The Sacred Pub that readers of these stories know of wasn't originally based upon any particular Earthly venue, though it would become so eventually...once The Carousel Lounge re-opened last year in my hometown of Anchorage, Alaska. It originally opened in 1957 in downtown Anchorage, and relocated to Spenard sometime after the big earthquake of 1964. Spenard, by the way, is now a long, curvy road decorated with all sorts of unique architecture and personalities. "Spenardians," we locals refer to ourselves as, as a shout-out to the old days when it actually WAS its own separate town, Spenard, AK. [Some businesses still list their addresses as being in Spenard, AK] I am convinced there is truly no other place like it on Earth.
Now, inside The Carousel Lounge, there is a doorman named David whom we all adore. Actually, we adore all the doormen there, but this chapter is inspired by David...and, therefore, for him. [The other doorman, Adam, is celebrated in previous chapters I've written concerning the Comnandrai Council--his story name is Adamna Comnandra, the Dragon. Bartender fairy Rhianka is actually Adam's sister in law. If so inclined, you can type any of these phrases into the search bar on my website to find the chapters] David is a most excellent doorman, kind and gentle, and always on alert. Loving and compassionate always, but never a pushover. Something not many know about David, however, is that when he's not babysitting at The Carousel, he entertains our beloved city as a mime--full costume, makeup, and all. He takes it quite seriously. He even has a personal rule of not speaking to anyone at all while the makeup is on. He will only mime a response. If he really wants to speak with someone, he'll rush to the bathroom to wash off his makeup, then return to visit normally.
David's beloved dog, Corona, died earlier this year, as did the beloved dog of another dear friend from The Carousel Lounge...Nalo was the other dog's name. Both dogs shall be honored in this chapter in the form of the ghost dog, Coronalo, as you shall soon see, dear reader. And so let's begin the story:
It is a rare thing for Kev to be found waking upon his Persian rug before his cousin the Sun had completed half of its sun-greeting saunter, but it was very good indeed that this was just such an occasion. For, you see, Cousin Eddie and Calliope's guitar stack amplifiers had arrived, and they were anxious to set them up and begin jamming upon the Persian rug. In fact, they had already written a few songs they would soon begin rehearsing, as the newly-formed band, Proxy Morons. Kev was genuinely happy to see musical activity about to take place once again upon his Persian rug, since it had been so long since he and Andrew jammed there...and even longer since the little ones played Nintendo there. Indeed, it was not a sad remembrance at all for Kev. He smiled, and even enjoyed offering up unnecessary advice to Cousin Eddie and Calliope as they set up their new amplifiers. Eventually, Kev stopped advising and simply told them both that they had made excellent choices in their gear. Kev was unable to resist telling his Raven soulmate, Cousin Eddie, however, that he too used to use a Carvin X-100B...and finally added, "Best, most versatile amp they ever made, if you ask me. Which, of course, you didn't. But still..." Kev made no direct comment at all on Calliope's amplifier, which was a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier.
After Kev had left Cousin Eddie and Calliope to their jamming, he stopped by Achilles' Last Stand and greeted his loyal gatekeeping gatekeeper, Caw-Caw Carl, who, strangely, didn't initially reply. Upon closer inspection, Kev discovered that the Stellers Jay had his little earbuds in, and was apparently jamming in his own kind of way. "Caw caw caw caw, Caw caw caw caw, Ca--I wanna be created," the loyal gatekeeper sang, still unaware that Kev was behind him chuckling warm-heartedly. Kev finally spun round to the side of the Steller Jay's desk and fell into the bird's peripheral vision bubble. Caw-Caw Carl removed his little ear buds, not the least bit embarrassed by his secretly admired performance, and greeted Kev Kev warmly, "Oh hello, hi, Mr. Kev Kev! Pretty cleverly clever, no?"
"Indeed," Kev smiled, and stroked his loyal gatekeeper's little black crown. "Very cleverly clever, my dear Caw-Caw." Then Kev made his way to his Sacred Garden's gate.
