ye olde childrene's storie

One day a young boy went for a walk to the local pond. Noticing a small tadpole in the pond, he cried out, for it shimmered and sparkled like none he had ever before seen. "Oh tadpole!" he exclaimed in his excitement, "However did you become so magnificent, even in your small form?" The tadpole wriggled, thinking a moment. "Good sir," it replied, "I do not know how I am this form, but it surely is not a blessing, for throughout the day I am pursued relentlessly by the heron and the large fish. It is truly a difficult life. Woe is me!" The boy listened to the tadpole's lament, and, feeling sorry for the creature, ran home quickly to pick up a small bowl. Upon returning to the pond, he immediately spotted the odd tadpole. "Quick, little tadpole, you must jump in here, and I shall bring you home and keep you safe from harm." So the tadpole leaped rather hurriedly into the bowl, which the boy had filled with water from the pond. "I am eternally indebted, good sir," it said with great relief. Together they went home, and became fast friends. However, the boy noticed that the tadpole was growing quite large, and he was concerned. "Dear tadpole, what if you outgrow your bowl?" he asked. "I suppose I shall need a larger one, then," the tadpole replied thoughtfully. The boy looked all over the house, high and low, until he found a large wash basin. "Quick, little tadpole, you must jump in here, or else you could become constricted in your small bowl!" So the tadpole leaped into the wash basin rather clumsily. As it did so, the boy noticed for the first time that it had become less iridescent, and he lamented. "Dear tadpole, are you ill? You do not shine as you once did, and you move so slowly." The tadpole swam about, pondering what the boy had said. "No, I do not believe I am ill," it said at length, "for I have my good friend to take care of me. Do not fret." So the boy did not say any more on the subject, though as the weeks went on he became more and more worried by the lethargy of his friend. One day, he found his poor little tadpole floating at the top of the washbasin, breathing very shallowly. "Oh my dear friend!" he cried out, "I have been taking the worst of care of you, and now you are dying!" He began to cry, but the tadpole wiggled feebly. "No, my best of friends," it said quietly, "You have given me life, but there are times when even the greatest care proves fruitless. I was doomed from the start, with this peculiar body." The boy cried at the fatalistic comment from the tadpole, and when his tears fell into the water a miraculous thing happened. The tadpole grew limbs, not of a frog but of a boy, and sprouted hair upon his head. Before long, the boy was looking at another boy, one he had never met yet knew quite well. "Dear tadpole!" he exclaimed, "You are all right!" The tadpole- now a boy- nodded enthusiastically, his eyes shining as his body once had. "You have done a marvelous thing!" he said with fervor, "And now I have been reborn! Together we may live life, from our first loves to our old age. It is all because of your kindness!" And so the two friends lived a long life, each always helping the other in his time of need, and when finally they passed away they were truly happy.

THE END


oh my god that was so horrible


YE OLDE FOLKTALE

Once there was a man who lived with his family in a small mountain town. One day, while sitting by a small brook in the forest, he came upon an injured wolf. It was larger than any he had ever before seen, and it spoke to him in a weary tone. “O good sir,” it said, “I have been stricken by the arrows of men, and I have none to help me. If you find it in your heart the kindness to set me well, I shall repay you one hundredfold.” The man listened to the beast in silence. It was large enough to feed and cloth his entire family for nigh on a year, and the claws of a wolf would fetch a high price in the market he thought greedily. “I am sorry, wolf,” he said at last, “but you see I have a family of my own, and besides, how should I know that you would not murder us in our sleep?” So speaking, he butchered the animal, and called his family to help him carry the remnants of the animal home. That night, as he lay in the warmth of the beast’s fur, his stomach full, he heard a peculiar noise from outside. Taking his lantern, he went to investigate, and to his horror was met by the hulking skeleton of the wolf, its bones glistening in the moonlight. “O good sir,” it rasped, “I did meet you in ill health, and you took my life without so much as a thought. For your greed, I condemn you to the life of a monster, and your family will be the ones who hunt you.” With that, the cadaver vanished. The man laughed, thinking it only a dream, and returned to his hut. As he lay his head down, he felt a strange stirring in his hands, and looked with astonishment at his hands, which had grown long claws and shaggy fur. He cried out in terror, but the noise which came from his mouth was that of a savage animal, and he felt sharp teeth replace his own. The noise he made had woken his oldest son, who grabbed a pole and stabbed at the animal. Fleeing the house, the man found he was no longer a man at all, but entirely creature. With one last mournful look at his home, he ran far away, deep into the forests, to live amongst his kin and be hunted like all beasts.