The Vixen

The Vixen

by Michael Espinoza



Tod and Lisa Renfield were newlyweds.  Exhausted by the hustle and bustle of the city, they moved far away, to an old abandoned shack less than a mile from the main highway.  The shack was dilapidated, but Lisa was sure it was nothing Tod couldn't fix.  Tod worked his best at it, to give his wife a comfortable home to live in, if not a fancy place, and before too long the shack was ready for a newlywed man and wife to begin their lives together.

Near the shack, not quite close enough to be a yard for the Renfields, there was a forest.  Although sounds could often be heard from the wood, it was rare that either Tod or Lisa saw any wildlife.  Lisa in particular lamented this, having been an animal lover since her childhood.  She would often go into the wood with her camera to try to catch something--anything--but most of the photos she ended up with were of the tails of creatures all but escaping the lens's notice.

The wood seemed a cheery enough sort in the spring months, when the Renfields moved in.  In summer there couldn't have been a happier paradise.  Even in the fall it was ideal for a walk and talk on any subject the loving couple could think of, however trivial.  It was only as the fall became the winter that the woods began to take on a sinister atmosphere, as though echoes of terrible crimes long forgotten were now heard the loudest.

Lisa was not the sort to frighten easily, but even she decided it was best to wait until next spring before heading into the woods again.  Tod agreed.  Besides, the scenery was beautiful enough in a blanket of white from outside the woods, in the safety of the little shack.

********

One morning Tod awoke to find that his wife was already awake.  Lisa put her hand to her chest and did not look at her husband.

"Something wrong, love?"

Lisa shook her head.  "I'm sure it was just a nightmare.  I didn't tell you, but last night I couldn't sleep very well.  As I was going to heat up some milk I heard a yowling from outside.  I thought it must have been from the woods.  I looked out the window in the direction of the forest and saw two pinpricks of light, of a sickly yellow color."

"Some creature of the night, no doubt," said Tod.

"That's what I thought," said Lisa, nodding.  "Still, all the same, I didn't feel safe behind the four walls of our home--I felt exposed, as though I were out in the cold with the creature.  The eyes, they penetrated me, as though compelling me not to look away.  And then as my eyes adjusted to the darkness I caught a silhouette: small, with two pointed ears, a tapered snout, and a long thick tail."

"A fox?" said Tod.

Lisa nodded again.  "A vixen."

"How do you know it was a vixen?"

Lisa shuddered.  "Don't ask me how I know it, I just know it.  She frightened me.  And yet I felt pity, sadness, I daresay love for the lonely creature.  I didn't want to look away, so I reached for my camera and took her picture."

"And did you catch the creature on film?"

Lisa showed Tod the photograph.  When he looked, Tod saw nothing but the dull bark of the trees and the light reflected from the snow.  Not even so much as a brush of a tail.

"Ah, those night creatures are skittish ones," said Tod.  "Better luck next time."

Lisa shook her head again.  "Tod...the vixen never moved once, not even to flee from the camera."

********

Notwithstanding his wife's strange tale that morning, which haunted her all during breakfast, Tod noticed that Lisa seemed to be in better sorts once she had eaten.  Soon it was as though she had forgotten all about that strange tale, as though she had simply dreamed it up, as she'd claimed.

That day, Lisa was even brave enough to go on a walk in the woods with Tod, and they even caught sight of a few birds and squirrels.  Lisa even managed to shoot a photo of a squirrel with a long tail, which she intended to paste into her album when they arrived home.

By the time they went to bed that night, Tod had nearly forgotten all about his wife's strange claims that morning, and if Lisa remembered she gave no sign.  Tod could not remember his wife seeming as peaceful as she did that night, and so he decided not to bring it up with her again.  Soon she went to bed.

But Tod was rudely awakened the next morning.  "What's all the commotion?"

Lisa's eyes scarcely blinked, and sweat drenched her.  "Tod...it was the vixen again last night!"

Tod put his arms around his wife.  "Tell me everything, love."

Lisa took a deep breath, then let it out.  Though the first rays of dawn lit up the room in a warm red glow, she seemed as frightened as though it were still the dark of night.  "Oh, surely I must have been dreaming!  And yet it felt so real--even more real than now.  I went to sleep--I'm sure I went to sleep!--but then I thought I awakened to the sound of the yowling from the night before last.  Tod, it was closer this time!"

Tod stroked his wife's long red locks.  "What happened, dearest?"

Lisa clenched her fists to avoid trembling.  "I don't know what overwhelming force compelled me--I wanted to stay as far away from the window as I could--but I found myself walking out of bed and to the window again.  There were the two sickly yellow points of light, but now they were closer.  And I could see her in silhouette once again.  She frightened me--and yet I still felt sorry for her in her loneliness.  I still loved her.  I tried once more to snap a photo of her, and she never moved, but...."

Lisa turned away from Tod.  "I must have dreamed it, I must have!"  She showed him another photograph.  As before, there was no vixen in the picture--not even the least brush of tail fur.  Only the trees and the snow: nothing more.

"Tod, am I going crazy?"

Tod kissed his wife.  "I'll stay up with you tonight.  If you did see a vixen, I want to see it for myself. Then perhaps we can call a game warden to do something about it.  If I do not see a vixen, I'll take you to a local doctor and he can prescribe something for you to take."

