The following stories are authored by Michael Anthony Delaney. All content is original work and belongs exclusively to the author. It may not be copied, reproduced, re-worked, re-written, or otherwise recreated in any form without the written consent of the author. However, we do encourage you to read the stories all you want to those you love.
The Great Showdown
by
Michael Anthony Delaney
It was about 20 years ago when I first heard of the Candy Cane Zebra. It was in the autumn of ‘75. She was the most beautiful and exotic creature the world has ever known. She was enigmatic and she was the only red and white zebra with turquoise eyes in the world! She also had an unusual heart-shaped scar on her forehead. She was very nice and polite and extremely quiet, almost nervously shy. She was a little uncomfortable with her own looks but everyone thought she was absolutely breathtaking. Did I mention she was quiet? I did, but I must tell you she was a good listener. Nobody listened as well as she did.
Her best friend and companion was Opal, the chubby-cheeked baby scorpion she had found under a rock in the old cabbage field. Opal was only a few days old when the Zebra found her and saved her frail little life by caring for her. Opal loved the Zebra and told everyone stories about their many adventures together. One story that comes to mind is “The Great Showdown” between the Candy Cane Zebra and Zan, the King of Beasts.
Zan was “ruler” at that time and all the creatures of the world feared him and his savage temper. Even the Zebra was nervous around him. All, and I do mean all, of the creatures avoided Zan at all costs. They all had the fear of him in their hearts except for one tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie type creature named Elvis. Elvis liked to chatter and he often would talk to the Zebra–who, although she was quiet, was a very good listener. Elvis told her he knew the other creatures didn’t respect Zan, they just feared him and the ugly situations he could create. Zan could ruin everyone’s good feelings by his mere presence.
One day when the Zebra and Opal were moving through the forest, they came face to face with Zan. Everyone froze. Zan, who was in a particularly bad mood that day, roared, “Who gave you permission to cross this way through my forest? I gave no such order. This is my forest and all the trees and creatures in it belong to me. No one can do anything in my world without first getting my permission!”
Opal and the Zebra just stood there speechless. As Zan ranted on, the other creatures in the forest gathered around and whispered, “Psst…Don’t upset him!” “Do as he says.” “Let him have his way.” “Ask his forgiveness,” pleaded all the nervous bystanders in the animal kingdom.
Opal and the Zebra stood their ground. As all the animals huddled in fear, a tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie voice from way in back said, “I have a question.” But the frightened murmurs of the others drowned out the tiny little voice.
Zan grew more ferocious and roared unbearably loudly. “I am the King and you all owe allegiance to me! It is through my grace alone that you live, and live in peace at that! Obey me for always or I shall eat you all!”
There was total silence.
All the animals were so scared that their pounding hearts sounded like jungle drums in their ears.
Then once again a wee voice, a tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie voice, was heard to say from the lowest, farthest point from Zan, “I still have a question. Can anyone give me an answer to my question?”
Again…silence!…
The Candy Cane Zebra was becoming really terrified for the first time–not for herself but for poor defenseless tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie Elvis. She suddenly realized something. She knew what Elvis’s question was! He had talked to her about it at some length before. He had told her his feelings on the subject and she was now scared that he would say something in front of Zan (who would become enraged and hurt Elvis).
“Zan, I have a question,” said a tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie voice.
“Who said that?” bellowed Zan. The other animals were silent. You could hear a pine needle drop!
Elvis pushed his way to the front of the cowering crowd. “Me,” said Elvis, “and I have a question,” he squeaked. “It’s a question for you, Zan, and a question for all the other creatures who bow down to your demands and commands!”
“What is it, my puny, hardly worthy to live, moronic, good for nothing, no talent, measly, easily munchable, thoroughly crunchable, contemptible, spittable, foolish morsel? What is it that a no-good being like yourself (so small and useless that I could pity you if I ever had the notion to waste my time thinking about you) wants to know? What question could a loser such as yourself, whose tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie life has never even touched my own deserving being, have? What question could you possibly have that I would even care to hear–let alone answer? Huh, you little punk rodent? What is your stupid wretched question?”
“My question, Zan,” said Elvis, “is this…” Suddenly, the Candy Cane Zebra, who up until this point had been a good listener, interrupted Elvis and began to speak.
“His question, Zan, is basic and so simple that even you could answer it after a few moments of careful thinking. His question is simply this, “Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are to call yourself King? You must have an awfully high opinion of yourself to think you’re so special that you can run your life and run everyone else’s life too!”
Remembering her conversations with Elvis–she being a good listener and all—she asked Zan again, “Who do you think you are? I’ll tell you who you are! You are just a spoiled brat who needs to be in control of everyone’s life. Our lives are fine without you. None of us needs you or your grief. We are all equal, with our own lives to live. You are no more special than the lowest little creature. You have no more worth than any one of us. You are only a lion. You have your life and I suggest you try to live it to its fullest without being mean and degrading to anyone else. Concentrate on your life and leave us out. Who do you think you are that we would owe you anything when we’ve never asked you for anything.”?
Elvis could no longer contain himself and he began squeaking, “Listen everyone,” he said. “My question to all of you is the same one asked of Zan.”
“Who do you think you are? Are you not worthy to live your own lives as you choose? It seems to me you are allowing this boasting, boisterous bully to run and ruin your lives. We made him King by paying attention to his selfish demands, but now we can take his power away. Zan can’t be King if we don’t let him. He can’t be the ruler if there is no one to rule!
“You had all better take some time to re-evaluate and re-examine your lives.” (Incidentally, December 2nd, which is now known as “Re-evaluation Day” came from this very confrontation.)
“Now is the time to pluck this weed called Zan from our garden. We must let our own flowers grow. Zan, I–the tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie Elvis–am here to tell you to change your ways before it’s too late, or you will never have any friends in the animal kingdom. You are welcome to live among us as you choose but, believe me, and I look you right in the eye when I say, you will never rule over any of us again. From now on you are Zan the Ruler of Zan’s Life Only.”
