The cat laid on my keyboard…

Once upon a time in the ancient lands of Cambodia, there lived two very poor men, Sightless and Hobble. Sightless was blind and Hobble lame. They were both slaves to a very wealthy man who had bought them at one of the many slave markets in the city to work on his farm. The work was hard and their master unkind and Sightless and Hobble were very unhappy.

One dark night, Sightless and Hobble decided to escape. They snuck down to the river, got into one of their master’s canoes and started to paddle. All night long they paddled and paddled and by morning they were truly exhausted. Surely by now they were a long way down the river.

Unfortunately, Sightless and Hobble had sat facing one another paddling in opposite directions, so the canoe had not moved. Their master was very angry when he found them still at the end of his dock and punished them severely by giving them the hardest work on the farm. But Sightless and Hobble were not deterred. They merely waited for another chance to escape.

One day when they were sent out into the countryside to work, no one was watching and they were able to sneak away. Sightless knew that separately a blind man and a lame man are very slow, so to speed their travels he lifted Hobble onto his shoulders. Now with Sightless’ legs and Hobble’s eyes, they were successful in making their escape. As they moved along the country roads, they came across a large rice basket, a rake, a length of old rope, and finally a tortoise. Hobble objected as Sightless gathered each of these odd things.

“Why should I have to carry them all?” he asked. But Sightless insisted they would be useful, so Hobble agreed.

All day they traveled as fast as Sightless’ legs could go and by nightfall they arrived at the gates of a beautiful temple. They entered expecting the temple to be empty and were surprised to see a beautiful young woman weeping on the floor.

The two travelers tried to comfort the young woman but she was inconsolable. She explained that the kingdom was terrorized by a very wicked giant and every night the king was forced to sacrifice one of his people to save the country from its terrible wrath. The king being a good and fair man decided it was only right that he sacrifice her, his only daughter. Sobbing the princess was too unhappy to eat and offered her meal to Sightless and Hobble.

“We must eat quickly and leave before the giant arrives,” Hobble nervously whispered to Sightless.

But Sightless did not agree, he was very moved by the princess and promised that he would save her when the giant came. While they waited, he requested a golden sword from the temple’s many treasures and asked that all the candles throughout the temple be lit. Although she was touched by Sightless’ bravery, the young woman did not believe the small blind man before her could overcome such a powerful and wicked giant with such meager preparations.

When midnight arrived, there was a crashing like thunder as the giant flew down the mountain to capture and eat the princess. Sightless quickly closed the door to keep the monster out. Seeing the door slam shut and light still glowing brightly through the windows of the temple, the giant became angrier and angrier. No one could deify him like that!

“Who closed the temple door?” boomed the giant. Hobble and the princess quivered with fear, but Sightless drew himself up proudly.

“I did!” yelled the blind man.

“Who are you and is your liver so big that you are brave enough to close the door against me?”

Sightless, thinking quickly, threw the large rice basket out the door and announced, “This is my liver!” The giant was amazed at the size of his opponent’s liver.

“That cannot be,” he shouted. “Give me more proof of your size and power!”

“Here is my comb!” replied Sightless throwing the rake out the door, “And my hair!” followed by the rope. The giant was startled but not yet convinced.

“Show me one of your fleas!” he demanded.

With that the blind man threw the tortoise out the temple door. “Here is a flea from my body!” The giant was becoming more and more alarmed.

“Put your head through the door and you will see what a great and powerful adversary I am!” Sightless called to the giant. Curious, the giant knelt down and pushed the door open with his great hand then stuck his head through.

“You are not so mighty!” he laughed, as he reached for the terrified princess before him. With the golden sword raised, Sightless stood ready at the side of the door. Before the giant had time to react, the blind man brought the sword down with all his strength, neatly severing the giant’s head from his shoulders.

As the blood gushed forth, the princess slumped to the floor with fear and relief. Hobble, suddenly filled with bravery, leapt up, grabbed the sword from Sightless, and started hacking at the dead giant’s neck. Sightless bowed respectfully before the young woman.

“We have killed the giant, my Princess. He will never terrify you or your kingdom again.”

Gratitude filled the young woman. “I will tell my father how you have saved me and our people,” she said. “Here, take this to help you with your travels,” she continued, handing Sightless and Hobble a large bag of gold. Bowing the two friends went on their way.

Having traveled far, Sightless and Hobble felt safe from being captured by their old master and decided to rest in the shade of a Phnoeuv tree while they divided their gold. Hobble began to make two piles of gold. Knowing that Sightless could not see, he made the pile in front of himself much larger. But Sightless was clever and knew his friend well so when Hobble was finished sorting, Sightless smiled.

“I want the pile in front of you,” he said.

Hobble was surprised but quickly replied, “Just a minute, the two piles are not equal,” and he cunningly switched them. Now the larger pile was in front of Sightless. Knowingly,

Sightless told his friend, “I’ve changed my mind. I’d like the pile in front of me instead.”

