Τετάρτη 27 Μαρτίου 2013

Wednesday Story: Three Love Stories






Everyone loves a good love story.

The cheesier, tthe better!

So here's a collection of three beautiful ones from my blog archive, two out of three written by me, the first an adaptation from a fairy tale.

Enjoy and do tell me which one you liked best!




                      The love story of the horse and the poplar 


Once upon a time there was a tall,beautiful poplar tree in the middle of a  large meadow. 


 She was graceful,her folliage laden with silver.But who would have thought that she was an unhappy poplar.As far as your eyes could see there was no other tree in sight." I am so lonely, without any friends, without anyone to exchange a few words with" she reflected and continued:"When people are lonely, then compare themselves to the reeds in the plain, but it should rather be said that they are like me, like a poplar in the prairie."


These and other similar thoughts had been crossing the poplar's mind. For she really was lonely and miserable.A small consolation was of course the birds.The opportunities, however, to speak to them were few and far between.All day they would flutter back and forth and only came to her branches to sing or sleep.Not that they would undertsand her language anyway, because it's not that easy for anyone to learn the language of trees.As for the crickets, they were either sleeping or singing all day long.

So months and years passed and the world seemed drab to the poplar. Until oneday,when life began to smile upon her.

It was a glorious autumn day,a glorious sun shining upon the meadow after the early morningrain.
Freshly washed by the rain ,the poplar's leaves  were shining like pure silver.
She suddenly saw a horse descending the hills around her meadow.
White as snow. So proud a horse she had never seen in her life.
She just stood there admiring his trotting while his mane was rythmically swaying in the wind.



Soon she could also discern a middle aged man holding the horse's reins.
''That's probably his owner" she thoughtThen she realised that he was the  farmer who had bought the nearby plot."That horse is supposed to be working here for the farmer.Who would have thought that  company would come in the form of a beautiful horse''. 
But the horse did not even look at her. At first because it simply never crossed his  mind to hang out witha tree.Besides he was not that fond of trees anyway, as he was often tied to their trunk, while he would prefer to gallop freely in the plains and mountains. Plus he never thought that a tree could either talk or keep one company.

A few days passed but the horse paid no heed to the poplar.She tried several times to talk to him but he did not seem to understand..But soon loneliness began to creep upon the horse as well. After he was done with his chores he spent too many hours tied to the poplar's trunk.One afternoon he lifted his head up and observed the poplar in all her glory for the first time.



''Good God!What a beauty! ''he exclaimed ''And look at those leaves,glistening like pure silver!! But how  miserable she must be here all alone in the meadow ",he whispered  and as he gazed upon her.
''-Oh, thank you  for realising what it's like,'' he heard  a fine melodious voice emerging from the folliage of  the poplar .The horse could  not believe his ears. Really, it was the  poplar talking to him.''So you are a talking tree''? he asked inquiringly. The poplar, happy now because he could hear her at last,replied:
-''Everything on earth has its own language .You can keep studying languages ​​to learn how to communicate. But in order for anyone to understand the language of any living thing,you have to pay attention to it when it is trying to talk to you''.


From that day on the horse became friends with the poplar. He could hardly wait for the time that the farmer summoned him to work in the field. He was so looking forward to find himself next to the poplar.And the poplar hardly slept a wink each night,counting the minutes until she could see the horse descending  from the hills beyond. 
.
They would spent endless hours talking. He told her a lot of things about other animals,he spoke of the world behind the hills. And he even told her that he loved  nothing more on earth than to gallop as a free horse in the plains and mountains.And that he was fortunate to have an owner that was kind to animals. She could not get enough of his stories.She in turn told him about the pleasure of hearing the birds singing,of the joy of silently contemplating about life under the stars at night,of the pleasure of swinging rythmically to the gentle breezes.
She was no longer lonely and the horse felt lonely only when he was away from her, althoughhe did not lack company in the farmhouse of his owner.

But one morning the horse did not show up. Nor the next day or the day after that.. Then she realized that work was over and done with in the nearby plot and that the horse would not come back to her.
''He is soon going to forget all about me", she thought with a heavy heart.

But the horse kept thinking about her throughout the days while he was working in other plots and throughout the nights when he was tied  to the the door of the farmhouse."Oh, the poplar will  assume I have forgotten her"he thought to himseld and his eyes misted with grief. He stopped talking to other animals,he even lost his appetite.Now he realized the true depth of his feelings for the poplar.And how he wished he were allowed to send a message,to tell her that he had not forgotten........


Days, nights, weeks rolled by, then winter came. One night standing outside the farmhouse in the bitter cold,realizing that the bitterness in his heart was even more unbearable, the horse  took the big decision:"I can not stand it any longer,I am breaking loose. My poplar needs me and I need her too". He was strong and the rope gave in easily and he started galloping frantically towards the meadow.There was a huge,round moon in the winter sky guiding his way.Fast as the wind he came to her,calling her name. He stood on his hind legs trying to kiss her. She in her turn tried hard  to bend her trunk to reach down and kiss him.But the trunk came close to breaking. They couldn't make it. Maybe next time ...