At that, Zan went for Elvis with a snarl and his fierce, patented “Fatal Death Blow.” But to Zan’s amazement–to everyone’s amazement–like a bolt of greased lightning, Opal leapt up and stung Zan’s neck so hard and so deep that it paralyzed him in an instant. As Zan lay frozen in pain the others pulled together and menacingly encircled him. “He must not live!” “Death to Zan!” “Crush him!” “Kick him–bite him–claw him!” Everyone had something to say.
“Everyone back off and leave Zan alone. Who do you think you are?” said the Zebra. “Shame on you all.”
Zan lay dying from the scorpion’s poisonous sting, the voices of all the creatures begin to blend together in an unintelligible din. He flashed back to a time when he was a cub and his mom died and his dad and stepmother didn’t really care too much for him. He became a loner trying to show off to the other youngsters. Everyone perceived him as a bully. “Here comes Zanny,” all the mothers would say, “time for everyone to come home,” and they would grab their offspring and run home.
He couldn’t remember having any friends when he was young. Once there had been a big birthday party where everyone was invited except for “Bad Boy Troublemaker Zan.”
He began to relive his life with all the important and not so important events flashing before his eyes: his first fight, his first love, his first day as King. He saw how shallow his life had been. He had no real friends, just “yes men” who were afraid of his awful temper. He saw how lonesome he really was and how it was now too late for things to change. As tears filled his eyes, he asked himself, “Who did I think I was?”
As Zan tearfully slipped into unconsciousness the others who had gathered around felt sorry for him and slowly backed away.
“Hey, where’s Elvis?” someone asked. “We shall make him our new King!” Everyone began calling Elvis’s name and looking around for him, but he was nowhere to be found.
Then came a gasp from Opal. “Come quick, I think I’ve found him over here.” Everyone rushed to where Opal was standing. On the ground before her lay Elvis’s lifeless tiny little body. “I guess because of all the chaos and commotion Elvis’s tiny little heart quit working–it must have broken,” said the Zebra. Now Elvis lay on the ground in front of Opal. His fur had turned white and he looked as if he were asleep–dreaming, dreaming a good dream, a nice dream. The kind of dream he always talked about where everything was perfectly happy and happily perfect. “Tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie Elvis…has left this world,” said the Zebra, and everyone began to cry.
“Hey! What’s everybody crying about?” exclaimed a tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie voice. “Did I miss something sad? Is someone peeling onions?” To everyone’s amazement, it was Elvis!
But wait a minute, how could that be?
Well sir, it seems that when Zan fell from Opal’s poisonous sting he coughed up some hair that looked a lot like Elvis. In the excitement, Elvis’s energy had been seriously depleted so he went home to eat a peanut butter snack and when he returned everyone was mourning his look-alike fur ball!
“Did you miss me?” Elvis asked. Everyone cheered! “ELVIS IS KING! ELVIS IS KING!” So, Elvis became the King of the World.
And as for Zan…he lived too! Opal was still too young for her sting to be deadly, and Zan recovered fully. He did learn his lesson and he truly felt sorry for all the bad things he had done. He spent the rest of his life trying to make up to everyone by helping all the creatures in the kingdom with their problems.
The Candy Cane Zebra lived her life to the fullest and she and Opal shared many adventures together, like “The Candy Cane Zebra and the Secret Society of Olive Grove.”
Someday I’ll tell you all about that one, but for now…go to sleep and dream. Dream a good dream, a nice dream–the kind of dream where everything is perfectly happy and happily perfect.
Good Night.
I love you.
The Candy Cane Zebra
and
The Secret Society of Olive Grove
by
Michael Anthony Delaney
Okay…so…here’s a story I heard around the holiday season not too long ago and already I’ve told it and re-told it many times. It’s a complicated story with many characters so you must pay close attention or you’ll get confused. Even I get confused sometimes just telling this story. I always get the facts correct, only sometimes the order of events is all deranged…I mean re-arranged.
So, if you’re ready, I’ll tell you the story of the Candy Cane Zebra and the Secret Society of Olive Grove.
The Candy Cane Zebra and her companion Opal, the Scorpion, were getting settled into their new home. This year (after much coaxing and reassurance) they had moved in with Mr. Claus. He had taken them into his care and was looking forward to their companionship. Mr. Claus had a big family who would come and visit often, but since Mrs. Claus passed away things just weren’t the same at home. He was lonely. He always liked the Candy Cane Zebra and felt he could help take care of her…and Opal. It was “his destiny” he said. (But I really think he wanted her to take care of him.)
His business was good at the Toy Shoppe–he made a good living–a really good living. And he had all the toys anyone could ask for–even a real ’57 Chevy.
The “General Toy and Candy Company” was a thriving business and Mr. Claus had always worked there. He was a very nice man. A very generous man. He would “give you the shirt off his back.” He had always liked the Candy Cane Zebra…did I say that already? As a matter of fact, he was the one who found her when she was just a baby. She had been caught in a hunter’s trap when Mr. Claus happened along and took her home where he and Mrs. Claus cleaned her up and nursed her back to a healthy babe.
The Zebra liked the Clauses too! She couldn’t really remember her life before them. She always felt indebted to them but she was very independent and self-reliant. Still, after much hesitation, she finally accepted Mr. Claus’s offer to live with him at his house and she and Opal moved in.
This day the Candy Cane Zebra got a letter–some mail if you will–from the newly crowned king of the animals, her old friend Elvis (not that Elvis was old, but she had known him for a long time–not long in human years–about a year, I guess, which is a lot of time in animal years, hence the term her “old friend”). He was more than just an acquaintance since they had been through a lot together recently and had become quite friendly.
Elvis was the tiny little squirrely chipmunky mouse type creature that always asked a lot of questions. Elvis knew the Zebra was a good listener. He was right! She was!
He “needed her help,” he wrote. Things are not good in the animal kingdom. The humans were out hunting again and this time things were looking bad.
Elvis did not like the humans! He thought they were nasty–cruel–deceitful–crabby–greedy–cowardly–dirty and hippopotamus–I mean hypocritical. There was one human in particular, a hunter, that Elvis did not like, even a little bit. The humans called this one Ozzy. He was the leader of a certain group who met every year to go hunting. They “hunted” everything they saw. Even the little animal babies were target practice for these humans.
