Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Leonidas Nightingale 01-05-04, 09:04 AM	In this topic I will tell a little fairytail now and then. I like to hear from you what you think of it and some pushes in the right directions. :angel: the Tails: 1. The lady-bird of the mountain
Leonidas Nightingale 01-05-04, 09:06 AM	The lady-bird of the mountain Two little children, not older then half a score springs combined walked alongside the stream of a little river. The boy kicked aside rocks as they walked up higher and higher into the valley while the girl gathered a set of beautiful purple high mountain flowers to put them into her hair. Slowly they ascended the mountainside as the stream raged ever more besides them sometimes turning from a river into a waterfall. The countryside grew more rough every second while far above them a set of thick clouds packed together. But this the kids, brother and sister did not know. Although their parents had told them what to do when a storm erupted above the valley, stay away from the river and seek cover between the rocks, they did not know what to do when they where high on the mountainside. Their path took them higher and higher until the appearance of little bushes stopped and left and right little fields of snow from the last winter appeared. Here it was, here must be their big brother, their big brother tending the families flock of sheep. Halting their trek both of the little ones looked around them, around the rough plateau high in the mountains. Strewn with stones and boulders, only tough long grass grew on this height. But it was this the sheep’s most liked, the fields from which they lived in the summer. And those sheep’s the sought with their eyes. A large flock of grazing sheep somewhere on the harsh mountainside. Their eyes looked and looked, they moved on and again the looked and looked but found nothing. Swiftly an hour had passed and then two but they found their brother nowhere. Meanwhile the clouds above their heads had been converted into a large dark blanket, a blanket of rage to burst loose at any moment. But to the children this remained unnoticed, they only sought their brother and his sheep. But did not know he had seen the coming of the storm beforehand and had fled to the safety of the valley below, they had just missed each other. Then it started to rain all of a sudden. First slowly and then faster and faster until a shower burst loose over the heads of those little children. The storm increased in strength and before long thunderclaps where heard and flashes filled the sky. Thunderclaps rumbled from one mountainside to the other while their echoes mingled with the claps of crashing new ones. Soon the upper valley was filled with nothing but violent rage of the thunderclaps and an awful earth shacking rumble that scared the children as they had never been scared before in their lives. Flashes impacted on the mountainsides in the distance while a true sea of lightning crept forward at a high speed. The soaked children knew they had to run, had to get out of this awful situation but they where just dumbfound and knew not how to act or what to do until finally the boy, just a few years older then his little sister screamed for them to run to the valley as fast as they could. The ran, sure they ran but it was already to late, far to late, as the lightning struck all around them. Rocks where shattered and grass was burned, while the fires where extinguished immediately by the flood from heaven. They found their path banned by the fury of nature, the rage of the gods when all of nature seems to unfold its fury above their little heads. Soon, the boy knew they would never make it to the valley the storm was just to fast and to furious and so he took his little sister by the arm and dragged her to the rocks to find a safe place to shelter. When they approached the rocky face of the mountain a waterfall of rainwater raged down from its side and the approach to the rocks was difficult as anything they had ever done in their short lives. Thunderclaps rang out and filled the valley with a terrible low noise rumbling from one side to the other in an ever louder crescendo. “I see a cave!” the boy screamed, his voice barely recognizable amongst the violence of the storm. But he dragged his sister trough the stream of water running down the mountain while both of them where soaked to the bone. Their cloths where heavy and their shoes felt like bricks on their feet, filled with water to the very edge. Still their struggle succeeded as they reached the entrance to a little cave, a cave barely able to hold both of them. It had a wide opening but then stopped abruptly while only a small hole in the high left corner led deeper into the mountain, but so far it was unreachable for the children. A thunderclap, and a flash of lightning struck the mountainsides hundreds of metres above the heads of the little ones at the same moment the girl set her first little foot into the shallow cave, her hand still grasping that of her brother behind her. The noise was enormous and the girl started to cry as soon as she felt it trembling trough her body. At that moment she felt more rumbling behind her and her brother, her guardian let loose her hand. Little stones fell into the few metres deep cavern while she walked to the far wall, away from this natural violence. Then she turned around to look at the face of her brother and know they where both save and had found a place for shelter. But her brother was not there, instead he lied on the ground, without a sign of life, unconscious or dead, some rocks on his bent back. Besides his head lied a small stone, only the size of a fist, one of the points bloodied, and on his head a little spot of blood showed trough his hair. It was then when the girl cried, her brother was dead, she screamed and sobbed. More thunderclaps where heard and the earth shook by the impacts not far away but this, the little girl did not hear as she sank to her knees knowing the anger of her parents and the loss of her brother. They had set out to find their brother and present him with a cake they had backed just that morning. They had set out without their parents knowing about it. They must be worried, very worried and angry by now, and her brother was dead, lying in front of her feet. “Your brother is not dead little one.” A little voice spoke into her ear, a voice she did not hear, or in fact did hear but did not want or believed to hear. Then again the silk like voice spoke; “He is not dead, your brother will live, please do not cry he is only unconscious and wounded, you have to tend him.” “Who is there, please help me!” the frightened girl exclaimed. “Please, please help me. “ “I am not here to help you, I can not help you.” The sweet voice told the girl. The girl looked at her fallen brother and started sobbing louder and louder while the storm raged on not far away. “You have to stand up, you have to act, you have to save him.” “Who are you.” Was the only answer of the girl, “Who are you and please help me.” “I can not help you , you have to help your brother yourself I can only tell you what to do.’ “Who are you…” “They call me Mistletoe, but you have to hurry now or something awful will happen.” “What will happen, what and where are you, show yourself? ” “I can not tell you what will happen but you have to remove your brother from where he lies.” “Show yourself.” The frightened girl screamed. “I am here, just in front of you, look closer.” The voice responded. ‘I see no one, I only see a little lady-bird. “ “ I am the lady-bird, Mistletoe the lady-bird. But now act fast.” “What do I have to do?” The girl said, calmed down by the appearance of the little red and black lady-bird hovering in front of her. “Remove your brother, put him in the back of the cavern, do it know, quickly, quickly!” And so the girl took her brother by his shoulders and dragged him from the place he lied. “Put him there, there in the corner, there it is safe.” Seconds later the soaked boy was on the place the lady-bird had pointed out and his little, brave sister stood besides him while her streams of water dripped from her dress. “Now stay still and do not be scared.” Mistletoe told the girl. “How do you know all of this.” The girl wanted to say but here voice was drowned in a furious crash of lightning which struck the mountainside. Then rocks started falling again, large and heavier then the first times. They struck the place where the boy had lied only moment before and stuck it which such violence the entire cave shook and dust fell from the ceiling. Unexpectedly, with a smile on her face, the girl turned towards the lady-bird hovering besides her. “Mistletoe, you have saved our lives.” “I have not, you have brave little princess. Now I want you to do one more thing, do you see the hole there in the upper corner. It is the entrance to a deep cave. You have to drag your brother up there. Pull him up this pile of rocks and then drag him into the hole. There you will be save until the storm has calmed down its raging fury.” The girl looked to the left corner of the dim-lit cavern and judged the distance, her strength and the weight of her brothers body. She new she could never do it alone and so told mistletoe. “Little princess of me, listen to me. When you see the urge of what has to be done and you want to do it desperately you can. You want to save the live of your brother don’t you? Well you have to drag him up there to do it. Just focus your mind on it, I know you have the strength and you know it yourself, just drag him you there, you can do it.” The girl smiled at the lady-bird and suddenly believed in herself, she knew she could do it and so picked up the shoulders of her brother and dragged him up the first pile of rocks. It must have looked like a miracle, a five year old girl dragging her seven year old brother, but she did it and managed to get her brother where it was save according to Mistletoe. “You are certainly a brave and strong girl. Now sit down, you shall feel tired, don’t you, just let the sleep come and overtake you. I will guard you and your brother and when you awake the storm must be over.” And so the girl closed sat down. Before long her eyes closed as she could not suppress the tiredness, and fell asleep amidst the still raging storm. The storm raged on to an enormous crescendo at which moment an enormous crack of thunder shook the entire mountain, the valley and even the village below. A massive thunderbolt struck the rocky face just above the cavern and cracked the rock. Massive boulders came down to fill the entire cavern below the large hole where the two little children where. Had Mistletoe not showed the girl where to go and had she not dragged her brother into the hole with miraculous strength both of them would have been crushed to death. The tired and soaked little girl slept trough all this violence and her brother was still unconscious. After the massive thunderclap had struck the storm calmed down and the sun shone again on the now quite mountainside. Little streams of water still trickled down the mountainside into the valley and a mountainside had been changed again. Within the hole, now the only corner of the changed cavern a little girl woke up by the sweet voice of Mistletoe in her ear. “You have to do something before you can sleep more. You have to tend your brothers wound.” “What must I do then?” A very tired little girl asked. “Go outside, take a little water and gather the herb with the small yellow flowers just outside the cavern.” The girl did so as the lady-bird told her and a few minutes later she sat again besides her brother. “Now take a piece of cloth and clean the wound with the water. “ And so the girl did. “Then crush the herb and put it on the wound so it may heal.” And again the girl did as Mistletoe told her. “That was it, I guess you are still tired, sleep a while my dear.” “I shall..” And before she finished her sentence the girl fell asleep again and slept for the entire night and into the morning until the first rays of the morning sun woke her. When she opened her eyes her Mistletoe had gone and her brother was awake. “What happened?” was the only thing he could muter, his face in a grimace of pain from the wound on his head. Before she could answer her brother fainted and she felt there was nothing she could do except get help. “Mistletoe, what must I do?” She asked, but no one answered. And again she asked “Mistletoe, what must I do? Mistletoe!” Still there was no answer, and tears appeared on her cheeks. The girl cried for her desperate situation but then, when troubles where great she heard someone say her name and that of here brother. “Mistletoe?” but then the calling of the girls name and her brother grew louder and she recognized the voice and cried “Mother, mother.” She ran out of the hole and the saw her mother, father and brother, ran to them and fell into her mothers arms. “We have looked for you al night, where have you been, we have been so worried.” And then both of them cried. Moments later the little boy was carried by his father and older brother from the hole, down the mountain and to the village where he could be tended. His mother walked behind them with his sister at her hand, all would be well. “You see brave princess, all will be well, you are a hero.” It was Mistletoe, she had whispered into the girls ear, then sat on her hand to fly trough the field of flowers a moment later. The girl had not had any time to answer but even before she could do so her mother asked “ Tell me Sarah, what has happened?” Sarah looked up to her mother, a surprised smile on her face, she had not heard Mistletoe. And then she told her all that happened.