"Off to the Sacred Pub," I presume, Edwin the Bee succinctly spoke from atop His little lotus flower.
"No, Father," Kev respectfully replied, "not this time. If You must know, I'm actually off to the Library Tree. Dear Caesar is doing a reading for the Young Lemmings of Lemmington Adventure Club, and I thought I might sit in. He's a great story teller, you know."
"That he is," Edwin nonchalantly replied, and finally, "Well, enjoy yourself, My son." Then Edwin pulled his little circular shower curtain shut and fell back into His meditation.
A few dozen flagon tosses later, and Kev was happy to be inside the Library Tree once again after so long. Dear Caesar Emeritus was seated proudly upon his heart-shaped Love Seat, and all the little lemmings were gathered round it. They were a bit fidgety and restless, but surprisingly well-behaved, given that they were lemmings. At least Kev thought so, anyway. "Well, it looks as if we have a special guest with us for this sun-greeting's reading," the Baloo-eyed Akita announced. "Come, Kev, DO join us," and dear Caesar patted the Love Seat and gestured for Kev to take a seat next to him. Kev did so most graciously, careful not to step on any of the Lemmington younglings as he made his way onto the Love Seat and gave dear Caesar a gentle scratch or three behind the ears. Finally, dear Caesar spoke again to Kev, "You have perfect lack of timing, Kev, for we were just about to begin the exciting adventure called, 'The Legend of Davidicus Raz, the Kind and Silent Pirate.' It is from one of the Dead Tree Scrolls I found in Flatlandia when we were off on our journey." Then he turned and asked the lemmings,"Everyone ready?" The Young Lemmings of Lemmington Adventure Club assured the Baloo-eyed Akita that they were, and so the story began:
"Long ago--long before the Dragon Wars--a pirate came to the northeastern shores of our lands, which were as yet unnamed, in a small boat that was only large enough for he and his companion, and the small amount of rations they sailed with. Now, the pirate's name was Davidicus Raz, and he was no ordinary pirate...for you see, he never did speak. He would only ever act out his words by way of mime. The pirate's companion was also no ordinary companion...for you see, his companion was a ghost dog named Coronalo...and Coronalo did speak.
When Davidicus Raz and Coronalo pulled their boat ashore and secured it, they began to wander into the wilderness. They wandered for many sun and moon-greetings, deeper and deeper into the wilderness until they finally found fields--and a great clearing. Coronalo hovered his luminescent green body higher into the sky and was able to spot a village upon a hill just beyond the clearing. Once Coronalo told his master about the village he had spotted, Davidicus Raz turned, and bowed to the ghost dog, and brought his hands together, and indicated that would be their destination.
The journey to the village was much shorter than it seemed it should have been, and many of the townspeople were there to greet them near the village's center. The people began to gather round the pirate and the ghost dog. They were not so much frightened as they were genuinely curious, for they had never before seen the likes of such beings. Davidicus Raz fell to one knee, very properly, and bowed his head. Then he placed his hand upon his heart and lifted it outward toward the people as he lifted his head. Then he stood--silently, of course--and extended both his arms outward in kindness. Coronalo hovered above his master and spoke, "Good people of this fine village, we mean you no harm. We are here to plunder your greatest treasure. If there is an elder of your village present, we must meet with them. This is my master, Davidicus Raz, the silent pirate." Davidicus Raz acted out Coronalo's words accordingly, and the townspeople looked on in wonder.
Finally, a man approached the ghost dog and pirate, and spoke, "Sadly, we have no treasure here to offer you. Our village has been cursed with drought for many seasons, and we have naught but stale bread and dried-up roots."
