When we left off yesterday....

Todd the ferret stood to his full height slowly before Three Bucks the
Rooster, silently contemplating the Rooster's razor sharp beak and
asked very simply "Did you bring it?"

Three Bucks turned his head to regard his two wives, both beautiful
Buff Brahma hens. One simply dropped her gaze and looked away. The
other met his red eyes and nodded once, then closed her own eyes as
if trying to gather some inner strength. Three Bucks, still in that
sitting position in front of the pellet stove and back-lit by its amber
flame tipped his body forward, forward toward the floor in front of him
and opened his left wing slightly, holding it away from his body. Out
slipped a single brown egg that met the carpet with a muted thump and
rolled to a stop several inches away. All eyes, even the Turtle's were
on that egg.

It was a moment that demanded a respectful silence. The Cat's eyes, lit
by the flames from the pellet stove were two glowing green sparks. The
Dog's eyes were much the same only they were set much higher up, of
course. Even Caff-Pow, nestled between the two was unusually quiet and
thoughtful. Three Bucks and Todd the ferret looked at the egg, then
looked at one another. Tina could be heard up on the kitchen island,
splashing in her tank, trying to get a better view. But for that splash
and the gentle roar of the pellet stove the house was in silence.

Three Bucks stood up and stretched to his full height, dwarfing Todd
who was standing before him in that curious little red turban made
from the she-Hoomin's red sport sock and pinned in place with her
grandmother's diamond brooch. When Todd moved, the diamonds threw
little chips of amber and rainbow colored light over the entire scene.
The big Rooster's body was spangled with those little flecks of diamond
light. He took a deep breath, shook out his bottle green tail feathers
and began to speak very softly, but with great control. It was obvious
that this entire situation was a difficult one for him.

"Weasel...I do not like your kind. Your wild cousins kill hens for
pleasure, crush the precious eggs and suck them dry. It is my life's
work to protect my family from your kind. Oh, I know you say that you
are "domesticated." So am I. And I have killed more than one weasel."
The Rooster narrowed his eyes and dropped his head with the crimson
wattles forward until his beak was only inches away from Todd's soft
throat. "Do we understand one another?" the Rooster asked Todd. Todd
coughed, cleared his throat and said simply "Yes sir, we do."

The Rooster stood slowly and said "I also understand the insult that
has been done to all of us who rely on Hoomins for our food, our
shelter, our lives. Some insults are simply too great to be borne in
dumb-animal silence. We must act." The Rooster looked over to his wives
and regarded them in silence for a moment, and it seemed that his
expression softened as he gazed upon them. It was difficult to imagine
this creature with the razor beak and the slashing spurs feeling love,
but he had love in his eyes when he looked upon the two hens. Yes,
love. Then the moment passed and his expression hardened. He turned
his gaze back to Todd and said "Obviously I will not allow either if
my beautiful wives to sacrifice themselves. And even though this is
a difficult thing to accomplish in the dead of winter, the egg is
fertile." The Rooster bent his long neck down again until his beak was
only a feather's-breadth away from Todd's nose. "You see to it that
this sacrifice is not made in vain, weasel."Todd said simply "No, sir."
He had lived long enough to understand that often the fewest words are
the most important ones. Three Bucks sat down again next to his two
wives and enjoyed the warm breeze from the pellet stove as it played
over his back. His role in all of this was finished.

Todd turned around, still casting diamond sparkles over all assembled
and said to Loki Dog, simply, "Bring the Book." Loki dashed off to the
Hoomin's bedroom and crawled beneath their bed, searching for the book
that she had hidden there, the one that had come in the mail. Once Loki
realized that things could be ordered by computer there were *many*
items that she wanted to get and this had caused an unpleasant
confrontation between the Dog and the two ferrets (who were the best
typists) that lasted for several hours. Fortunately, she got over it
once the ferrets showed her how to disable the electronic dog fence
system that the Hoomins had installed. Knowledge is power. Loki
returned with the big black and yellow book, dropping it at Todd's
feet. For those assembled that night who could read, the big words on
the cover CLEARLY spelled out "VOODOO FOR DUMMIES."

"Now," said Todd. "We build the altar."

Part Three Tomorrow

Alexandra in MA

[Posted in FML 7295]