Ra-ra-ra. Raurau-ra… An extraordinary barking cry shattered the frosty air. A huge black eagle settled itself on an icy birch limb. Ruffling his feathers against the chill, he stretched his enormous wings one last time before settling them comfortably on his back. Respectfully, he cocked his head to meet the calm stare of the small copper animal before him, her sleek hide spotted like earth dappled with sunlight. Dea had taken the form of a rare Amur leopard and was reclining in the peeling branches of a birch nearby. The Protectress’s draping tail swayed hypnotically as the sea eagle began his narration of the day’s events. Through a series of harsh barks and calls, he told Dea of an emperor from the neighboring land who had come to build a palace in the birch forest. He explained that all of the creatures would be forced to move into the barren tundra surrounding the tiny woods and would have to live like reindeer, serving humans forever. The entire time, Dea sat with her tail twitching, showing no emotion on her severe face. When the sea eagle was finished, the goddess sat up. “I will take care of it,” she stated peacefully. “It will all work out in the end.” The eagle cocked his head, preparing a question, but, when he blinked, the leopard was gone. * * * The emperor posed with his advisors on the barren hill outside the birch forest, surveying the wintry land which would soon be his. “Your Highness?” a melodious voice echoed from behind the troop. The men turned slowly. Before them stood a petite young woman swallowed in a spotted fur parka. “I heard you have plans to build a palace in these woods, am I wrong?” Surprised by the girl’s audacity, the emperor responded affirmatively. “And who might you be?” he asked. “I am called Dea,” the girl responded. “I have something to ask of you. Before you build in these woods, you must solve one riddle to prove your worth. As soon as you bring me the creature it is describing, you shall be free to do as you wish…” The emperor glanced at his advisors, speechless. “If you fail to do this, your palace shall never stand. Would you like to hear the riddle?¨ The trio of men started to speak, but were swiftly interrupted. “All right! ‘Legs and nose both long and red, night-sky hands and snowy head.’ Would you like to hear it again?” When no one answered, she repeated the riddle: “Legs and nose both long and red, night-sky hands and snowy head.” And, with that, Dea skipped down the glittering hill, the end of her spotted sash fluttering like a tail. Still bewildered by the girl’s speech, the emperor watched the retreating figure curiously until she disappeared among the frozen birches. Suddenly, both of his advisors burst out into cacophonous laughter, rolling in the frost-laced grass, and doubling over, slapping their knees. The emperor whipped around, his heavy furs slashing the bitter wind. He barked at his men to stop and ordered them to fetch him a plane back to the village, as it was too cold to walk. Though the rest of his fellow travelers laughed off the incident lightheartedly, the emperor remained in a sour mood, unable to push Dea’s riddle out of his mind. The next morning dawned blinding white, a thin layer of fresh snow blanketing the birches. Bang… bang… bang… The emperor shouted for the visitor to enter. The heavy oak door creaked open, revealing three of the royal architects, panting and ruddy-cheeked from the cold. The emperor scowled, extremely annoyed at being interrupted. “Well, what is it?” he barked. “This had better be important!” The man in front stepped inside, backed by his shivering comrades. “Well, sire… you see…” “GET ON WITH IT!” “It’s the palace! Your Highness, we have been working with our entire team for a day and a night, but not a stick or a stone will remain where we have placed it. It’s as if the land is enchanted or―” “ENCHANTED?” The emperor yelled, ignoring the voice in his head reminding him of Dea’s warning. “Of course it’s not enchanted! The forest is as plain as you are, you lazy, cheating fools! Off with you! Away! I have no more need for you… GENERAL? GENERAL! Come and take these filthy malingerers out of my sight, and hire me some new architects while you’re at it!” “But sir―” “SILENCE! I will deal with you when you return! The four men stumbled out of the house, the heavy door slamming behind them. Inside, the emperor paced the frigid floorboards anxiously. After this report, he had no doubts about the strange girl’s message. If all was as it seemed, the only way to break the curse was to solve the riddle… That night, after the generals in the neighboring cottages were asleep, the emperor himself emerged onto the moonlit snow, pockmarked