Lisa hugged Tod tightly.

********

Lisa was a bundle of nerves all that morning, notwithstanding Tod's efforts to calm her down, to cheer her up.  Still, by that afternoon, she began to be her usual cheerful self again, and even went out to shoot some more photos of the wood, to add to her album--though she dared not set foot in the wood this time.  She told Tod she would wait for the spring thaw, but Tod knew her better than that.

True to his word, Tod stayed up with Lisa that night.  It was the weekend, and so he boiled a pot of coffee for himself and Lisa, so that neither should fall asleep.  Even as he began to feel drowsy, he pinched himself hard to remain awake.

Suddenly Lisa shot up in bed.  "Tod!  Tod!" she cried, shaking him awake.

"What is it, love?"

"It's closer now, don't you hear it?!"

Tod listened carefully.  He heard nothing.

Lisa hardly seemed to notice him.  "Oh, Tod, can't you hear that terrible plaintive yowling, like a creature all alone in the world?"

She stood up and walked out of the dark bedroom.  Tod followed her to the kitchen window.

"Oh, Tod, there she is!  Can't you see her!  She's nearly outside the forest now!  Look, there are her sickly yellow eyes, her pointed ears, her tapered snout, her brush of a tail!  Can't you see her penetrating gaze?!"

Tod looked and looked.  He saw nothing at all.

"Do you want to take another photo?" said Tod.

"I'm afraid to take my eyes off her gaze," said Lisa, quivering.

"I'll take it, then.  You keep an eye on her."

Tod reached for the camera.  Keeping his head away from the window he said, "Is she still there?"

"Yes.  Oh, Tod, she hasn't moved once in all this time!  Quick, snap the photo!"

Tod aimed the camera in the direction Lisa was pointing, and took the picture.

"There she is, still there, still staring!" Lisa shrieked.

Tod looked at the photo, but did not show it to Lisa.

There was no vixen in the photo.

********

Tod didn't have the heart to tell his wife that she was going crazy, so he told her that he would speak to the game warden himself--but first he called the doctor.  "Something for your nerves," he lied.

For much of that day, Lisa stared out the window where she said she had seen the vixen.  She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders like a shawl.  She scarcely moved, and Tod had to bring her meals to her.

Taking advantage of the situation, Tod called the local physician.

When he had explained his wife's hallucinations, the doctor said, "The best medicine is bed rest, quite honestly.  And I would keep her away from the forest for now, as that would likely make her condition worse.  I can prescribe something for her nerves, but if she continues to see and hear things you may have to bring her in for a checkup."

"I hate to do that to her," said Tod.  "I haven't told her yet that I didn't see or hear anything.  I didn't have the heart.  Poor Lisa: how much more frightening would it be to know she can't trust her own senses?"

"You may not have a choice, Mr. Renfield," said the doctor severely.  "I really don't think it's this serious but if these hallucinations keep up, we may have to check your wife for a brain tumor."

Tod bit his lip.  "You said you don't think she has one, though?"

"Not from what you've described to me.  I'd say the odds are one to five percent--but that's still a possibility.  At this point she shouldn't be in any danger even if she does have a brain tumor.  I wouldn't worry about it, but don't discount the idea entirely."

"Understood.  Thank you, doctor."

When he hung up the phone, Tod went to check on his wife.  She hadn't moved from the window.

"Do you want to come with me and get the medicine for your nerves?"

For a long time Lisa did not respond.  Then she said in a soft voice, "I want the walls of this house between me and the wood.  I can't bear to go outdoors."

"Will you be all right by yourself?"

Lisa nodded.

"All right, then."

Tod put on his winter clothes and stepped outside the house.  The doctor's office was beyond the horizon but still within walking distance.  He went past the wood outside the shack as he walked.

He paused.

"It's nothing."

He took a step, but some outside force compelled him to pause again.  It was only out the corner of his eye, and he nearly missed it.

Fox tracks in the snow.

********

That was the longest day for the Renfields since they had moved into the shack.  Tod gave Lisa the medicine to calm her nerves, and then he called the game warden.  A thorough search was done in the woods, but that evening just before sundown, the game warden had nothing to report.

"You're sure?" said Tod.

The game warden shook his head.  "Not a trace of any foxes.  No fur, no scent, no scat, not even a den where one could be hiding.  If there ever was a vixen in that forest, she moved on long ago."

"But I saw her!" cried Lisa.  "I heard her yowling!"

"And what about the tracks?" said Tod.

The game warden shook his head.  "No tracks."

Tod began to get angry.  "I saw fox tracks just outside the wood, on the side near our house," he said through his teeth.

The game warden spoke slowly, as though to a child.  "We checked there, and there are no tracks.  Even if the snow had filled them in, the scent would have remained.  Our equipment is extremely sensitive and designed to pick up on that.  There is no vixen in your wood, and if there ever was one she left a long time ago, before your wife started seeing or hearing things."

Tod thought of several things to say, but said none of them.  "Thank you for your time," he said bitterly.  "Sorry to have bothered you."

After the game warden and his men left, Tod turned to his wife.  Lisa was in tears.

"You believe me, don't you, Tod?"

Tod nodded.  "I saw the tracks for myself when I set out today.  But...I didn't see the vixen last night.  And I didn't hear any yowling."