As  the horse lay down by her trunk  she shook her branches and threw as many of her leaves that were left on her in an attempt to cover him and keep him warm. At that moment they heard a mocking hoarse voice above  them:''
''Look at that spectacle. Go figure. A horse loving a poplar. That's a good laugh'' ...They lifted their eyes and saw a black ugly cloud passing by.-'I'll run to tell the news to the other clouds behind the hills so that we can laugh to our hearts content.''


The poplar sank into silence.The words of  the black cloud were still  ringing in her ears and almost stole the joy of their reunion.The white horse, reading her thoughts immediately replied:.''My sweet poplar, do not worry. There will always be black clouds who instead of  trying to find happiness for themselves,will be  looking for ways  to spoil the happiness of others.Do not doubt for a moment that we are the most suited couple, perhaps in the whole wide world.''

''You're right horse'' they heard a warm voice above them. ''Thousands of years traveling upon the earth from side to side I have seen a lot,believe me. But it's the first time I have seen a love so beautiful''. It was the  perfectly round moon  who had silently slipped  from the sky and stood over them while bathing them with her silver light.



Then the horse thought of the farmhouse and his owner.But he could not find it in his heart to leave her alone again.His owner,though, was not about to give up on such a valuable horse so easily.So he kept searching for it. Except it never occured to him to look for it by the poplar's side.But of course that telltale of a cloud saw to that and dropped a few of his rain drops above the farm. So the secret was learned first by the flowers in the garden .Then  the secret reached the ears of  the farmer's wife, who knew the language of flowers because she loved them.And she in turn told her husband.. He immediately ran to the meadow to bring his property back.


But the horse had decided to stay with the poplar forever, so when he  saw his owner descending from the hills, he took to the mountains. The farmer realised what was amiss  and decided to cut down the tree that kept his horse away from him. So he got out his saw and started sawing the trunk.He was surprised however to hear deep sighs emanating from the tree .  ''Those who claim that trees have a soul are right " he thought to himself. "And why not? My wife does speaks to flowers after all ."


He stopped sawing and asked:-"'Tell me,am I hurting you,is that why you are sighing?''-''Yes'', she replied, 'it hurts a lot,but that is not why I am sighing. I am thinking of the pain my beloved horse will go through when he comes back and finds me dead''.
-''What a beautiful love this is''! whispered the farmer.''How can I ruin it?? Tell the horse when he gets back, that from now on he is free . This is my gift to your love''.And before the poplar had  time enough to thank him, he was off on his way back to tell his wife of this wonderful and strange story.


When  the horse returned and learned about the news, he started dancing like mad for joy .Then the horse asked the poplar: "Would you like to walk with me?''  "Walk-me? I am a tree. Have you forgotten that my  horse? Trees remain rooted in the same place for ever''. ''That's because none of the ever tried'' replied the horse. ''Why dont you become the first tree ever to do that?'' And so it happened. It was wonderful that night that the poplar walked proudly next to the white horse, under the perfectly round moon.Yes, there it was their friend the moon, who did her best to become brighter  for their sake that night


''I brought you a gift ,'' told them the moon .''I will sprinkle you with some magic dust and you will become of the same kind.You will no longer be different. And so you will be free to relish your love without any obstacles and problems.You choose: Would you like to live the rest of your lives like horses or like poplars?''And then as is always the case with two lovers so deeply in love as they were,they replied in one voice, as if they had read each other's thoughts:-''Thank you  moon for your gift, but we prefer to stay the way we are.We are perfectly happy as it is. Our love does not need your magic dust''.
-''I '',said  the poplar, ''know how much  horses like to run free, galloping away to their heart's content. It would be a shame to make a poplar of him,he would miss his former life so terribly. ''And I'',said the horse ''know how much my poplar loves swaying to the breeze under the stars.Yes,we 'd like to stay the way we are. I will always be coming back to you, my precious poplar,no matter how far away I go''

Before he could finish his words, the horse felt his feet growing taller and taller. And the poplar bent for the first time without any pain in her trunk.So they were able to have their first kiss ...enthusiastically applauded by the moon ...And that was the only night ever that the moon forgot to continue her journey through the horizon... ...

continue her journey through the horizon... ...

A Fairytale - Παραμυθι χωρις ονομα και στα ελληνικα


Once upon a time, in two different distant kingdoms, there were  two babies that were born at the exact same time and day, the same minute-second, a little prince and a little princess whose souls were so much alike you'd swear that when Plato wrote the myth of the hermaphrodite about the male-female spirit that was violetly split in two and since then have been seeking their other half, he must have had those two in mind.

These babies, as always is the case in fairy tales, were endowed with every talent and grace, the pride of their parents and the entire kingdom, by all means.

