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| The Wisdom of a Dog - A Fairytale |
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Keith was a traveller.
He had been walking for many hours and he was getting tired and his dog was getting hungry.
Thumbing a lift on the ‘A’ road a green van drew up and both its side mirrors twirled round as it came to a halt beside him.
The driver was a small, well built man with a grey beard, panama hat and brown eyes. He smiled a lot. The traveller and his dog jumped in and they drove down the road until they came to a service station where the driver had to buy some more diesel fuel.
The traveller thanked his smiling companion, got out and walked through the car park to the green fields to let his dog have a run. There he found a wide valley and soon he and his dog were lost to sight.
The traveller found two beautiful trees looking like a gateway and his dog ran into them...and disappeared. No matter how he called or whistled his dog failed to reappear.
Growing worried for his friend the traveller walked through the trees.
There are times when we do something expecting one thing and we find another. Some people like this to happen and are called adventurers. Some people are scared of it and are called Prime Minister.
From the one side the trees looked as if they came out onto the hillside. But from inside the trees gave way to a huge and high crystal city glittering in the sunlight with high spires and bells ringing everywhere.
The bells were to tell everyone who lived here that a dog was loose. The people here were not used to well trained dogs. The dogs that found them tended to bark and run around and jump up as the people flew away. The traveller found his dog and he called him to his side and as he did so one of the fairy people peeped out and nodded in appreciation.
“That’s a well trained dog,” he said.
“Thank you.”
“Does it have a name too?”
“It does, she is called Birdie.”
“Oh we have birds here,” said the fairy. He fluttered his wings and approached the traveller staring into his eyes. “You don’t look like a magician.”
“I don’t feel like one I assure you,” he replied stepping back at the fairy’s intense gaze.
“Then I wonder how you managed to walk through the gateway of Treedance.”
“I had no idea there was a gateway.”
“Hmm, ignorance never managed to get through before.”
“Oh I am not ignorant,” said the traveller, “I can multiply numbers in my head and my parents taught me history and spelling.”
“But you are human,” said the fairy.
“Oh yes.”
“Then you are ignorant,” he replied turning away and flying off.
The traveller thought that very insulting so he turned back to leave...but the trees were gone, and the fields were gone and all he could see for miles and miles were crystal houses and fairy people flying around doing their daily work.
They all looked very busy. Some were making ice, others were making sea, some were painting the clouds, and others were playing hop scotch, tick-tack-toe and other pavement games no one has heard of these days.
One of them painted a sketch of the traveller and gave it to him. He had painted wings on him like huge grey arms and made his eyes sparkle. A group of fairy children walked by and their teacher pointed him out.
“There children we don’t get to see many of those here.” The children all gasped. Keith not being one to like be looked at, decided to go for a walk and see if there was a way out of this enchanted place.
He looked up and down and all he saw were more crystal houses.
He looked left and right, sideways and backwards. It was all the same.
“Now this is a puzzle and no mistake,” he decided.
“It certainly is,”said a familiar but gruff voice. He looked around but he couldn’t see anyone.
“Hello.” he called,” who’s there?”
“Only me,” replied the voice. The traveller looked at his dog.
“You?”
“Me,” replied Birdie.
“You can talk!” Keith gasped. That was two unexpected things in a row.
“I always could you just never understood me before.”
“Did you understand me?”
“Sometimes.”
“Only sometimes!”
“Only sometimes are people worth understanding,” replied the dog. He stretched his front paws out on the ground. “And whilst we are on the subject, since you can understand me now and might not be able to if we ever get back, my name is Daracha, not Birdie.”
“Daracha?”
“Yes my mother was one quarter Scot.”
“I never knew.” answered Keith shaking his head as if to apologise.
“I know you never met my mother.”
“You never met mine!”
“No but I smelled her on those parcels you used to get. I would know that perfume anywhere!” Daracha wagged her tail and sneezed.
“Well that’s because your sense of smell is so refined.”
“Talking of which I should be able to smell a way out of here but I don’t think I can.”
“Maybe there isn’t a way out of here?”
“Oh there is always a way out. Its getting in that is usually the trouble in my experience.” Keith looked at Daracha.
“Well it was easy this time.”
“That was easy for you. Took me months of planning.”
“Planning? You planned to bring us here.”
“Had to,”said Daracha.”
“Why?”
“Part of your necessary education. That and the fact this place needs saving and we are going to save it.”
“I am?” Three unexpected things in a row. Keith was getting dizzy and he had always thought of himself as an adventurer.
“With my help.”
“When I picked you up in the dogs home was that an accident?” asked Keith suspiciously.
“No...all planned. Let’s see we go this way.”
“And all those weeks I spent training you, you were not really being trained?”
“No. Left here. I was watching you.”
“You were?”
“I was.”
“Why?”
“To see if you had the necessary qualifications to help Candlewood.”
“Who is Candlewood?”
“Not a who, a where.”
“A where...” Keith raised an eyebrow. “Is this place Candlewood?”
“It is and there is the trouble!”
Keith whistled in amazement. Daracha sat down by his leg and looked at the view.
Nothing was living in a desert that stretched many miles in front of them.
“Last week,” said Daracha, “this was crystal and grass. Someone is stealing Candlewood and we have to find out whom.”
“Why me?” asked Keith.
“You like travelling.”
“Well true but...”
“No buts, come along.”
They walked for several miles and came to a river that was running clear and fast but as they went to cross over it stopped running and the water gathered up into a huge water giant who looked down on them, dripping water onto their faces.