Lisa stared at her husband.

"Tod, what's happening?"

Tod shook his head.  He hugged his wife tightly.

Later, just as the sun was setting, Tod went to check the fox tracks he'd seen before.

They had vanished, just as the game warden had said.

"If they've covered them up to mess with us...."

But there was no sign of any tampering with the snow.

********

"Tod!  Oh, Tod, save me!"

Tod woke in the middle of the night.  Lisa was in hysterics, thrashing about as though drowning.

"Lisa, wake up!  Wake up, you're dreaming!"

Lisa gasped several times, then threw her arms around Tod and wept.

"Oh, Tod, I had the most horrible nightmare!  It was that vixen again!"

"It's all right, Lisa," said Tod.  "It was only a dream, it wasn't real."

Lisa choked twice, then spoke slowly.

"I dreamed she had me by the throat...Tod, she was strangling me!"

Tod kissed her.  "No wild animal is going to hurt my wife."  He had kept a shotgun in the bedroom that night, in case the phantom visitor arrived again.

Suddenly Lisa gasped.  "Tod, it's her!  She's calling me again!  Tod, don't let her hurt me!"

"Don't go," said Tod.  He did not for a moment believe that any wild animal was "calling" his wife, but she seemed to be sinking further and further from sanity.

"Stay here."

Tod grabbed the shotgun, which he had already filled with buckshot.  Then he put Lisa's camera strap around his neck.

"No, Tod!  You can't kill her!  You mustn't!"

Tod put a finger to his lips, and went to the kitchen.

He looked out the window.  As before, he neither saw nor heard evidence of any vixen.  He aimed the barrel of the shotgun toward the window.  Doing his best to keep his aim, he held up the camera and snapped a flash photo of the window.

Never letting his aim down, he looked at the photo that resulted.

Fox tracks, well outside the forest and near the shack.

Tod threw the window open, took aim, and fired his shotgun.

The bang echoed throughout the forest and sent many animals scuttling away and crying out in terror.

Tod fired again, and again.  Then he slammed the window shut.

He came back to find Lisa under the blankets, shivering.

Tod nudged his wife.  "It's all over, love."

"She's not dead," whined Lisa.  "You cannot kill her."

"Anything from here to the edge of the forest would have gotten a spray of buckshot," said Tod.  "No vixen is going to hurt you."

"Please don't let her," Lisa sobbed.

Tod hugged and kissed her.  He gave her another of her pills.  It was well into the night before either got any sleep.

********

The next morning Tod woke up to find his wife gone.

"Lisa?"

He rushed out of bed, putting on his bathrobe and heading out the bedroom door.

"Lisa?  Where are you?"

He heard a faint sound just outside the back door.  Following it, he threw open the door.

"Oh, hello, Tod," said Lisa.  She was a few yards from the door and quickly shifted the soil around.  She smiled at Tod.

"You gave me a fright, love," said Tod.  "I thought something had happened to you.  Are you all right?"

Lisa smiled and nodded.  "Oh, Tod, I haven't felt this good in a long time!  Take me out to celebrate!"

Tod cocked an eyebrow, looking at her dirty hands and fingernails.  "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Of course, my love!  The nightmares are over!  I'm cured!"

"Well, if you're sure...."

Tod dared not say anything to Lisa, but before making restaurant reservations he checked the side effects on her medicine.  As they said nothing about her current state, he tried to trust that his wife was indeed back to normal.

But at dinner that night Lisa's behavior was not like her usual self.  She ordered a steak cooked rare, and when it came she didn't use her silverware.  She gnawed at her meat as though she hadn't eaten in many days.

********

That night, Lisa wasn't the least bit afraid at the possibility of seeing and hearing the vixen again.  Tod didn't ask, but he wondered if perhaps she had found the dead vixen and buried her outside the house, and that was why she had shifted the dirt when he'd found her that morning.  If so, so much the better, but he wondered at her strange behavior at the restaurant.

When Tod got into his pajamas, he found his wife on the bed already, smiling.

"Lie with me, love," she said.

"Lisa?" said Tod.

"I want to have your baby.  I can't wait any longer!"

Tod said nothing.  Though surprised, he knew that they had always talked about when they might begin to raise a family.  And now seemed as good a time as any, now that the vixen was gone.

That night of passion was like nothing Tod had ever experienced before.

********

Within a month it was clear that Lisa was pregnant with Tod's baby, and the newlywed couple were overjoyed.

But as the months passed, and Lisa's belly swelled with her growing progeny, Tod noticed more and more strange behaviors in his wife.

She asked him to trap mice from the woods, and she would eat them raw--sometimes even while they were still alive.  It made Tod sick even to think of it, and he couldn't bear to watch, but he was sure it was simply strange pregnancy cravings, and would go away after she gave birth.

At any rate, Tod had other things on his mind that he didn't tell his wife.  While they didn't happen every night, Tod himself now began to have nightmares.  He dared not remind Lisa of the vixen, lest she suffer a relapse--and there was the pregnancy to consider--but his nightmares were always of the same thing:

The phantom vixen strangling his wife.

********

After nine months had passed, the time came for Lisa to have the baby.  There wasn't time to take her to the hospital, but that suited her fine.  Tod boiled water and had towels at the ready, and after many long hours of labor, a baby boy had been brought into the world.