“Such cowardly men,” Elvis thought. “Humans are so stupid! Some of them even think my name is Eek! instead of Elvis.”
Ozzy was the most evil of all the humans. (Ozzy was the hunter who shot Bambi’s mother.) He hunted, he trapped, he fished. He loved to kill, but he called it something else. He said it was something called “SPORT!” He steps on ants and spiders too! He’s plain insane. He loves to kill things. “People have to eat,” he says. Well, they don’t eat spiders, I say, or even elephants or gorillas or mice!
One night when Ozzy and his friends were in their tent, Elvis purposely overheard them talking. This trip they were gonna catch a creature, something “special,” and kill it and stuff it and send it to a place called a “museum.”
Ozzy almost caught one years ago but it escaped from his trap. It did leave part of itself behind in the trap and Ozzy sold that part for a lot of money. Now he wanted the “whole creature” instead of just its tusk or antler or whatever it was he found left in the trap so long ago.
Anyway, Ozzy was trapping and killing everything in his path while looking for this special creature. Elvis and his older brother Willie were hoping that maybe the Candy Cane Zebra and Opal the Scorpion could help save the animal population back home. “Please come as soon as you can…your old friend, Elvis” the letter ended.
Mr. Claus was trying to persuade the Zebra not to go to Elvis’s aid. She didn’t know what she was getting into. She really did not know!
Mr. Claus knew, and he knew her. He knew she couldn’t be persuaded against helping Elvis, but at least she could be persuaded to let Mr. Claus go with them to help. He wanted to help but he also really wanted to keep an eye on the Zebra because he knew some things which she did not. He knew something that no one else alive knew about the Zebra! He knew the Candy Cane Zebra would be in Mortal Danger!
He also knew he could not change the hand of fate.
The Zebra and Opal finally agreed to take Mr. Claus with them to help Elvis and the general animal population. Elvis was excited when they all showed up. In his heart he always had felt something special about that Zebra. He always wondered if she felt anything for him.
Anyway…their main plan was to warn all the animals and ruin all the traps set by the hunters. Everything went well. They warned almost everyone and set off hundreds of traps. One of the unfortunate animals killed by the hunters was Elvis’s brother Willie. Everyone was sad. Elvis cried and cried. Elvis did not like the humans! Especially Ozzy.
Why Willie? Why not me? Elvis’s questions were never answered. Elvis cried some more.
That night as they gathered to say a little prayer for Willie…a giant net fell on top of them. They were trapped–the Candy Cane Zebra, Opal, Mr. Claus, and Elvis–like bugs in a web.
Let us go back a few days to a little town far away and imagine this:
Fresh falling snow blanketed the quiet, moonlit streets. The shadows from the streetlamps stretched up and down the alleys and across the Victorian structures like a giant black spiderweb. Chimneys were silently sending swirling smoke streams into the starless sky.☺ It was the 11th day of the 12th month, approximately 20 minutes before midnight. Most of the humans in Olive Grove were asleep.
One by one 11 figures made their way to number 162 Elm Tree Lane. The cold made the snow crunch under their feet as they proceeded up the front walk, up the wooden steps, onto the front porch, and to the front door. Before they could knock, the door was opened slowly from the inside. No words were spoken as each entered the house. This was the annual meeting of the Secret Society of Olive Grove.
Inside, the clock on the mantel chimed 12 times. Twelve figures were in a candle-lit room surrounding a large marble table. In the center of the table was a small rectangular wooden box. The box was sealed and everyone took turns placing his palm on the box. The box was still warm from within. This was a good sign! No one had spoken. Then each figure reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. On each paper was inscribed a single letter. They laid the papers on the table and formed this secret message: UNVEIL SIRCON.
Each person then spoke the message out loud. When “unveil sircon” was spoken 12 times they then set the papers on fire and as the smoke rose from the tabletop their hopes were high! (Those guys were weird.)
See, I told you this story was complicated and a little confusing, but try to be a good listener for a little while longer.
Meanwhile, back at the trap with the Candy Cane Zebra and company, Ozzy laughed gleefully, ha! ha! ha! “I never thought I’d catch this many in one trap and I never thought I would enjoy anything as much as I’m going to enjoy killing all of you. You are the ones who have been ruining my traps and now I’ll get my sweet revenge…slowly…one at a time, bit by bit, piece by piece, first one…then another, then another, and finally…the Zebra!”
“Wait,” said Mr. Claus, “I have a story to tell you first. You don’t realize what you are doing. You’ve been searching for that “special creature” and I know where you can find it. Set the others free and I’ll tell you where to find your treasure.”
This proposition caught Ozzy off guard. “How do I know I can trust you? asked Ozzy. “What if I let everyone go and I find you’ve lied to me?”
“Then you can shoot me!” said Mr. Claus.
“But I can shoot you right now anyway!” said Ozzy.
“Please,” said Mr. Claus, “I am begging you. Let the others go. I am a somewhat wealthy man and I will give you all that I own, even my ’57 Chevy, to set the others free. You will be able to live comfortably for the rest of your life, plus you can have all the toys and candy you’d ever want.”
“Sorry, mister,” said Ozzy, “I have no need for what you offer me. All I want is some target practice, and you all can offer that to me right now.”
There was no way out. There was no one to help them and no one to hear them if they cried for help. The hour of their doom was at hand. As the hunter leveled his gun and caught the victims in the crosshairs of his gunsight, Mr. Claus, Elvis, Opal, and the Candy Cane Zebra all fell to the ground and closed their eyes. Then…a shot…never rang out. Nothing happened. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Total silence.
They all opened their eyes to see what was going on. To their relief and amazement, Ozzy was gone! In his place stood a stranger.
“Where is Ozzy?” asked Elvis, “And who are you and what do you want?”
The stranger spoke…
“Ozzy is gone for now. He’s headed for jail. My name is Michael Furey. I’m a representative of the Secret Society of Olive Grove. We want the same thing you want, Elvis. Peace! We want you to know that we are on your side. Not all humans are evil or indifferent. There are a few of us who know about the “gift.” We know we can rule over other creatures, but we know we were entrusted to look after them and live in harmony with them. Our goal is not to “take” but to “share” with the other creatures of this earth. We do not want to cause pain or suffering to any living thing. Therefore, we don’t eat animals or humans or wear their furs or skins. We promote true love, which is the ultimate gift. It is entrusted to us all, but many do not search within themselves hard enough to truly realize the gift. That is sad because it is offered to all of us. Some, like the hunter, are selfish with it. He only loved to kill. He did not truly love because he never felt the “connection” with his innocent victims.”