Now the three good fairies that gave them those talents upon birth would notice those striking similarities in said babies and discuss it among themselves and the youngest of the three said:

-'' Wouldn't it be great if those two met and fell in love some day! They are sooo well matched. ''

-''Not possible '' said the oldest. You know that what is written cannot be changed. They are meant to marry into other royal families and thus live happily ever after.''

''-So fate cannot be changed, ever? asked the young one again, lost in deep thought .

- "Only if they were two different people, different to those they were intially born, could they possibly meet,'' replied the other.

- 'Two different people ...'' contemplated the little fairy who, truth be told, was as stubborn as hell and if an idea entered her head there was no way she'd forget about it until she had it her own way.

Time passed and the Prince and the Princess grew up endowed with all graces that God bestowed upon them, namely beauty, brains,keeness for learning and kindness, which held together all the other talents, such as a rarediamond bids together all other precious stones in a priceless jewellery piece. Sadly, though, as is usually the case with all gifted creatures in this world, they both had too high an opinion of themselves.

The Princess had all those suitors kneeling in a semi-circle at her feet, her parents, all the courtiers and the entire kingdom doting on her and her fiancé, the prince she had chosen to be her husband showered her with gifts and affection daily All those poisonous fumes of false adoration, however, had begun getting into the Princess's head and one day- I could swear that good little fairy did have something to do with it-a strange idea occured to her: '

'' Supposing all those that swear in my name knew I wasn't a princess; If it wasn't for all my father's riches; If it wasnt for my skin which is pearl-like and if it wasnt for my hair which is flaxen-gold; if it wasn't for  my voice, sweet as a lark's; would they still love me if it wasnt for those things? Oh,even a milkmaid is luckier than me becauses she knows she is being loved  for who she is, but I am not ever to know if this is the case with me.''

Then the little fairy appears right before her eyes.

- 'You can find out, she told her,'' but it will cost you a lot of pain, many tears and perhaps your entire life as you now know it. This might tear you apart and you might even not be able to stand it. On the other had it could heal you from the poison of vanity that has already started eroding your soul and you will know for sure who loves you for what you really are, without your external garnish. Think about it well, for once it begins it is a one way road.''

Because her heart was made of good stuff and with a little help from her angel who loved her dearly, the princess' soul conceded to go through the test. From that day on a strange transformation began to creep upon the princess' entire self. Her white skin began to take a bruise-like hue, her golden hair turned purple, her gleaming eyes lost their luster and took the colour of dark ink... in other words, slowly but inexorably, the princess was turning into a freak of nature, a very sad and strange sight to behold  ..... No longer would her cheerful songs echo throughout the palace and her fun-loving and sunny disposition was replaced by melancholy and depression, until the poor thing was reduced into a shadow of her former self.

Naturally her parents called in the best doctors from all ends of the earth to cure her, but after a while they would shake their heads and admit that such an illness was uknown to them and therefore could  not be cured. Despair befell upon the Kingdom, everyone was in mourning. Until one day there appeared a strange magician in the palace that stared deep into the princess' eyes and claimed that, yes, she could be cured  as long as she ,the princess,would wish it to be so.

''-Of course she does! cried her mother.''

-'' That illness is self- chosen ,'' reported the magician,'' so without her consent it cannot be cured ...''

-'' Tell him, love, that you wish to be cured,'' cried both her parents,''  say it so that everything may be well again!''

The princess lowered her head. '

- 'Then you do not love me as I am; You only loved that beautiful external picture me?'' she asked with a heavy heart.

Turmoil in the palace and all over the kingdom. News spread like wildfire across the country that the princess had chose it herself, woe begone, to become an ugly, depressed monster, a freak of nature! And not just that but she liked more herself in this way and moreover she wished to be her old self again!

Combined efforts were made to make her change her mind. Her parents begged, cried, implored,  threatened, swore at her, locked her up, let her go hugry, knelt and prayed and used up every kind of trickery or manipulation in a vain effort to make her give in. Her fiancé came raging and humiliated her and accused her of being a psycho,of making a fool of himself, asked her to get a grip of herself and cut the crap, otherwise he would just take his leave; that he just couldn't get a hard-on for a crazy purple freak, besides he wouldn't wish for his children to be born fuchsia-colored and what the hell had she done to his good ol' smiling princess?

One day, when her parents told her curtly that the very next day she would be disowned if she did not change her mind, and her fiancé stated that he demanded back all the gifts he had given her -impossible to find ; half of them she had given away and the other half she did not even remember what she did with- otherwise he would take legal action and put her in prison until she paid him back, the purple princess ran away from the palace and began running as fast as she could, until her legs gave in and she fell down and wept bitterly and wished to die.

Then it was dark  and she had hardly any tears left so she accepted the fact than nobody really loved her for herself but that was ok ,fine, they could go fuck themselves, she wouldn't give a shit from now on and she would go see the world.

