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Once, in the Olden Days, a terrible drought befell all the land. Summer, the great Long Dragon, was flying high in the sky in a furious temper, for he had lost a game of chance against his enemy Winter, and everywhere he breathed things shrivelled up. There was no grass to eat, so many of the grass-eaters died, and the meat-eaters that ate them could get nothing from it, for the grass-eaters where thin and had no meat on them. But worst of all was the lack of water, for all the rivers became muddy trickles, and all the pools dried up, so that there was only cracked mud where once lilly pads and frogs were.
One day, the heat got so intolerable that Lord Stag, who was king over all the animals, lifted his head and bellowed out the call for the Water Council, and the sound of it rolled all across the world. The Water Council is the special meeting for all the animals and people, where the laws of the drought are put into enforcement - and the most important Law was that no-one may kill anyone else at the drinking places. Everyone can get by, one way or another, when it comes to food, but drinking must come before eating, for water is very precious to man or beast.
It was not long before all the animals were assembled at the council, in the big, shady grove of the woods. Every leader of the animal tribes was there - Beorn the White, cousin to Old Bruin; Calydon, the duke of Boars; Little Grey and all his family of mice and the Council of the Owls were just some among them. Lord Stag and Old Bruin themselves headed the concil, as did King Mazda - his people, too, were suffering from the drought, for their crops were failing in the heat. The One was there, as well, and although he did not need to eat or drink, he was thin and gaunt as well. Everyone there knew that he could feel the suffering and misery of all his friends, and that was why he was suffering.
Then King Mazda began the council, saying "My friends, this is a terrible time for us all. Until Summer calms down and takes his heat away, we are likely to perish, for his heat kills all the good food and dries up all the riverbeds. I can hardly get a bath, let alone something to drink, and all the crops in my orchards are on the brink of death! We must do something to try and overcome this terrible shortage of water!"
"Indeed!" agreed Beorn, nodding his head. "Even up in the frozen North, my people feel the wrath of the heat Summer brings! Many of our homes in the ice have collapsed, having half-melted first, and there are many of my people homeless. And then there is the want of food as well as water, for all the fish have gone away with the change in the seas, and we get our food and drink in the same meal. There must be something that can be done to preserve us all."
Then Calydon, who was the size of a carthorse and had bristles like spears, spoke up.
"I have, perhaps," he grunted, "a temporary solution to the want of water. In times such as these, my people the boars dig for a root we call the Red Flask, it being of a crimson color. It's flesh is good and filling, and it contains much water within it, having stored it before the droughts began. They are very common and not hard to find, and perhaps it would do some good if my people were to set some aside for the use of others?"
"The idea has merit, Calydon," said Old Bruin. "But I'm afraid it would not do for everyone. The roots you speak of are tough, and take much energy to chew, even for animals and men fitter than I. And what of the meat-eaters, whose stomachs would be upset by such fare? Wolf and his brothers coud not survive on such a diet alone."
Then Lord Stag, who's antlers shone like gold in the afternoon sun, spoke up.
"If we must accomodate the meat-eaters," he said, "then I have another proposition. There is a vine, green and strong, that grows in certain parts of the forest. Like the Red Flask, it holds water, and we deer seek it out and chew upon it when there is a time of hardship like this. If the meat-eaters cannot live on the Red Flask, then we deer would happily set aside some of vine for their use."
"But this vine you speak of," put in Wolf, the head of his pack, "grows in the darkest spots of the woods. That is no good for us, for it is much too far away from our lairs - by the time we came home from drinking, we would be thirsty all over again! And moreover, how shall we tell that vine apart from the Creeping Death, whose leaves and sap contain the worst of poisons?"
The council went on like this for some time, with each one putting forth an idea of how to solve the droughts. The Council of Owls suggested all the animals and people move to the Mountains, for there was water tricking from streams there - this was decided against, for there was not enough good grass in the Mountains to feed upon. Little Grey wondered if perhaps men could divert the river to a part of the plains where the grass-eaters gathered, but King Mazda said it could not be done, for there were not enough workmen to carry out the task, many having perished in the heat. And all the while the One sat where he was, running a hand across his ribs, looking as miserable as anyone could remember seeing him.
Then Velvet, the smallest of all the moles, came forward. He had not spoken all throughout the council, for he had had his idea first, but thought everyone else would think it was silly. But when everyone had stopped talking, because they were all despairing at not finding a solution, he spoke as loud as he could, in his very small voice:
"Please, sirs, and forgive me for speaking out of turn, sirs, but... do men not dig wells for their water? I have seen villages that have dug deep down, and found much good water beneath the earth. Perhaps we could do the same, and have enough water for everyone?"
The animals and men all looked at Velvet, and then at each other, as they turned the idea over in their minds.