Like my brother Willie, Elvis thought. One soul cannot love and kill. If you do one, you cannot do the other. They are opposites–at least according to the Secret Society of Olive Grove.
“And now to you, Mr. Claus. I overheard you say you knew where Ozzy could find his treasure, the ‘special creature.’ And mind you, I too brought a treasure with me.”
Mr. Claus’s story had been a closely guarded secret for many years and he was relieved to be able to finally tell it.
“When the Zebra was a baby, I found her mutilated in a trap. In her attempt to break free from the trap her horn was snapped off and left behind. When I took her home and cleaned her up, I discovered a lesion where her horn had been. I knew she was a very fragile and rare animal so Mrs. Claus and I decided to hide her from any future danger. We painted candy cane stripes on her so she would look like a toy zebra and we could easily hide her in my shop among the toys and candy canes. We never told anyone, and the baby creature didn’t seem to remember anything about her traumatic experience.”
“Hey, wait a minute!” said Elvis, “Zebras don’t have horns and she’s a zebra…isn’t she? I mean, if she’s not a zebra, then what is she?”
“She’s a unicorn,” said Mr. Claus and Michael Furey at the same time.
Michael continued, “The Secret Society of Olive Grove has been monitoring the situation of this overzealous hunter. We were tipped off by someone at the museum that a full-scale unicorn hunt was underway. We have been watching over this.” Michael Furey produced a rectangular wooden box and gently unsealed and opened it to reveal a baby unicorn horn. It was very fragile and all aglow and still warm. The warmth was an indication that its rightful owner was alive. “And now I’d like to return it to its proper place,” said Michael.
Elvis and Opal were stunned. The Zebra was practically paralyzed, totally speechless, and blatantly befuddled.
Michael walked over to the Zebra and placed the horn on the heart-shaped scar in the middle of the Candy Cane Zebra’s forehead. Magically, a metamorphosis occurred. The baby horn became attached and began to grow until it reached the size of an adult unicorn horn.
“You are now complete, and my task as overseer of this magical horn is over,” said Michael Furey.
“What does this all mean to me?” asked the Candy Cane Zebra–who was not really a zebra at all but a beautiful unicorn.
“It means you are now possessed with magic and now at least one unicorn still lives on earth,” said Michael. “You have great powers and must use them wisely because the harmony of nature and man are in your care.”
“This is so overwhelming,” said the Unicorn (formerly known as the Candy Cane Zebra),”that I’d like some time to be alone.” And with that she ran into the forest. “How can I accept all this responsibility?” she asked herself. “How can I be in charge of two different worlds? Why me? I’m not any genius or special creature. I guess I’m a good listener, but why me? I never did anything to deserve this. I am nothing exceptional.”
“You are you,” said a tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie voice. It was Elvis. He had followed her like a lovesick pup into the forest to ask her a question about something (which at this point he had forgotten–probably just small talk anyway). “No one is any more special than anyone else,” he said. “You just have to do whatever you do as best you can.”
“Why did you follow me?” asked the Zebra…I mean Unicorn.
“I guess because I care about you,” said Elvis. And he did. He had cared for a long time (in animal years). It was all he could do to keep from blubbering. “I don’t want you to face anything scary by yourself,” he said.
“Well, face this!” said a gruff voice from behind the two of them. They turned around and to their horror there stood Ozzy!
“I escaped from the law,” said Ozzy, “and I did it for one reason only. To get you, you damned elusive Zebra or whatever you are. No way are you going to triumph over me.”
“He’s got a gun!” chirped Elvis in a high-pitched voice, “and it’s pointed at you!” he yelled to the Zebra…sorry…Unicorn. And with that Elvis took off up a very tall tree.
Elvis, having a terrific memory, remembered how the Zebra and Opal saved him, so he was returning the favor. Elvis, who wasn’t afraid of anything (except maybe heights), knew that the hunter’s instinct would be to follow and shoot at a “moving target.” Did I say target? Run, Elvis, run! Elvis was correct. Ozzy began blasting away at Elvis who was climbing higher and higher up the tree trying to dodge the bullets whizzing all around him.
“Help me, Willie,” prayed Elvis. “Help me survive this ordeal.” (Willie had been an inspiration to Elvis when they were young.) Elvis could hear Willie’s voice in his head cheering him on and he remembered how his brother told him that “nothing is impossible” to do. Dodging bullets seemed impossible to Elvis at this moment though. “Something is dreadfully wrong for I feel a deep burning pain in my side,” thought Elvis. Those were the words to the song El Paso by Marty Robbins. For some strange reason that song was going through his head as Ozzy blasted away.
“Yow! I’m hit!” squeaked Elvis as he fell from the top of the tree and landed on the Unicorn’s mane and slid down her forehead to the horn where he barely hung on.
“You’re next,” said Ozzy as he aimed at the Unicorn and slowly cocked his gun.
Then a strange thing happened. I wish I could have been there to see it happen because it was one of the most brilliant turn-the-tables, get-what-you-deserve kind of thing that has ever happened in story-telling history. You would probably have to ask tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie Elvis and the Candy Cane Zebra–forgive me–the Unicorn– exactly what happened to be sure, but this is how it was explained to me.
Somehow while Elvis was clinging to her horn the Unicorn and Elvis had the exact same thought at the exact same instant! Actually, it was more of a wish–a wish made on a magical horn–a wish that came true!
In effect they both wished that Ozzy could feel what it felt like to be in their position. They both wished that Ozzy would know what it was like to be the “the hunted” instead of being “the hunter.” They both wished that Ozzy would feel what it would be like to be in fear for his life and the lives of his loved ones. They both wished that Ozzy could see how cruel humans could be toward animals so he might have a change of heart. And in a way, Ozzy did change as they both wished the same thing. They both wished Ozzy was a 12-point buck. It happened!
