{ I told this to entertain several nieces/nephews
but is dedicated to Beth.M.}

Not that far away from here,for the man in the seven league boots,
and not that long ago,for the keeper of time,
The animal kingdom was ruled by a wise and powerful feline.

The lions,tigers,cheatahs, jaguars, panthers,and all of the other Great Cats
may have fought each other,but they pledged fealty
to this great king,for he had the ability to reason with,
and protect,his followers.

He saw that they all had plenty to eat,time too sleep,
comfortable temperatures,rain when needed
{after dark so as not to interfere with playtime)
(what~you think Merlin thought of that one?},
and peace reigned supreme!

Then,as all must,the Greatest King left to live with The Lady Creator.
The heyenas and jackals
{yes,we are still cursed with them Bethy,we just call them politicians & lawyers~now
hush and let me get on with the tale}
got together and hatched a feindish plot to take over the world:
they'd kill the royal family and step into the void
"for the good of the world and to stop all this fighting".
So like the purge on the steppes of Russia,
the plot became an almost purrfect reality.
It seems that they forgot that the Crown Prince Terrance
was not home from the royal Tutors,or that
He seemed to have a direct link with the spirit of his
departed father,
who told him to
"Go to the Lady's shrine under the White Oak's boughs,
not to the house,and I'll meet you there".
Being the obediant son he was,he followed his Father's bidding.
The Prince arrived at the shrine to find that his father
was not there,but in his place there was
A Beautiful Lady.
She was dressed in a gown of green and gold,slender,with loonngg black tresses
and ice blue eyes that could twinkle with merriment,
or pierce your soul with a pain that will never leave.
She spoke with a low melodious voice,
sorrow and hope intermingled in her words.
"My Prince,I fear I must bring you some bad tidings:
your family has been horribly murdered,by terrible people.
They have found that you were not there,so they will hunt you down
where ever you go.
They vowed this to their Dark Gods,
whom I fight everyday.
I will protect you, my faithful son,so they can never get you."
"My Lady,I will go back and reason with them..."

"NO,my sweet Prince,you must not!
Follow my biddings:RUN!
I with give you the speed to out run and out live
your would be killers.
You will never tire,and never by in danger
by them,or their heirs.
When the time is right,I will come
to you in this place again."

The Lady bent down and kissed the prince on the head
and bade him to run.
And he did.
He out ran the cheatah,he out ran the wind,he out ran the light!
He ran so fast that the earth started to move.
Day turned into night,and night into day.
The Sun,lazy and fat,started to move to try and catch
the prince,but failed.
The prince ran to the south and the Sun moved to catch him,
and again failed.
The prince then ran to the north,with the sun again trailing him.
Every so often,the Prince changes north for south,
and the sun still fails to catch up.
That is how the seasons came about,and day and night.
The End.

"What was that,Bethy m'dear?
But what about the prince?
Well now, me lass,he's still at it,and has yet to be seen
by mortal man.
How do I know this?
He leaves his name whereever he passes,
the glyphs are understandable to those who know how to read them.
Here take this document.
See he has passed here,and left his name.

What,my pet?
You can't read this?
Well,let me translate his name for you.
See...it says............................

Terry Long,the Dotted Lion!

and now my dear heart to bed you go!"

Uncle Mickey

Copyright@MikeGoode