"It would take work," said Lord Stag. "We shall have to get all the digging to help."
"And my men could make pulleys," said King Mazda. "Every animal could have a bucket with which to take water."
"But," said Old Bruin, at last, with a node of his greyed muzzle, "it could work. As long as no animal took more than his fair share of water, then I am sure there would be enough for everyone to get by, at least until the drought ends."
"It is agreed, then?" asked Lord Stag. "We build the well."
"The well! The well!" cried all the animals at once, and everyone was so pleased at having finally found a solution to the drought that they cheered for three minutes until Old Bruin could get them to calm down. And the One looked down at Velvet, and smiled as a father would do to a child who has done well in school, and the poor mole put his paws over his snout, very embarased. But he was very pleased with himself, for none but a mole would think of digging for water, and he was the smallest of the moles, which made a big difference.
So it was agreed. The animals all chose a good spot for the Great Well, where no animal or man would find the journey too difficult and there was bound to be much water. Then all the animals who could dig - the badger, the mole, the fox and many others - dug down as deep as they could, and Old Bruin directed them as well as he could, occasionally digging a little himself, though his claws were blunt and not very good for it. And as soon as the animals struck water, they dug down even deeper, so that there would be plenty for anyone who wished to fetch some. Everyone worked accoding to their capacity, and none shirked their work at all.
None, that is, except for Rabbit. In the Olden Days, Rabbit looked very much like her cousin Squirrel, with short ears and a long tail - you could barely tell them apart. And although Rabbit was one of the best diggers amongst the animals, she was also very vain and proud, always combing her tail to keep the dirt out of it. She was also very lazy, and never did any work if it meant spoiling her good looks. So when the animals came to her to ask for her help, she turned up her nose and said:
"Me? Dig a well? Certainly not! I should blunt my claws upon the stony ground, and all that dust would get in my fur and spoil my tail! And besides, I have no need for a well - I drink the morning dew, and that keeps me going all through the day!"
"So be it," growled Old Bruin, for he was very cross with Rabbit and knew she was only making excuses. "But when the well is finished, you shall not drink so much as a drop from it, for you did not lift so much as a paw to help your fellows in their time of need. Let us see how long your survive on dew, or what remains of it in this heat!"
So without Rabbit's help, the animals and people finihed the well. King Mazda sent his cleverest carpenters to build a pulley system with a bucket, so that animal or man could turn the handle and bring up a bucket full of water. Every animal and man had his own bucket, so they he could take his share of water from the well, and every morning a great crowd would gather and line up at the well, ready to collect the day's water allowance. But they could have no more than the one bucket - if an animal spilled any of his, or drank too much out of greed, that was that, and he couldn't get any more.
For a time, the animals were happy with this arrangement. With the well, they could carry on their lives as normally as they could, and even though many were still thirsty, it was never as bad as it was before. But soon, they began to notice that, of all the animals and people who came to the well every morning, only Rabbit did not appear. And of all the animals, Rabbit seemed to keep sleek and lively, and her house always seemed well-stocked with water. This was a puzzlement to all the animals, for the water was low in the well on some days, and it was a mystery on how she could get so much.
Of course, Rabbit made excuses when people asked her about it. "It is as I said - I go out every morning and collect the dewdrops," she would say. But many were suspicious of her, and wondered where she could have gotten the water - more than any animal alone needed. And none was more suspicious than the One, who knew all the animals better than they knew themselves, and knew the Rabbit to be cunning and clever as well as vain and lazy.
One evening, when the heat of the drought was not so bad, and clouds on the horizon spoke of the possibility of rains, the One was resting in the shade with his good friend Spring. The grass was cool and refreshing and the evening sun was low and beautiful to look at, so it should have been a beautiful time. Yet the One could not keep still out of worry, and fidgeted so much that Spring looked at him and said, "Whatever is the matter, Gein-Kiir? I haven't seen you this worried about something since you were in the court of Ammos!"
(You may remember that story, where the One performed three tasks to convince Ammos, the Emperor of the Sand Realm, to not go conquering King Mazda's lands. But that is another story for another time.)
"I am worried, indeed, friend Spring," said the One, his voice low. "The well has been a great success, and every animal and man can live according to the ration. But I fear that there is one among us - a cheat and a liar, who abuses the existance of the well for their own well-being. It is not right that there should be someone like that amongst us, when times are so hard."
At this, Spring's eyes hardened like flints, and she said; "I believe I know who you are talking about. I have always wondered about that Rabbit, for she never tells me anything directly and always has a trick or two up her sleeve. Now, I know for a fact that there is no dew to collect on these hot, airless mornings - my brother, Summer, makes sure of that! I have a suspicion that she may be stealing from the well - at night, when the air is coolest and nobody can see her."