And thus began the wanderings of the purple ex princess, who sold apples and chestnuts to earn a living, her face hidden under loads of headscarves while at night, ah, at night she would do the only thing that reminded her of her old life in the palace: she'd climb up a hillside in the woods singing her heart out and the sound of her haunting voice echoing in the surrounding villages would spread unease among country folk who'd cross themselves and close shutters because hark! there she was again,  the purple enchanted creature of the woods.


As for the prince, you don't suppose the little conniving fairy of our story left him to his own devices, do you. One day while he was sitting on his own and contemplating that, fuck, life was great, but where is the princess of his dreams? Every time we thought he had found her, the whole thing went sour after a while, leaving him nauseous and uninterested and hungry again  ...


Now here comes the little fairy again.

-'' A penny for your thoughts, or rather how much will I get if I help you find her?''

-'' Fuck off, fairie, I have found her a hundred thousand times and I can find her as many more as I wish .''

-'' Your fate dictates that you two shall  never meet ... unless...unless you become two different people..''

-'' Unless you become two different people..'''' ...

Not that the prince believed in all that fairy nonsense, but because on that particular day he was bored and because he was too ingenious to pass on a chance for having a good time, he conceived a plan that sounded like fun.

He decided to become 'a different person' for a few hours, so he disguised himself as a peasant and went into town to see if he was convincing enough. Now that was loads of fun, not to mention the sense of freedom he experieced! Plus he made good use of his natural acting talent. And it was incredibly addictive. The next day he did the same thing, and so did the next and the one after that. He began to change roles because his restless mind could not stay too long in the same scenario. And so he tried all the possible scenarios that could be imagined.

He lived like a courtier, like mule driver, lame whore, like an old drunk or a sophisticated fag who smelled of  rosewater, a horsethief  and a misery taxcollector, and a wild coutry girl, an adviser to the Prince and Minister of Finance, theking's attache, a ex-convict,  a poor-as-dirt poet-bard, l a powerful emperor of the Indies, a poor old fart or a sinister monk.

He became an expert in disguise and role-playing, learned the secrets of makeup
 and elocution to be able to change manner of speech, voice and accent at will  and his vast collection of wigs and costumes would leave speechless anyone that might behold them.

Of course, there were always some roles that remained favorites, the ones he returned to with pleasure again and again because they resonated with parts of himself. Such as the role of the Knight in the Shining Armor who was incredibly popular with females and helped him to get laid to his heart's content and leave them with many happy memories.Or the role of the Preacher, which enabled him to gauge public opinion and to pass on his very radical ideas, to pass o faith and hope. And many other roles, in fact too many to mention here.

 He said to himself that he was a social worker that combined work and play. Many a times did he disperse his gold to the suffering,  heard the monologue of dying lonely souls, the crazy ravings of schychotic old maids nobody would talk to, not to  mention all those ulnoved ones whose beds he ket warm many a night adopting the role she'd feel the most comfortable with. He'd identify and evaluate what you needed to hear or do, the very next day, lo! behold, he was at your doorstep like a deus ex machina. But usually he would only appear in just one role per person, switching identities with the same individual was dangerous, if they were perceptive enough they'd realise that something was amiss.

When he felt too satiated to go on anymore and thought that he had seen and heard it all, and that from now on it would be just rerus of the same old shows ,life decided to serve him the ostracized purple princess. First he heard the voice and the nightly songs.  He identified the source of the voice, not difficult to locate for someone of his calibre and with his years of experience in hide and seek.

It was not the voice. Nor was it because of the purple mutations, the signs of her sufferig.Sure enough he had experienced his fair share of human pain during all his mad wanderings. Not even the signs of past beauty stirred his emotions, for he had seen ,tasted ande xperieced too much of it to be impressed. And nor, of course, was it because of her sad stories, which she was dying to tell him ayway, tell anyone,being a true female herself.

What did it for him was the spark of recognition.

The 'Alikeness' the Soul.

Which the little fairy had suspected of and which he could now see evidence in front of his very own eyes.

First he tried to make his acquaintance with her as the Knight in the Shining Armor.What the fuck, it was a tried and tested recipe. Didn't have much of a success though, she kicked him out eventually, knights reminded her of all the worthless assholes that would first flatter her then reject her, but at least that's how their story began. As a preacher he had somewhat better luck, but again the former princess held her ground. Masks scared her and reminded  her of all that was fake in her former life. So did games that smacked of hypocrisy and fakeness.

Meanwhile the prince with the thousant faces quickly outdid himself and broke his most basic principles for her sake : he began to return back to her time after time in many different guises: each disguise, each successful new role of his, ended up leading him to her side sooner or later. He said to himself that he was testing her, gauging her reactions, finding out about her preferences, likes and dislikes, the very fabric  which she was made of. But the truth of the matter was that through his many faces he would slowly but steadily reveal himself to her: each role of his would open a window into his soul for her.

The purple exprincess did not know if she should be angry or flattered with all this craziness.