“Daracha!” he said.
“He knows you,” said Keith.
“Of course,” said Daracha,” he’s my brother.”
“Your brother is a river?”
“What’s wrong with that?” asked Daracha.
“Nothing, but your mother and father must have been...well not dogs.”
“They were dogs when I was born. They were clouds when my brother was born. Clouds give birth to rivers didn’t you know that?”
“No.”
“I am glad you have arrived,” said the water giant,” things are getting out of hand.”
“I can see that,” said Daracha.
“Candlewood is being sucked away. Come I will show you.” He turned back into a river and taking the two of them in a watery hand flowed down the hillside along the plains and towards a large hole in the ground. “Before you go take this,” his brother called. In Keith’s pocket there appeared a small gold coin.
“What is it?” asked Keith.
“Something to help you.”
“Now then,” said Daracha,” let’s see where this goes.”
Keith suddenly realized that exploring can be dangerous. The hole in the ground went straight down and they went straight down with it. Straight down, then left and up a little and then down again. It was like being in a very large pipe.
They fell out of it into a very large whicker chair and in front of them stood a snake twisted around a staff sniffing the air.
“Daracha!” said the snake her eyes glittering,” who’s the man? Lunch?
“”No Hilda, he’s not. He’s going to help save Candlewood.”
“Oh you got off at the wrong stop in the pipe. Or did you decide to visit your sister whom you never visit on your way to see the wizards.”
“I didn’t decide to do anything. The pipe must be wrong. Or my brother is playing tricks.”
“Oh and how is he?”
“As wet as ever.”
“You will need this,” she gave Keith a small pipe with some tobacco. “Only use it when you need to.” she said,
“When will I need to?” he asked.
“You will know,” she said.
“Everyone here seems to know what’s going on but me!” Complained Keith.
“Its always been that way,” replied Daracha,” its only now you realise it.”
And then they arrived in a bright room where a pile of gold stood as high as a mountain and a wizard stood over a book chanting and laughing and dancing. He saw them and shut the book up immediately and looked at his pile of gold which gave off the only light in the room.
There was an uneasy silence.
“What do you want?” Snapped the wizard.
“We want to save Candlewood,” replied Daracha.
“Really,” said the wizard in that way which means ‘stuff you’.
“Really,” said Keith.
“Do you know what this is?” asked the wizard. He gestured to the mountain of gold. “Gold,” said Daracha.
“My gold,” replied the wizard.
“Its not as shiny as the piece I have,” said Keith taking out the coin. The small coin glittered as much as the mountain of gold the wizard had and he looked at it transfixed.
“Where did you get that?” he snapped.
“His brother gave it to me.”
“What do you want for it?”
“It’s not for sale we have to use it to stop Candlewood being destroyed.
“Who do you think is destroying it?” asked Daracha.
“I don’t know I thought you knew,” said Keith.
“I do. Where do you think that pile of gold came from?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s been extracted from melting down the crystal in Candlewood.”
“Ohhhhhhhhh...but that means...”
“I am responsible for the crisis in Candlewood, yes. Now if you don’t mind I will take the piece of gold you are holding.” The wizard held out his hand.
“You can’t hold it,” said Daracha, ”it was given to Keith and no one but he may hold it.”
“With this I can do anything!” smiled the wizard holding up the book. “With this I can make anything into gold and gold into anything.”
“Not very shiny gold though,” Daracha observed. The wizard looked at him.
“Where I come from we don’t listen to dogs,” he said.
“That’s because you have no wisdom,” said Keith.
“Wisdom doesn’t buy gold.”
“I didn’t buy mine,” replied Keith.
“You stole it then.”
“No it was gift.”
“Rubbish, who would give away gold.”
“His brother.”
The wizard looked at Daracha. “Your brother has more gold like that?”
“Lots,” replied Daracha.
“But he would not want to share it.”
“Would you?”
“No.”
“Then he probably would because you do everything that is selfish and mean and he doesn’t.” The wizard was taken aback for a moment.
“I am not selfish or mean. I just look out for myself. No one else ever would.”
“What about your family?” asked Keith.
“I am an orphan.”
“Well why not go and find them?”
“They will find me when they find out how rich I am!”
Keith flipped his coin and shook his head,
“You can’t destroy Candlewood. Its not right.” The wizard pointed a finger at his feet and a line of flames streaked across the room.
“And you cannot cross the fire and stop me,” smirked the wizard.
“Why thank you I needed a light,” said Keith taking out the pipe and putting in the tobacco and using the wizards flames he lit it and puffed away but the smoke that came out was thick and blue and it swirled around the room and clung to the wizard and he coughed and wheezed and fell sound asleep on the floor. As he did so the flames vanished and Daracha called his brother. The river flowed in and washed away all the gold and then he called his sister and she slithered in and wrapped herself round the wizard who got a very nasty shock when he woke up.
The wizard had to work for her for three years and learn to be civil and if he ever did anything wrong she bit him. The gold was used to make new crystal and after twenty years you wouldn’t have known anything had ever threatened Candlewood.
Keith went home and never again could he talk to his dog but she watched him carefully and they were able to get along fine using their eyes.
And his family were never given any explanation at all as to why he suddenly started calling her Daracha.
| | Posted: 20.1.2008 at 08:07 | Read 166 times | 5 comments | Leave Comment |
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| Daniel | | 
"The world is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel:Horace Walpole" |
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