To Ozzy’s surprise, he changed into the biggest, most handsome buck of the season! Hunting season that is! I believe Ozzy eventually did have a change of heart (or hart), and every year from then on, he was especially alert during deer season, because Ozzy now and forever had to be on his toes (or hoofs).
As for Elvis, he had managed to do the impossible and dodge all the bullets, but he was wounded–from the tree splinters in his hide, which the Unicorn gently pulled out.
“Elvis,” said the Unicorn, “you really did save my life and I would like to repay you somehow if I could. Is there anything I could do for you? Anything at all?”
“Anything at all?” asked Elvis. You could tell they really did care for each other.
I should tell you that shortly after this incident Elvis disappeared, but it seems in the animal kingdom there have been sightings of two unicorns nuzzling and playing together, one unicorn asking a lot of questions and the other being a good listener.
You could just tell, even a total stranger could tell, that they had given each other the ultimate gift: true love.
So that’s the story of the Candy Cane Zebra and the Secret Society of Olive Grove.
Oh, one more thing–I just remembered I forgot to remember to tell you that if you unscramble the letters of the words UNVEIL SIRCON it spells UNICORNS LIVE and that was the hidden message of the Secret Society of Olive Grove.
Now go to sleep and dream. Dream a good dream, a nice dream–the kind of dream where everything is perfectly happy and happily perfect. And say a prayer for Willie, will you?
Good Night.
I love you.
The Candy Cane Zebra
and
The Mockingbird Mountain Sorcerer
by Michael Anthony Delaney
Photo by Valerix (2013)
After all the excitement of their encounter with the hunter wore off and not long after the former Candy Cane Zebra–now a beautiful Unicorn–had changed Elvis (the tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie type creature) into her Unicorn companion (Elvis did have the feisty spirit of a Unicorn so it was easy for him to make the change), the two of them shared a magical loving life together down by the river. Things had been so relaxed and cozy that neither of them had a care in the world. Which could help to explain why, for some reason, there was a single word constantly on the mind of Elvis’s friend. After a day or two she finally figured out what it was. It was her name! Somehow, she had remembered the name her parents called her. Then she remembered what it meant. She must have been a good listener even as a baby. Her dad would always speak her name, then lovingly recite what it meant. After all, she was her father’s favorite. “D’rahjena,” he would say, “the tiny light from within that touches all. I love you with my whole heart and soul.”
“D’rahjena,” she said out loud, “the tiny light from within that touches all!”
“Are you talking to me?” asked Elvis. “Are you talking to me?”
“No, uh, yes,” she said. “I just remembered my name, the name my parents gave me. It’s D’rahjena! It means the tiny light from within that touches all!”
“Cool,” said Elvis, “I like it. It sounds exotic–it fits you well.”
Elvis was impressed. He wanted a new name too! A name that signified how he felt about himself and all his trials and tribulations in this world. He wanted a name that somehow would help him live up to his expectations and those of all his loved ones. A name vibrant and strong yet simple and to the point.
“Biff” was the first name that came to mind–followed by Rocky, Axel, Clem, Ned, and Shaft.
He said each name but none seemed to really fit him. After randomly going through the alphabet twice he was becoming discouraged. “I want to change my name like you did,” he said to D’rahjena (which means the tiny light from within that touches all).
“I didn’t change my name,” she said. “I just remembered the name my parents gave me. Maybe–just to honor them–you could keep the name your parents gave you.”
Elvis thought for a minute. She has this beautiful name with all that “tiny light” baloney and my parents named me plain old Elvis. Where’s that at? How does that name honor them?
Elvis’s mother was “Viola,” a sweet tiny little creature with a lovely singing voice, and his father was “Ellington,” a noted craftsman and all-around handyman. Elvis was their second son. Yes, he was “El & Vi’s” son all right. “But where they came up with Elvis, I’ll never know,” he thought. “But, okay, I’ll keep the name for my parents’ sake. Elvis it is!”
Anyway, not to change the subject, but on with the story.
It happened one breezy morning–very early indeed–that Elvis woke up quite chilly to find D’rahjena gone! There among the swaying trees stood an old man–THE MOCKINGBIRD MOUNTAIN SORCERER! “I have stolen her right from under your nose,” he said as he hypnotically looked Elvis straight in the eye. “That beautiful being belongs to me; I will not harm her, but do not try to rescue her or you will be killed.”
“You took her?” Elvis was in a state of shock. Where was she? What was he to do? To whom could he talk? Who would listen? How could he free her? “I put a dark spell on her to make her go away with me,” cackled the old sorcerer evilly.
The old sorcerer disappeared as soon as he had spoken. Elvis knew this old sorcerer was a collector of rare and beautiful things – coins and such. He had two washers and two dryers in his basement. He had everything, in fact, and now he had D’rahjena.
Every afternoon this sorcerer left his castle to disappear into the forest and do whatever it is that sorcerers like him do. As night deepened, the wind chimes on the castle door would signal his return (for everywhere the old sorcerer went, a cold breeze would follow).
His threats didn’t scare Elvis. (The only thing he was really afraid of was high places.) Still, Elvis didn’t know what to do. He stood there by the river for a long time. A very long time. A very, very long time. Long even in human time. He was at the point of starvation but he wasn’t even a little bit hungry–just numb and tired and totally drained. But finally, he came back to his senses. He had to find D’rahjena and bring her back where she belonged! How could he do it? Where would his journey begin?
Now, me personally, I wouldn’t know where to begin, but Elvis did what came naturally to him–he asked questions. He asked everyone he met if they had seen his precious D’rahjena. Some hadn’t seen her and some had seen her with the old Mockingbird Mountain Sorcerer.
Elvis immediately disguised himself as a big brown burro (I think if he’d been younger and littler he’d have been a burrito–I’m not sure) so he would be able to tail the Wizard undetected. Then he made his way to the dreary castle on Mockingbird Mountain.
As it happens, Mockingbird Mountain sat smack-dab in the middle of a 47,000 square mile continental plateau. Smack-dab in the middle of Mockingbird Mountain was a dark forest, and smack-dab in the middle of the forest was a large, gloomy castle. It was early morning when the old sorcerer made his way back to the dreary castle and opened the door. The wind chimes on the door signaled his return.
