I got.. ... wait.. are you insinuating I was having a bad hair day? .... Well... ok.. so I am.. every danged day... but I got it... no matter about the bad hair...

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, the cedar, the fir, and the pine had needles that yellowed and dropped in the fall instead of staying green all winter. In that time there was a hunter who often liked to go very far out into the woods to hunt. He went so far one day that he came upon an area that no one had ever seen before.

He looked around at his new surroundings and thought that they looked very much like every other forest he'd ever been in when suddenly his mouth dropped open in surprise.

In a little clearing stood seven harnessed rabbits. And standing beside them were seven tiny litle men. They were exactly like people, only there were so very small.

"Who are you?" asked the hunter.

"We are the immortal people," said one of the little men. "We wash ourselves in living water, and we never die. Who are you?" "I am a hunter," he replied.

The little men suddenly became very excited and jumped around with joy. "Oh, good! Oh, good!" they cried together.

Just then the eldest of the group came forward.

"A terrible, huge beast has invaded our land," the elder man said. "The other day it caught one of our people and took him away. We have not seen him since. We are immortal and will never die of old age, but this beast is able to kill us if it desires. Please, we are in great need of a hunter. Will you help us?"
"I will help you" answered the hunter, though deep inside he was a bit worried that he might not be able to beat such a fearsome creature.

He went to look for the creature but could only find rabbit footprints. He looked all day and was growing very frustrated. While searching for the monster's trail he came across the footprints of a sable, which is an animal very much like a weasel but with beautiful, soft fur. Such an animal was a prize to the hunter.
He said to himself, "I will just go quickly catch this sable and then I will go find the terrible beast."

He found the sable and caught it. He put its skin across his shoulder and went off again in search of the terrible monster. He looked all over and never could find any trace of the creature.
He was disappointed at not being able to help the little people and went back to their village to apologize.

He returned to the little people and said, "I am sorry, but I have failed you. I could not find the monster, only a small sable."

But once they saw the skin they cried, "Oh, our hero! Look at the giant skin of that horrible creature! See its terrible claws! Look at its horrible teeth!" "You have saved us and our people! And we shall pay you for your kindness with kindness. Wait for us. We'll come to visit you and bring you living water. You'll wash in it and you will become immortal too."

The hunter went home to his valley and told his people about the little men. Everyone in the village was excited and eagerly awaited the chance to become immortal.
They waited one day, two days, three days... many, many days. They waited weeks and weeks, but still their visitors did not arrive. Eventually they gave up waiting and soon they forgot the little people altogether.

One day the village women went to the woods to gather firewood. Suddenly they saw a little herd of rabbits galloping their way. They looked again, and saw that every rabbit was saddled, and in every saddle sat a tiny man with a little pitcher in his hands. The women burst out laughing at the sight.

"Look, look!" they cried to one another. "They are riding on rabbits!"

"And look at the little men, how funny!"
"Oh, what a joke!" "Oh, I'll die laughing!"

The immortal people were very proud and did not like being laughed at. The elder's little face grew very red and he turned and shouted something to the others. They all stood very straight and all together dumped their pitchers out on the ground. Then the rabbits turned and hopped away, never to be seen again.

And so the villagers never got the living water. It went instead to the pine, the cedar, and the fir. And this is why they are fresh and green all through the year. Their needles never die.

This folktale is from Asia ~ adapted by Matt Evans
Myths and Fables from Around the World

Quote:

You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination (heart) is out of focus. ~ Mark Twain

Hey that was a pretty cool story.

I also found it ejoyable.

Very cool story, Liked it alot

Great Story.
Hope to hear more of them.



LLAMA!

I love good folktales. Great Truths lie within them always! Thanks!

But I still would like to be a Emperor for one hour so I can give some gold to the stonecutter

Mum, I always love your stories. They brighten my day! *hugs*