the grass mounds, and the Little Prince asks the air....

"Who's there?" A very reluctant fox peeks his head up better for the Prince to see him. Of course, the Little Prince never saw a fox, and was curious. "What are you? You're pretty to look at."

The Fox was puzzled, and asked the boy: "You don't know what I am? You're not sent by the farmer to trick me?" the Little Prince looks confused now, and shakes his head. The fox continues "I'm a fox. Who are you?"

The fox maintains his distance...not going close to the Little Prince at all. The Prince tells the fox who he is, and where he is from; a small planet very-very far away. The fox looks at him as if he had just told him an ordinary fact. The fox asks "Are there any farmers where you live?"

The Prince says no.

The Fox asks: "Are there any guns?"

The Prince says no, "Just me, my little plants, my small volcanoes, and my Red Rose under glass."

The fox smiles, and says: "That sounds perfect. Are there any chickens?"

The Prince says no.

The fox says "Well, no place is perfect then."

The Little Prince gets restless, and asks if he can pet the fox. The fox tells him no. "I can't be petted or played with, and you can never be more than an acquaintance."

Sad, but not discouraged, the Little Prince asks the fox why, because he's lonely, and hasn't had anyone to talk with or play with him in ages. The fox shakes his head, and says: "I'm not tame. I can't trust anyone, and all I care about right now is hunting chickens, so I don't have time to be tamed."

The Little Prince asks what ‘tame’ means.

The fox smiles, and explains:" It takes a very long time. It can't be done in minutes. You'd have to invest a lot of your free time, and sacrifice your own wishes to succeed. You need to show you're trustworthy and special."

The Little Prince doesn't understand. He asks, " What do you mean special? What do you mean time, and trustworthy?" the fox continues.

"It means, you have to make a promise. And keep it every day. It's a sacrifice, but I suppose hunting chickens will bore me soon, and you have free time to spare, so...I'll let you tame me. You must come here, to this meadow every day at the same time. Sit at the edge of that field at that same time, in the same spot. I will stay here, in my spot every day, at the same time. Soon, I will come closer. But you will stay in your spot, and will not move. One day, I'll be right in front of you. Then, perhaps the next day after that, I will talk with you. And every day after that, we will talk. Then, I will let you pet me. Then...one day...I will play with you." The Little Prince shakes his head. "Why would it take so long? I'm lonely now." The Fox answers, "You won't understand now. But if you keep your promise, and show up here every day, and sit there at the same time every day, I will one day have something to look forward to, as will you." The Little Prince reluctantly agrees, having nothing else to do, and being curious just the same. The next day, he comes to the field and sits in a spot. The fox shows up a little later, sitting far at the other end of the meadow, by the trees hidden from the Little Prince's gaze.

This continues for a week, then 2, finally after about a month or so, the Little Prince and the fox are playing, and good friends. They talk about everything and nothing...they run around and play tag and other games. The Little Prince tells the fox about his Red Rose on his tiny planet; he reveals how she is cruel to him, snobby, and selfish. She only opens her petals for him, and despite how rude she is sometimes, he still has to take care of her, and he still is overjoyed when he is by her.

He then tells of his anger when he realized she lied to him. She told him she was the only rose of her kind, that no other flower was as beautiful as her. But he saw a whole garden filled with red roses Just like her! He was hurt, and knows how sad she'll be to know she's not special at all.

The fox listens to all of this, and every day, when their visit is over, he leaves for his den.

Weeks pass... The next time they meet, the fox tells the Little Prince he can no longer come to the field and see him anymore. The Little Prince is frantic, afraid he said something to hurt the fox's feelings. The fox shakes his head.

"There is no use crying...or begging me to stay. You've tamed me, and now I have to return to the wild again. I won't ever be the same again, because out of all the humans, you have treated me the kindest. I promised you I would tell you why we had to take so long to tame me...Men have forgotten that 'what is essential to life, cannot be observed by the eye' Only what we feel in our hearts is what lasts, what's real. By taming me, you made this time special to me, on what would ordinarily be just another day, or you--just another human. You are now special to me, the way your Rose is special to you. No one can understand this, because over all the humans in the world, you are the only one I befriended, the only one I will remember. Now, every day at the same time I will think of you. And every day at the same time, you will think about me. Never let anyone tell you your rose is ordinary, for only she has tamed you, and only you are special to her, thus, she is unique to your heart."

The Little Prince cried and cried, not wanting to part with his new friend. He asked, "What is the meaning of making friends that you tame if you lose them?"

The Fox replied one last time, "It will always matter to me. Remember, 'what is essential in life cannot by observed by the eye.' " And then, the fox smiled, and ran off into the forest again, this time, not to return.... And the Little Prince left the field sadly...and for a few days, he returned, looking to see if the fox would be there again by chance. Finally, he moves on to the next place...and comes to the same garden of roses he found that day... He stands defiantly at them all: "All of you are useless, ugly, and ordinary! My rose is the most beautiful and unique flower in the universe, and she is special to me, and I to her!”

GERMAN

Reynard the Fox and Isengrin the Wolf Reynard the Fox wanted a drink.

It was hot and he had been running all day. It was night when he came across a well; there was a big moon in the sky.  The Fox could see a bucket at the top of the well.  But there was no water in the bucket. Reynard looked into the well and could see the water at the bottom. The Fox jumped into the bucket and down he went to the bottom of the well.  And as the bucket went down into the well, the other bucket came up to the top of the well. The Fox drank all the water he wanted. Then he found that he could not get out of the well. The other bucket had gone to the top of the well. "If someone would only get into the bucket at the top of the well," said Reynard to himself, "that bucket would come down to the bottom of the well and the bucket that I am in would go to the top." It was while Reynard was talking to himself that Isengrim the Wolf looked over the edge of the well. "I thought I heard someone talking down there." said Isengrim. "Hello, my good friend," called Reynard. "What are you doing down in the well?" asked Isengrim. "I am having a great feast." called Reynard. "Can't you see the big cheese I am eating? It is so big that I cannot eat all of it." Isengrim the Wolf looked into the well. He saw the reflection of the big yellow moon and he thought it was a big cheese. "Get into the bucket and come down and have a feast with me," called Reynard. Reynard had played many tricks on Isengrim and the wolf did not trust him. He looked down into the well again. There he saw what he thought was a big yellow cheese. And he began to want some of that cheese very much. "On your way home," called Reynard, "stop at my house and send my wife and children to me. I would like them to have some of this cheese." "I would like to have some of that cheese, too," said Isengrim. And the wolf got into the bucket. Down went Isengrim to the bottom of the well.  And as he went down to the bottom, the bucket with Reynard in it came to the top. "Have a good feast on the cheese!" called Reynard. When the bucket reached the top of the well the fox jumped out and ran home. Isengrim, at the bottom of the well, howled and howled. Some farmers came and threw stones down into the well. When morning came, Isengrim the Wolf was dead.