Elvis remained outside the castle until the old sorcerer left for the day. Elvis followed the old sorcerer that day and every day as he walked along for hours muttering to himself. Elvis never saw D’rahjena. To his dismay, he realized she must be in the castle.
On the fourth day Elvis went down by the river to wash off his burro disguise and think, and as he did, a peculiar thing happened. He thought he saw D’rahjena’s reflection in the river! But when he looked up, she was not there.
This happened to him a number of times, and once, as the wind swept by, he thought he could hear whispers. “D’rahjena, are you there?” He climbed out of the river and stood on the bank and gazed into the water at his own reflection. Looking farther out, he saw his shadow. It floated across the surface of the river giving the illusion of two Unicorns standing on the river’s edge. Hey, wait a minute, there were two shadows! Elvis turned around. No one! Then he looked down at his reflection again and there were two reflections looking back! It looked like D’rahjena! Elvis turned around but she was not there. When he looked back at his reflection, there, right next to him, was D’rahjena!
“I don’t get this,” he said. Then he heard a whisper.
“Elvis, I am here next to you–you just can’t see me. The old sorcerer cast a spell but I figured out a way around his spell. You can see my shadow and reflection and you can hear my whispers. The old Mockingbird Mountain Sorcerer told me he would kill you if you tried to free me but I had to see you, to warn you.”
“I’m not afraid of him,” said Elvis. “I want you back with me and I’ll do anything to have it that way again. You are strong, D’rahjena. Together we can fight this…”
“No, Elvis,” she interrupted, “He has poisoned me. I’ve become impuissant.”
“What does impuissant mean?” asked Elvis.
“Look it up,” answered D’rahjena. “Anyway, for your sake, Elvis, I must stay with him.”
“Don’t stay with him,” pleaded Elvis. Then Elvis sang a song to her. It was a song of love, his undying love for D’rahjena. His rendition brought a tear to both of them– to D’rahjena because she thought Elvis was so sweet and to Elvis because the song was two keys above his vocal range. “I should have started to sing that song a little lower,” choked Elvis.
“It was still nice,” said D’rahjena. The song made her feel a little better.
“Don’t worry, D’rahjena. I will give you my strength and health and you can give me your weakness and pain and together we will overcome any obstacle.”
“Elvis, I must go. I feel a cold breeze. I hear the wind chimes. I must go.”
“D’rahjena, please stay with me.” But she was gone. Elvis was alone. Even though there were thousands of creatures around him, Elvis was alone.
Do you know what it means to be alone? I don’t think you do…you’re a lucky one. Being alone is painful. When you’re in love with someone and they disappear on the brightening air, life seems pointless. Why try? For what? For whom? Without D’rahjena, Elvis was alone. The spark that ignited Elvis’s very soul was now gone. He could not see the reason for being alive. He felt he was going insane. Life without D’rahjena was no life at all, he thought. Why continue to breathe, eat, sleep? I’m not alive anyway. Any growth in my life has ended. Maybe someday we’ll be together in another life, but not in this one. His reason to exist was to be with her and he wasn’t with her; therefore, he had no reason to exist.
Elvis could no longer stand the thought of not being with D’rahjena and decided to end his misery. That night he climbed to the top of the highest peak on Mockingbird Mountain. It was very dark as there was no moon that night. It was pitch black and peacefully quiet except for the wind stirring up. Elvis stood at the edge but didn’t look down.
He whispered, “I love you D’rahjena, with all my heart and soul and I always will. Good-bye, my love.” Then Elvis silently leapt off into space.
The swirling wind from the top of the mountain carried Elvis’s whispers toward the castle of the old sorcerer. It rattled the wind chimes and caught the attention of D’rahjena. She heard Elvis’s whispers and cried. She whispered back, “I love you Elvis with my whole heart and soul. I miss you so much you don’t even know.” AND HE DIDN’T!
This is the part of the story where I must collect my thoughts. This is an unusual turn of events for this nice little story. I know that at this point it’s not very cheery, but that is the way the story really goes and I have to tell it like it is.
I often wondered why D’rahjena didn’t just use her magical powers to save Elvis and get away from the old sorcerer. It turns out that she couldn’t have helped Elvis anyway, because her powers were greatly diminished from the old sorcerer’s poison. When I first heard the story up to this point, I was worried about Elvis. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. Let me back up a little bit and tell this again.
Elvis stood at the edge but didn’t look down. He whispered, “I love you, D’rahjena, with all my heart and soul and I always will. Good-bye, my love.” Then Elvis silently leapt off into space.
Elvis hurtled downwards about 11 1/2 inches before he landed on a smooth surface. It was too dark to tell but it felt like some sort of roadway in the sky heading upward and away from Mockingbird Mountain. However, there was no road in the sky that he knew of. At least there wasn’t one earlier that day. Up ahead was a light and, as Elvis headed toward it, he heard a tiny voice chattering. He thought he recognized it but he wasn’t sure. As he approached the light the voice was more distinct. It was Elvis’s tiny little squirrely chipmunky mousie type brother Willie! He was carrying a tiny lantern and calling Elvis’s name.
“Willie, what are you doing here?” asked Elvis.
“Hey, Elvis. What have you been up to?” said Willie. “It looks like you’ve been body sculpting. You seem much bigger than I remember.”
“No, duh,” replied Elvis. “I’ve been changed into a Unicorn! More importantly, what are you doing here, Willie?”
“I’m here to watch over you, Elvis. My life on earth is over and believe me I would have liked to stay around and be with my family and live to a nice ripe old age, but it was not my fate. Now for some reason, somehow I was sent to talk with you before you did something extreme against your life. Elvis, you can’t take your own life, not if you care for another soul living or dead. Life is challenging and things don’t always work out the way you’d like them to, but don’t be a quitter. You must fight for a better life because no one will fight for you. Don’t take the easy way out. Show everyone you have substance, but most importantly show yourself. You have a feisty spirit, Elvis, it even says so in the beginning of this story. If you truly want to free D’rahjena, don’t allow the old Mockingbird Mountain Sorcerer to win by default. Remember what I’ve told you before, nothing is impossible.”