On the one side her days were filled again with beauty and meaning as she was trying to guess what he would be up to next, how he'd appear to her and in what form: would it be the postman, the milkman, the lunatic of the village or her very own personal confessor? by instinct she could of course see through his disguises but it was fun trying to guess each time or even to incriminate innocent passersby, thinking it was him again. Not to metion how incredibly comfortable she felt in his presence, not having to hide her purple skin and her sick soul as she was accustomed of doing with other people, to avoid the merciless eyes of the curious who either pitied her or condemned her.

On the other side, how humiliating for her who had led him into the very sacred sanctuary of her soul not to be able to see his real face... wasn't it enough that she had suffered so much, she now had to be made a plaything of? How dare he? She knew  his real idetity, because the prince was dying to see her finding out herself, so she intuitevely did find out. But his true face she had never seen and that filled her with blind rage that would make her flee from him i amost predictable intervals. No use. He'd track her down and come back to her in one disguise or another.

The prince's own situation was not the best either. He began to spend more and more time by her side and most of his other roles and disguises no longer appealed to him. He wanted to stay with her night and day and whenever he could not help it and had to go in one of his escapedes he would drag her along because he needed her eyes constantly on him.

The princess:

-'' When will I see your true face;''

The Prince:

-'' Tomorrow''

But tomorrow came and the prince, remembering the words of their good fairy, knowing that only as two people differet to the ones they used to be they were meant to be together, would come back to her in yet another mask .... and a load of love and affection and tenderness ... that he was in  such a sore need to give as she was sorely in need to receive...




Now aunt Eirini's tales were  often leaft unfinished and her nieces ad nephews had to supply their ow edings to it.Same as now that I'll be askig you to provide your very own ending to this story.
Dont by shy!
Please be imaginative and bold and a child again and tell me your very own version of how the story should end. The one that will appeal to my soul the most will be posted here.


Nick the blogger did it again!what an awsome ending he wrote! The greek version of it is here

Of course, I had to translate it for you:

One night the princess could stand it no more ,she would rather lose him forever if ishe wasnever to really know him. The voice of her anger that nested within her and which she did not know she had in her grewso strong that wasfinaly voiced.She got up from his lap and took a few stepsaway from him. This time she did not look into his eyesShe staredat the moonwhich was nearly lost in the fog of the winter night.

"I want you to decide if you want to be with me, or with yourself."

"With you of course" he replied immediately. "can't you see that I have decided long ago?"

She wanted to look him in the eyes to respond. She knew, however, that if she did that her courage wouldfail her. For once, she had to be stronger than her addiction for him. She kept her eyes on the small piece of the moon that was left shining in theblack sky. She hoped to have time to speak before the last glow of the moon was lost in the great darkness.

"No, you have not decided that you want to be with me. You want to, but you have not reached a decision yet, "she said, and waited to see if the prince would be quick to deny. But he did not speak at all. Just listened.

The woman looked at him anxiously, as a tiny piece of the moon struggled to keep glowing against the darkness that swallowed it quickly.

"Tomorrow night I'll be waiting for you here. I want you to come. You. I do not expect to meet either your mind or your imagination. I am waiting to meet you. If I find you, then WE deserve to be together. If someone ELSEcomes back to me, I'll send him away and then leave this place. "

The prince did not respond. He did not give any sign of whether he agreed or not . His footsteps echoed on the hard ground. The last moonlight disappeared completely in the cold darkness. The footsteps sounded increasingly distant A few seconds later, he was lost in the night. The princess immediately closed her eyes, still gazing at the sky.She lay on the ground and slept.


The morning morning everything seemed too quiet. The birds werenot singing, the wind does not touch lightly upon leaves and twigs as usual and the birds did not chirp as usual She was in a state of calm yet agitated expectancy. Agitated  because ishe wasafraid of what the night would bring, but also calm because, in one way or another, the pain would end.

The evening arrived. The thick clouds of the sky hid the moonlight, a very weak moon that hardly made its presence felt. Everything seemed blurry eyed. It difficult to discern the leaves from the trees becauseof thethicknight fog.

She could not even gauge the passing of the time, whether it was time to meet her prince or not. But before she has lost her cool, she heard anoise from afar. Grass beig stepped on and heavy steps n  the ground. In vain did she try to follow the noise. Shee felt disoriented. Simply stood still in the hope that, if he was indeed the prince, he would find her.

And, indeed, a misty figure appeared be The breathing of the figure sounded familiar, but his body was covered from top to bottom in a black robe with a hood, as the monks. The princess watched and waited. If it was him, then it was his turn to speak.

The figure dressed in black held out his hands. On his palms he was clutching a black cloth that was hiding something underneath it.  She could sensethe fear of the figure. It was like the fear of a child trying to grow up.

Shee raised his hand to unveil the unknown object. Once her fingers touched the black cloth, the figure spoke, ad she she kept her hand still.

"The person behind the disguises is not the true me."

The princess tried to distinguish a feature of the face, but what was not hidden by clothing was too dark for her to discern anything.