Davidicus Raz began acting out words for the village elder, and Coronalo translated, "Your greatest treasure is your hunger, and your thirst. Those shall we plunder from you. My master asks that you lead him to the fields of your dead crops." The village elder did so, and many townspeople did follow them, wondering and whispering to one another. When the crowds arrived at the fields, Davidicus Raz left them and walked alone toward the center of all the fields. Next, the silent pirate fell to his knees, closed his eyes, and reached both of his hands high up into the sky. There came a gentle breeze, and gentle clouds fell down into the sky, and a soft rain began to fall. The townspeople marveled, and began to laugh and cry, and they drank in the rain, each one of them. Davidicus Raz rejoined the crowds of townspeople, and they circled him and his ghost dog companion, and offered all manner of gratitude and joy. The silent pirate then acted out happy tears, and bowed. Coronalo finally spoke to the people, "Hear this, kind and gracious people: My master wishes to tell you that your village is no longer cursed, nor will it ever be again. We have happily plundered your greatest treasure, and now must we journey to the next village."
Many sun and moon-greetings later, Davidicus Raz and Coronalo arrived at another village, through another wilderness. Their introduction to the townspeople was very much the same as it was at the first village, except that the elder that approached them this time was a woman, and there were no children in the crowd. She spoke to them, "Sadly, we have no treasure for you to plunder, for our village has long been cursed with a plague of many seasons, and our children only die."
Davidicus Raz acted out his mime for the woman elder, and his ghost dog companion, Coronalo, spoke accordingly, "Your greatest treasure is your tears, and your graves...so shall we plunder them from you." As it was in the first village, the elder--and a large crowd of townspeople, wondering and whispering--led the silent pirate and his ghost dog to the fields which contained many thousands of graves...all of them containing children. One by one, Davidicus Raz knelt before and blessed each of the thousands of children's graves. This took many sun and moon-greetings, of course, but the wondering and whispering crowd followed along throughout it all, many of them deciding, themselves, to start blessing the graves as the silent pirate had done. Once Davidicus Raz was satisfied that every single grave had been properly blessed, he left the others and walked alone into the center of a great field, a good distance away from the graves. Coronalo stayed behind, and instructed the townspeople to wait there among their children. And the people did so. The silent pirate finally fell onto both knees, once aduquately into the midst of the great field, and raised his arms high up into the night sky. The moon, and myriad stars fell softly and gently into the village's night sky, and drew closer and closer. Much as it was with the rain, it began to sprinkle...but this time, instead of with drops of water, it was with little points of light, tiny fragments of the stars from above. Soon all the fields and all the graves were illuminated the stars' tiny points of light, and the children, one by one, began to rise up out of their thouands of graves. "These are not ghosts and spirits," Coronalo explained to the townspeople now lost in marvel, and the ghost dog continued, "These are your children, now resurrected." Davidicus Raz finally returned to what was now a sea of people that were laughing and crying with joy. And he did laugh and cry with them, by way of mime. Finally, as the silent pirate danced, Coronalo spoke again, "Hear this, kind and gracious people: My master wishes to tell you that your village is no longer cursed, nor will it ever be again. We have happily plundered your greatest treasure, and now must we journey to the next village."
As Davidicus Raz and his ghost dog companion, Coronalo, journeyed through the next wilderness for many sun and moon-greetings, they were eventually met by a single knight upon a great horse. The knight dismounted, and knelt most respectfully before the silent pirate and his ghost dog, and he spoke, "Good sirs, I was sent to inform you that word of your generous and marvellous deeds all across these lands has reached my good king, and he would ask that you would join him in his court. Our kingdom, too, has been cursed, and he would humbly ask that you would come with me to plunder our greatest treasures--of which we have many."
Davidicus Raz knelt respectfully in like manner for the knight, then he began acting out his mime. After the silent pirate had finished his performance, he walked alone into the wilderness in order to gather wood for a fire he wished to make, since the moon-greeting was fast approaching. Coronalo stayed behind and translated, "My master must meditate deeply upon this. He will build us a fire, and he would humbly ask that you would stay with us around the fire until the sun awakens once again. He will, by then, have a proper answer for you."