"But how do we catch her at it?" The One put a hand on his chin, and his brow furrowed in thought. "She is very swift and cunning - if we were to approach her, she would either bolt for home or say she was collecting her own ration. It may be that she does it when even we are asleep - and you and I sleep little, as is our custom."
"Why not put on your Cap, and become the Swift?" asked Spring. "Surely some trick to catch her will come to you."
This seemed like sensible advice to the One, so he took his green cap, made of the Dew of the West, and put it onto his head. And all at once he became the Swift, with his twinkling smile and long legs, and felt in his body the speed of the winds and a desire to make mischief. And more than that - he suddenly came up with an idea to find out who was stealing from the well, a plan so clever that he laughed aloud when he thought of it.
"Come, Spring!" he cried, leaping to his feet. "I feel a trick in my bones! Bring with you some wood of the Laurel and some sticky gum from the Pine! I shal make the arrangements!"
Spring did as he asked, curious to see what he would do. She brought him the things he asked for, and the Swift took a knife from his belt and began to whittle the wood, fashioning it into shape. He kept on whittling until he had formed a near-perfect image of Wolf - the one animal Rabbit disliked the most, because he ate her friends and relations, and his breath always stank of meat. Then Spring saw what he was doing, and together they took the gum and smeared it all over the wooden Wolf - but they did not get stuck themselves, because Spring willed it so. And it wasn't long before the two had finished their work.
"Now," laughed the Swift, "when Rabbit comes to collect her water, she'll find she has company!" And so he took the Wolf, with Spring following, to the place where the well had been dug, and together they set up the trap on the usual path that most of the forest animals took to the well. Then they went away, laughing between themselves, to wash their hands of the gum and go home together, for the One was having supper at Spring's house.
That night, it was a full moon, and it was just as Spring had suspected - Rabbit came down the path, quickly and quietly, with two buckets on her shoulders. She was, indeed, coming at night to steal water, for two buckets was far more than any animal or man ever needed for one day. And she was also coming in the quietest hours, for she knew when the One would be asleep and thus not catch her at her thievery. She thought she was alone, as she had been many times before, and was confident nobody would ever catch her.
But she didn't get very far before she saw the wooden Wolf on the path, and startled.
"Is that you, Wolf?" she cried. "Why are you here?"
The Wolf said nothing, for it was made of wood.
"Have you come to steal water, as well?" demanded Rabbit, setting her buckets down and approaching him. "Well, you're out of luck! This is my water now, and you'll have to wait your turn! And really, you ought to wash that greasy fur of yours - it's disgusting!" She was talking about the shine of the moon on the sticky gum, but she didn't know what it was.
The Wolf said nothing, for it was made of wood.
Rabbit grew angry at this. "Get out of here, Wolf," she snapped, "and tell nobody you saw me! Go now, or I'll hit you!"
The Wolf said nothing, for it was made of wood. And at that, Rabbit grew even angrier, so she drew back her left paw and - thwack! - slapped the Wolf right across the muzzle. That was her first mistake, as you might have guessed, for now her paw was stuck, and no matter how hard she pulled, she couldn't get free!
"Let me go!" she cried. "Let me go, or I'll hit you again!"
The Wolf said nothing, for it was made of wood. So Rabbit drew back her right paw and - thwack! - slapped the Wolf again. That was her second mistake, for now both paws were stuck!
"Stop it!" she howled, pulling hard to get away. "Let my paws go, Wolf, or I'll kick you!"
The Wolf said nothing, for it was made of wood. So Rabbit tried kicking, lifting up her left foot and - thump! - kicking the Wolf right in the chest. That foot stuck too, and so Rabbit kicked with her right foot - thump! - and got that stuck as well. You may think at this point she would have realized what was going on, but she was so frightfully angry that she didn't seem to care.
"Wolf!" she shrieked. "Why are you holding me like this?! I know we don't get along, but this is beyond ridiculous - you've got no reason to be angry with me! Let me go, I tell you, and I'll go home and go to bed! Forget the water!"
The Wolf said nothing, for it was made of wood. So Rabbit, out of desperation, tried to whip him with her tail - slap! - which she often did to her babies when they misbehaved. That was her fifth mistake, as now that got stuck as well. And finally, losing her temper altogether, Rabbit drew back as far as she could and - crack! - threw herself at the Wolf, buttig it squarely with her own head. But all that happened was that she was now completely stuck, from the tips of her ears and her furry head, her two little paws, all the way down to her belly, her big feet and her tail, now ruined by the gum
And there Rabbit had to stay, feeling very thirsty and with an awful headache, all through the night.
When morning came, all the animals and people came down to the well for their drink, as usual. They knew nothing of what the One had got up to, for when the Swift makes a plan he keeps it to himself until the right time. So imagine their surprise when, upon reaching the well, they found poor Rabbit stuck to the wooden Wolf, with her empty buckets lying where she'd dropped them during her struggle! They all laughed aloud at how silly she looked, and Rabbit felt so foolish she felt like crying.
