A Kind Ogre

Today's Link
Fern Valley Appalosa

Today's Saying
The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be. ~Paul Valery

Today's Picture
Elijah

Believe it or not it is finally time for another unbelievable Elf Tale.
Once upon a time, not too long ago, on a planet far far away called Megaearth there lived a race of creatures called ogres. On this planet every other race of creatures knew three things about ogres:
1. Their brains were in their feet.
2. They really enjoyed bashing each other in the head with big clubs.
3. There was no such thing as a kind ogre.
In fact because of this third fact humans used the term “kind ogre” to illustrate the meaning of the term oxymoron much like people on our planet use the term “ honest politician”.
But it came to pass that a baby ogre was born to Bashum and Smashum Ogorium who already had three little ogres. Gogetum , as he was named, looked like a normal ogre. He had huge feet and a little head. He sounded like a normal ogre. His parents thought he was a normal ogre. But he was not normal. In fact he was very very abnormal. He was born kind. How this happened or why is a mystery. Perhaps the mother ogre had a virus or was hit in the head to hard just before his birth. It has even been suggested that he was dropped on his feet when he was born but the parents vehemently deny that.
For his first three years Gogetum seemed normal. During those years you may not hit an ogre in the head since it is during this time that its head grows to its full size and really ogre ugliness develops. But the little ogre is given his first club and special dolls whose heads are made for smashing. It is such a proud moment when a baby ogre smashes his or her first head. Gogetum didn’t fail that test. He smashed his first dolls head in record time. His parents were overjoyed. They thought they had a real head smasher as a child. What they didn’t know was how bad Gogetum felt for the doll. He hated smashing heads. It was not kind . But Gogetum was rather smart for an ogre. He had bigger feet than normal and some brain power. He knew what was expected of him and so he pretended to like head smashing.
On his third birthday the family held the traditional Smashing Out Party. The entire Ogorium family gathered and , as was the custom, the ten oldest members presented their heads for smashing. Gogetum dutifully smashed every head presented and a couple of extras and then the party really began. There was head smashing like you wouldn’t believe. During this time Gogetum went to the bathroom and threw up. He found the entire event repulsive. But he was now officially an adult ogre and he could smash and be smashed. He did not desire to do either.
Thus it was that on the day of his Smashing Out Party Gogetum ran away from home. As fate would have it he took refuge in a cave where a fairy princess was hiding after she ran away from home. They shared their respective stories He could do nothing to help her with her problem but she offered to use a little fairy magic to help him with his. She placed a protective spell over him so that if another ogre smashed him with a club it would not hurt him. Then she created a horrible looking magic club for him that would seem to really smash another ogre’s head but in reality would not hurt it at all.
Then Gogetum returned to his family and seemed to be a smashing success. But inside he was a seething hotbed of kindness just waiting to break out. Little by little he began to do acts of kindness. He called for healers for those so badly hurt after a Smashing Good Party that they might not recover on their own. Even though death was not common on Megaearth ogres sometimes died. Nobody really cared because they were just ogres and you know what they are like. Because of Gogetum far fewer ogres were dying and others recovered much faster. Further he provided baby food to those who could not eat after a Smashing session, thus hastening their recovery. He would enter into a Smashing Party and because he couldn’t be hurt he would shield the ogres that were hurt the worse.
All of this kindness did not go unobserved. Some of his fellow ogres warned him there would be consequences arising from his actions. He might even be sent to a rehabilitation institute.
He was also observed by an elf. Now elves on Megaearth as elves everywhere were required to reward acts of kindness with a wish. Of course, on a planet where everybody did magic, except ogres, such wishes were left unused. The elf that saw Gogetumk being kind had trouble believing what he was seeing. He watched for a long time before , finally, offering the wish.
To be continued tomorrow.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal
Today Petrovich published Driblet number 154.

In the city of the birds
It has come
It is there but not there
It is a door but not a door
Things that can not be come forth and are
Monsters
Strange creatures
Back and forth through the door which isn’t there
Big and little they come
The people destroy the door
But it isn’t there and returns
Fear grips the people
Some flee
A huge creature comes
The trees break before it
It could destroy buildings
But it does not
Like an invading army they come
What they want is not clear
Through the door a man in black
Into the woods he goes
Strange creatures follow
I am afraid
The end is coming
I ask can they be saved?
A voice says TRUST
Out of the black comes the light
TRUST the young one
But the light fades
More creatures come
Where are those who save
Who should we trust?
The voice says “ Out of the black comes the light”
When .
I ask
How
But there is no answer
I awaken
It is time to drink

Wrap UP

I received an award from Akelamalu today. I will post it next Tuesday.I spent part of the day trying to figure out how to let people who want to write stories know that Portrait of Words is up and ready to have stories by next Wednesday. If you know of people who like to write suggest they take a look. I visited all the blogs that left comments yesterday. Betty has gone to Church but with my lungs I don't dare go out in 95 degree heat. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

************************************************