The knight agreed, and soon after that, Davidicus Raz had returned with the wood and ignited the fire. The three sat down around the fire, and remained peacefully silent as many moments passed by them. Finally, the silent pirate twirled his right hand around and held its palm up just above his shoulder, and a Dove did descend and rest upon it. The knight remained silent, and gazed upon in wonder. Ghost dog Coronalo, for his part, lie down next to his master, and rested, very much enjoying the fire's warmth.The silent pirate and the Dove spoke silently for many and many more moments, until, finally, the sun began to stretch its rays and the Dove fluttered away into the sky.
Davidicus Raz then, finally, began acting out his mime, and bowed, and Coronalo rose up from the ground to translate, "My good knight, my master promised you a proper answer upon sunrise...and now you shall have it: the Dove spoke many things into my master's heart...it shared secrets of your kingdom that even YOU, good knight, do not know--secrets your king would not tell you. As it turns out, YOU, good knight, are your kingdom's greatest treasure...and it is that very treasure we wish to plunder...but only should you do so willingly, of your own accord--and yours alone. Worry not for your king."
The good knight cried, and threw down his sword, and removed all his armor--never again to touch them. Davidicus Raz and Coronalo cried with him for many more moments. And that, my little ones, is how Davidicus Raz became known to history as the 'Kind and Silent Pirate,' and how his band of pirates became three."
As dear Caesar Emeritus, the Baloo-eyed Akita, rolled up his Dead Tree scroll, he looked around the Library Tree and saw that all but one of the Young Lemmings of Lemmington Adventure Club were sound asleep. He tossed the scroll onto Kev's back, who was now on his belly upon the Love Seat, snoring loudly. Dear Caesar smiled, and gently lifted up the young lemming with his massive paw, and stroked is little head most carefully. "Well, young one, what did you think?"
The little lemming replied, "I liked it. It was cool. But I don't understand why he didn't help the king?"
Dear Caesar smiled bigger--and with a hint of mentor's pride--and spoke softly, "Well, my little one...you have all of eternity to ponder that question. And I've no doubt you will find your answer sooner rather than later. You are a very clever little lemming, you know."
Life is beautiful beautiful.
Thank you for joining me on this journey.
I love you.
Semba.
KeV
XX
Now, inside The Carousel Lounge, there is a doorman named David whom we all adore. Actually, we adore all the doormen there, but this chapter is inspired by David...and, therefore, for him. [The other doorman, Adam, is celebrated in previous chapters I've written concerning the Comnandrai Council--his story name is Adamna Comnandra, the Dragon. Bartender fairy Rhianka is actually Adam's sister in law. If so inclined, you can type any of these phrases into the search bar on my website to find the chapters] David is a most excellent doorman, kind and gentle, and always on alert. Loving and compassionate always, but never a pushover. Something not many know about David, however, is that when he's not babysitting at The Carousel, he entertains our beloved city as a mime--full costume, makeup, and all. He takes it quite seriously. He even has a personal rule of not speaking to anyone at all while the makeup is on. He will only mime a response. If he really wants to speak with someone, he'll rush to the bathroom to wash off his makeup, then return to visit normally.
David's beloved dog, Corona, died earlier this year, as did the beloved dog of another dear friend from The Carousel Lounge...Nalo was the other dog's name. Both dogs shall be honored in this chapter in the form of the ghost dog, Coronalo, as you shall soon see, dear reader. And so let's begin the story:
It is a rare thing for Kev to be found waking upon his Persian rug before his cousin the Sun had completed half of its sun-greeting saunter, but it was very good indeed that this was just such an occasion. For, you see, Cousin Eddie and Calliope's guitar stack amplifiers had arrived, and they were anxious to set them up and begin jamming upon the Persian rug. In fact, they had already written a few songs they would soon begin rehearsing, as the newly-formed band, Proxy Morons. Kev was genuinely happy to see musical activity about to take place once again upon his Persian rug, since it had been so long since he and Andrew jammed there...and even longer since the little ones played Nintendo there. Indeed, it was not a sad remembrance at all for Kev. He smiled, and even enjoyed offering up unnecessary advice to Cousin Eddie and Calliope as they set up their new amplifiers. Eventually, Kev stopped advising and simply told them both that they had made excellent choices in their gear. Kev was unable to resist telling his Raven soulmate, Cousin Eddie, however, that he too used to use a Carvin X-100B...and finally added, "Best, most versatile amp they ever made, if you ask me. Which, of course, you didn't. But still..." Kev made no direct comment at all on Calliope's amplifier, which was a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier.