"Here is your thief, Oh Friends!" called out the One as he emerged from the trees, Spring by his side. And he showed them the tracks Rabbit had made coming down the path - that was her real mistake, for she should have kept to the grass and left no trail. And Spring showed everyone the empty buckets, so that they knew she'd been taking far more than her fair share of water. The real Wolf thought the trick was very clever, and he laughed to imagine how Rabbit thought she was talking to him all along - as said before, the two were not good friends at all.
"Now that we've caught her," pondered Old Bruin, "whatever shall we do with her?"
"Let's skin her," cackled the real Wolf, "and boil her up for supper! She deserves it, for stealing our water!"
"No, no!" cried Rabbit, now really crying this time. "Let me go, Oh Gein-Kiir, please! I'll never steal again, I promise!"
"Very well," said the One, gravely. "But know this, Rabbit - all the world knows what you have done, and you will have to bear the marks of shame for your theft. And for your laziness, you will always dig in the dirt, since you did not do so when we needed you before. Watch Justice be done, all you men and animals here!"
And so, the One took hold of Rabbit, one hand on her neck and the other on her haunch, and pulled as hard as he could. And as he pulled Rabbit away from the Wooden Wolf, her ears stretched and stretched, until they were so long they were barely recognisable. Then there was a great ripping noise as Rabbit came away from the doll - only without her tail, for it had come right off! All that was left was a small piece of fluff over her bottom, like the puff of a seeding dandelion.
Everyone there laughed even harder to see how Rabbit looked now, with her short tail and long ears. And when the One dropped her back onto the ground, she was so ashamed she ran back into the forest, and dug a massive hole and hid in it for a long time. Then all the animals and people gathered their water as usual, joking about how silly and selfish Rabbit had been, and how they all hoped the drought would not last much longer.
And it didn't. Soon, Summer calmed down and saw what he had done, and to say sorry he blew great clouds over the sky, full of thunder and lightning as well as good rain. And soon, the storms came, and there was a deluge for many days and nights that soaked the ground and filled all the rivers and ponds, and nobody complained, for the rain was a welcome change from the rellentless heat. And soon the green things grew again, and the animals and people did not need to use the well anymore, but left it standing in memory of how they had worked together to outlast the drought, and all was well again.
The well is still there, some say, and so is the Wooden Wolf. If you are lucky, you may go down and have a look at them. But don't expect to find Rabbit or any of her children there!
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Notes on the text:
- This story has many parallels with Earth myths, namely the Tar Baby story of Uncle Remus. That tale, in itself, is a retelling of the Tar Wolf story of the Cherokee, which this story more closely resembles, and the story of Anansi being tricked with a gum-covered doll. Research is still under way to explain this peculiarity.
- The Council of Water is also a parallel of Kipling's Water Truce, and features a similar law about killing at drinking places. However, the Council is more proactive, seeking to assuage the drought in some way rather than simply live through it.
- Beorn the White is often thought by Earth scolars to be a polar bear, yet Polar Bears do not exists on Orvance. On Dragonus, he is portrayed as a Tuskarr, a more likely candidate, or a seal - a scientific in-joke on how seals and bears share a distant ancestor.
- Calydon, the Duke of Boars, makes his one speaking appearance in this story. In other times, he either does not speak or is only alluded to.
- Velvet doesn't get the same luxury - this is his only appearance in any of the tales. Better luck next time, Moley.
- The Great Well is an actual monument, close to the site of the Seat of Mazda. It was dug during a terrible drought that afflicted the whole kingdom, and is a popular tourist site. The Wooden Wolf alluded to, however, is a ficticious work.
- Spring makes frequent appearances outside of her debut story, The Race Between The Seasons. She often appears as a companion to the Swift, supporting him in his tricks, and is often referred to as his Consort by some offshoots One Faith. Nothing in any of the central texts, however, makes reference to her as such, and this is usually cut out of child-friendly retellings of the tale, like this one.
- In a similar manner, Summer is often spoken of as the Wrathful's Steed, Winter the Companion of the Wise and Autumn the Aide of the Maiden.
- In some versions of the tale, it is Old Bruin or Princess Shinta who suggests the trick, or the Wolf himself who suggests Rabbit is stealing water.
- The phrase "The wolf said nothing, for it was made of wood" has passed into proverb status on Dragonus. In the loosest sense, it means that one shouldn't expect an answer, much less an intelligent one, from the insensible or idiotic. To call someone a "wooden wolf" on Dragonus is a polite way of implying low intelligence, but the phrase can also describe a situation that exacerbates itself the more one struggles to correct it.
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