The Skinned Goat

There once lived a father and his son, and they had a goat. The boy had to drive her to the pasture every day. But this goat was an old hag. In the evening the father used to ask her if she had enough to eat and drink. But she always answered, "How can I have had enough to eat and to drink, if I have not even seen one stalk of grass and one drop of water?" Then the son always got a sound beating.

One day the father decided to find out for himself. He saw that after having eaten off three meadows and drunk up three ponds, she still pretended to be hungry. Now the old man decided to slaughter the goat.

He had already stuck and halfway skinned her, when he noticed his knife was getting blunt. He went into the house to sharpen it. No sooner had he gone than the goat got up and ran into the woods, where she hid in a foxhole.

When the fox came home and wanted to get into his hole, he was terribly frightened, for out of his hole there came a voice saying; "Halfway skinned and halfway killed, I am a piece of mutton. Come on in and I’ll eat you up!"

The fox was afraid and went right away to his brother-in-law, the bear, and told him about his grief. The bear went with him to the spot, got into the hole, but turned around immediately, when he heard the horrible words.

"I can’t do anything in this matter," he said and ran away.

In his distress the fox went to the panther, then to the tiger, and finally to the lion. But none of them could help him, and they all took to their heels.

At last, the fox met the bumblebee, to whom he poured out his complaints. The bumblebee said, "I will help you."

"Bigger ones have tried in vain to help me, and you think you can do it?" replied the fox. But he obediently led the bumblebee to the hole. It flew buzzing inside, sat down on one of the skinned parts, and started stinging vigorously. The goat soon felt the pain and ran bleating out of the hole, where she fell again into the hands of her master, who had been looking for her, and so she was killed completely.

The Fox and the Hare in Winter

The Hare is able to support himself even in the coldest winter. He is satisfied with the buds he finds in hedges and shrubs.

One cold winter, the hare me the fox. Surprised, the fox asked the hare, "How fine and well fed you look! What are you living on these days? I am so hungry and I cannot find anything to eat."

The hare replied, "I have been living on eggs of late."

"On eggs! How on earth do you get them?" the fox wondered.

The hare answered, "This is what I do. There are women coming along here with basketfuls of eggs that they are taking to market. When I see a woman coming, I let myself fall flat on the ground before her, as if I were wounded by a shot. Then the woman puts her basket down in order to catch me and to take me to the market. Just as she thinks she had caught me; I stagger on for about ten steps and let myself fall to the ground again. I repeat this several times, until I am far away from the basket. Then I hurry back to the basket and carry it into the wood, and there I have enough food for a whole week."

The fox replied, "I like that. Wouldn’t you help me get some eggs, too, in these hard times?"

"With great pleasure," replied the hare, "if you will be kind enough to let me have my share."

As agreed, they took their positions behind a bush on the road. The fox got a basketful of eggs in the described manner, and he hurried into the wood with it. The hare followed him in order to get his share. When he reached him, the fox had divided up the eggs into several little piles. The hare asked him with astonishment, "Why so many shares?"

Pointing to the different piles, the fox replied, "This one is for my father; this one for my mother; the other one is for my brother and my sister and the last one is mine."

"And where is my share?" asked the hare in surprise.

"There is nothing left for you," was the answer. Too weak to punish the fox, the hare left angrily. But I decided to watch for a chance to pay back the fox.

After some time, the hare and the fox met again. It was very cold, and the earth was covered with snow. Again, the fox wondered at the hare’s prosperous look, since he himself was suffering terribly from hunger. Thus, he asked, "What are you living on now?"

"On fish," the hare replied.

"Please," said the fox, "couldn’t you let me have some as well to appease my hunger?"

The hare answered, "I shall help you once more. Not far from here by the castle, there is a fishpond. The inhabitants have made a hole in the ice in order to catch fish. In the evening I go there; I stand on the ice and put my little tail into the hole, and after some time, I draw it out and there are plenty of fish hanging on it."

"Well," replied the fox, "this sounds all right to me. With my long tail, I should be able to catch a lot."

The hare said, "You will find me at the fishpond tonight."

At night they met at the appointed place, and the hare said, "Sit down by the hole, put your tail into the water, and remain like this until I come back. I shall go over to the garden to eat some cabbage."

The hare went away, and the fox remained there patiently, happily thinking of appeasing his gnawing hunger. After a while he tried pulling and found that his tail was getting heavy. But he continued to sit there, just as the hare had told him to do.

It was a long time before the hare came back and asked, "How are things going?"

The fox replied, "You have been away for a very long time. I have tried once, but my tail is so heavy that you will have to help me get it out."

The hare said, "Pull hard!"

But the fox could not get it out. He pulled as hard as he could, but the tail was frozen fast in the ice.

Now the hare approached with a stick, hit him over the head, crying, "This one is for my father; this one is for my mother; this one is for my brother and my sister; and the last one is for me!" He knocked him on the head from the right side and from the left, until the fox fell down dead.

The Fox and the Wolf

The fox and the wolf once divided the produce of their common work in a field. But the fox cheated the wolf when sifting the chaff from the corn: he kept the corn for himself and left the chaff for the wolf. The wolf was satisfied with this distribution, because his heap was bigger than that of the fox. Then they both went grinding. When the corn was being ground, the millstones noisily said, "cricks cracks," but when the chaff was being ground, they only said very softly, "climm clamm," so that the sound could barely be heard.

The wolf listened to this with astonishment. He could not explain it, and asked, "How is it that before the millstones said ‘cricks cracks’, whereas now they only whisper ‘climm clamm?’"

The sly fox gave him the advice, "Throw small stones and sand among it; then you can hear the grinding better!"

This is what the stupid wolf did. And hark! What a noise the millstones made now. They grated so loudly that one had to shut one’s ears. The wolf jumped for joy when he heard the millstones making more noise when grinding the chaff than when grinding the corn.

Fox Hill near Dodow

Karl Bartsch

In the village of Dodow near Wittenburg there lived an old woman who possessed a fox strap. With its help she could transform herself into a fox, and thus her table never lacked geese, ducks, and all kinds of poultry.

Her grandchild knew about it, and one day when the schoolmaster was talking about magic in the school, the child talked about the fox strap, and the next day brought it to school.

The schoolmaster took it into his hand and unintentionally approached his head with it. Suddenly he was standing before the children, transformed into a fox. They broke out with a deafening noise. This so frightened the little schoolmaster that he jumped out the window with a single leap.

He ran to the hill that lay near the village and there built himself a den.

One day a great hunt was organized, and our fox was among those pursued by the huntsmen. A bullet hit him, and suddenly a schoolmaster was lying there before the bewildered huntsman. The bullet had struck the fox strap and ripped it apart.

In memory of this event the people of Dodow gave the name Fox Hill to the place where their schoolmaster had lived.