"Under the cloth I am  hiding my heart that was born out of my body since birth," he said, although his voice was calm, the fear was becoming more obvious to the ears of the Princess.

"If you want to see me as I really am, you will need to hold my heart in your hands ad bring it close to my face."

The thought of it did not disgust he rincess. Shea quick little smile crept on her face. Trully, the pain would end. The truth in his voice was most obvious. The prince was afraid to give his heart so he could not ever shown his real face. And he was afraid to show his real face, because that would mean giving his heart.

The woman smiled again, with the warmest smile that could be found in the world and with a few words took the fear out of it.

"I will BEwatch and guarding your heart as a sacred body. You came tonight to meet me. I now come to offer you my heart, Even if You cannot  keep it in your hands. I love you. "

He pushed her fingers and lifted the cloth. A golden heart appeared, emitting light surrounding it. Without hesitation, she  took it in her hands and brought it close to his face.

The heart lit up his face nd happiness filled the woman. She grabbed him and kissed him happily with all her might. Just when she llet him take a breath, he tookher in his arms.

"I love you," he said, tearstremblig in his voice. "I promise to look after your heart more than my own. Thank you, "said the man.

The woman could now clearly see the landscape around her. Listening to the river water, the rustling of leaves and the voices of birds It was night, but all was now clear to her eyes and ears. Raindrops hit their faces. tThey startedrunning as heavy rain started falling.

They spent several yearshidig from the world, lost in their happiness, absorbed in each other. The small fairy who firstarranged their meeting was present at the births of all their children and blessed them asshe didwith their parents. People called them "The purple Princess and the Golden Prince '. The princess held the heart of her husband with her forever, haging in a pouch with a chain around her neck. And every time he came close to her, his heart shed light to his face. And every time she saw his face, she loved him more andmore.

And at the end of their days, thepurple Princess and the golden Prince squeezed firmly the golden heart and broke it iin twoi. White glow enveloped them and took them from this world, sending them to heaven. Since then, the purple and gold star, are eternally rotating around each other,  sendin us their luster all over the world.


The Wolf And The Vixen


Once apon a time, in an ancient forest there lived a lone wolf in his prime with thick grey-black fur,uptight ears, sharp, pointed muzzle, massive shoulders, ruffs of long hair framing the sides of his faces like sideburns, strong jaws and intelligent, inquiring eyes.

The lone wolf of our story hated being part of a pack and he would rather live and hunt alone. Once he'd grown into an adult wolf, he left the pack he was born in and started wondering alone in the woods. He chose to do so mainly because he hated following the rules of a pack, its hierarchy meant nothing to him. He didnt wish to be the alpha, dominant male but he wouldnt submit to any other male either. He loved hunting alone for food, preying on smaller animals but he also loved the occasional sweet berry and fruit of the forest and so he never went hungry.

Also, he was known for making friends, or even mating with, the most unlikely of campanions, not just outside his pack but also outside his species. He was known to have befriended animals that could have been his prey, such as beavers or deer, to mate with domesticated dogs, with bitches that were too lonely and too eager for his mating services, to steal the alpha female from an alpha male wolf or mate with wildcats that would normally try to tear a wolf to pieces and vice versa.

Then one day the lone wolf was out hunting for his supper for that night because he had not eaten in many nights. He would usually hunt for large animals like deer or mouse, as they could keep him full for many days but today he was so hungry that even a mouse seemed like a good idea. He was horny too, for it was mating season. The smells and the inviting calls from far-off bitches on heat would drive him crazy day and night.

The snow fell softly on his grey ears and his raven hair. "So…Hungry…" He grumbled as he walked along the snowy path. Then he stopped, sniffing the cold, crisp air. His superior nose had located a smaller animal. ''"Dinner!" The wolf mentally jumped for joy. ''Around a mile from here. I can smell blood too and that creature isn't moving, so obviously it's injured. Ha! That's my lucky day! I won't even have to chase my food!''

He chose a path that was easy to follow, taking the same trail as his pray before him, but it was still some time before he reached the injured animal, as the snow was deep and he had to be careful to stay upwind and out of sight of his prey. Lying in the middle of the road was a female fox, a vixen, one of her hind legs trapped in a leg-hold trap, bleeding profusely. She must have been there for quite some time because her red tail and ears were soaked with muddy snow and she seemed too weak to even be alerted by the wolf' s presence. She must have fought hard and long to get her leg out of the trap, but to no avail, so she had given up hope and lain there, awaiting her fate.

Now there was this unwritten law of the forest that stated  that if ever a wolf was to encounter a fox within the forest, that wolf is to kill and eat the fox. If ever a fox was to encounter a wolf in the forest he is to outsmart the wolf (hence all the folk fables about the two).

The wolf drew closer, sniffing the vixen. A beautiful female , luxurious coat of red-golden hair with black tips on her ears and paws. He could sense fear oozing out of every pore of her body, but she neither put up a struggle nor pleaded for her life, as some of his prey would do under such circumstances. She just lay there, heaving up, fixing him with her intense stare, with eyes that had already taken on a feverish glare from losing too much blood.








