[Posted in several long parts, all combined here. BIG]

Caesar, Sara Ferret and Friends Meet the Mighty Odin

Caesar wearily shook his water-soaked, sable furred head as he
frantically searched through the swirling fog, his bright eyes peering
deeply into the icy depths of the black, rolling water. He fluttered
his fragile, beautiful, silver wings praying that he would be strong
enough to hover above the raging waters long enough to search for his
lost friends. But even as he attempted this, he could not shake the
panicky feelings of fear and an equal amount of pure confusion as to
what had just happened? What, in the name of all that was holy had put
them in jeopardy, in this place of fright, pain and fear? Why were they
here fighting for their very lives, when they had just been in a place
of love, laughter and light? He shook his head in confusion as he
tried hard to remember what had happened. But the last thing that he
could remember of his friends was their looks of absolute fear as the
Valknerie stallions thundered toward them. They stood their ground, a
frozen defenseless group whom only moments before had been waiting to
greet another bridge crosser, and instead found themselves facing those
thundering, deadly, flailing hoofs as they tried to trample them,
one-and-all. Caesar knew from his studies that these horseman of Norse
legends had only appeared in order to gather and return the bodies of
their own slain soldiers. He could not for the life of him figure out
why they would try to commit such a senseless and horrifying deed in a
place of solace and comfort, upon his innocent kinsmen. For he knew
that these warriors of old, whose only duty was one of prideful
protection for those slain and fallen in times of battle, would shutter
horrendously at the awful command to ride upon defenseless and unarmed
ferret men, women and children. So what could be the truth? What could
be the answer to the confusing question of why?

Caesar grappled with the age-old theology of good versus evil and the
power struggle that it has always brought to both the guilty and the
innocent alike. He pondered the idea that there could exist pure,
unadulterated evil that in even a place as special as theirs'. He knew
that only something truly evil could have committed this flagrant act
of cowardliness upon his friends. Then he shook his head once more,
slinging the musty, ferrety smell of a very, wet and frightened ferret
into the air and returned his attention to the more pressing job of
surviving and finding his friends.

Back to testing his wings, flutter, flap, flutter, flap all to no
avail. Alas, his damp, little wings continued to hang limply upon his
back, nothing but a sodden, bedraggled mess. He did not fear the water
as much as some for in his past life he could swim with the best of the
best. But he knew that time would soon run out for those not so
swimmingly inclined and worse of all, the coldness would soon zap the
strength from even the strongest of his furry friends. So with a heavy
heart he began his search a little more frantically, fearing what the
daylight might bring. Would he see nothing? Would he see drowned bodies
littering the banks? Would he ever know what became of those that he
loved so dearly? With tears in his beautiful, chocolate-colored eyes
he pleaded to the Gods above for their protection and their all
encompassing love.

And high above him, floating among the clouds, two pair of keen and
caring ears heard his pleas for those that he loved, so dear. And his
selfless cries were carried on the wings of these two huge, beautiful,
jet black ravens, Huginn ("Thought") and Muninn ("Memory"). These
ravens rode the wind currents as swiftly as two streaming fighter jets,
soaring through the air in mere minutes back to Valhalla and to their
master, Odin. Upon hearing the pitiful saga of the little ferret and
his pleas for his fallen comrades drowning below, Odin felt his
heartstrings tug. For Odin was a warrior himself and lived by the
sacred code of brother-to-brother, my life willingly for yours, each
and every day.

So Odin prepared his mount with due speed and upon his massive,
magnificent back he climbed. As he pulled back on his reins his
eight-legged, grey horse Sleipnir rose into the air, thrashing his
hoofs and ready for the fight, evermore. Odin knew that Sleipnir was a
true warrior's steed and ever proud to answer his master's call with
both power and speed. Odin in a voice fueled by raging anger and the
need for a swift response quickly whistled for his half feral wolves,
Freki and Geri. And together they roared across the sky, streaking
their way toward the fallen ferrets down below. Though Odin had but one
eye, the other long ago given in exchange for the charms of wisdom and
fore-sight, he was still able to see much of that which escapes mere
mortals and lesser gods. And as they raced toward the river, Odin left
his horse and wolves to run on alone. For he shape-shifted into an
magnificent eagle in order to fly high above the ragging waters, his
sharp eyes now even better to spy the fallen ferrets in the swirling
flow. With his ravens keen ears and watchful eyes, they soon spotted
them, one-and-all. The three impressively strong birds with their
powerful claws began to pluck the drowning ferrets from the boiling
water as though they weighed nothing. And one by one they removed the
sodden ferrets from the river of doom, placing each upon the rocky
banks leaving the wary and watchful wolves and his faithful steed to
stand guard over the tiny and exhausted crew. Odin and his trusted
group worked quickly and without a sound and until all were plucked
from certain death and placed upon the craggy, rock strewn ground.