ITALIAN

Giovannuzza the Fox

There was once a poor man who had an only son, and the boy was as simple-minded and ignorant as they come. When his father was about to die, he said to the youth, whose name was Joseph, "Son I am dying, and I have nothing to leave you but this cottage and the pear tree beside it."

The father died, and Joseph lived on in the cottage alone, selling the pears from the tree to provide for himself. But once the season for pears was over, it looked as though he would starve to death, since he was incapable of earning his bread any other way. Strangely enough, the season for pears ended, but not the pears. When they’d all been picked, others came out in their place, even in the middle of winter; it was a charming pear tree that bore fruit all year long, and so the youth was able to go on providing for himself.

On morning Joseph went out a usual to pick the ripe pears and discovered they’d already been picked by somebody else. "How will I manage now?" he wondered. "If people steal my pears, I’m done for. Tonight, I shall stay up and keep watch." When it grew dark, he stationed himself under the pear tree with his shotgun, but soon fell asleep; he woke up to find that all the ripe pears had been picked. The next night he resumed his watch, but fell asleep right in the middle of it, and the pears were stolen again. The third night, in addition to the shotgun, he carried along a shepherd’s pipe and proceeded to play it under the pear tree. Then he stopped playing, and Giovannuzza the fox, who was stealing the pears, thinking Joseph had fallen asleep, came running out and climbed the tree.

Joseph aimed his gun at her, and the fox spoke. "Don’t shoot, Joseph. If you give me a basket of pears, I will see to it that you prosper."

"But, Giovannuzza, if I let you have a basketful, what will I then eat myself?"

"Don’t worry, just do as I say, and you will prosper for sure."

So, the youth gave the fox a basket of his finest pears, which she then carried to the king.

"Sacred Crown," she said, "my master sends you this basket of pears and begs your gracious acceptance of them."

"Pears at this time of year?" exclaimed the king. "It will be the first time I’ve ever eaten any in this season! Who is your master?"

"Count Peartree," replied Giovannuzza.

"But how does he manage to have pears in this season?" asked the king.

"Oh, he has everything," replied the fox. "He’s the richest man in existence."

"Richer than I am?" asked the king.

"Yes, even richer than you, Sacred Crown."

The king was thoughtful. "What could I give him in return?" he asked.

"Don’t bother, Sacred Crown," said Giovannuzza. "Don’t give it a thought; he’s so rich that whatever present you gave him would look paltry."

"Well, in that case," said the king, very embarrassed, "tell Count Peartree I thank him for his wonderful pears."

When he saw the fox back, Joseph exclaimed, "But Giovannuzza, you’ve brought me nothing in return for the pears, and her I am starving to death!"

"Put your mind at rest," replied the fox. "Leave everything to me. Again, I tell you that you will prosper!"

A few days later, Giovannuzza said, "You must let me have another basket of pears."

"But, sister, what will I eat if you carry off all my pears?"

"Put your mind at rest and leave everything to me."

She took the basket to the king and said, "Sacred Crown, since you graciously accepted the first basket of pears, my master, Count Peartree, takes the liberty of offering you a second basket."

"I can’t believe it!" exclaimed the king. "Pears freshly picked at this time of year!"

"That’s nothing," replied the fox. "My master takes no account of the pears, he has so much else far more precious."

"But how can I repay his kindness?"

"Concerning that," said Giovannuzza, "he instructed me to convey his request to you for one thing in particular."

"Which is? If Count Peartree is so rich, I can’t imagine what I could do that would be fitting."

"Your daughter’s hand in marriage," said the fox.

The king opened his eyes wide. "But even that is too great an honor for me, since he is so much richer than I am."

"Sacred Crown, if it doesn’t him, why should it worry you? Count Peartree truly wants your daughter, and it makes no difference to him whether the dowry is large or not so large, since no matter how big it is, beside all his wealth it will only be a drop in the bucket."

"Very well, in that case, please ask him to come and dine here."

So Giovannuzza the fox went back to Joseph and said, "I told the king that you are Count Peartree and that you wish to marry his daughter."

"Sister, look at what you’ve done! When the king sees me, he will have me beheaded!"

"Leave everything to me, and don’t worry," replied the fox. She went to a tailor and said, "My master, Count Peartree, wants the finest outfit you have in stock. I will pay you in cash, another time."

The tailor gave her clothing fit for a great lord, and the fox then visited a horse dealer." Will you sell me, for Count Peartree, the finest horse in the lot? We won’t look at prices, payment will be made on the morrow."

Dressed as a great lord and seated in the saddle of a magnificent horse, Joseph rode to the palace, with the fox running ahead of him. "Giovannuzza," he cried, "when the king speaks to me, what shall I reply? I’m too scared to say a word in front of important people."

"Let me do the talking and don’t worry about a thing. All you need to say is, ‘Good day’ and ‘Sacred Crown,’ and I’ll fill in the rest."

They arrived at the palace, where the king hastened up to Count Peartree, greeting him with full honors. "Sacred Crown," said Joseph.

The king escorted him to the table, where his beautiful daughter was already seated. "Good day," said Count Peartree.

They sat down and began talking, but Count Peartree didn’t open his mouth. "Sister Giovannuzza," whispered the king to the fox, "has the cat got your master’s tongue?"

"Oh, you know, Sacred Crown, when a man has so much land and so much wealth to think about, he worries all the time."

So, throughout the visit, the king was careful not to disturb Count Peartree’s thoughts.

The next morning, Giovannuzza said to Joseph, "Give me one more basket of pears to take to the king."

"Do as you wish, sister," replied the youth, "but it will be my downfall, you will see."

"Put your mind at rest!" exclaimed the fox. "I assure you that you will prosper."

He therefore picked the pears, which the fox carried to the king, saying, "My master, Count Peartree, sends you this basket of pears, and would like an answer to his request."

"Tell the count that the wedding can take place whenever he likes," replied the king. Overjoyed, the fox returned to Joseph with the answer.

"But, sister Giovannuzza, where will I take this bride to live? I can hardly bring her here to this hovel!"

"Leave that up to me. What are you worried about? Haven’t I done all right so far?"

Thus, a grand wedding was performed, and Count Peartree took the king’s beautiful daughter to be his wife.

A few days later Giovannuzza the fox announced: "My master intends to carry the bride to his palace."

"Fine," said the king. "I will go along with them, so I can finally see all of Count Peartree’s possessions."

Everyone mounted horses, and the king was accompanied by a large body of knights. As they rode toward the plain, Giovannuzza said, "I shall run ahead and order preparations made for your arrival." As she raced onward, she met a flock of thousands upon thousands of sheep, and asked the shepherds, "Whose sheep are these?"

"Papa Ogre’s," they told her.

"Keep your voice down," whispered the fox. "Do you see that long cavalcade approaching? That’s the king who’s declared war on Papa Ogre. Tell him the sheep are Papa Ogre’s, and the knights will slay you."