Tod could hardly separate Lisa from their son.  She clung to him as though she would die if she let him go.

Tod came closer--Lisa seemed almost to be hiding the child from him.

"May I not see my own son?" said Tod with a laugh.

Lisa glared at Tod.

She let out a soft growl.

"Come now, enough playing around," said Tod.  "Let me see him!"

Lisa snapped her teeth.

"Lisa, what's the matter with you?"

Lisa curled her lips in a snarl and backed away from the bed.

"You're sick," said Tod.  "You've come down with something.  It's the medicine: it's given you some terrible side effect."

Lisa let out several loud barks.

"Now stop that!"

She turned and fled, as fast as she could.

"Lisa, where are you going?!" cried Tod, running after her.  "Come back!"

Lisa did not heed him.  He did not see her again, but he followed the sounds of her racing to the back door and crunching through the snow outside.

"Oh, Lisa, this is madness!  You're going to catch your death out here, and so is our son!"

Tod didn't even bother putting on his own winter clothes.  He raced outside following his wife's bare footprints heading in the direction of the forest.

He slowed down, but not because the icy cold stung, or made it difficult to breathe.

He stared at his wife's bare footprints.

The closer they got to the forest, the smaller they became.

And shorter.

And he could see distinct claw marks.

********

Tod shook his head and ran back to the house to warm up and recover his senses.

But before he stepped inside, he paused and looked at the ground.

Though it was covered by snow, he could see the area where, nine months earlier, on that day when Lisa had claimed she was feeling better, he had caught her shifting the soil--as though she were burying something.

Gooseflesh spread all over his body, but he could not look away.

In a rush he dug through the snow and the soil, as though he were himself a wild animal digging desperately for food.

Soon the potent stench forced him to pinch his nose and cover his mouth.

He didn't want to look.

And yet he could not bring himself to turn his head.

There was his wife Lisa, under the soil.

She was naked, and in a contorted position no human being had any right to be in.

Her flesh had long since begun to rot away, but not enough to hide the fang marks in her throat.







THE END

The Hare Leopard

The Hare Leopard

by Michael Espinoza

Long ago in the days of perpetual winter, there were a rich Snow Leopard and his wife. They were kindly and loving but for years had no children. One day, Mrs. Snow Leopard said "Husband, go to the Witch of Winter and give me her magic fruit or I shall die! I must have a child, even if he were no larger than a Snowshoe Hare!" So Mr. Snow Leopard traveled for a week and a day until he came to the Witch of Winter's tower. He climbed the fence and beheld the witch's evergreen fruit tree, which only bore fruit in the winter. But when he picked the fruit, the witch, who was a Snow Owl, said, "Who dares steal my fruit! I shall change you into an icicle!" Mr. Snow Leopard begged for mercy and said, "If you please, your eminence, my wife must have your magic fruit or she shall die!" The Owl witch said, "Very well, she may have my magic fruit. But your child shall be no larger than a Snowshoe Hare!" So Mr. Snow Leopard gave his wife the magic fruit, and she conceived and bore a baby boy--but he was not a Snow Leopard but a Snowshoe Hare.

When the Hare Leopard was a youth, his father left for the winter festival, asking his son what he wanted to bring him back. The Hare Leopard said, "All I want, Father, is the first branch that brushes against your whiskers as you return." So when his father returned from the festival, he broke off the first branch that brushed against his whiskers and gave it to the Hare Leopard. After this, the Hare Leopard took the branch with him as he left to seek his fortune.

The Hare Leopard stopped as he came to a heated pool unaffected by the winter cold. It was here that he planted the branch and watered it from the heated pool. Before long the branch had sprouted into a beautiful tree that grew three silver apples. The first apple would protect him from the sharpest blade ever forged; the second apple would give him speed to fly like the Owls; the third apple would grant him his heart's fondest desire. The Hare Leopard picked the apples and kept them in the pocket of his Hare skin.

One morning, a Polar Bear arrived at the Hare Leopard's heated pool and sought to chop down the apple tree for firewood. But the Hare Leopard said, "You must not chop down this tree; it belongs to me." The Polar Bear said, "Do not hinder me, small one, or I shall kill you. My axe blade is the sharpest ever forged." Hearing this, the Hare Leopard ate of the first silver apple, saying, "This silver apple protects me from the sharpest blade ever forged." At this, the Polar Bear swung his blade to chop off the Hare Leopard's head--but he made not a dent in the Hare Leopard's neck. At this, the Polar Bear dropped his axe and said, "I see now that you are in earnest. I will do whatever you ask, only please let me warm up my cave." The Hare Leopard said, "Take only a single branch of the tree, no more, and water it with the water from this heated pool. Then you shall lack nothing. But return in three days' time for further instructions." So the Polar Bear broke off a single branch of the tree, and collected water from the heated pool in a bottle. Taking it home, the Polar Bear planted the branch and watered it with the water. Soon it grew into a beautiful tree, and the Polar Bear did not lack for firewood for the remainder of the winter.