Caesar stood shaking and wet upon the rocky shore as he counted them
one-by-one. There was Ms. Ziggie, Muldoone (Mully), Capone, Duncan,
Shelby, Jenny, Fred, Oliver, Gizmo, Allie, CoCo, Maru, Big Rio, Bandit,
Tiny Treasure, Jasper, Moose, Snow Flake, Sam, Rocky, Snow Ball, Lola,
Claudia & Scarlett O'Ferret, the list just went on and on until all but
one stood before him in a huddled mass of sodden ferrets. He scanned
and counted, scanned and counted and everyone was there, but Sara
Ferret. And with tears in his eyes, he feared the worst had come to
pass for nowhere did he see her. He could not lose his precious friend
for what was the afterlife without her kind and loving words to help
other lost and frightened ferrets find peace and happiness on that
side? He knew that even the humans took solace in her ability to find
the right words at the right time, to make their pain more bearable. He
knew that she always found and reunited lost members of families, even
the dogs and cats that went before. Sara Ferret was as much the fabric
of their afterlife as their humans were in their before life. There
could be no joy without her, no perfect words, no happy reunions, no
guiding light and no comfort from painful departures. NO, he screamed,
she just had to be found, for Sara Ferret was his one true love, even
though only he knew about it. For his love was a very, private thing
that he felt deep within his heart of hearts. He pleaded, he prayed,
he cried out loud for she just had to be alright, she just had to be!

Then out of the corner of his tear-filled eye, he spotted Odin zooming
down with a limp, little ferret body in his razor sharp claws. A
fragile body that looked more dead than alive. His heart pounding for
his fears had just been met, his Sara Ferret hung there; limp, wet,
stone-cold, her dainty lips icy blue and her soft, velvety eyes now
tightly closed, no shallow breaths from her tiny, little chest rose.
Though they had all feared the worst, it was no longer a haunting fear
but now a crushing reality for them all. The ferrets turned as though
one massive, furry body each excepting the awful reality of their
beloved greeter in her dead state. They began to wail as though one
voice, a wave of sound, a thousand voices strong. The cries rising
upward, a banshee wail of pain that shook the very walls of all 9
worlds above. Their voices rose and rose higher until not one God or
Goddess could close their ears from the pain and misery that their
cries spoke of. The sounds spoke of millions of years of heartache, of
fear, of punishment and misdeed, of all that the little ferrets have
suffered in the world of man and beyond, it spoke of agony and anger,
of need and want, of prayers and pleas. These painful cries tore from
the very heart of all that heard them, any amount of cruelty or
coldness that they had lurking inside. The God and Goddesses of old
began to fall upon their knees, tears raining down their faces as they
tried unsuccessfully to cover their ears to stop the soul wrenching
pain that the ferrety cries brought. For once the whole universe was
in accord as all felt the ferrets pain reverberating deep within.

Then as though it came from the heavens above, came a voice as pure, as
melodious, as wondrous as any sound that they had ever heard. And the
voice sang of healing, of love, of compassion and pride, it sang of all
that was good with the world and left the pain of the bad behind.. That
sound, that beautiful sound, that magical melody was music from the
mouth of Odin as he sang one of his nine powerful songs. He sang his a
healing charm, a balm for the heart and soul. He sang to the dead that
gone before and sang for Sara's soul, for he knew that she still had
things more to do at her beautiful bridge and beyond. He used those
special powers, which he had so sacrificed in order to earn, to heal
the battered little body that lay limply within his arms. And as he
sang, the his words seem to heal all that stood listening before him.
They magically healed the broken hearts, the broken bones and the
broken dreams, for his passionate, beautiful song made every thing
possible and let nothing in that felt, evil or wrong..