"What are we to say, then?"

"I don’t know! Try, ‘They belong to Count Peartree!’ "

When the king came up to the flock, he asked, "Who owns this superb flock of sheep?"

"Count Peartree!" cried the shepherds.

"My heavens, the man really must be rich!" exclaimed the king, overjoyed.

A bit further on, the fox met a herd of thousands upon thousands of pigs. "Whose pigs are these?" she asked the swine herds.

"Papa Ogre’s."

"Shhhhhhhh, see all those soldiers coming down the road on horseback? Tell them they are Papa Ogre’s and they’ll kill you. You must say they are Count Peartree’s"

When the king approached and asked the swine herds whose pigs those were, they told him, "Count Peartree’s," and the king was quite glad to have a son-in-law so rich.

Next the king’s party met a vast herd of horses. "Whose horses are these?" asked the king. "Count Peartree’s." Then they saw a drove of cattle. "Whose cattle?" "Count Peartree’s." And the king felt ever happier over the fine match his daughter had made.

Finally, Giovannuzza reached the palace where Papa Ogre lived all alone with his wife, Mamma Ogress. Rushing inside, she exclaimed, "Oh, you poor things, if you only knew what a horrible destiny is in store for you!"

"What has happened?" asked Papa Ogre, scared to death.

"See that cloud of dust approaching? It’s a regiment of cavalry dispatched by the king to kill you!"

"Sister fox, sister fox, help us!" whimpered the couple.

"Know what I advise?" said Giovannuzza. "Go hide in the stove. I’ll give the signal when they’ve all gone."

Papa Ogre and Mamma Ogress obeyed. They crawled into the stove and, once inside, pleaded with Giovannuzza. "Giovannuzza dear, close up the mouth of the stove with tree branches, so they won’t see us." That was just what the fox had in mind, and she completely stopped up the opening with branches.

Then she went and stood on the doorstep, and when the king arrived, she curtseyed and said, "Sacred Crown, please deign to dismount; this is the palace of Count Peartree."

The king and the newlyweds dismounted, climbed the grand staircase, and beheld such wealth and magnificence as to leave the king speechless and pensive. "Not even my palace," he said to himself, "is half so beautiful." And Joseph, poor man, stood gaping beside him.

"Why," asked the king, "are there no servants around?"

In a flash, the fox answered, "They were all dismissed, since my master wanted to make no arrangements whatever before first knowing the wishes of his beautiful new wife. Now she can command what best suits her."

When they had scrutinized everything, the king returned to his own palace, while Count Peartree remained behind with the king’s daughter in Papa Ogre’s palace.

Meanwhile Papa Ogre and Mamma Ogress were still closed up in the stove. At night the fox went up to the stove and whispered, "Papa Ogre, Mamma Ogress, are you still there?"

"Yes," they answered in a weak voice.

"And there you will remain," replied the fox. She lit the branches, made a big fire, and Papa Ogre and Mamma Ogress burned up in the stove.

"Now you are rich and happy," said Giovannuzza to Count Peartree and his wife, "and must promise me one thing: when I die, you must lay me out in a beautiful coffin and bury me with full honors."

"Oh, sister Giovannuzza," said the king’s daughter, who had grown quite fond of the fox, "why do you talk about death?"

A little later, Giovannuzza decided to put the couple to the test. She played dead. When the king’s daughter saw her stretched out stiff, she exclaimed, "Oh, Giovannuzza is dead! Our poor dear friend! We must have a very beautiful coffin built at once for her."

"A coffin for an animal?" said Count Peartree. "We’ll just pitch her out the window!" And he grabbed her by the tail.

At that, the fox jumped up and cried, "Penniless man! Faithless, ungrateful wretch! Have you forgotten everything? Forgotten that your prosperity is due to me? You’d still be living on charity, if it hadn’t been for me! You stingy thing! Ungrateful, faithless wretch!"

"Fox," begged Count Peartree all flustered, "forgive me, dear friend, please forgive me. I meant no harm, the words just slipped out, I spoke without thinking…"

"This is the last you’ll see of me"—and she made for the door.

"Forgive me, Giovannuzza, please, remain with us…" But the fox ran off down the road, disappeared around the bend, and was never seen again

JEWISH

The Fox and the Fishes

In the morning of the world, says an old Jewish Legend, the vast seas were empty except for the huge bulk of the monster Leviathan, lurking at the bottom of the ocean. He was a king without subjects until the Angel of Death was sent to populate the seas by drowning one member of every species of land creature and transforming it into a fish.

The fox determined that he would outsmart the Angel of Death and cheat the Leviathan. As he sat on a bank beside the sea, contemplating his watery future and wondering how he could escape it, his reflection gave him his cue just as the shadow of Death fell upon him.

Instantly, the fox burst into tears and loud lamentations.

"Why do you cry, Fox?" asked the Angel, impatient to get on with his work.

"I am mourning my friend," said the fox, sobbing. "As your shadow passed over him, he threw himself into the sea in his haste to join the Leviathan's legions. There he is now." The fox waved sadly at the creature in the water who waved sadly back at him.

"Good, good," said the Angel, and flew away.

All went well for the fox until a year later when his deception was discovered by Leviathan himself. During the counting of the fish, he realized that there was no fox fish among them. Displeased, Leviathan lashed his dragon-tail through the waters, demanding to know why. The timid parrot fish told how the fox had tricked the Angel of Death.

"Bring me the fox alive," Leviathan commanded the catfish. "I wish to eat his heart and thereby gain his cleverness. Tell him that I am dying and wish to make him King of the Fish in my place."

The catfish soon found the fox, and told him Leviathan's story. Proud of the honor, the fox hurried onto the catfish's back.

On the long journey, the fox had time to reflect and wondered if he had not been tricked. "O Catfish, now that I can't escape, tell me what the real purpose of this trip is," said the fox. The catfish revealed Leviathan's plan with great satisfaction. Fox was not so clever after all, he thought.

"My heart!" cried the fox. "He wants to eat my heart! Now you are in trouble because I haven't got it with me. Why didn't you tell me while there was still time? Didn't you know that we foxes never carry our precious hearts with us? It is back home, safe in my burrow."

The fox suggested they return to shore to retrieve the heart. When they reached land, however, the fox jumped off and scampered away, jeering at the catfish's stupidity. The catfish hid beneath the bank, where he remained, afraid to face the wrath of Leviathan. The fox has never returned to the shore, which is why to this day there are no fox fish in the sea.

PAKISTANIS

The Five Little Foxes and the Tiger

Once upon a time, on the plains of East Pakistan, a fox and his wife lived in a little hole. They had five children who were too young to feed themselves, and so every evening Mr. and Mrs. Fox crept out of their hole and made their way to the bazaar or market place, which was full of roughly-made stalls.

But they didn’t go there to buy anything. They waited until all the people had gone home to their suppers, and then the two foxes crept amongst the stalls looking for scraps of food for their children.

