Getting to the Main

After many vicissitudes, the Tree Son and the Starwife are united, and they all frolic with the Godchild on Christmas day.

They then have the adventure of the pheasant and the fruit, aided by their children.

They then have the adventures in cloud land of the donkey, the monkey, and the turkey cock, aided by their children.

They then descend from the clouds to an autumn land.

They were in a beautiful land. The air was crisp and clear. The leaves were red and yellow and orange; they shone when the sun filtered through them. The grass was still green. The fruit hung heavy on the trees and fell heavy onto the ground There were meadows where fat elk and fatter cattle grazed, and under the trees where fruit dropped, and even though there was no sign of any folk, there were fields with corn stacked in shocks and pumpkins growing orange. The donkey, the monkey, and the turkey cock immediately ran around prancing and skipping and generally making fools of themselves. It became a general frolic and then a dry wood fire and then hot coals and when the sun lowered in the west a feast with meat and nuts and fruit and corn and all manner of good things.

The next day they also lazed and played games, jumping into and over great piles of leaves. The babies still clinging to the Tree Son and the Starwife squealed whenever the parent sprung into the air. That afternoon while the Tree Son studied the trees and their ways and the Starwife contemplated the light and the leaves filtering down from the canopy, several of the children went exploring.

That evening there was another feast, and singing. But the children reported that they appeared to be stranded on an island. A wonderful island, to be sure. The Tree Son and the Starwife, however, wanted to return to the forest where they were wed and where they had both first become like unto human beings. The children had heard so much about it, and the Tree Father, and the sleighs and the sleds and the icy waters and the snow that they were, if anything, even more eager.

The Tree Son called on all to go exploring again, this time looking for some means of crossing the waters to the mainland that they could see no great distance away. Everybody went. Even the donkey, the monkey, and the turkey cock trundled off as if they understood the business and were intent on helping. One of the babies even hopped down and joined in as a young woman. She went off singing.

Father, Mother, so much fun

over the island as we run

After awhile, an enormous ruckus arose. The new daughter was the first to arise on the scene. She ran back laughing and told all the oncomers that the donkey, the monkey, and the turkey cock had found a small flock of large geese and were trying to play with them. The geese were apparently trying to lie down for a nap and were raising an indignant ruckus.

When they arrived at the scene, the children were able to distract the donkey, the monkey, and the turkey cock from the pesty games and the geese settled down for a rest.

The Tree Son noticed that these geese were large indeed and had webbed feet. He called his wife and his children and friends in for a consultation on how to persuade the geese to get them off the island.

But while they were discussing the matter, the new young woman simply asked a goose who was not quite asleep, and the goose agreed. So did all the other geese.

They named the daughter Ask. They moved a dry log into the water, made a sort of rope out of vines, then went across the small strait with most of them perched on the log, the geese towing as they swam, the Tree Son pushing from behind for all of the passage except a part in the middle, and the Starwife standing erect and acting as a sail.

That night they slept happily on the autumnal mainland after exchanging farewells with the geese. At midnight, did it seem for a second or two seconds or three or four that the donkey and the monkey and the turkey cock became men.

Thanks for reading.  My goal is to update these every day through Christmas until Twelfth Night.  I am currently behind but catching up.  .I will try to include  links so you can follow, but if not please  use the Christmas Fairytale tag at the end of this post.  You can also use the Merry Christmas page on the header bar above to find other writing that celebrates Christmas