But the Polar Bear forgot his promise and did not return in three days' time. When the third day passed, the Hare Leopard ate of the second silver apple and flew like the Owl to the Polar Bear's cave. While the Polar Bear slept in front of his fire, the Hare Leopard removed his Hare skin to reveal the Snow Leopard underneath. The Polar Bear trembled before the Snow Leopard. "You did not keep your promise, O disloyal Polar Bear!" said the Snow Leopard. "For that you must lose your tail." With one blow of his paw, he broke off the Polar Bear's long tail, and this is why Polar Bears have only short tails. "Forgive me, Master," said the Polar Bear. "I will not disobey your word again, but will do whatever you ask." At this, the Snow Leopard put on his Hare skin again and ate of the third apple, saying, "Travel to the north for a week and a day, until you come to the nearest town. There you will find me a bride from among the royal family of Snow Leopards whom you meet."

So the Hare Leopard returned to his home beneath the apple tree by the heated pool, and the Polar Bear traveled to the north for a week and a day until he came to a town made all of ice crystals. The royal family of Snow Leopards whom he met had three beautiful daughters. The Polar Bear said to the Snow Leopard king, "Good king, my lord the Hare Leopard seeks one of your daughters as his bride." The Snow Leopard king said to his first daughter, "You will go with this fellow and marry the Hare Leopard."

So the first daughter traveled with the Polar Bear for a week and a day until they reached the apple tree by the heated pool, where the Hare Leopard was waiting. The Hare Leopard said, "Until we are married you must not watch me as I bathe in the heated pool." The Snow Leopard princess agreed, and so slept on the side of the tree opposite the pool. But when the Hare Leopard removed his Hare skin and bathed in the pool, the Snow Leopard princess watched with her left eye as he bathed. At this he scratched at her left eye and blinded her in that eye, sending her back to her father with the Polar Bear.

At the town of ice crystals, the Polar Bear said, "Good king, your first daughter watched as my lord the Hare Leopard bathed. She is not a fitting bride for my lord. He seeks another of your daughters as his bride." The Snow Leopard king said to his second daughter, "You will go with this fellow and marry the Hare Leopard."

So the second daughter traveled with the Polar Bear for a week and a day until they reached the apple tree by the heated pool, where the Hare Leopard was waiting. The Hare Leopard said, "Until we are married you must not watch me as I bathe in the heated pool." The Snow Leopard princess agreed, and so slept on the side of the tree opposite the pool. But when the Hare Leopard removed his Hare skin and bathed in the pool, the Snow Leopard princess watched with her right eye as he bathed. At this he scratched at her right eye and blinded her in that eye, sending her back to her father with the Polar Bear.

At the town of ice crystals, the Polar Bear said, "Good king, your second daughter watched as my lord the Hare Leopard bathed. She is not a fitting bride for my lord. He seeks another of your daughters as his bride." The Snow Leopard king said to his youngest daughter, "You will go with this fellow and marry the Hare Leopard."

So the youngest daughter traveled with the Polar Bear for a week and a day until they reached the apple tree by the heated pool, where the Hare Leopard was waiting. The Hare Leopard said, "Until we are married you must not watch me as I bathe in the heated pool." The Snow Leopard princess agreed, and so slept on the side of the tree opposite the pool. And when the Hare Leopard removed his Hare skin and bathed in the pool, the Snow Leopard princess did not watch him, neither with her left eye nor with her right, until after he finished his bath, left the pool, and once more put on his Hare skin. To her he said, "You have kept your promise. You shall be my bride. We shall be married in a year and a day. But until then you must not see me without my Hare skin on." The Snow Leopard promised, and the Polar Bear took her to the town of ice crystals.

But as the time for the wedding was nigh, her two older sisters became jealous, and so went to see an Owl witch. She said, "I will give you a magic brooch for your sister's wedding dress. She will prick herself, and draw blood, and fall into an enchanted sleep. You must give me a thimbleful of her blood for the spell I will cast." So she gave the two older sisters the magic brooch, and they returned home to give it to their sister. When the bride-to-be opened the brooch to place it on her wedding dress, she pricked her finger and fell into an enchanted sleep. Her older sisters locked her in the topmost tower of the palace and took a thimbleful of her blood back to the Owl witch.

The Owl witch took the blood and said to the first daughter, "I will cast a spell upon you that will make you look exactly like your youngest sister, the Hare Leopard's bride-to-be. But you must give me your tongue." The first daughter, who had seen how handsome the Hare Leopard was without his Hare skin on, cut out her tongue and gave it to the Owl witch. The Owl witch used her tongue to make a potion which she had the oldest daughter drink to the dregs. Immediately the oldest daughter looked exactly like the Hare Leopard's bride-to-be. But the Owl witch warned her, "You must not open your mouth to speak, or the Hare Leopard will know." So when the time came for the Hare Leopard to call for his bride-to-be, he came to the palace and said, "Where is my true bride?" The first daughter came to meet him, and he led her to a faraway palace. But before entering, he said, "My love, let me hear your sweet voice as you sing me a song." But when the first daughter opened her mouth, no song came out, but only blood. At this, the Hare Leopard became angry and scratched out her one good eye, leaving her blind and mute and returning her to the town of ice crystals.

