“We’ve been walking around in circles all day,” complained Starrof.
“The frog king doesn’t know where he is going,” said Klangor.
“Quit calling me the frog king,” said King Carlyle. “I’m still the same man I was, I’m just in a frog’s body.”
John, who was walking some ways behind King Carlyle, silently mouthed the sentence he had just heard, while he debated with himself whether or not it made sense. But he decided not to say anything to King Carlyle.
“Your majesty, if I may, I don’t know this part of the forest as well as Midor, but I believe we are heading in the wrong direction,” Jacob the frog said. “I think the land of the fairies is to the West of here.”
“Of course it’s to the West of here,” King Carlyle said. “But we can’t just walk in a straight line through the thickest part of the forest underbrush. We’ve got to find the path.”
“Us small animals generally try to stay off of the path,” said Benjamin Mouse. “It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s not dangerous,” said King Carlyle. “All the animals know the law of the forest. No one will hurt us.”
“Your majesty,” said John, “I know I’m new to these forests, but in my short time travelling with Jacob and Benjamin, we’ve been attacked numerous times by larger animals.”
“Hmph. Well you shouldn’t have been. It’s against the laws of the forest.”
Just at that moment, as they were climbing over the roots of a tree, they noticed a cat was on the other side of the tree looking down at them.
“Oh, hello good sir,” said King Carlyle to the cat. “Could you direct us? Which is the quickest way to get to the land of the fairies?”
The cat was looking at them with fascinated green eyes. The eyes narrowed, and the cat moved slowly forward.
“It’s Lucius, the cat,” yelled Benjamin. “There are rumors about him.”
“We should run,” said Jacob.
The cat darted forward and picked up King Carlyle in its jaws. Benjamin and John both gave out a yell of terror. Starrof and Klangor both started laughing.
“Put me down, you big bully!” yelled King Carlyle. “I do not consent to being carried like this. Put me down.”
The cat turned to run away.
“What’s he doing?” yelled John.
“He probably wants to bring King Carlyle to somewhere isolated so he can eat him in peace,” said Jacob.
“Put him down!” yelled John. “Bring him back!”
The cat was already off and running, and there was no way that John or Jacob or Benjamin could catch him.
...but the rabbits! The rabbits just might be able to catch up to the cat.
John jumped on the back of Starroff. “Quick, follow that cat!” he yelled.
“Get off my back, human!” Starroff growled. (If a rabbit can be said to growl.)
“We do not concern ourselves with your King,” said Klangor. “Whether he is eaten or not is all the same to us.”
“What! What do you mean? Why are you even traveling with us then?” John cried out in frustration.
“For safety,” answered Staroff.
“And protection,” said Klangor.
“But, you can’t get our protection unless you also help us,” said John.
“We believe that we can,” said Klangor.
“If we don’t rescue King Carlyle, this group isn’t going to travel anywhere,” said John. “Quick, run while there’s still time. Run as fast as you can. You’re rabbits. You should be able to keep up with the cat.”
Now, after all this squabbling, Lucius the Cat had gotten quite a head start. But when the dragons did finally decide to run, their rabbit legs and bodies were able to speed through the forest. And, in fact, once they finally got started running, they discovered that they enjoyed finally stretching their legs, and they started running faster and faster, enjoying the feeling of speed and exertion that running brought. It was almost like being dragons again and flying. They zoomed across grass and zipped around trees, and jumped over logs.
Now, it’s very difficult to chase someone in the forest, because the forest is so full of excellent hiding places. And no one knows this better than a cat, who kept trying to sneak behind bushes or hide in shadows. But King Carlyle, who was struggling to get out of the cat’s jaws, kept yelling the whole time. “Put me down, you big beast! I demand to be set at my liberty! Ouch! Your teeth are too sharp! Less pressure on the jaw! My frog’s skin is very soft, you know!” And this constant yelling made it difficult for the cat to fully hide himself.
Benjamin Mouse and Jacob Frog (who were travelling some ways behind, but were trying to keep up) both knew enough about the ways of the forest to know that the cat probably wouldn’t kill King Carlyle until it was safely in a hiding place. It wouldn’t want to take the risk of being seen to violate the law of the forest--especially it wouldn’t want to take the risk of being seen by animals big enough to do something about it. So for the moment, King Carlyle was allowed to yell out his complaints, even though his soft skin was slightly uncomfortable next to the cat’s sharp teeth.
Lucius the cat ran towards one of the rivers, where the water flowed noisily over some rapids. Lucius, although he hated getting wet, thought that jumping across the stones was the best way to escape his pursuers. The stones were positioned in the river so that it was possible to leap from one to another, and just possibly it would have been possible to get across to the other side. Lucius made a jump and managed to land on the first stone without dropping King Carlyle. He centered himself on the stone, and prepared himself for the next jump.
Klangor and Starrof arrived at the rapids shortly after Lucius. John was still on the back of Starrof. “Quick, after that cat!” John shouted. “Jump onto that rock!”
“In these rabbit bodies?” asked Starrof incredulously.
“We’d drown in an instant,” insisted Klangor.
“A dragon fears nothing, or so it is said,” John said. “Quick, follow that cat!”
“A dragon fears no honorable death,” said Starrof. “Drowning is dishonorable.”
Well they were still arguing, Lucius the cat had managed to leap to the next two stones. He was halfway across the rapids by now. But on the third jump, Lucius faltered and fell into the white water below. He let out a cry of outrage and anger at getting plunged into the cold water. “Raoow!” And in the process of uttering his cry, King Carlyle was dropped into the rapids.
Starrof and Klangor immediately howled with laughter again, as they watched the soaking wet miserable cat get carried away downstream by the rapids
“King Carlyle!” John yelled out, and he dismounted Starrof and was about to jump into the rapids himself, when he was stopped by Jacob the frog (who had caught up to them by now). “I’ll go,” Jacob said. “I’m a frog, and can swim. You’d drown in an instant.”
“The water is too rough for a frog,” said John. “You could be smashed against the rocks.”
“I’d still stand a better chance than you,” said Jacob, and in he jumped
Benjamin the mouse, who had also caught up by this time, and John ran along the side of the river, yelling for King Carlyle or Jacob. But all they could see was the white churning water, and they couldn’t see either of the frogs.
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