by the smudged footprints of the morning’s scuffle. Enveloped in layers of heavy fur, he made his way into the shadows among the birch trees. Each crack of the ice-laced snow caused him to jump and glance around the shadowed forest. Every hoot from an owl or scuttle of a small animal sent a shiver down his spine. Over and over these noises haunted him, until he began to grow exhausted from the stress. The woods seemed innocent enough, and nothing bigger than a dormouse had scurried across his path. The emperor decided to sit against a tree and wait for his answers to arrive. After all, he couldn’t see much in the dark… Click… Clickclick… The emperor woke with a start. The dawn was just breaking in the frosty forest, and a strange humming sound was resonating very close to his head. Slowly, he sat up and looked around, his back and neck creaking from a night on
Fantasy
The Legend of the Leaves
Long, long ago, in the days when dinosaurs roamed, and the earth was filled with lush, green grass, the first people were born. The gods shaped them from the mud of the earth, dropping them on the soft ground and giving them shelter from harsh weather. In the time before humans, the gods were lonely. They would eat and sleep and occasionally play bingo at the top of a volcano. But they never experienced joy or happiness like we do today. So they created humans. The gods would make houses and villages for the people to live in. They would give food to the people when they were in need. The gods were so generous they gave the people the most valuable resource of all. Leaves. Now, when you first think about it, doesn’t it sound a little silly? But, back then, they didn’t have the same animals as we do today. They wouldn’t be able to make clothes or blankets without the soft animal skins we have now. The gods saw the humans in distress. They were cold at night and made clothes out of tough alligator hides. So they took action. The gods thought up something that would solve the problem. Something common, that could be found everywhere. And so they created leaves. Lots and lots of leaves. The people used the leaves right away. They made soft clothing to wear that was a million times better than the scaly lizard skin. They stuffed pillows with them. They even used sticky tree sap to glue them together and make roofs. The gods gave them everything. But, the problem was, the humans were still not satisfied. They demanded more from the gods. Better food. Nicer homes. More recipes for Italian beef stew. The gods were astounded. “They must be put under control. They want more, and they are greedy. If we give them more, the people will only want more. What can we do?” said Civerous, the most powerful of the gods. “We must take away their things,” replied Nethran, Civerous’s son. “Maybe then they will realize that to survive they must do things for themselves.” Meanwhile, the people were gazing at the palace of the gods, perched at the top of the tallest volcano. The palace shone with gold and bronze statues, depicting the gods themselves. “We must have that palace to ourselves,” said the human leader, Sarah. “We will drive the gods out of the palace and live in it. We shall climb the volcano. Assemble the Warriors!” People rushed off to gather the Warriors, the strongest men and women in the colony. Sarah and the Warriors climbed the steep volcano to the god’s palace. Sheggera, the eldest god, spotted them coming before they were even halfway up the volcano. She shouted to the other gods: “The humans are coming to attack us!” The gods rushed into the room. “You are right, Sheggera. They have come to attack us. My son was right. We must take away what we have given them,” Civerous spoke up. “If they attack us, we will fight back.” And the humans did attack. And the gods did fight back. A great war began, gods on one side, humans on the other. It waged on for many years until the gods came to a decision. “We shall use the last of our strength to drive them down the volcano. At whatever costs,” Allegro, the wisest of the gods, said in a set tone. “Aye!” said all the gods in unity. “It is decided then,” said Sheggera. “We will drive them down the volcano!” And so the gods used the last of their strength. They piled it together and strained and sweat. The volcano shuddered with power as hot lava started to come together into a big glob. The human army stopped and stared at the lava spilling over the side of the volcano, heading straight for them. They screamed, dropped their weapons, and bolted down the volcano. Civerous yelled after them: “Because of your ignorance, we shall take away what we have given to you. Once a year, we will take away your greatest resource—leaves! And in that time, you will be without clothes, without shelter! This was caused by you!” The humans retreated down the volcano and never set foot there again. The gods, however, died at the top of the volcano that day, having used up all of their remaining strength. And so it is that every year, in the coldest days, trees lose their leaves. And so it is that the gods are no more. Marcus R. Bosley, 10Amery, WI