Sometimes they found nothing but a few grains of rice or shreds of pumpkin but at other times they picked up quite large pieces of fish or meat which had been dropped unnoticed by a stall-holder.

Then the two foxes were overjoyed and would hurry home talking happily together. But no matter who had found the most food – and to be truthful it was nearly always Mrs. Fox who was the better scavenger – Mr. Fox was so full of pride at his cleverness that he could not stop boasting.

“How much sense have you got, my dear?” he would ask his wife as they hurried along between large tufts of brown grass and withered-looking bushes.

“About as much as would fill a small vegetable basket,” Mrs. Fox would reply modestly.

Then after a few minutes she would say, “And how much sense have you got, my good husband?”

“As much as would fill twelve large sacks, needing twelve strong oxen to carry them,” the conceited Mr. Fox would reply, time and time again.

Now one evening, when the two foxes were on their way home with food for their children, and Mr. Fox had just told his wife for the hundredth time how clever he was, a large tiger suddenly stepped out from behind a bush and barred their way.

“At last, I’ve got you,” growled the tiger, showing them his sharp white teeth, which glistened in the moonlight.

Mr. Fox began to tremble and his legs gave way, so that he crumpled up into a heap and lost the power to speak.

But clever Mrs. Fox held her head high, and looking straight into the flashing eyes of the tiger, she said with a smile, “How glad we are to have met you, O Uncle! My husband and I have been having an argument, and since neither will give way to the other, we decided that we would ask the first superior animal who crossed our path to settle the matter for us.”

The tiger was surprised at being spoken to so politely, and also very flattered at being called ‘Uncle’, which is a term of great respect in Pakistan.

So, he did not spring at the foxes to kill and eat them, but replied, “Very well. I will help you if I can. Tell me what you were arguing about.”

“My husband and I have decided to part company,” said Mrs. Fox in a clear, calm voice, while her husband, who had closed his eyes in fear, now opened them wide in surprise. “But we have five children waiting at home for us, and we cannot decide how to divide them between us fairly. I think that I should have three, since I have had to spend more time looking after them than my husband, and that he should have only two. But my husband insists that I let him have the three boy cubs, and that I keep only the two girl cubs. Now, O wise Uncle, who do you think is right?”

When Mrs. Fox saw the tiger licking his lips, she knew that he was thinking that somehow, he must have the five fox cubs as well as their parents for his dinner. And this was exactly what she had hoped for.

“I must see the cubs for myself before I can make a decision,” said the tiger. “Will you take me to your home?”

“Certainly,” said Mrs. Fox. “We will lead the way, and you shall follow.”

Poor Mr. Fox was completely at a loss to know what his wife was doing, but thinking that anything would be better than being eaten alive by a tiger, he staggered to his feet and followed his wife along the rough track, until they reached their home.

“Wait here,” said Mrs. Fox to the tiger. “You are too big to get inside our hole, so we will bring the children outside for you to see.”

She turned to her husband to tell him to go in, but he, needing no encouragement to get away from the tiger, shot into the opening like a flash.

Mrs. Fox went in more slowly, talking all the time, saying that she would not keep him waiting more than a moment, and thanking him for being so gracious as to promise to judge their case for them.

Once inside their hole, the foxes gathered their children together as far away from the opening as possible, and in whispers told them what happened.

“Don’t make a sound,” said Mrs. Fox, “and presently the tiger will realize he has been tricked, and will go away.”

She was right. The tiger waited for hours, first patiently, then furiously, as it gradually dawned on him that the foxes had no intention of letting him see their children, and when the sun rose the next morning, he had to go hungrily away.

After this, Mr. and Mrs. Fox went by a different path to the bazaar, and kept a sharp look-out for tigers.

Mr. Fox never again asked his wife how much sense she had, but once or twice, when he showed signs of becoming proud again, she would say to him, “How much sense have you got, my dear?” and he would answer with an embarrassed laugh.

“Oh! About as much as would fill a small vegetable basket – a very small one, I’m afraid.”

PALESTINE

The Fox and the Sheepskin Jacket

Once upon a time a fox living in Palestine lifted his head from the undergrowth where he had been hiding, and saw an eagle.

‘Hallo!’ cried the eagle as it swooped down close to the fox. ‘How you can bear to live all your life down there on the ground, I do not know. You really are a most un-enterprising creature.’

Then the eagle soared up into the blue sky again, and as the fox watched it he half wished that he could fly too.

In a few moments the eagle was swooping down again, saying, ‘Did you hear what I said?’

‘Yes, I did,’ called the fox. ‘What does the world look like from so high?’

The eagle alighted beside him and replied, ‘Sometimes it is so far away this it is almost invisible.’

The fox laughed scornfully. ‘I don’t believe you,’ he said.

This annoyed the eagle who had always hated the fox for his cunning underhanded ways, and now he suddenly thought of a plan to get rid of him.

‘Jump on my back and I’ll take you up to see for yourself,’ he said.

The fox hesitated for a moment and then he climbed on to the strong back of the eagle, settled himself among the feathers and cried: ‘I’m ready! Up you go!’

The eagle soared upwards and the fox closed his eyes in alarm, for he had never travelled as fast as this on the ground, let alone in the air.

‘How big does the earth look now?’ asked the eagle presently.

The fox opened his eyes and gasped as he peered downwards. ‘It looks about as big as one of those straw baskets they make at Lydda,’ he said.

‘Aha!’ said the eagle. ‘But it won’t look as big as that in a minute.’ Up and up they went, and then the eagle asked again, ‘How big does the earth look now?’

‘It looks about as big as an onion,’ replied the fox, hoping that the eagle would soon begin flying down again.

But the eagle continued to soar upwards, while the fox clung to its feathers, feeling very alarmed and still scarcely daring to open his eyes.

‘How big does it look now?’ asked the eagle at last.

Peering down through half-closed eyes, the fox could see nothing at all. Even when he opened his eyes wide in surprise, he could still not see the earth, as it was so far away below them.

‘I can’t see anything at all!’ he said. ‘How far away do you think the earth is now?’

‘That I can’t tell,’ replied the eagle. ‘But I leave it to you to find out.’ So, saying the eagle turned right over onto his back so that the fox was shaken off.

With a scream the fox began to fall down. Through the air he rushed, sometimes the right way up, sometimes the wrong, but all the time wondering what would happen to him when he hit the earth.

Suddenly he knew! He had landed on a ploughboy’s soft sheepskin coat, in the middle of a ploughed field, and because this had broken his fall, he was still alive.

Heaving a sigh of relief, the fox scrambled under the sheepskin jacket. Using this as a disguise in case anybody saw him and tried to kill him again, he ran swiftly into some woods to take cover.

But he was not safe here, for immediately he came face to face with a leopard. But instead of attacking the fox and eating him, the leopard was so surprised at the coat he was wearing that he asked, ‘Where did you get that warm coat, Fox? I’ve never seen you wearing one of those before.’