''It wouldn't do to kill her'', thought the wolf to himself. ''True, I am famished, but I am still a wolf, not a pathetic jackal. I do not prey on the dead, the ill or the injured. Her leg looks infected already, if I eat her, I'll get infected too. I supposed I can mate with her,'' he added to himself, for he was still as horny as hell,  ''but I don't enjoy mating with dead meat, either''.

He was about to turn around and leave, but something in the vixen's stare held him there, transfixed. ''Maybe I can bring her back to health before I feast on her'', he thought again, not wanting to admit that something about this fox made him want to help her . ''If I leave her here, she is as good as dead, because another predator will get to her sooner or later''

He firmly grabbed with his teeth the metal claw that held the vixen's leg, pulled it up and released her. Then he grabbed the fox by the scuff of her neck and started on his homeward journey. He had to cover a 5 mile distance to get to his den and the bleeding fox was heavier than he thought. He usually devoured his victims on the spot or dragged them to a safer spot,but this time it was different. Before reaching his den he had to swim across a considerable stretch of a lake to wash off any scent of the bleeding animal so that other predators wouldn't get to them. He was a keen swimmer and very comfortable in the water, but the lake was almost frozen and his load made it even more difficult to wade through icy water.

At last, tired and frozen to death, he made it to his den, at the end of a long and narrow tunnel at the foot of a rock. It was warm and comfortable there and the wolf put down the vixen and immediately set to work. He tenderly licked the blood from the injured animal's leg and put a special haemostatic herb on the wound to stop the flow of blood.

The vixen looked up at him, surprised.

- ''Aren't you going to eat me?'' she asked.

- ''Why would I want to eat you?'' he answered.

- ''Because you're a wolf and wolves prey on foxes''

- ''Who says I am a wolf?''

- ''You smell like a wolf and you look like a wolf''.

- ''But do I speak like a wolf? ''he asked, in her own language (he was very proficient in other animal's languages, due to the aforementioned fact that he liked making friends with many of them).

- ''Also, wolves are known to hunt in packs. Did you see anyone besides me in the forest?'' he asked her again. ''Not to mention the fact that if I were a wolf , you'd be dead in my belly by now.''

- ''If you are not a wolf, what are you then?''

- ''I am a cross between a dog and a fox'', he lied.

- ''There is no such thing''.

- ''Indeed there is and he is standing right before your eyes, miss vixen''

- ''Where did you learn to disarm a trap like that?''

- ''I once had a hunter's little daughter as a friend''.

The vixen's eyes grew wide open. Befriend humans! Who could ever do that!

- ''What happened to her?'
'
- ''She grew up, got married and forgotten all about befriending wild beasts like me'', said the wolf, licking the vixen's auburn coat, nibbling gently with his teeth to remove the bloody and muddy notches off it. The vixen was weak and feverish, too weak even to stand up or walk, but after a while she felt warm and comfortable, covered her nose with her long nail and fell asleep.

 Then the wolf slipped out of his den to hunt.

He returned early in the morning, a dead beaver hanging from his mouth.

- ''Eat this, it will make you better,''.He hovered the dead animal in front of the vixen's mouth.

- ''I can't eat'',she protested, head between her paws.

- "Geez, stubborn…" The wolf chewed some beaver meat in his mouth then leaned down to the vixen.

- "You will get better" He grumbled before he forcibly opened the vixen's lips with his mouth  and gave her the food. After a while, the wolf, exhausted, fell asleep curled up next to the vixen. But it wasn't long before he woke up with a jolt. The vixen was  trying to drag herself out of the den and up the tunnel, apparently with little success, as she was still too weak to walk.

- ''Where do you think you're going?'' growled the wolf.

- ''Let me go!'' cried the vixen. ''You dont understand! I have to go now!''

- '' If you tell me why, I'll let you go''.

- ''I ...I have cubs.... an eight mile distance from here...they'll die of hunger if I don't bring them any food..''

The wolf sighed. This creature was too much trouble, it seemed. For a moment he was tempted to let her go. He had done his good deed for the day, she would have to fend for herself now. But the thought of never seeing her again was somehow too painful. He wearily stood up.

- ''I'll carry you there, vixen. You can't even stand up properly, let alone walk an 8-mile distance, not to mention that all those predators around here will be on your scent in no time.

So he draped her over his shoulders and tiredly carried her up to her den, where two very hungry and scared cubs greeted her with shrieks of joy. Then he went hunting again and returned several hours later with two dead rabbits for the hungry cubs.

''Thank you, stranger Fox-Dog'',said the vixen. ''God bless you for your kindness to me and my cubs''.

-'' I'll be coming back to check on you'', promised the wolf and true to his word he would return every couple of days to make sure the vixen was getting better, bringing along food for the little family''.

