[url:https://www.worldanvil.com/w/the-cat2C-crow2C-26-knitten-show-calamitycrow/a/all-in-a-dream-prose]Bonus Short Story![/url]
All In a Dream
"This is a tale," the dark gentleman speaks with a raspy voice, lending his words a foreboding and cautionary tone. His black feathers are frayed from a life fraught with challenges overcome, but nothing a good molting season will not fix right up. Upon raising one taloned finger into the air, he grabs a nearby metal cup and pours its clear liquid contents down his beak to soothe the parched throat within. Thumping his chest a few times as he sets the cup down, and uttering a customary noise upon completion to clear his throat, he then smiles, ready to return to the words he had begun. "That's better," his voice now sounding clearer and more spry. "This is a tale of the dawn of time, but maybe not as far back as that. We'll start with how our world was formed. Hmm, you have dreams, don't ya, kiddo? The kind that make you want to stay because they're filled with all the things you enjoy?"
"Of course I do, grandpapa."
"Well, that's how this world started; as a dream thought up by... someone as young as you, I should think. How old are you now, Young Crow?"
"Five."
"Yes, that's the perfect age to be developing as many fantastical ideas as you can and building them into worlds before age can discourage ya. Do you have any worlds you've created and want to bring to life?"
"Yes! Well, I've gotten ideas from the comics you and mommy buy for me. Does that count?"
"It sure does. I'll have to lend my ear to one of your tales when you're ready to tell it."
"Your ear? No, you can keep your ear, grandpapa! Please, don't do that."
The weathered crow, Grimm, chuckles. "It's just a silly old saying. I wouldn't ever do that. Let's continue on with my tale though, shall we?"
Young Crow nods his head. He made sure to be in his pajamas and ready for bed on time so that he could be rewarded with a delightful story spun by his beloved Grandpapa Grimm. Nothing could make him want to miss this.
"Where was I? Oh, yes. Dreamt up by someone young. The world at its infancy was thought into being by a small child, if you can believe that. Now, this small child very much loved everything they placed into the world: rainbows and animals and candy and more. She created the world for her enjoyment, and loved animals so much that she made them as the people of her new universe."
"She?" Young Crow interrupts. "Did you know her?"
Grandpapa laughs. "I'm not quite that old, to have been there when the world was born, if that's what you mean. I just didn't want to keep referring to the child as an 'it' or 'they' and chose instead to give them a gender. People are not 'its'. That would seem demeaning to call someone an 'it'. Would you prefer the child to be a boy, like yourself?"
"No, a girl is fine. I just thought maybe you might have met her or heard from her. Where did you learn all this, grandpapa?"
"I can tell you about that another time. Let's continue. Hmm... In the beginning, she used to visit with and care for the people she had breathed life into and have a great time making friends, walking amongst them and visiting all the lands she had created filled with her interests so that she could play and have fun away from her own life. You might not realize it, but there are far more lands on Fwoofa than this one we live in. Did you know that there is a large expanse of area with nothing but giant, plush marshmallow pillows for climbing and a lake of hard, colorful balls that you can swim through with ease with no fear of drowning? I can take you there when you're old enough and your parents say it's alright. And there is a valley of fluffy soft, playful puppies and kitty cats that you can cuddle up with. They're so adorable and soft that you want to just wrap yourself up in them and drift off to sleep."
Eyes closed to envision what Grandpapa Grimm is describing, Young Crow feels himself in the warm embrace of a blanket of cute creatures, luring him off to dreamland. But before he can fully fall asleep, he opens his eyes to realize that he is still just wrapped in the blue, brown, and white one his mother knitted for him, which seems disappointing by comparison even though he cherishes it very much.
Seeing the child's eyes reopen, the wizened old crow smiles at him warmly and continues on, "She came around a lot in the early years, daily even. Then, as time passed, the girl visited less and less. Years would go by and the memories of her existence needed to be passed down to children who may not ever see her in their lifetime. It's been said that, after that point, each time she visited was with hardly a word spoken and she would change the world, altering it to fit whatever her whims were that day. Most times, she would add something new, like new lands she could visit just to spend days closing herself off to everything and everyone else around her. But occasionally, she would decide that she no longer was interested in something she had created previously and cause that land to wither away to nothing."
"That sounds horrible!" the crow child exclaims. "Why did she change like that, grandpapa? Why did she become cold and cruel?"
"No one knows. Not even her, I think. I doubt she was ever proud of it." Grandpapa Grimm takes another drink of water while he thinks, his feathery brows waggling this way and that, betraying whenever he is deep in thought. "Maybe..."
Young Crow has also been pondering her actions and says, "Maybe she just didn't realize the damage she was doing to her people; her creations. She wasn't visiting enough to know their feelings and how much they loved and missed her. She created everything based on what she likes and for herself to play in, and then she started hiding away with her own feelings and not considering those of others. I think what she needs is to rediscover the love she first had for our world and the love her people have for her and use that to ease whatever is making her so sad so that she can be happy again, like she used to be."
A proud smile forms at the corners of Grandpapa Grimm's beak. "That is very insightful for someone of your age, grandson. You're growing up to be a fine young lad with a big, thoughtful brain. Maybe when you're a bit older, I can teach you some of the ways and techniques of my craft which I have learned in my travels. I'm confident that you'll be able to grasp all the concepts by then."
"Really?! I would like that very much. And I would take much better care of any world under my care, you can be sure of that!"
"I like what I'm hearing, Young Crow. Now, I know it's your bedtime, but what do you say we go enjoy some cookies in the kitchen?"
"Cookies!"