At that moment, a Phnoeuv fell from the tree and hit Sightless on the head. Thinking that Hobble had hit him, Sightless lashed out and kicked his friend’s lame right leg. Miraculously, the leg became straight. Unaware, Hobble retaliated by punching Sightless in the eye. Out of which Sightless could now see. But Sightless was still angry and kicked Hobble in the left leg, which also straightened. Not to be outdone, Hobble punched Sightless in the other eye and Sightless began to see from that eye as well.

The two friends were so amazed that Hobble could now walk and Sightless could now see that they forgot their quarrel and danced for joy. Gathering equal shares of the treasure, they decided to celebrate their good fortune by visiting the nearby city where the princess’ father was king. They bought new clothes and traveled unhindered throughout the city’s streets admiring the capital’s beautiful sights.

Nearing the center of the city, Sightless and Hobble came upon a procession of the king’s mighty soldiers. At the front, a crier was calling out, “Who are the brave strangers who saved our citizens from the wicked giant?”

Hobble and Sightless humbly went forward and introduced themselves. The crier bowed to the two men and said, “You are wanted by the King.”

The soldiers lifted Sightless and Hobble into the king’s royal litter and carried them in splendor to the palace. The king was overjoyed to meet the mighty heroes who had saved his daughter and kingdom.

“I wish to invite both of you to live in my kingdom forever as the honored guests of my people,” he told Sightless and Hobble. “Because you are no longer blind and lame, you will be welcomed into every home in the land as Brave Warrior and Loyal Friend.”

The two friends were overjoyed with their good fortune and celebrated with light hearts and confidence in their bright future.

The World Beneath the Ice

Once upon a time, far north in the land of ten thousand lakes, there lived a plain young girl with bright eyes. On a small farm miles from town, her family toiled day and night to provide food for many tables. When drifts of Winter snow covered the fertile earth, some who worked the land were called onto the frozen lakes.

Each year, the girl watched as little fishing villages appeared where earlier the warm water stirred, and asked her father “Can we go to the ice?”

Each year, he answered, “No.”

Until that wondrous year when the temperatures dropped beyond the imagination, and the wind howled and swirled and pulled new words from her father’s mouth.

“Daughter, today it is too cold to work,” he said, “and the ice is waiting for us.”

Mother wiggled the girl into tight cosy snow pants, draped a heavy coat over her shoulders, and laced up her oversized boots. A warm hat, fluffy mittens and a scarf tied around the girl’s neck covered her completely, yet when she stood outside the wind wound its way in.

“I’m cold Papa,” the girl said, as he loaded the truck with firewood split that morning.

“Just wait,” he answered.

As she shivered, the girl’s father pulled a trailer from a wooden shed the girl never dared to enter. It was home to creatures that scurried in the dark. On that trailer sat a tiny wooden fish house. No wider than the girl’s bed.

“Where will we put it?” The girl asked.

“Where the ice is thick, the luck strong.”

The girl shivered with excitement, today they would drive onto the frozen lakes. Slowly, they ventured onto the crunching ice, her father listened closely to its song. A brittle crack portends the worst. The girl’s heart beat fast. Would it hold? He father’s confident eyes, said yes.

They searched the frozen landscape and soon found the perfect spot. The girl played, shuffling on her boots, pretending to figure skate while her father unloaded the tiny house onto the ice.

“Come, it’s ready!” He beckoned her. The girl stepped into its dark, warmth and felt at home.

“Careful, my dear,” her father warned. “Do not fall in.”

As the girl’s eyes adjusted, she could see a shimmering circle of water. Her father had drilled through six inches of ice to find the hidden lake.

“If you fall below you will be in a world of opposites. Warm will be cold. Up will be down. And life will be toward the dark.”

“Why did we come now, Papa?” The girl asked, afraid her father had been tricked into danger by the wind.

“To capture the magical creatures beneath our feet. They will keep us healthy through dark months. And…,” a smile in his eyes, “to have fun.”

Her father handed the girl a pole as long as her arm, threaded with line. A silvery hook gleamed on its end. Over the point, he wrapped a worm saying, “We offer them a taste of earth and they offer us a taste of water.”

“How will I know if I get one?” The girl asked.

“Stay quiet. A shadow will appear to take a taste from your hook. If it approves, a nibble will become a bite. That is when you know to pull. But be quick, before it changes its mind.”

The girl and her father fished the world beneath the ice until the iron stove had eaten its dinner of wood. The girl had grown so used to the house’s comforts, she felt raw and exposed when rejoining the land of white and wind.

“Will it be okay, Papa?” The girl asked as she watched the tiny house become just a dot on the horizon of ice behind them.

“It will,” he said.

The girl and her father could not visit the tiny house often that Winter, but each time, its arms enveloped them in the feeling called home.