The Hare Leopard said, "Where is my true bride?" The second daughter, seeing what had happened, said, "I shall fetch her, if it please my lord." But once she was out of his sight she returned to the Owl witch, who said, "I will cast a spell upon you that will make you look exactly like your youngest sister, the Hare Leopard's bride-to-be. But you must give me your tongue." The second daughter, who had seen how handsome the Hare Leopard was without his Hare skin on, cut out her tongue and gave it to the Owl witch. The Owl witch used her tongue to make a potion which she had the second daughter drink to the dregs. Immediately the second daughter looked exactly like the Hare Leopard's bride-to-be. But the Owl witch warned her, "You must not open your mouth to speak, or the Hare Leopard will know." So the second daughter came to meet him, and he led her to the faraway palace. But before entering, he said, "My love, let me hear your sweet voice as you sing me a song." But when the second daughter opened her mouth, no song came out, but only blood. At this, the Hare Leopard became angry and scratched out her one good eye, leaving her blind and mute and returning her to the town of ice crystals.

The Hare Leopard said, "Where is my true bride?" The king said, "She sleeps in yonder topmost tower, lord Hare Leopard. But it is too high for you to jump, and you surely cannot climb." But the Hare Leopard had eaten of the second apple, which let him fly like the Owl, and of the third apple, which gave him his heart's desire. And so he flew to the topmost tower where his bride lay asleep. Moved with love for her, he removed her brooch, and because he had eaten of the first apple, which protected him from the sharpest blade ever forged, he did not draw blood. He kissed his bride awake, and said, "My love, let me hear your sweet voice as you sing me a song." And she sang to him:

My heart is full, my sorrow ended,
With my love, my life is mended.
Oh, that you and I may soon
Be wed beneath the silver moon.

"You are my true bride," said the Hare Leopard, and he summoned her to the faraway palace, where they were to be married. At the wedding, the Polar Bear served as best man, but the bride's two older sisters were thrown out--but they were forced to hear their sister marrying the handsome Hare Leopard, and they wailed and gnashed their teeth. But once the Hare Leopard and his bride were married, she said to him, "My love, I love you even though you are no more than a Snowshoe Hare." At this, the Hare Leopard removed his Hare skin for good and all, revealing himself to be a handsome Snow Leopard. And he and his bride lived happily ever after.

Who Are the Fools?

Who Are the Fools?

by Michael Espinoza



Once upon a time there was a land called Wise Land.

It was called Wise Land because everyone who ran things in it were fools.

The mayor was a fool.  He passed laws requiring people to spend imaginary money.

The doctor was a fool.  He used his tools to carve people's bodies into shapes they were never meant to be.

The schoolmaster was a fool.  He taught his students that "wise" meant foolish and "foolish" meant wise.

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker--all fools.

So of course the land was called Wise Land, because nothing made sense.

The only people in Wise Land who were not fools--the philosophers, the logicians, the mathematicians, the thinkers--were in jail.  Their sentence for not being fools was life imprisonment.

The non-fools put their heads together to come up with a means of escape.  They reasoned that, since they were the most intelligent people in Wise Land, they could escape prison easily.

They came up with ever so many plans of escape...and not a single one worked.

They tried digging through the ground, but instead of a hole, they made a pile.  The more they dug, the higher the pile would become.

They tried sawing through the bars, but the bars only became thicker.  The more they sawed, the thicker the bars became.

They tried tricking the fools keeping them there--but the fools were too foolish for the tricks to work.

Try though they might, the thinkers in jail failed to come up with a plan of escape from their prison cells that would work, because every plan required the use of logic, and nothing in Wise Land would cooperate with their logic.

They could not think of a plan that would take the nonsense of Wise Land into account, because none of it was logical--and so they stayed in jail for the rest of their lives.



Who were the real fools?

The Ring and the Dragon

The Ring and the Dragon

by Michael Espinoza

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a peasant man lived with his wife and his seven daughters, and the youngest of his daughters was named Apple Blossom.  She was called Apple Blossom because her cheeks were the pink color of apple blossoms.  Every day, at mid-day, Apple Blossom would go out to fetch water from the well.  Her bucket was only large enough to carry water for her father, her mother, her seven sisters, and herself, but there was always enough water for them every day.

One day, at mid-day, Apple Blossom went out with her bucket to fetch water from the well, as always.  But no sooner had she drawn the full bucket of water from the well, than a man approached her, dressed in tattered, filthy rags, and so weary with fatigue that he looked more dead than alive.  "Good woman," said the man, "I am dying of thirst.  Pray let me have a drink of water from your bucket."

Apple Blossom knew there was only enough water for herself and her family, and that if she spared any she would have to draw again.  But taking pity on the man, she took out a ladle and scooped some water from the bucket, saying, "Drink as much as you need, sir."  The man drank to his heart's content, until he was satisfied, and there was no longer enough water in the bucket for Apple Blossom and her family.

When the man had drunk his fill, he said, "Kind woman, I am your prince!  I have traveled the kingdom in disguise, and you were the only one to show me kindness."  To prove that he was who he said he was, he produced the royal ring, made of pure gold studded with a ruby.  It was a beautiful ring, and worth far more money than Apple Blossom and her family had ever seen.

"What is your name, fair maiden?" asked the prince.  "Apple Blossom, if it please your highness," said Apple Blossom, curtsying.  "For your kindness, fair Apple Blossom," said the prince, genuflecting to her, "I offer you this ring as a sign of my proposal of marriage to you.  Will you be my bride?"  Apple Blossom hardly knew what to say, but she did not dare refuse her prince.  "I will, if it please your highness," she said, curtsying.

