"All of Poland Reads to Children," the radio in Jurek's room announced in a manly voice.
"Momoooo!" the boy exclaimed.
"What, Jurek?" his mother asked, standing in the doorway.
"Read it to me, Mom!" he demanded.
"Son..." his mother said reluctantly, "but I'm watching an interesting movie right now."
"Or I'll start screaming," he threatened, and his mother sighed.
"Okay. So what should I read to you?
" "Uhm... Preferably a story I don't know yet. I'm tired of these unhappy princesses and orphans. I know, Mom, tell me a fairy tale!" Just like Grandma." His mother looked at him with terrified eyes, for she didn't know any fairy tales except the ones she read to her son.
"Does Grandma really tell you fairy tales?" she asked, surprised.
"Of course, Mom.
" "Then I'll try."
After a moment of silence, my mother began to tell...
***
Beyond the mountains, beyond the forests, beyond the seven valleys, somewhere in Madagascar, lived charming animals – furbearers. They were small, furry creatures similar to your hamster, except they lived in the wild and were about three times larger. They ate seeds and other plants, and would have lived quite well if it weren't for the predators that inhabited the same part of the island as them. These predators were foxes. They hunted while the furbearers slept in their little burrows and dreamed of a land without enemies. It was then that these ferocious foxes would pounce on their prey, seize it by the neck with their sharp teeth, kill it, and eat it. In this way, three furbearers died every night, because exactly three predators lived near their settlement. In this way, the furbearers became fewer and fewer each day.
One day, the leader of the dying species had had enough of the nightly slaughter.
"Subjects! This can't go on any longer!" We have to do something about this: either drive out the killers or kill them," he concluded his short speech emphatically.
"No, that's not possible. But to kill them? No, no. We wouldn't be able to handle it anyway. Kill them, kill them! They deserved it!" the crowd replied.
"Silence!" the chief shouted. "When I was considering whether to kill them or drive them away, I came to the conclusion that neither was good. So I decided we needed to find a balance. After some thought, my advisor, who knows the customs of distant lands, and I decided the best solution would be to hire a bodyguard.
" "A bodyguard? Who is he? Why is he killing? Who is he? Do you know? No, I don't know, do you? Oh, oh, oh! Or maybe he's some kind of bandit?" the crowd shouted again.
"Silence! A bodyguard is someone who would guard our dens at night to prevent foxes from coming to us. But that's precisely the problem, because such a bodyguard is usually carnivorous. And you know that the only meat food on this island is us." At these words, the crowd became frightened. They were afraid they would have to sacrifice their lives for a bodyguard. "But after a long search of bodyguard catalogs, I found an animal that doesn't eat meat, even though it is carnivorous.
" "What kind of animal is that, strange?" the crowd chorused.
"It's a wildcat!
" "A wildcat?
" "Yes, a wildcat!
" "But..." the tiny furry creature began.
"Silence! A wildcat is coming to us tomorrow.
" ***
"Mom? What did that little furry creature want to say?" Jacek asked. "And what exactly does this wildcat look like and why doesn't it eat meat?"
"Wait, sonny... You'll find out soon."
***
After this speech, all the furry creatures ran to the meadow to search for seeds and juicy dandelions. Each of them pondered the wildcat that would arrive tomorrow. They were all tormented by one problem: why did this animal, though carnivorous, not eat meat? This was a great mystery to them all. This little furry creature, who wanted to tell the chief something, especially couldn't understand. This little creature had heard about wildcats from his late grandfather, who had traveled in distant Asia. There, he had seen an animal called a wildcat. It was a ferocious predator that never gave up on its prey and, moreover, loved to toy with it. The little furry creature was certain the wildcat was plotting some kind of scheme. "Tomorrow will turn out dirty and white," the furry creature thought, and began gnawing on a rye grain.
That night, all the furry creatures slept peacefully, and after counting the herd in the morning, it turned out that no one had decreased. The furry creatures were overjoyed. It was the first night in many days without any fatalities, so the animals interpreted this as a very good omen. Then, like every morning, they went to eat and bask in the sun. But one thing was different from usual: everyone was very curious about their wildcat bodyguard, which meant they couldn't think of anything else.