‘I’ve changed my way of living,’ replied the fox quickly. ‘No longer do I steal the farmers' chickens, because I have become furrier and have learned how to sew. Would you like me to make you a sheepskin jacket like mine?’

‘Yes, I would,’ said the leopard, thinking what good camouflage it would be when he was stalking game for his dinner.

‘Very well,’ said the fox, ‘You’re a much better hunter than I am, so if you can bring me six sheep, I will make you a jacket with their coats, and will eat their meat for my payment.’

The unsuspecting leopard went off to steal the sheep from a nearby hillside, while the fox lay down and laughed to himself, feeling very pleased at his own cleverness.

When the leopard came back with the six dead sheep, the fox persuaded him to help him to carry them close to his den. Then, promising the leopard that the jacket would be ready next week, he sent him away.

Now the fox had a wife and six little cubs, and when they saw all the meat that the leopard had provided for them, they were delighted. Never had they had such a feast before! For days they all ate as much as they could and each night they slept deeply and rested well, for there was no need to go hunting now.

But the leopard was not so happy. He kept coming back to the fox’s den and shouting: ‘Isn’t my jacket ready yet?’

The fox put him off with various excuses, until all the meat had gone, and then he said, ‘You are a much bigger animal than I am, Leopard, so I’m afraid I shall need more than six sheepskins for your coat. Will you bring me three more sheep tomorrow? Then I think I can finish making it.’

The leopard was getting a little suspicious by now, but off he went and killed three more sheep, and brought them back to the fox.

Now the family could eat their fill again, and they all feasted happily until the meat had gone. But the fox was beginning to regret his behavior, as he knew the leopard would want revenge when he found out that there was to be no sheepskin jacket after all, for he had no idea how to sew.

He began to go hunting in a different part of the country, and always looked around carefully to make sure the leopard was nowhere near when he went in or out of his hole. When he did meet the leopard he made excuses about the jacket, saying that he had run out of thread, or just broken his needle; he even pretended that he was not the fox who had eaten the sheep, and since all foxes are very much alike, the leopard could not be sure which was which.

But at last, the leopard knew that he had been tricked, and he decided that it was time to get even with the fox.

Hiding behind a boulder one night, he lay still, scarcely breathing, until he heard the sound of the fox returning from a hunting expedition. With a bound the leopard pounced on the fox, intending to kill him, but the fox was so quick in reaching his hole, that all the leopard managed to catch was the fox’s bushy tail.

‘All right! I’ve missed you this time,’ the leopard shouted. ‘But I shall know you from all the other foxes now, as you will be the only one without a tail.’

Then to make sure that the fox would suffer a few days’ starvation, the leopard took a hornet’s nest and put it on the ground beside the opening to the fox’s den. He knew that the humming sound the hornets made was very much like the noise of a leopard purring, and he hoped that the fox would stay inside, not daring to go hunting while he thought the leopard was waiting for him.

For almost a week, the fox family went hungry, until at last, the fox began to get suspicious, for he wondered how the leopard could stay in one place for so long without going away to get food.

Creeping close to the opening, the fox peered cautiously outside, and discovered the hornets’ nest.

He was furious that he had been tricked so easily, but he dared not show himself to the leopard, as he would easily recognize him now that he had lost his tail.

However, he had to take some risks if he were going to put into practice the plan which he had been working out, while listening to the hornets’ humming.

So, waiting until darkness fell, the fox rushed hither and thither, calling at the homes of all his friends and relations.

‘Come with me! I have found you a splendid vineyard full of ripe grapes. Come and feast with me, while it is dark and the owner is asleep at home.’

Soon dozens of foxes were following behind him and he led them to a secluded vineyard some way from his den. ‘What a feast! What juicy grapes!’ all the foxes exclaimed as they began to eat them hungrily.

‘Wait a minute,’ commanded the fox. ‘We mustn’t all eat from the same vine. I will show you each of your places, and then you can eat unhindered by anyone else, and we shall not have any quarrels.’

One by one, he led the foxes to a different vine, and said to each, ‘Now you must not mind if I tie your tail to your particular vine. This will show the others that the vine belongs to you, and it will prevent any greedy fox from straying to his brother’s place and eating his grapes.’

All the foxes agreed quite readily, until eventually nothing could be heard but the steady munching of grapes.

Silently the fox left the vineyard and made his way to the owner’s house, where he banged on the door and woke up the whole household, crying: ‘Go to your vineyard! The foxes are robbing it! Take up your sticks and drive them away.’

The people in the house were soon awake, and ran shouting towards the vineyard, waving their heavy sticks.

The foxes heard them coming and tried to run away, but their tails were tied so tightly to the vines that the only way they could escape was by tugging so hard that they left their tails behind them.

After this every fox in the district had a short tail, and so the leopard never found out which was the fox who had tricked him. He was so annoyed that he went away to live in a different part of the country, and then the fox, his wife and his six little cubs were able to roam about freely, and to hunt wherever they liked.

RUSSIAN

How the Fox Saved the Horse's Life

Once upon a time a bear was hiding behind some trees on the edge of a field in Russia, hungrily watching a peasant and his horse ploughing the soil.

The horse was old and tired, and presently the peasant shouted angrily: ‘I’m fed up with your slowness, old horse! You are no use to me at all. I shall let the bears have you!’

Now the peasant did not really mean what he said, and was thoroughly alarmed when the bear lumbered out from behind the trees and growled, ‘Very well! I will eat your horse for you. Give him to me.’

‘Oh no!’ gasped the man. ‘Don’t eat him yet, I beg you. Give me enough time to finish ploughing this field and then I will let you have him.’

Of course, the man had no intention of giving his horse to the bear, for he knew he would never find enough money to buy another one, but he hoped that by the end of the day he might have thought of a plan to outwit the bear.

‘Very well,’ said the bear. ‘I will wait until you have finished.’

The peasant went on with his ploughing, but his mind was not on his job. He kept wondering how he could get the horse home safely, for the bear was a big one who could kill both the horse and man with one blow.

Later in the day the peasant stopped work for a few moments’ rest, and sat down at the edge of the field to eat a crust of bread.

He heard a rustle in the nearby bushes and turning he saw the face of a fox peering at him.

‘Sh!’ said the fox. ‘Don’t call out! I heard what the bear said to you, and have worked out a plan that will save your horse. But you will have to reward me.’

‘I would give anything I have to save my poor old horse,’ said the old man. ‘What is your plan?’

‘First of all, we will decide on my reward,’ said the greedy fox. ‘I shall want twelve hens for my supper.’

‘Very well,’ said the peasant, who had only twelve hens and no more. ‘I will give them to you if your plan works.’

‘I have a small bell here, which I shall fasten round my neck,’ said the fox. ‘Then I shall go into the forest, creep behind the bear, and leap about so that the bell rings.’