"Then in three days' time, I will send the royal coach for you," said the prince, placing the ring on her finger.  "You have only to show the coachman the ring on your finger, and he will know that I have chosen you for my bride.  He will take you to the palace, where we will be married, and you will have your new home."  With that, the prince bowed, and kissed the hand which bore the ring, and then he left for the palace.

Three days passed, and a royal coach came to the home of Apple Blossom's father, who came out to meet the coachman.  "Sir, I have come to take your daughter to the palace, where she is to wed the king's only son and heir to the throne.  Bring her out here."  Apple Blossom's father brought out his oldest daughter, who curtsied before the coachman.  He checked her hand, and finding no ring on her finger, he said, "This is not the right bride."

One by one, the peasant man brought out each of his seven oldest daughters, and each curtsied before the coachman.  And the coachman checked their hands, and finding no ring, said of each, "This is not the right bride."  At last, Apple Blossom was brought out before the coachman.  Curtsying, she showed him the royal ring on her finger, and the coachman said, "This is the right bride.  Come, fair maiden, and I will take you to the palace, where you shall marry the prince."  And so Apple Blossom entered the coach and was taken far away to the royal palace.

But in the three days between the prince's proposal and the royal coach being sent out, a terrible thing had happened to the kingdom.  A terrible dragon, large enough to swallow a grown man whole, had come upon the kingdom, terrorizing her people and devouring their livestock.  Each day, the dragon spoke to the king, saying, "Choose your best fighting champion from among your subjects, and let him fight me.  If he can kill me, then you will have no more to fear from me.  But if I kill him, then you and your entire kingdom will be my slaves, to do with as I will."

The king put the challenge to his best warriors: big, strong, brave men who had fought in many battles and killed many men.  But even they had never fought with a dragon before, and they were terribly frightened of being killed.  None dared face the dragon that now plagued the kingdom, not even the biggest and strongest warrior, and so the dragon continued to terrorize the kingdom.

The king sent for his wisest adviser, saying, "What shall I do?  Is there no champion who can defeat this terrible dragon?"  His adviser said to the king, "You must seek the one wearing the royal ring, for whoever bears the ring is the champion who will conquer the dragon."  The king called for his son, but discovered that the prince no longer bore the ring, and so he could not be the champion who would conquer the dragon.

This was how Apple Blossom found the kingdom when she arrived at the palace.  The dragon flew around the palace, once again giving his challenge: "Choose your best fighting champion from among your subjects, and let him fight me.  If he can kill me, then you will have no more to fear from me.  But if I kill him, then you and your entire kingdom will be my slaves, to do with as I will."  Apple Blossom was brought into the palace to meet her bridegroom, and the king and queen.

Apple Blossom curtsied before the king and queen, as the prince said, "This is the fair Apple Blossom, whose hand in marriage she has given to me three days past.  Behold, she wears my royal ring, as a sign of our engagement."  When the king saw the ring on Apple Blossom's finger, he said, "Can it be that this peasant maid is the champion who will conquer the dragon?  For behold, she is the one who bears the ring.  Surely it cannot be she, for she is not a warrior!"

The king brought forth his adviser, who said, "It is this peasant maid and no other.  She bears the ring, and so she will conquer the dragon, though how this is to be I cannot say.  But she must face the dragon of her own free will--no one can compel her to do so."  The king said to Apple Blossom, "Brave peasant maiden, we are at your mercy.  A terrible dragon plagues my kingdom, and will not stop until he is killed.  My adviser tells me that only the one bearing the royal ring will conquer the dragon, and that is you.  I know not how a mere peasant maid will conquer where my strongest warriors fear to face the dragon, but I trust my adviser.  I will not force you against your will, but I pray, will you face the dragon and save my kingdom?"

Apple Blossom curtsied.  "If it please your majesty, I am not a warrior.  I have never faced a dragon before, nor have I any experience in battle of any kind.  I am but a peasant maid, the youngest daughter of my father.  I know not how I may conquer the dragon where the strongest men fear to face him, but if the task has been appointed to me, it is my duty to try.  I will face the dragon, my king, and I pray that I will win the victory for you."

"Brave maiden, we are at your disposal, and we thank you!" said the king, and with that he called for his royal armorer.  "Have this peasant maid fitted with a suit of armor, and armed with a sword.  She is to face the dragon and conquer him," said the king.  The royal armorer tried his best, but there was not a suit of armor in all the kingdom that would fit Apple Blossom, nor could she move in it.  Nor was there time to forge a new suit of armor to fit her.  And when the royal armorer placed a sword in Apple Blossom's hand, she could scarcely lift it, even using both hands, let alone do anything with it.

"I cannot move in your armor, nor can I carry this heavy sword," said Apple Blossom.  "But how will you face the dragon, without the protection of armor and without a sword?" said the royal armorer.  "I know not," said Apple Blossom, "but if this task is appointed to me, another way will present itself.  I know not how, but I am sure of it."  "Brave maiden," said the royal armorer, "I am sorry I cannot help you, and I only pray that you will be victorious somehow.  If you are not, the entire kingdom will be slaves of the dragon, that he may do with us as he wills."  "I do not believe that will happen," said Apple Blossom.