Suddenly, all the furry creatures sensed that, besides them and the foxes, there was a stranger on the island. They began to run nervously in circles, just like your hamster on a wheel. They looked fearfully at the horizon, searching for the strange creature. Until finally, it appeared. It was the size of a fox, had large green eyes with enormous black pupils, and many white whiskers on its muzzle. It walked calmly across the clearing, placing its paws slowly and deliberately, moving very smoothly.
"Where is your leader?" the wildcat asked in a deep voice.
But only silence answered him, for the furry creatures were naturally very timid and feared anything unfamiliar. So they remained where they were, staring with frightened eyes at the large predator.
"Come on, tell me, I won't eat you. I just want to help you.
" "Mr. Wildcat," the tiny furry creature said, "and what exactly do you eat?
" "Oh, Furry Creature. I'm almost ashamed to say it. I eat various beetles and earthworms. After all, nature created me a carnivore, and I don't want to kill innocent animals like you." A glint of understanding appeared in the furry creature's eyes.
"Mr. Wildcat, the chief is sitting in the owl's hole in that tree." The tiny furry creature pointed with his paw in the direction of the tree.
"Thank you, little one. You're very brave," the wildcat said.
The predator easily reached the hole where the chief had his office. But the hole was high above the head of the strange Asian creature. But wildcats have a knack for jumping very high with almost no effort, and what's more, they often succeed in their jumps. So the wildcat leaped briskly onto a thick tree trunk, clinging to it with its sharp claws, and then climbed all the way to the tree hollow. The furbearer chief, as always, sat in his chestnut chair, pondering the affairs of his tribe. When he saw the wildcat, he was overjoyed and discussed the details of his work with him.
After the wildcat left the clearing, the excitement among the furbearers reached a fever pitch. Each of them discussed the large, furry predator that fed on vermin. They were unsure whether such an animal would be able to outrun their enemies.
The next morning, it turned out that every furbearer had survived, so their gratitude to the wildcat was immense. From every corner came the question: "How did he do it? The foxes are already very hungry; they ate nothing yesterday and nothing today. This wildcat is magnificent!" And their savior just stared at them with his black eyes, his fluffy tail waving above his head.
"Forgive me, dear furbearers, but I have to go eat something. Yesterday I saw many delicious beetles in the forest." Then the wildcat turned tail to the tiny furbearers and slowly moved toward the forest.
While the wildcat hunted for crunchy insects, the furbearers devoted themselves to their daily activities of basking in the sun and munching on rye grains. From then on, the days passed in this manner, and the nights brought no havoc to the herd. After a week of this, the furbearers decided to ask the wildcat how it was that the foxes were no longer attacking their dens.
"It's simple," replied the wildcat. "I show them the joys of life when you don't eat other intelligent creatures. I teach them how to eat worms and how to choose the tastiest ones. The foxes really enjoy them."
A hint of disappointment could be heard among the furry creatures; they thought their great wildcat had somehow intimidated the foxes. Instead, he had done it in a completely bloodless, peaceful way.
"And I think you won't need me for much longer."
After this statement, a shiver ran down the animals' spines. How do you know the foxes aren't pretending to like eating worms? Maybe they just want to lull the wildcat and its prey into a hush. No. The furry creatures didn't want the carnivorous, even though it didn't eat meat, to leave them.
"I've grown fond of you, you know? And I really like the worms from your island. Especially the beetles.
" "You can stay, wildcat," said the little furry creature, and after a moment added, "even until the end of time."
From then on, all the animals in Madagascar lived in peace and quiet. No fox ever ate any fur ever again, and the wildcat no longer had to worry about their safety and could sleep peacefully, curled up in the world's most secluded den.
***
Mom spoke the last words very quietly, as Jurek was already asleep. But before she finished the story, he was all ears. "Well, yes!" Mom thought, "everyone likes to hear a new story. Listening to the same ones over and over can bore you to death."
Brak komentarzy:
Prześlij komentarz