After Kev had left Cousin Eddie and Calliope to their jamming, he stopped by Achilles' Last Stand and greeted his loyal gatekeeping gatekeeper, Caw-Caw Carl, who, strangely, didn't initially reply. Upon closer inspection, Kev discovered that the Stellers Jay had his little earbuds in, and was apparently jamming in his own kind of way. "Caw caw caw caw, Caw caw caw caw, Ca--I wanna be created," the loyal gatekeeper sang, still unaware that Kev was behind him chuckling warm-heartedly. Kev finally spun round to the side of the Steller Jay's desk and fell into the bird's peripheral vision bubble. Caw-Caw Carl removed his little ear buds, not the least bit embarrassed by his secretly admired performance, and greeted Kev Kev warmly, "Oh hello, hi, Mr. Kev Kev! Pretty cleverly clever, no?"
"Indeed," Kev smiled, and stroked his loyal gatekeeper's little black crown. "Very cleverly clever, my dear Caw-Caw." Then Kev made his way to his Sacred Garden's gate.
"Off to the Sacred Pub," I presume, Edwin the Bee succinctly spoke from atop His little lotus flower.
"No, Father," Kev respectfully replied, "not this time. If You must know, I'm actually off to the Library Tree. Dear Caesar is doing a reading for the Young Lemmings of Lemmington Adventure Club, and I thought I might sit in. He's a great story teller, you know."
"That he is," Edwin nonchalantly replied, and finally, "Well, enjoy yourself, My son." Then Edwin pulled his little circular shower curtain shut and fell back into His meditation.
A few dozen flagon tosses later, and Kev was happy to be inside the Library Tree once again after so long. Dear Caesar Emeritus was seated proudly upon his heart-shaped Love Seat, and all the little lemmings were gathered round it. They were a bit fidgety and restless, but surprisingly well-behaved, given that they were lemmings. At least Kev thought so, anyway. "Well, it looks as if we have a special guest with us for this sun-greeting's reading," the Baloo-eyed Akita announced. "Come, Kev, DO join us," and dear Caesar patted the Love Seat and gestured for Kev to take a seat next to him. Kev did so most graciously, careful not to step on any of the Lemmington younglings as he made his way onto the Love Seat and gave dear Caesar a gentle scratch or three behind the ears. Finally, dear Caesar spoke again to Kev, "You have perfect lack of timing, Kev, for we were just about to begin the exciting adventure called, 'The Legend of Davidicus Raz, the Kind and Silent Pirate.' It is from one of the Dead Tree Scrolls I found in Flatlandia when we were off on our journey." Then he turned and asked the lemmings,"Everyone ready?" The Young Lemmings of Lemmington Adventure Club assured the Baloo-eyed Akita that they were, and so the story began:
"Long ago--long before the Dragon Wars--a pirate came to the northeastern shores of our lands, which were as yet unnamed, in a small boat that was only large enough for he and his companion, and the small amount of rations they sailed with. Now, the pirate's name was Davidicus Raz, and he was no ordinary pirate...for you see, he never did speak. He would only ever act out his words by way of mime. The pirate's companion was also no ordinary companion...for you see, his companion was a ghost dog named Coronalo...and Coronalo did speak.