The years moved forward, as they so often do, and the plain young girl moved with them, away from the land of lakes. Her bright eyes now look West onto the rolling ocean waves. But nothing, not even time, can dampen her memory of the dark, warmth of the tiny house, her father’s wise and wondrous words, and the shimmering circle which opens into the magical world beneath the ice.

It was a clear sunny day and Frederick was bored. The days it rained were so much more interesting, scientifically speaking.

“Go have fun at the fair,” his mother said.

And because he loved his mother, Frederick said, “Okay.”

Frederick was really too smart for such silliness, but he listed each area at the fair alphabetically and made it a challenge.

First he went to the animal barns. The cows were boring. The horses. Boring. And the sheep. Doubly boring.

Next, to the booths where loud voices promised Frederick if he bought what they were selling he’d be the happiest boy ever. Frederick never believed such things and very politely said “No, thank you.”

Luckily for Frederick’s growing stomach food was next. He bought a hotdog-on-a-stick. A pickle-on-a-stick. And cheesecake-on-a-stick. Frederick would have bought more, but both his hands and his stomach were full.

Frederick was excited for the games. He planned to play them all day long. But on his third ring toss, he won a huge stuffed dog with a tag that read Max. Again, Frederick’s hands were full and he sadly had to move on.

Finally, Frederick reached the rides. His mother said he would love them the most. He examined each ride carefully, but none seemed right. He was too old to ride the floating boats. Uninterested in the flying swings. And too young for the twisty-turny ride that squished people’s faces as they whizzed past.

Frederick sighed. He was done with his list and it was still too early to go home. So he did what he always does when there is nothing else to do. He walked and he thought, and he thought and he walked.

Frederick was busy thinking when he felt the stuffed dog leapt from his hands. He bent to pick it up and said, “That’s odd. A toy can’t do that?”

“Are you sure?” said a voice that snuck up on Frederick. “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

“Yes, they are,” Frederick replied with certainty, as his eyes followed the legs of a man taller than he thought possible.

The man held a sign which read: Trip to Mars $3.00

“Want a ride, my friend?” the man asked with an expectant smile.

Not wanting to be rude, Frederick answered, “I guess,” even though he knew that it was impossible to go to Mars.

Frederick dug deep into his pockets and found he had exactly $3.00.

“Enjoy yourself,” the man said, pointing to a shiny red streetcar with curvy white letters that read Streetcar to Mars.

Before Frederick could wonder how it had gotten there, its brass bell went clang, clang, clang. The driver shouted, “All aboard. First stop Mars. Second stop Mars. All stops Mars.”
Frederick ran as fast as he could and jumped into a seat in the middle and quickly buckled his seatbelt.

“Don’t forget Max!” the tall man shouted

Hearing his name, Max jumped over Frederick’s lap and thumped his tail on the seat, until he was buckled in tight.

“Whoa, how did that happen?” Frederick wondered.

The driver slowly turned and winked as Frederick recognized it was tall man. “Hold on,” he said.

Without so much as a sound, the streetcar lifted straight off the ground, and up into the white fluffy clouds of summer. Frederick saw everything. The horses, the hotdog stand, the top car of the twisty-turny ride. It was amazing!

“We are going to be exiting the atmosphere,” the driver announced. “Please put on your spacesuits.”

Frederick gulped. “We aren’t really going to Mars? The red planet? 34 million miles away? Are we?!?” he asked.

“That’s what you paid for and that’s what you’re going to get,” laughed the driver.
Frederick tugged and pulled and zipped their suits until he and Max were ready. Behind him, the blue Earth swirled in the darkness, becoming smaller and smaller.

“Might as well relax,” the driver said. “It’s going to be a long ride.”

“Relax! How am I supposed to relax?” Frederick asked, as a satellite sped toward them.

“Nothing to worry about,” the driver replied, making a sharp turn. “I’ve been conducting this streetcar since before you were born.”

“Mars,” Frederick said, his eyes gazing at the bright red orb that suddenly appeared in front of them. “Max, we’re really going to Mars!” Frederick closed his eyes and imagined all the interesting things he’d do there.

“Wake up! The fair’s closing.”

“What?” Frederick said sitting up, his eyes moving up the legs of a very tall man.

“We’re closing. It’s time to leave.”

Frederick rubbed the tiredness from his eyes. “Where am I? What happened?”

“You’re at the fair. You must have fallen asleep. It’s a shame too, with so many fun things to do,” the man said, shaking his head as he walked away.

Frederick picked up the stuffed dog he’d won and headed home. Stars sparkled in the dark sky. As Frederick turned toward his house, there was the little red dot he knew was Mars.

“I’m going to go there someday,” he said, “Just you wait and see.”

Max’s slobbery tongue came out of nowhere and licked a smile onto Frederick’s excited face.