Within a week the vixen could resume hunting for her family but the wolf still kept coming back to her.

 Even after her cubs grew up to be young foxes themselves and left to seek a life of their own. The two of them, the wolf and the vixen, became close friends, often lying by each other's side, grooming each other and talking about their day, or playing it rough, shouldering one another, bumbing bodies together, flopping tails over each other's backs, leaping up each other's necks.

They both grew very attached to each other. There was only one thing that the wolf wouln't even want to hear about: hunting together with the vixen. No matter how she pleaded with him, he wouldn't have it. '' I hunt alone, little one,'' he would tell her. ''Don't ask for more than I can give you''.

The vixen grew suspiscious and decided to follow the wolf around in one of his nightly hunts.

 It was a beautiful night, lit by a glorious full moon. The wolf set out to hunt, unaware of the fox who kept herself downwind so as not to make her presence felt. After a while several shadows approached the vixen's friend. Five sturdy wolves greeted him.

-Good evening brother,'' said one of the strangers. ''We have located a herd of deer not too far from here. There is plenty of food and fun to be had for all of us. Are you game for it?''

-I'll gladly hunt with your pack tonight, brothers!'' said our wolf. ''Let's go!''

The vixen, appalled, watched all of them, her friend included, throw back their heads and howl to the mood in a true wolf manner.

-''He is a wolf! He lied to me'', wept the vixen. ''How could he? I thought we were friends...''

She tried to find some excuse for his lies, but she couldnt.

The more she thought about it, the more outraged she became.

She even followed her wolf around on a second night just to make sure and she saw him befriendind a wiesel.

''I am not a wolf,'' she heard him tell her. I am a cross between a dog and a wiesel.''
''You smell like a wolf and you look like a wolf'', replied the unsuspecting wiesel.'But do I speak like a wolf? ''he asked, in the wiesel' s own language.

- ''Also, wolves are known to hunt in packs. Did you see anyone besides me in the forest?'' he asked her again. ''Not to mention the fact that if I were a wolf , you'd be dead in my belly by now.''

-''The son of a bitch!'', cried out the vixen, choking with indignation. ''He goes about duping stupid animals like me into believing all sorts of nonsense about him, heaven knows for what reason...''

The next day the vixen confronted her friend.

-''You lied to me'', she accuseed him, eyes blazing with anger. ''You are a wolf, a predator of foxes! Did you honestly think I wouldn't eventually find out? Get out of my sight and never ever set foot on my side of the forest again. I don't want to set eyes on you again for as long as I live....''

She would have none of the wolf's explanations. She sent him away and sat under a tree, weeping miserably.

An owl hooted overhead.

-''Why are you crying, little fox? ''she asked.

The vixen, happy to be able to confide to someone, told her the whole story.

-''Αm I not right to be angry with him? ''she concluded.

The owl shook her head.

-''You think too much with your brain and too little with your heart, vixen.
You are keen on judging people's words, not actions.
True, he lied to you.But wasn't he the one that saved your life? The one that restored you back to health? The one that provided for youand your cubs when noone else would? Being ungrateful is a sin worse than lying.....''

-''But once a wolf, always a wolf! What if he wakes up one day and decides to tear me apart? After all, it is in his nature to do so! ''

-''Life is full of surprises, both good and nasty ones,'' replied the owl. ''You never know what awaits you around the corner. Today might be your last day in this forest. It that were the case, who would you rather spend it with? Replace fear with love and you'll know what course of action to take''.

Time passed but still the vixen could not find it in her heart to trust the wolf again.

Then it was mating season again and the vixen was in heat. Several interested foxes starting frequenting the area around her den and the ancient animal courtship dance began in full swing.

As the vixen stood amidst her suitors, boringly observing their courtship advances, she heard a distant and yet oh-so-familiar growl echoing through the woods. Her heart leapt with joy.

-''My wolf is coming to me'', she enthused.

Within minutes the wolf's intimidating growls and overwhelming presence scattered her fox suitors away. The wolf and the bixen stood there, facing each other, the wind howling through the woods. The wolf ran his tongue along the smaller one's bottom lip. The female mewed to the other's touches and he draped his paws over her shoulders. Their tongues meshed with each other until none of them could control it any longer.

-''We are not supposed to mate,'' said the vixen, breathless as the wolf flopped her on a bed of soft fern.''It is against the laws of nature for two animals of different species to mate''.

-''Says who?'' whispered the wolf in her ear, as he leaned himself over her.

-''Everyone...'', moaned the vixen.

-''Tell them to shut up and watch...'' whispered the wolf again, as he grazed lightly  the silken ,golden fur on her napewith his teeth , to which she replied with a playful bite of her own.

That very night the two of them moved to a secluded part of the forest, where no one would ever find them. Even though the war of the foxes and wolves still remains to this day, the wolf and the vixen of our story stayed together and lived happily ever after.

Oh and if you go up to the forest and walk along the over grown path you will find the cottage they once lived in..


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