When Davidicus Raz and Coronalo pulled their boat ashore and secured it, they began to wander into the wilderness. They wandered for many sun and moon-greetings, deeper and deeper into the wilderness until they finally found fields--and a great clearing. Coronalo hovered his luminescent green body higher into the sky and was able to spot a village upon a hill just beyond the clearing. Once Coronalo told his master about the village he had spotted, Davidicus Raz turned, and bowed to the ghost dog, and brought his hands together, and indicated that would be their destination.
The journey to the village was much shorter than it seemed it should have been, and many of the townspeople were there to greet them near the village's center. The people began to gather round the pirate and the ghost dog. They were not so much frightened as they were genuinely curious, for they had never before seen the likes of such beings. Davidicus Raz fell to one knee, very properly, and bowed his head. Then he placed his hand upon his heart and lifted it outward toward the people as he lifted his head. Then he stood--silently, of course--and extended both his arms outward in kindness. Coronalo hovered above his master and spoke, "Good people of this fine village, we mean you no harm. We are here to plunder your greatest treasure. If there is an elder of your village present, we must meet with them. This is my master, Davidicus Raz, the silent pirate." Davidicus Raz acted out Coronalo's words accordingly, and the townspeople looked on in wonder.
Finally, a man approached the ghost dog and pirate, and spoke, "Sadly, we have no treasure here to offer you. Our village has been cursed with drought for many seasons, and we have naught but stale bread and dried-up roots."
Davidicus Raz began acting out words for the village elder, and Coronalo translated, "Your greatest treasure is your hunger, and your thirst. Those shall we plunder from you. My master asks that you lead him to the fields of your dead crops." The village elder did so, and many townspeople did follow them, wondering and whispering to one another. When the crowds arrived at the fields, Davidicus Raz left them and walked alone toward the center of all the fields. Next, the silent pirate fell to his knees, closed his eyes, and reached both of his hands high up into the sky. There came a gentle breeze, and gentle clouds fell down into the sky, and a soft rain began to fall. The townspeople marveled, and began to laugh and cry, and they drank in the rain, each one of them. Davidicus Raz rejoined the crowds of townspeople, and they circled him and his ghost dog companion, and offered all manner of gratitude and joy. The silent pirate then acted out happy tears, and bowed. Coronalo finally spoke to the people, "Hear this, kind and gracious people: My master wishes to tell you that your village is no longer cursed, nor will it ever be again. We have happily plundered your greatest treasure, and now must we journey to the next village."
Many sun and moon-greetings later, Davidicus Raz and Coronalo arrived at another village, through another wilderness. Their introduction to the townspeople was very much the same as it was at the first village, except that the elder that approached them this time was a woman, and there were no children in the crowd. She spoke to them, "Sadly, we have no treasure for you to plunder, for our village has long been cursed with a plague of many seasons, and our children only die."
Davidicus Raz acted out his mime for the woman elder, and his ghost dog companion, Coronalo, spoke accordingly, "Your greatest treasure is your tears, and your graves...so shall we plunder them from you." As it was in the first village, the elder--and a large crowd of townspeople, wondering and whispering--led the silent pirate and his ghost dog to the fields which contained many thousands of graves...all of them containing children. One by one, Davidicus Raz knelt before and blessed each of the thousands of children's graves. This took many sun and moon-greetings, of course, but the wondering and whispering crowd followed along throughout it all, many of them deciding, themselves, to start blessing the graves as the silent pirate had done. Once Davidicus Raz was satisfied that every single grave had been properly blessed, he left the others and walked alone into the center of a great field, a good distance away from the graves. Coronalo stayed behind, and instructed the townspeople to wait there among their children. And the people did so. The silent pirate finally fell onto both knees, once aduquately into the midst of the great field, and raised his arms high up into the night sky. The moon, and myriad stars fell softly and gently into the village's night sky, and drew closer and closer. Much as it was with the rain, it began to sprinkle...but this time, instead of with drops of water, it was with little points of light, tiny fragments of the stars from above. Soon all the fields and all the graves were illuminated the stars' tiny points of light, and the children, one by one, began to rise up out of their thouands of graves. "These are not ghosts and spirits," Coronalo explained to the townspeople now lost in marvel, and the ghost dog continued, "These are your children, now resurrected." Davidicus Raz finally returned to what was now a sea of people that were laughing and crying with joy. And he did laugh and cry with them, by way of mime. Finally, as the silent pirate danced, Coronalo spoke again, "Hear this, kind and gracious people: My master wishes to tell you that your village is no longer cursed, nor will it ever be again. We have happily plundered your greatest treasure, and now must we journey to the next village."