‘But that will not frighten a bear!’ exclaimed the man.

‘Of course, it won’t,’ said the fox, impatiently. ‘But when the bear hears it and asks you what it is, you must tell him that the King’s son is bear-hunting with a number of his courtiers. That should frighten the bear away pretty quickly.’

Off went the fox among the trees, and up got the peasant and began to plough again. Presently the sound of a bell reached him, and he knew that the fox was leaping about in the forest, trying to make his bell sound like those the bear-hunters tied to their horses.

The bear came towards the peasant with his eyes full of fear. ‘What is that noise?’ he asked.

‘I heard that the King’s son was coming into the forest today, bear-hunting with his friends,’ replied the peasant. ‘I expect they have started the hunt and the bells are those on their horses.’

The bear had changed from a bully to a coward now, and he begged the peasant to save him. ‘Don’t betray me,’ he said, ‘and I promise not to eat your horse after all.’

‘I will not let the hunters get you,’ said the peasant, ‘but I will hold you to your promise afterwards.’

The bear crouched on the ground beside the cart on which the peasant had brought the plough to his field. Then the fox got as close to the bear as he could without being seen, and shouted: ‘We are hunting bears. What is that dark shape beside you, my man?’

‘That is a tree stump,’ called the peasant. ‘I have been cutting wood for my fire.’

‘If it’s a tree stump, why is it standing up? Are you sure it’s not a bear?’

‘Lie down,’ whispered the peasant, giving the terrified bear a push, and sending him under the cart. ‘It’s a tree stump all right,’ called the man. ‘I have cut it down now, and it’s on the ground.’

‘Well that’s a queer place to put it,’ shouted the fox, who was still well hidden by the trees. ‘Why don’t you load it on your cart, and tie it firmly with rope, so that it doesn’t fall off? That is what we do with logs as big as that.’

‘Very well,’ said the man, and the bear, needing no encouragement, scrambled up into the cart and allowed the peasant to tie him up firmly with rope.

‘You are a foolish fellow,’ called the fox. ‘Most people put an axe in the cart with the log, and then they can chop it up for firewood as soon as they get home.’

So the peasant took his axe, climbed into the cart, and killed the bear with one blow.

The horse neighed with happiness as the peasant harnessed him to the cart and prepared to go home, but the fox kept leaping and bounding around them as they went, crying: ‘Don’t forget my reward. Twenty hens you promised me.’

‘Not twenty! I have only twelve and that was the number we agreed on,’ said the poor peasant, wondering what his wife would say when he handed over her fine, plump laying hens to the fox.

As they neared the peasant’s cottage, his three dogs heard him coming, and leaping up from their place beside the hearth, they rushed out joyously to greet him.

‘Dogs!’ screamed the fox. ‘You didn’t tell me you kept dogs!’

He turned tail at once and rushed back towards the forest. The three dogs chased after him for several miles but he just managed to get into his hole before they caught up with him.

‘I shall never try to help a human being again,’ said the fox as he lay down to get back his breath in the safety of his home.

But the peasant was delighted that his dogs had saved him from giving up his wife’s precious hens, and when they returned, panting loudly and extremely hungry, he gave them an extra big supper.

Later on, he told his wife the whole story. But she did not believe him, so he took her outside in the darkness and showed her the dead bear, promising that he would skin it in the morning, and make her a fine, fur rug to go on her bed and keep her warm during the bitter, winter nights.

As for the horse, he said nothing, but he lived to a ripe old age, and never again did the peasant threaten to give him up to the bears.

LAPLANDER

The Fox, the Fish, and the Bear

Far away in the north of Lapland there once lived a fox who had been looking for food for days and days but had found none.

‘What shall I do?’ he asked himself as he lay on the hard packed snow. ‘If I cannot find food I shall die.’

Just then he heard the sound of dogs barking in the distance and he guessed that some sleighs were coming up from the sea towards the place where he lay.

Now most of the Laplanders in this part of the country were fishermen, and this fox loved eating fish. So, he stretched himself out on the snow in such a way that the sleigh-driver would think he was dead.

Sure enough, after a few moments a string of sleighs stopped right beside the fox.

‘What luck!’ said a man’s voice. ‘A dead fox! Now I can sell its fur.’

Then, picking up the fox, the man slung its body on to the front sleigh and continued on his way.

Cautiously the fox opened his eyes. He saw that the dogs were dragging four sleighs, and that they were all empty except for the last one, which was piled high with fish.

Presently, as the sleighs rode over some bumpy ground, the fox let himself fall off onto the snow, taking care to make a loud plop.

Immediately the man reined in the dogs, leapt off the front sleigh and slung the fox up on to the second sleigh. Then he continued his journey.

After a few more miles the fox again let himself fall off the sleigh, taking care to make an even louder plop as he dropped into the crisp snow.

Once again, the man stopped the sleighs, picked up the fox and slung him on to the third sleigh.

From here the fox could smell the fish so strongly that his stomach ached with hunger and his mouth watered profusely.

In no time at all he had dropped off the third sleigh and the man had stopped yet again and picked him up.

‘What a nuisance you are!’ said the Laplander, throwing him up on the top of all the fish on the fourth sleigh. ‘If you fall off here, I shan’t bother to stop again. I shall never get home at this rate.’ Then, climbing back and settling himself into the front sleigh, the man whipped up the dogs and hurried off.

Now the fox opened his eyes and began to get busy. The cunning animal gnawed the thin ropes which tied the fourth sleigh to the third, until at last, he separated the sleighs.

The man drove on, never realizing that he now had only three sleighs, and empty ones at that, while the fox seized the broken rope in his teeth and dragged the sleigh off the track, towards a big snowdrift where he could hide.

Never had he eaten such a splendid meal. Fish after fish went down the fox’s throat, until he began to think he could eat no more.

He was just taking hold of what he had decided must be the last fish of the day when the snapping of a nearby twig made him turn his head.

In horror, he saw a huge, long-tailed bear approaching through the trees.

‘Where did you get all that fish?’ growled the bear, looking at the sleigh which still held a good pile of fish.

‘I caught it myself,’ lied the fox. ‘It’s all mine and you are not to touch it.’

‘What did you catch it with?’ asked the bear.

‘I will show you if you like,’ said the fox. ‘Come down to the river and you will soon have a pile of fish even bigger than mine.’

So, the fox made his way through the trees towards the river, while the bear lumbered after him.

The river was covered with ice, so, taking a sharp stone, the fox knocked a hole through the ice until they could see the sluggish water flowing below.

‘Now,’ said the fox, ‘you have to sit on the bank with your back to the river and your tail hanging down through the hole into the water.’

The stupid bear did as he was told, and sitting down he gently eased his long tail into the hole in the ice.

‘How shall I know when I have caught a fish?’ he asked.