And then, as though she were a beautiful heroine, some character from
a modern day fairytale book, Sara Ferret sat up and gave her group of
friends a shy look. And then she exclaimed, "What was all of that about
and why are we here? And who is this handsome man that holds my furry
body within his massive hand? And why are there tears upon all of your
cheeks, and goodness me, why am I so drenchingly wet?" And with a
collective sigh the ferrets excitingly began to try and tell her of all
that gone on before. She smiled her shy, little smile as all around her
words jumbled, bubbled and danced. And though she could not catch all
of the story, the joy she heard within their words, seemed story enough
for now. Caesar watched with deep relief as his lady love was placed
upon the back of one of the wolves and watched as it ran surefooted and
swiftly to the tops of the cliffs toward home, Sara hanging on for dear
life to the shaggy fur. Behind her came the ferrets marching two and
three abreast; every shape, color, pattern and design, dooking and
dancing and prancing with pride. There marched a long, snaking line of
playful, happy furriness as they continued their climb up the craggy
cliffs toward happiness and home.

But never one to let a sleeping dog lay or in this case an awful horde
of marauding, thundering horses that almost killed him and his friends.
Caesar sat down beside Odin and asked very simply, "Why?" Odin shook
his shaggy head and wearily closed his one haunting eye. Solemnly he
began to speak, "We are day by day, approaching Ragnarok, the final
battle. This is equivalent to Judgment Day for your human's battle of
good and evil back on earth. For us, this is a time when balance here,
will be restored and a time of new creation will began. And I suspect
that as time draws nearer those that love evil tricks will be even more
inclined to do so. I do know that is was not my Sleipnir that thundered
down upon your crew. For though it is true that he is the one that
carries the valiant dead from the battlefield to Valhalla, there was
nothing noble or proud in that awful deed done to you and yours. And
Sleipner takes orders from no one but me and I am a warrior not a
wastrel or a demon seed. I highly suspect Loki as being the culprit of
the hour. Why, because he is one of our most dangerous gods and is
often mischievous and sometimes blatantly malicious. He is also a shape
shifter, like I, and could easily have pretended to be one of the
horses that trampled though your kind. Loki usually he has some sort of
solution to offer afterwards to repair his dirty tricks, but too often
his ideas are nothing more than further messes that compound the issues
that he has already caused. He is never one to trust without due heed."
Caesar pondered the idea and then said, "Do you think he will cause us
more pain or will he leave us alone now that he has had his fun?" Odin
said, "I think you will be ok. The pain of your kind rocked throughout
our worlds and drew excessive attention to him and his pranks. I think
he will lay low and find another way to create mischief and havoc
somewhere else, out of sight. But it never pays to go through life or
the afterlife totally unprepared, so make plans if you please. Start by
recording this event, tell your story for others to read and be aware.
Can you do this one thing so that future ferrets will be prepared?"
Caesar said with a huge sigh, "I plan to write the words buried
painfully within my soul, but I am not much of a writer and not too,
terribly well-know. So it remains to be seen if anyone will read my
words, or will even listen and take heed." Odin sat silent as he
contemplated his next reply. And then he calmly said, "Caesar I am sure
that you have figured out from my stead and my acts today, that I am a
god of war and death. I am a god that also has the charm of speaking
with the dead and the charm of healing. But what many do not know about
me is that I am also a god of poetry and of wisdom. And I have the
ability to share of my powers with those I deem highly worthy. And you
my little friend, for all of your love for your fellow kind, I have
found to be more than worthy. So from this day forward you will find
that you have both wisdom and an articulate way with words.. From this
day forward you will be able to tell your stories, to write in prose or
verse and to be an oracle to your ferret kind. You will pass from here,
this day, to share your wisdom and words with all that will need them
in the days to come.

So go now, my furry friend and write your powerful words so that future
generations of ferrets will know of this day and the friendship formed
here. Let your words be your cloak of peace and protection for yourself
and your friends. And if ever you find yourself in dire need, just send
up a prayer upon the wings of a bird and I will be there in a minute's
time to aid you in whatever your ferret kingdom needs." Caesar croaked
out his thanks through his salty tears and slowly turned away, in order
to make the journey up the mountain pass and to his home high above. He
climbed slowly as his mind worried with the idea of how best to use his
new found wisdom and writing ability to help ferrets everywhere live
fulfilling and happy lives. Caesar did not know what the future would
hold, but he knew that he would never forget the fear of losing Sara
Ferret and his crew and that he would do everything within his power to
make sure that they never, ever felt that kind of fear again.

By Kendra Benefield Lausman
April 5th, 2009

[Posted in FML 6295]