“But, Willie, I can’t go on living without D’rahjena. What does default mean?”
“Look it up!” said Willie. “Elvis,” he continued, “D’rahjena does not want you to end your life! Neither do I! No one wants you to do that! It’s not your time now anyway. I shouldn’t tell you this, but you have a task yet to perform on Earth. A very important task. There is something remaining for you to accomplish. You can’t go to heaven with me right now.”
“I have a task?” asked Elvis. “An important task? What is it? How will I know what to do?”
“I can’t tell you,” said Willie, “but you will know at some point in the future. I must leave you now. It was nice to see you again. Tell everyone hi and let them know I’m doing fine. Now, follow this road down to the other end…here, take the lantern. And remember, Elvis, nothing is impossible. Bye, Elvis.”
“Bye, Willie. And thanks!”
By the time Elvis got to the end of the road it was almost daylight. He was back at the river and the sun had begun to shine on him. It was funny how the sunbeams seemed to trace the route of that roadway in the sky. The road was gone now. “Maybe I walked down a sunbeam at night,” thought Elvis.
As it happened, Opal was by the river too. Opal, a little chubby-cheeked scorpion, was D’rahjena’s longtime friend. Opal was everyone’s friend. “Hi, Elvis. What’s up?”
“Hi, Opal. I just had a little talk with my brother Willie,” said Elvis.
“Excuse me, but I thought the hunters got him and he was gone,” said Opal.
“Yes and no,” said Elvis.
“What’s the matter?” asked Opal.
“I was very depressed.” Then Elvis proceeded to tell her the whole story up to this point.
Opal only interrupted one time (she was almost as good a listener as D’rahjena) to make a comment about the roadway in the sky. She mentioned a similar story she heard at her family reunion about “highways” in the sky. (But that turns out to be another story: “The Legend of the Blue Spiders.” Someday I’ll tell you that one.)
When Elvis finished his story Opal said, “Elvis, are you not in love with D’rahjena? Is she not in love with you? Can we all have everything we want? Can’t you just be happy knowing she cares for you? You want everything to go your way. Instead of being depressed, you should be happy to know that she loves you so. You know, Elvis, I love her too and I know she loves me. We’re not always together but when we are, we are both happy, and when we are not together, we still know how the other one feels. Do you know what you need to do? You need to learn patience.” Opal’s soliloquy was over.
Elvis be patient? “Oh, Opal,” said Elvis, “I’ll hurry and try as fast as I can to become patient.”
And Elvis was a good boy. He practiced patience every day and every night. If you think patience is difficult for humans, you should try being a patient animal!
This is the part of the story where you may have hoped I would describe the exciting escapades and daring rescue that took place to free D’rahjena and overcome the old Mockingbird Mountain Sorcerer. However, there was no “Duel to the Death” between Elvis and the old sorcerer. Once, however, due to D’rahjena’s uncooperative nature and all-around crabbiness (because she didn’t want to be with the old sorcerer), the old sorcerer did come after Elvis. The old sorcerer became impatient. He figured if Elvis was out of the picture, D’rahjena would calm down.
The wizard confronted Elvis with red eyes and very bad breath. “I’m going to destroy you,” he shouted. My powers are greater than yours! You cannot possibly hope to overcome me! What do you say about that? What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to be patient,” said Elvis. “I’m going to outlive you. I’m not going to do anything to you. I’m just going to wait…patiently wait.”
This attitude infuriated the old sorcerer. His twisted mind couldn’t understand–yet somehow it could. He had hoped Elvis would provoke him–fight back–then he’d have reason to crush him and wipe him out–86 him. But his evil threatening powers couldn’t work against Elvis. A sorcerer’s power feeds off the despair that surrounds troubled creatures. Elvis didn’t store any such despair. That was what Elvis had learned through patience. He got rid of his despair.
Try as the old sorcerer would, he could not get a rise out of Elvis. Elvis was not afraid of the old sorcerer’s provocations.
Most creatures fail to learn from their mistakes–not Elvis. He had been as low as any living thing could go. But, he had learned a lot.
D’rahjena had loved him.
Willie had encouraged him.
El and Vi had been his parents.
“Hey, wait a minute,” said Elvis, “Now I know where my name comes from! It comes from El plus Vi!” Then (remembering his Scandanavian) he realized that in naming him Elvis, after themselves, they had also given him a name that means “all wise.” Elvis had finally grown into his name. “Wow.”
He even learned from the old sorcerer – he learned how not to be.
And Opal…Opal had taught him the value of patience. He would not orchestrate a suspenseful escape for D’rahjena. Instead, he would patiently wait as nature just took its course. Eventually the old sorcerer died. And, as you may or may not have guessed, the spell was broken. D’rahjena was no longer invisible to Elvis. Finally, Elvis and D’rahjena were together–not because of any action they took–but because they were patient. In another way also nature took its course. Elvis eventually found out what his “Task” was. It was to have lots of babies with D’rahjena!
Elvis and D’rahjena loved their babies and raised them to be as good as could be. They told their children many stories and every night they all kissed good night and said, “I hope monsters don’t come out from under the bed and eat your legs”—the same thing we say!
Good night. Sweet dreams.
I love you.
Oh yes, let me explain one more little detail now that the story is over.
Elvis, who was now a Unicorn, also had magical powers only he didn’t realize he had them! It was his magical subconscious that put a roadway in the sky and brought Willie back to talk to him!
What does subconscious mean? Look it up!
The Legend of the Blue Spiders
by
Michael Anthony Delaney
It was the end of summer as Opal, the chubby-cheeked teenage scorpion, prepared to attend her annual family reunion. She always looked forward to this event to talk over the highlights of the past year with her distant and not so distant relatives. This year everyone was meeting just outside Mrs. Miller’s barn so, in case of bad weather, they could easily move the party inside. I think that day there was a 30% chance of rain. Mrs. Miller and her husband Chub were going to be away for a few days so their place in the country seemed like the perfect spot to have a giant party. With that location there would be plenty of food and restroom facilities.