‘Oh, that’s easy,’ replied the fox. ‘You will feel a slight nip as the fish bites and then you must gently ease your tail up through the hole, eat the fish, and begin again.’

Then the fox dashed off to his sleigh, and, seizing the rope in his mouth, he dragged it as far away from the river as he could.

But the bear sat on and on, waiting for the slight nip which would tell him that he had caught a fish. It got colder and colder as night came on, and presently the bear began to realize that the fox had tricked him.

‘Wait till I catch him!’ he growled, trying to turn away from the river in the direction the fox had taken. But the ice had frozen tight around his long tail and he could not move.

He tugged and pulled for a long time in vain, until at last, his great strength triumphed and he found that he had freed himself from the ice.

But on looking behind, he also found that he had left most of his big, bushy tail in the frozen river, and all that remained was a little furry stump.

And that is the reason, say the Laplanders, why even today, all the bears have such short stumpy tails.

PERUVIAN

The Fox and the Gulls

Once upon a time a gull laid her eggs on the shore of Lake Titicaca in Peru. There were three eggs altogether and the whole day long the mother gull sat on them to keep them warm, only leaving the nest very occasionally to go and catch herself a fish from the lake.

At last, the eggs were ready and three little gulls pecked and chirped their way into the world.

Their mother was tremendously proud of them, for this was her first family, and she was kept very busy flying to the lake to catch small fish for her children, or up to the cliffs behind the nest, to search for insects.

As the little gulls grew bigger, the mother had to spend more and more time away from the nest, searching for food to satisfy their healthy appetites; and so, it happened that she did not notice her old enemy, the fox, hiding behind a small outcrop of rocks not far from the nest, watching her every moment.

The country around Lake Titicaca was almost all desert, so there were very few trees and bushes about and practically no smaller animals for the fox to feed on.

‘Be patient!’ the fox muttered to himself, for he was very hungry! ‘Don’t make a sound and you will soon have the best meal of your life.’

Waiting until the mother gull had flown high up the cliffs to search for insects, the fox crawled stealthily towards the young gulls in their nest.

On his way he noticed an old sack. Which had been blown by the wind from a nearby village, and picking it up he exclaimed:

‘Just what I wanted! Now I can put the gulls in this sack and carry them right away from their nest before I eat them. Then their mother will not hear their cries, and will not come and peck me to pieces.’

Closer and closer the fox crawled to the nest until suddenly he pounced upon the first gull and thrust it in his sack. The second and third gulls scarcely had time to utter more than a few surprised chirps when they too were seized by the fox, who slung the sack over his shoulder and hurried away as fast as he could go.

But the few weak cries of the gull-chicks had been heard by the mother as she was flying back with her mouth full of fish for her children.

Looking down she could see the fox running away from the lake towards some rocky hillocks where he hoped to hide while he ate his meal.

The cunning gull did not swoop down on the fox at once, but followed him at a distance so that he did not know she was there.

‘O my poor children!’ she cried to herself as she flew. ‘How can I get you away from that evil creature?’

The sun was hot and the earth was dry and dusty, and before long the fox was feeling very exhausted with all his running. Added to this his back was getting sore, for the young gulls had sharp beaks and they continually pecked at him through the sack as he ran.

Presently he stopped, and, giving the top of the sack an extra twist or two, he put it on the ground, placed a heavy stone on top of it and sank down nearby to have a rest.

‘I’m exhausted!’ he said. ‘I’ll just have a short nap and then make for that pile of rocks on the other side of the valley. Nobody will see or hear anything there!’

Closing his eyes, the fox was soon fast asleep, and then the mother gull, who had been silently flying above him for some time, glided down to the earth.

‘Hush, my children!’ she whispered with her beak close to the sack. ‘Don’t make a sound or you will wake the wicked fox. Just do exactly as I tell you and all will be well.’

The little gulls were delighted to hear their mother’s voice, and lay quietly while she pushed the heavy stone off the sack and untwisted the top.

‘Creep out now!’ she whispered, ‘and go and bring me some thorny twigs from that dead bush.’

The little gulls blinked from the sunlight for a moment of two, and then they staggered over to a shriveled bush nearby and picked as many thorny, prickly twigs as they could.

‘Push them in the sack quickly,’ said the mother gull, and as soon as they had done this, she twisted the neck of the sack up again and put the large stone back on top of it.

‘Now, follow me!’ she said softly, and the little gulls hopped and ran behind her until they had reached the safety of a small cave in the cliffs.

‘Now I shall take you home on my back, one by one,’ said the mother gull, for her children were not yet old enough to fly on their own. ‘But don’t make a sound while I am away, or the fox will hear you.’

So, the mother gull got her children safely home again. But she found a new place for her nest, right on the other side of the lake, where the fox would not be able to seize her children again once he found he had been tricked.

Now the fox had been very tired when he fell asleep, and it was not until an hour or two later that he woke.

Looking up at the sun and seeing how much of the day he had wasted; he slung the bag onto his back again and hurried off in the direction of the pile of rocks he had chosen for eating his meal.

He thought that the sack seemed a little lighter than before, but the thorns pricked his back in the same way that the little gulls’ beaks had done, and so he did not realize that the birds were not there.

At last, he reached the place where he thought he could eat them without anyone seeing or hearing, and cautiously he opened the sack, and reached in to take out the first bird.

With a cry he withdrew his front leg, covered with scratches and with a branch of the thorn entangled in his fur.

‘I have been tricked!’ he screamed. ‘Who put these thorns in my bag and let out the gulls?’

He knew the answer to this at once, for only the mother bird could have done it. So, leaving the bag on the ground he hurried back to the lakeside to the place where the gull had had her nest.

But of course, it was not there, and peering across the lake the fox saw what looked like the mother gull sweeping down to a nest with food for her chicks.

The fox was determined to have his revenge, but could see no way of getting across to the other side of the lake.

All night long he lay on the shore trying to decide on a plan to get the better of the gulls, and when morning came, he thought he had one.

‘I will drink and drink and drink,’ he said to himself, ‘until the lake is dry and then I can go across on the mud and seize those little gulls again.’

So, he lay down at the edge of the lake and began to drink swallowing the muddy water as fast as he could.

Gradually he began to swell and soon he was feeling most uncomfortable. Bigger and bigger grew his body and still he went on drinking.

‘There can’t be much water left now,’ he puffed, his eyes half closed, and body swollen to six times its normal size.

Gasping and gurgling, he swallowed a few more mouthfuls, and then ‘Crack!’, the sound of a loud explosion filled the air.

The fox had drunk so much water that he had burst, and now lay dead on the shore of the lake.

Across the water the gulls heard the strange noise, and the mother flew off to see what it was all about.

‘The fox is dead, my children,’ she cried happily when she returned. ‘Now we need have no fear that he will try to take you away again.’

So, the gulls lived happily and peacefully beside the lake until the children learned to fly and were able to go off and have families of their own.