As Davidicus Raz and his ghost dog companion, Coronalo, journeyed through the next wilderness for many sun and moon-greetings, they were eventually met by a single knight upon a great horse. The knight dismounted, and knelt most respectfully before the silent pirate and his ghost dog, and he spoke, "Good sirs, I was sent to inform you that word of your generous and marvellous deeds all across these lands has reached my good king, and he would ask that you would join him in his court. Our kingdom, too, has been cursed, and he would humbly ask that you would come with me to plunder our greatest treasures--of which we have many."
Davidicus Raz knelt respectfully in like manner for the knight, then he began acting out his mime. After the silent pirate had finished his performance, he walked alone into the wilderness in order to gather wood for a fire he wished to make, since the moon-greeting was fast approaching. Coronalo stayed behind and translated, "My master must meditate deeply upon this. He will build us a fire, and he would humbly ask that you would stay with us around the fire until the sun awakens once again. He will, by then, have a proper answer for you."
The knight agreed, and soon after that, Davidicus Raz had returned with the wood and ignited the fire. The three sat down around the fire, and remained peacefully silent as many moments passed by them. Finally, the silent pirate twirled his right hand around and held its palm up just above his shoulder, and a Dove did descend and rest upon it. The knight remained silent, and gazed upon in wonder. Ghost dog Coronalo, for his part, lie down next to his master, and rested, very much enjoying the fire's warmth.The silent pirate and the Dove spoke silently for many and many more moments, until, finally, the sun began to stretch its rays and the Dove fluttered away into the sky.
Davidicus Raz then, finally, began acting out his mime, and bowed, and Coronalo rose up from the ground to translate, "My good knight, my master promised you a proper answer upon sunrise...and now you shall have it: the Dove spoke many things into my master's heart...it shared secrets of your kingdom that even YOU, good knight, do not know--secrets your king would not tell you. As it turns out, YOU, good knight, are your kingdom's greatest treasure...and it is that very treasure we wish to plunder...but only should you do so willingly, of your own accord--and yours alone. Worry not for your king."
The good knight cried, and threw down his sword, and removed all his armor--never again to touch them. Davidicus Raz and Coronalo cried with him for many more moments. And that, my little ones, is how Davidicus Raz became known to history as the 'Kind and Silent Pirate,' and how his band of pirates became three."
As dear Caesar Emeritus, the Baloo-eyed Akita, rolled up his Dead Tree scroll, he looked around the Library Tree and saw that all but one of the Young Lemmings of Lemmington Adventure Club were sound asleep. He tossed the scroll onto Kev's back, who was now on his belly upon the Love Seat, snoring loudly. Dear Caesar smiled, and gently lifted up the young lemming with his massive paw, and stroked is little head most carefully. "Well, young one, what did you think?"
The little lemming replied, "I liked it. It was cool. But I don't understand why he didn't help the king?"
Dear Caesar smiled bigger--and with a hint of mentor's pride--and spoke softly, "Well, my little one...you have all of eternity to ponder that question. And I've no doubt you will find your answer sooner rather than later. You are a very clever little lemming, you know."
Life is beautiful beautiful.
Thank you for joining me on this journey.
I love you.
Semba.
KeV
XX