The Waterfall
You would think that a princess’s life would be amazing and magical but it’s not how it seems. I sit on a bed in a tower. Every day. Always nervous. Having that one feeling where you have knots in your stomach. That something would happen. Something evil, something terrible. But every day it was the same: the same voices outside, the same hands handing me food through a slot in the wall. But then something did happen—something bad and evil. Not what I wanted. I wanted a Prince Charming like other kingdoms but I didn’t get one. I heard a scream and the castle doors shutting. People were running, voices were yelling, and I was here alone. I sat there for a while not knowing what to do. My heart started pounding. I sat patiently, knowing that sooner or later someone would remember me. But nobody did. So I started banging on the doors as hard as I could. No one heard me over the screams of terror. We were under attack, and I was stuck in a tower next to it all, hearing the whole thing. I was terrified. My hands shook like maracas. I grabbed a metal pan I had my supper on, and I thrashed it against the door. Surprisingly, a piece broke off. So much for safe keeping. I started peeling and chiseling the wood away. After about an hour of work, I finally had a small space to crawl out of. I slowly slipped through with a few splinters that hurt and landed on the first step of the staircase. I ran down the staircase. Then I noticed that voices were gone. Except for one hush one. “Be quiet!” I heard. I was scared. I had never had a real encounter with a human—or at least I can’t remember it. I was nervous but kept going. Quieter this time but at a fast pace. When I was almost down I saw her—a beautiful young girl. She was about three years younger. “Who are you?” I asked. “I’m Leda.” All the sudden I felt something I had never felt before: love. Even though I had known her for only a second, I knew she would make an amazing friend. She grabbed my hand and led me out the door. “Where are we going?!” “You’ll see!” she said as she dragged me through the burned-down doors. We walked until came to this place. It was amazing and so pretty. There was a gorgeous waterfall. She brought me behind it. There, behind the waterfall, was a small beaten-up mattress and a pair of old shoes. “What is this place?” I asked Leda. “It’s my home. I left the kingdom a little while after my mom passed away. About two months ago. I’ve been here for a while but I’m getting used to it.” It was a beautiful place. I sat down on the bed. It was kind of hard but I didn’t care. We kind of just sat there. When she said I could live here, I was relieved. I would have had nowhere else to go if I couldn’t stay here. When we were done talking about me moving in, I went back to the tower to grab my clothes and maybe a couple pillows. I walked back through the castle doors and I was devastated. I hadn’t really noticed how terrible it looked. There was almost nothing left. I walked over to the tower and up the staircase slowly. When I reached my room, I grabbed a bed sheet and put my clothes on it, then wrapped it up. I grabbed the three pillows on my bed and brought them as well. The only thing left besides that was a bracelet my mom gave me. I felt tears coming up and out as I slipped it onto my hand. Then the dam broke. I sat down on my bed and sobbed. I realized the hands giving me food had belonged to my mom. My mom had been the one making the noise. My mom had protected me from whatever was out there. Now she was gone. I never said thank you when she gave me the food. It wasn’t fair. After I was done crying, I walked back down the staircase and back to the waterfall. I put my clothes down and set the pillows on the bed. It was about ten o’clock when I fell asleep. It was hard to fall asleep with the raging waterfall in the background but I got over it. When I woke up, the sun was already rising. I saw Leda down by the water; she had something red in her hands—strawberries. “Hey can I have some?” I asked. She handed me one. I took a bite into it. It was sweet. I walked back up and sat on the bed. I fiddled with the bracelet around my hand. I guess this would be my life. Natalie Warnke, 12Eden Prairie, MN
