The Adventure of the Pheasant and the Fruit

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

When the Godchild went to sleep the mountains disappeared. The Tree Son and the Starwife found themselves back on the icy plain as if nothing had happened. They would have wondered if it were a dream except for the 12 little children that clung to them.

They set off across the plain towards the forest. When they came close to the edge of the forest, they saw a change. Beyond the forest in the waste was a tiny meadow around a tree with one gleaming fruit of pure gold on it. The fruit was very lovely. The children set up a clatter and the Tree Son and the Starwife agreed that they must pick it. But when they came close a golden pheasant came rocketing up out of a bush and ate the pear. As they left, though, one of their children exclaimed. They saw that the fruit of gold had grown back. They ran back excitedly but whrrrrr up the pheasant went again and swallowed the gold.

So they left again and once again the fruit grew back. They discovered that the fruit did not grow again until they had left, but that when they reapproached the pheasant inevitably ate the fruit, no matter which side they came from.

The Tree Son and the Starwife debated trying to catch or kill the pheasant but before they could decide their oldest child spoke up.

Father, Mother, hark to me

I have strength like a tree

and eyes like stars that all things see

I will set that gold fruit free

With that the baby let go of the Tree Son where he was clinging. When he landed on the ground, he was a full grown young man.

Now, one of the presents the Godchild had given them was a bow that always had an arrow. The young man took the bow, the Tree Son steadied him, and the Starwife ran to the tree to pluck the fruit.

When the pheasant rocketed up, the keen-eyed young man loosed the arrow. But he was not aiming at the pheasant. His arrow sped and cut the stem of the fruit! The pheasant missed it and before the bird could reorient it, the Starwife had it.

She skipped back to her husband and her son holding the fruit high in the sun.

But behind her the pheasant set up an angry chatter.

Their next oldest child spoke up

Father, mother, I have ears to hear

the speech of beasts like starsong clear

I’m also blessed with a tongue to speek

like the babbling of a forest creek.

She let go of her mother and when she landed on the ground she was a full grown young woman. She heard the speech of the pheasant and understood it. You won’t curse us, angry pheasant she said, and with that she shouted jingle jingle falala hahahahaha. When they heard it, the Tree Son and Starwife understood that the golden pheasant was trying to lay a curse on them, so when the bird started chattering again the Tree Son bellowed and the Starwife blazed light at the bird until he stopped and had to start over again. This happened each time until soon he gave up. When the bird’s wroth was subdued, the young woman began to speak to him in chrrks, throaty coos, cheeps, and in short in the language of birds. He listened and replied. Then he gave a call and out came two silver turtledoves.

He will come with us, him and his wives, the young woman told her parents, but he says we should go another way. If we go back to the forest now it will still be the forest of winter. If we go the way he shows us we will come to it as something better. They all agreed. The pheasant and his two wives then ran to the edge of the clearing and started kicking and beating and whirling the snow until a great cloud rose up all around. When it finally settled, they were no longer on the ground but on top of a winter cloud in the land of clouds. But before they set out to explore, the parents named their oldest son Foresight and their oldest daughter Hear-and-Speak.

Thanks for reading.  My goal is to update these every day through Christmas until Twelfth Night.  Today I covered two episodes since I couldn’t yesterday.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