This was the biggest reunion Opal had ever attended. She knew she came from a large family, but this was ridiculous! There were scorpions, ticks, centipedes, spiders, crabs, and mites. They came from all over the world. They were coming out of the woodwork! Her cousins the spiders were probably best represented.
There were wolf spiders, monkey spiders, and Opal’s favorite–zebra spiders. Some of them had just arrived (they came over on a banana boat).
The reunion was going great. There were activities a-plenty: there was a four-legged race, a gossip group where the widows got together to reminisce and compare their tastes in the male of the species, and dancing–some of the bigger furry spiders danced a rapid, whirling, southern Italian dance (I think it was called the tarantella). The best dancer, however, was a Daddy Longlegs named Fred. There were other activities, too. Some pirate spiders had a race on the surface of Mrs. Miller’s pond, and the nursery web spiders had a diving contest. Then there were the weavers. They had a kind of quilting marathon with the orb weavers, funnel weavers, cobweb weavers, and triangle weavers. Aunt Nephila won a prize for the toughest web. The humans had even used her old webs to make nets for fishing, they were that strong!
Everyone was having a good time, even the vegetarians. The sun scorpions played horseshoes with the crabs as the lone star ticks sucked down their favorite beverage and kept score. The jumping spiders played leapfrog and tried out some new jumping techniques. Opal hung out with her twin cousins, the giant crab spiders Rikki and Nikki.
About three quarters of the way through the day it started to rain, but oddly enough, the sun was still shining. “Good thing Elvis isn’t here,” thought Opal. He makes such a fuss about wearing his raincoat.”
Just then Opal noticed the prettiest ribbons of color cascading across the sky. She stopped what she was doing to look at them. “Look at that.” said Opal. “It looks like someone has painted a pretty bridge way up high. It looks like a highway in the sky!”
“I’ve seen that in the sky before. The humans call it a rainbow,” said Rikki. “Actually, it’s the work of the Blue Spiders spinning their colorful web across the sky.”
“Sometimes I think Rikki just thinks he knows everything when he doesn’t really know too much of anything,” thought his twin brother Nikki.
“I don’t see any spiders,” said Opal.
“That’s because they’re the same color as the sky. They seem to be invisible, but you sure can see their brilliant web,” said Rikki.
“How do they get their web up in the sky?” asked Opal.
“They were ballooning,” said Nikki. “As every spider knows, ‘ballooning’ is when you climb real high and release your web silk into the air and the wind carries it away. You’ve probably walked through some of the gossamer strands when you pass a tree in the woods. It got there by some spider ‘ballooning.'”
Opal, not being a true spider, was not privvy to this information until now. “Oh,” she said, “why do spiders make their web up in the sky when it’s raining?” (She was beginning to feel like a certain creature she knew who always asked a lot of questions).
“I’m glad you asked that,” said Rikki.
“Oh, brother, here we go again,” thought Nikki.
Rikki continued, “I’ve known some Blue Spiders for quite some time. As a matter of fact, some of them are even my good friends. And so, I’d like to tell you this short little story about what became of their never-ending task of keeping the world clean.”
“I have to help Gramma Crabby with dessert,” said Nikki. “I’m sorry I’m going to have to miss this story, but duty calls. Do you want to come with me, Opal? (This is your last chance to get away,” whispered Nikki).
“No thank you. I’d like to hear this story,” said Opal.
“Whatever! said Nikki. “I’ve already heard this story about a million times and I’m not exaggerating.” Nikki left.
“Sometimes I think Nikki just thinks he knows everything when he really doesn’t know too much of anything,” thought his twin brother Rikki. “Here’s the story,” said Rikki.
The Story
“It seems that in the olden days the Blue Spiders’ job was to keep the sky pure so all the animals could breathe clean air. They would weave their webs and catch any smoke or soot and at the same time purify and filter the raindrops. There used to be rainbows every time it rained. But as more humans came along and built more houses and factories and automobiles and airplanes and buses and boats and trains and trucks with their fumes and smoke and vapors and smog and water pollution, the Blue Spiders couldn’t keep up with such a strenuous workload. That is why there are so very few rainbows in our present time. You’ll only see one once in a great while. Because of all the pollution most of the Blue Spiders have moved away from the humans. There are a particular group of healthy spiders that, because they overcame pollution, became stronger. They took a little of the strengths from different groups of spiders and became quite unique. You know Aunt Nephila, don’t you?”
“Yes,” said Opal.
“Well, she gave them the recipe for her super strong web! Do you know some of the Hyptiotes? They are our second cousins twice removed.
“No, I don’t think I do,” said Opal.
“We call them Hippies,” said Rikki.
“Oh yes, I do know some of them,” said Opal. “Don’t they make triangle webs?”
“That’s them,” said Rikki. “Well, anyway, the Hippies along with the Blue Spiders who had Aunt Nephila’s recipe still wanted to make a difference and fight pollution. They worked together and came up with a plan. The Blue Spiders learned how to make triangle webs using Auntie’s recipe. Then they took a sugar boat to a far-away place down south and climbed on top of the highest mountain and did some ‘ballooning.’ Some of their gossamer strands (with the help of a lot of wind) landed way up north on ‘Onion Island.’ Some landed on the mainland right by where Gramma Crabby is from, and that made a giant web.
“These Blue Spiders snare any pollution that goes through their triangular space, including airplanes and ships. These guys are always ‘on call,’ and that’s why you won’t see them at the reunion. They never stop working. Well, that’s the end of my story, The Legend of the Blue Spiders. Opal, what do you think?” asked Rikki.
“That was a good story, and from what I’ve seen those guys sure are good at what they do. The sky looks so lovely with that pretty rainbow up there, ” said Opal. “Too bad we don’t have more of them…like in the olden days. Maybe again…someday,” she sighed.
Opal stayed until the very end of the festivities and had a wonderful time, but she couldn’t wait to get back home to tell Elvis the story of the Blue Spiders. She wondered what questions Elvis might ask her and she hoped she would have all the right answers.
THE END
P.S. The Legend of the Blue Spiders inspired a group of human boys to name their baseball team “The Blue Spiders.” Or maybe that’s vice versa, I think.
P.P.S. The boys all grew up and became legends themselves, in the hearts of those who know and
love them.