Chapter 2 - A Voyage Begun
 
Humans record the date that Christofert sailed as August 3, 1492.
Christofert was not very interested in dates though, so I'll leave them
out of this story.  It did not take Christofert long to learn that the
humans had named his ship, the Pinta.  The other two were the Santa Maria
and the Nina.  He was a little worried that he might get separated from
Columbus since they were on different ships, but it turns out that it was
not a problem.
 
The first few days of the voyage were the most miserable days Christofert
had ever experienced.  The ship kept rocking and moving.  He found himself
sliding around on the floor, and didn't know which way was up sometimes.
Within a few hours he found himself throwing up and staggering into things.
He deeply regretted coming on the trip.  After a few days though his
seasickness began to clear up, but rougher days were still nauseating.
When he found himself starting to get sick he learned to immediately return
to the deck.  Somehow the fresh air and open sky kept his stomach settled.
 
Rats were plentiful onboard, so Christofert was well fed.  He spent his
days climbing around in the depths of the ship.  Sometimes while standing
on the deck, he would watch the men climbing up into the rigging to do
their work.  Being so small, ferrets were naturally afraid of heights, but
Christofert was rather envious of the men.  One day while watching the
men, he saw a rat scurry by out of the corner of his eye.  This reminded
him of lunch, so he set of in pursuit.  For some reason, this rat didn't
run into a hole like usual, but instead ran up one of the ropes.  Without
pausing or thinking, Christofert followed.  About fifteen ferret lengths
above the deck he froze and looked around.  He was way up high and it was
beautiful.  He could see everything down on the deck, and the cool breeze
brought all of the scents of the ship and the ocean to him.  In the
meantime, the rat got away, but Christofert didn't mind.  He just sat in
the rigging and watched.  Soon Christofert was climbing in the rigging
anytime that he wanted to.  His fear of heights had disappeared.  It made
him feel much braver and like a true adventurer.
 
Many days after leaving port, Christofert discovered that many of the men
were getting worried.  They weren't sure that they would find the other
side of the ocean.  Many spoke about turning back.  Christofert was a
little worried also.  The rats were becoming less common and harder to
catch onboard.  The men argued back and forth, then they decided to change
their direction a bit so that they weren't heading directly towards the
setting sun.  Just a few days latter, the lookout cried out "Land Ho!"
 
(to be continued)
 
            Bryan P. Coffey - Boston, MA
      Weasel Warriors - Albi, Esef, Merri, and Mint
        http://www.gis.net/~bpcoffey/furball.html
[Posted in FML issue 2818]