"Shh, shhh. Lower your exuberance just a notch. We don't want your parents to become riled. I wonder, if the castle chef still has the oven hot, we could ask him politely for a quick, fresh plate of cookies, with extra seeds on top. M-mmm." They can both practically smell the fresh baked cookies as he says it. "Let's go!" Grandpapa Grimm says with glee.
With that, the two set off on a late-night adventure through the castle halls in search of a delightful snack to fuel their dreams.
"Of course I do, grandpapa."
"Well, that's how this world started; as a dream thought up by... someone as young as you, I should think. How old are you now, Young Crow?"
"Five."
"Yes, that's the perfect age to be developing as many fantastical ideas as you can and building them into worlds before age can discourage ya. Do you have any worlds you've created and want to bring to life?"
"Yes! Well, I've gotten ideas from the comics you and mommy buy for me. Does that count?"
"It sure does. I'll have to lend my ear to one of your tales when you're ready to tell it."
"Your ear? No, you can keep your ear, grandpapa! Please, don't do that."
The weathered crow, Grimm, chuckles. "It's just a silly old saying. I wouldn't ever do that. Let's continue on with my tale though, shall we?"
Young Crow nods his head. He made sure to be in his pajamas and ready for bed on time so that he could be rewarded with a delightful story spun by his beloved Grandpapa Grimm. Nothing could make him want to miss this.
"Where was I? Oh, yes. Dreamt up by someone young. The world at its infancy was thought into being by a small child, if you can believe that. Now, this small child very much loved everything they placed into the world: rainbows and animals and candy and more. She created the world for her enjoyment, and loved animals so much that she made them as the people of her new universe."
"She?" Young Crow interrupts. "Did you know her?"
Grandpapa laughs. "I'm not quite that old, to have been there when the world was born, if that's what you mean. I just didn't want to keep referring to the child as an 'it' or 'they' and chose instead to give them a gender. People are not 'its'. That would seem demeaning to call someone an 'it'. Would you prefer the child to be a boy, like yourself?"
"No, a girl is fine. I just thought maybe you might have met her or heard from her. Where did you learn all this, grandpapa?"
"I can tell you about that another time. Let's continue. Hmm... In the beginning, she used to visit with and care for the people she had breathed life into and have a great time making friends, walking amongst them and visiting all the lands she had created filled with her interests so that she could play and have fun away from her own life. You might not realize it, but there are far more lands on Fwoofa than this one we live in. Did you know that there is a large expanse of area with nothing but giant, plush marshmallow pillows for climbing and a lake of hard, colorful balls that you can swim through with ease with no fear of drowning? I can take you there when you're old enough and your parents say it's alright. And there is a valley of fluffy soft, playful puppies and kitty cats that you can cuddle up with. They're so adorable and soft that you want to just wrap yourself up in them and drift off to sleep."
Eyes closed to envision what Grandpapa Grimm is describing, Young Crow feels himself in the warm embrace of a blanket of cute creatures, luring him off to dreamland. But before he can fully fall asleep, he opens his eyes to realize that he is still just wrapped in the blue, brown, and white one his mother knitted for him, which seems disappointing by comparison even though he cherishes it very much.
Seeing the child's eyes reopen, the wizened old crow smiles at him warmly and continues on, "She came around a lot in the early years, daily even. Then, as time passed, the girl visited less and less. Years would go by and the memories of her existence needed to be passed down to children who may not ever see her in their lifetime. It's been said that, after that point, each time she visited was with hardly a word spoken and she would change the world, altering it to fit whatever her whims were that day. Most times, she would add something new, like new lands she could visit just to spend days closing herself off to everything and everyone else around her. But occasionally, she would decide that she no longer was interested in something she had created previously and cause that land to wither away to nothing."
"That sounds horrible!" the crow child exclaims. "Why did she change like that, grandpapa? Why did she become cold and cruel?"
"No one knows. Not even her, I think. I doubt she was ever proud of it." Grandpapa Grimm takes another drink of water while he thinks, his feathery brows waggling this way and that, betraying whenever he is deep in thought. "Maybe..."
Young Crow has also been pondering her actions and says, "Maybe she just didn't realize the damage she was doing to her people; her creations. She wasn't visiting enough to know their feelings and how much they loved and missed her. She created everything based on what she likes and for herself to play in, and then she started hiding away with her own feelings and not considering those of others. I think what she needs is to rediscover the love she first had for our world and the love her people have for her and use that to ease whatever is making her so sad so that she can be happy again, like she used to be."
A proud smile forms at the corners of Grandpapa Grimm's beak. "That is very insightful for someone of your age, grandson. You're growing up to be a fine young lad with a big, thoughtful brain. Maybe when you're a bit older, I can teach you some of the ways and techniques of my craft which I have learned in my travels. I'm confident that you'll be able to grasp all the concepts by then."
"Really?! I would like that very much. And I would take much better care of any world under my care, you can be sure of that!"
"I like what I'm hearing, Young Crow. Now, I know it's your bedtime, but what do you say we go enjoy some cookies in the kitchen?"
"Cookies!"
"Shh, shhh. Lower your exuberance just a notch. We don't want your parents to become riled. I wonder, if the castle chef still has the oven hot, we could ask him politely for a quick, fresh plate of cookies, with extra seeds on top. M-mmm." They can both practically smell the fresh baked cookies as he says it. "Let's go!" Grandpapa Grimm says with glee.
With that, the two set off on a late-night adventure through the castle halls in search of a delightful snack to fuel their dreams.
THE END
Submission written for the Fairytale Unofficial Challenge from Make lore, not war. #FairytaleUnofficialChallenge