At length the dragon reappeared outside the palace and repeated his challenge: "Choose your best fighting champion from among your subjects, and let him fight me.  If he can kill me, then you will have no more to fear from me.  But if I kill him, then you and your entire kingdom will be my slaves, to do with as I will."  This time Apple Blossom stepped out of the palace, without armor and without a sword, armed with nothing more than the royal ring which the prince had given her three days before.

"Foul and villainous dragon, I am Apple Blossom!  Behold, I bear the royal ring!  It is I who will face you, if you be not afraid of a humble peasant woman!" said Apple Blossom.  The dragon was enraged.  "Am I a dog, that you send a peasant maid, unarmed and unprotected, to face me?" he said to the king.  Turning to Apple Blossom, the dragon said, "Come to me, foolish girl, and I will swallow you alive!"

Apple Blossom went out to face the dragon, who proceeded to encircle her.  Apple Blossom was frightened of this terrible dragon, but did not run away.  She knew not what she could do against such an enormous and fearsome dragon, but she held her ground.  The dragon had her surrounded, and now he stood, poised to strike.  Apple Blossom had no weapon on her except her shoes, which had hard soles.  She took off her right shoe and wielded it before the dragon's toothy head.  The dragon laughed with contempt.

"Am I a fly, that you will kill me with your shoe?" said the dragon.  "I will swallow you whole!"  With that the dragon struck, and Apple Blossom swung her shoe at his head.  And lo! for the dragon fell to the ground, quite dead, his head crushed under Apple Blossom's shoe.  The dragon was very grateful to have died on impact, lest it be said of him, the mighty dragon, that he fell to the shoe of a peasant maid.

"Three cheers for Apple Blossom, for she has conquered the dragon!" cried the subjects of the kingdom, and they proceeded to lift their heroine into the air.  "Hip hip hurray!  Hip hip hurray!  Hip hip hurray!"  They carried her into the palace, where she was brought before the king and queen, and her bridegroom the prince.

"Brave and clever Apple Blossom," said the king, "I and my entire kingdom are deeply indebted to you.  However did you kill the dragon where my strongest warriors feared to face him?"  Apple Blossom curtsied and said, "If it please your majesty, I do not know myself.  I hardly feel I deserve your praise, for I myself did little.  I am only happy that my king and his kingdom are free from the terror of that dragon."

"Was it not by your shoe that the dragon was conquered?" said the king.  "Was it not you who bravely went out unarmed and unprotected to face him?  Therefore name any reward you desire, and it will be yours, up to half my kingdom."  "Your majesty is very generous I'm sure," said Apple Blossom, curtsying, "but I neither need nor desire any reward but what was promised to me already by the ring which was the sign of my being chosen to face the dragon: namely, to be married to your son who proposed to me three days past."

"If you are sure you will have no more, so be it," said the king.  "For surely you deserve at least that much.  Let us prepare for the wedding!"  The prince took Apple Blossom's hands and said, "Dear Apple Blossom, you have earned this.  Peasant maid though you are, there is more to you than perhaps even you know.  And so I repeat to you my proposal of three days past."  Genuflecting, the prince said, "Fair Apple Blossom, will you marry me?"  "I will," said Apple Blossom, curtsying, and the prince kissed his bride.

Never was there such a wedding in the history of the kingdom, for never in the history of the kingdom had a peasant maid married a prince!  It was the most beautiful wedding you ever imagined, and now Apple Blossom was the prince's bride: a princess and the future queen of all the land.  And Princess Apple Blossom bore the prince twelve sons, all royal, the oldest of whom was next in line to the throne.

And Apple Blossom lived happily ever after.


THE END

The Four Daughters

The Four Daughters

by Michael Espinoza

Once upon a time, a rich man was looking to get married.  He visited a poor man who had four daughters. The daughters were beautiful to look at, but each had a past—each had been with many men before, who were not their husbands.

The rich man fell in love, but would only marry one daughter--he left it up to them to decide which of them loved him enough to accept his marriage proposal.

The first daughter accepted his proposal, but on the day of the wedding, she remembered her past and refused to put on her white wedding dress and left the church, never even starting down the aisle. The bridegroom was not pleased, and thought, "If she will not even show up at her own wedding, how can I depend on her for anything else?"  And so the wedding was called off.

The second daughter then accepted his proposal, and on the day of the wedding she put on her white wedding dress and looked radiant. But as she started down the aisle, she remembered her past and felt the eyes of all staring at her. She hid her face, frightened at their stares of judgment. The bridegroom saw this and thought, "If she is too ashamed to be seen at her own wedding, how will she be anything but ashamed to be my wife?" And so the wedding was called off.

The third daughter then accepted his proposal, and on the day of the wedding she put on her white wedding dress and looked radiant. And she did not hide her face as she walked down the aisle. But remembering her past, she felt ashamed, and her shame spread to her face. The bridegroom saw her look of shame and thought, "If she cannot put her past behind her, how loyal will she be to me when we are married?" And so the wedding was called off.

The fourth daughter then accepted his proposal, and on the day of the wedding she put on her white wedding dress and looked radiant. And she did not hide her face as she walked down the aisle. And while she remembered her past, she looked to her bridegroom who smiled at her, and she smiled back--and this made her look all the more beautiful. She married her bridegroom, and remained loyal to him until death, and they had many children together.

And they all lived happily ever after.


THE END