Freiyon Fables A Tail To Remember
Chapter Six: Wives and Bears

It should be pointed out here that even though Micklang could not remember his life before he was imprisoned in the zoo, he always had dreams of living in a wonderful place like the place he had stumbled across. And on the rare occasion, he would, without knowing it, cry out a name he didn’t seem to know in his sleep.

Now it just so happens that this name was that of another squirrel, one that had been with Micklang for two years before his capture, one that had loved him more than any other squirrel in that weird world.

This squirrel was, in fact, Micklang’s wife and lover: Harriet.

The two of them had met by a river one stormy day in a rainforest, and of course the animal instincts took over both of them and they started bonding more every day. It had been a sad night, in the very first year of being ‘married’, that Micklang had been stolen from Harriet.

As he was being taken away, Micklang screeched back to Harriet an oath that he would NEVER forget.

“I will return, Harriet! Our love is too strong for bonds such as these. I give you an oath that I will return!” He cried.

It had been that very same oath that had caused the dreams to stir in Micklang’s mind whenever he was asleep. He had only been in the prison ‘zoo’ for a few months since that day, but he had almost forgotten his wife and almost lost all hope of escaping.

So it was a rather big surprise to his travelling companions when they stopped for night and set up camp, and Micklang had started to call in a desperate plea to the love of his life while sleeping, only to act surprised when everyone told him about it afterwards.

The third night after their encounter with King Karel, Micklang could see now that his dreams were definitely being noticed, and that started to worry him. Why was it that he was screaming a name he didn’t know, during a dream that had nothing to do with the good advice his warrior self gave to him, and having everyone tell him about it?

Micklang sat at the edge of a tree, thinking about it carefully, trying to remember what had happened to him before he was captured.

The tree he was sitting under could move, but it didn’t want to leave Micklang in a big pile of dirt while he was thinking.

He did, however, want to know what Micklang was thinking about.

“Excuse me, little friend, but what’s troubling you right now?” The tree asked Micklang.

Micklang sighed as he replied.

“It’s just odd. I’ve been through so much in my small life, yet I can’t remember things that happened before I was a prisoner. My whole life seems to have been encircled around that and this adventure.”

“And what is it that you’re having trouble with remembering?”

“My friends, the big group of otters and platypuses over there, tell me I call out someone’s name in my sleep, but I have no idea who that someone is!”

“And what, pray tell, kind of beast are you, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I’m a squirrel, a tree-hopper and nut-collector. Yes, I know, you’ve never seen a squirrel before, and I can tell you right now, this is NOT what ordinary squirrels look like. This occurred to me thanks to an ‘accident’ I had before I arrived here.”

“Huh, funny you should say that, because as it just so happens, I have seen a squirrel before. In fact, I’ve seen a whole bunch of the little furry creatures. They passed by here not long ago, heading in the direction you and your group are heading. They seemed confused and lost, and very surprised to learn I could talk.” The tree chuckled.

Micklang sat up and looked at the tree suddenly.

“You’ve seen squirrels? Did they talk to you?” Micklang asked.

“Only for a few minutes, they were so scared of me they didn’t want to stay around just in case I stomped on them, although they needn’t have worried about that.”

“How many were there?”

“About ten of them, most of them younger than you, but one, I’m guessing, was the mother trying to herd them safely along. Never caught her name though. Said something about saving her husband from something, but never heard anything else.”

Micklang looked around in excitement.

“Oscar! Oliver! I’ve discovered something. This tree here just said he’s seen, yes SEEN, a group of squirrels come through this forest!” Micklang announced excitedly.

Oliver looked up at the tree to talk to it. “Which way were they going?”

“South, just like you are, but they cut off to the East a bit further along. If you hurry, you might catch them before sunset.”

Oliver and Oscar saluted the tree and Micklang shouted his appreciation to the tree.

“Come on, fellows, we’ve got a squirrel group to hunt.” Oliver announced.

Micklang didn’t waste a second, he dashed through the forest as fast as he could go, sometimes taking short-cuts via vine-swinging or log-hopping. Oscar and Oliver were close behind, panting slightly but not giving up, with all the others following their lead.

Weaving under logs and splashing through small creeks, the group didn’t stop once as the sun begun to slowly descend on the wonderful forest.

Micklang turned back to make sure the otters were still following when he bumped into something.

He and the object flew in the air for a few seconds then went rolling and bumping down a grassy hill-side.

Eventually Micklang and the unidentified object stopped rolling and he ended up looking into the face of a girl squirrel!

“Oh! Well that was a rather big tumble we took just then, wasn’t it? Sorry about that, I really must watch where I’m going.” The girl squirrel apologized.

“No, no, it’s my fault, I was in a rush to replace someone and I lost my footing.” Micklang replied.

The girl squirrel chuckled slightly and called out.

“Mommy, Mommy! I’ve got a new friend!”

Micklang looked around, wondering where “mommy” was and was surprised to see an older squirrel about his age swing down from the trees.

“Stay away until I’ve found out what kind of creature it is, alright Melody? And you otters and platypi can mind your own business until I’m finished, understood?” The lady squirrel ordered in a firm voice.

Oliver and his company slid away from view, with Pistachio whispering to his mum as they did.

“How did she know where we were?” He asked.

“Must’ve seen us when she came out of that tree. I wonder where she came from.” She replied.

Back at the bottom of the hill, Micklang stared at the lady squirrel as if trying to remember if he had seen her before.

“What are you and do you mean my family harm?” She asked Micklang.

“I’m a squirrel like you, and I don’t mean you harm, I am on a simple venture with those otters and platypi to help me along.”

“You can’t be a squirrel; squirrels don’t have lightning-shaped tails like you. Although, you do have the fur of a squirrel. Just not the same coloured fur. Tell me, how did you get here?”

“Quite by accident, really. I had been escaping from a zoo and ran into a forest, where some birds tried to …”

“Wait, did you say zoo?” The lady-squirrel interrupted.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“That’s funny. Why does that word sound so familiar? Wait, that’s it! My husband was taken captive to a place called a zoo. The creatures that took him had ‘zoo’ written on their clothes. They had set up some type of trap which had caught him and they took him away.”

“And did this husband of yours say anything when they took him?” Micklang wondered if this squirrel was really the one creature he had always loved.

“He said he would come back, he swore an oath on his return. But, why do you want to know?”

“Just curious. And did you happen to hear what the creatures called your husband?”

“They were chatting as they left. One said to the other ‘not much of a load, but should do for the boss back at the zoo.’ Then the other replied, chuckling. ‘Mick, What do you think they’ll call this sucker? I suspect it’ll be really weird.’ ‘Who knows, Lang? Maybe they’ll name him after us, Ha-ha, that’ll be a mouth full, no doubt. Langmick doesn’t sound right, does it?’ ‘No, Micklang would be better, and if people got tired of that they could just call him Micky, problem solved.’ ‘If only it were that easy, eh?’ They both chuckled as they slammed themselves into a strange object and carried my husband away with them. That’s all I remember.” The female squirrel explained, remembering the sadness that had swept over her when her husband had been taken.

Micklang realized it now, it was as clear as day to him.

This was Harriet, his wife!

Micklang sobbed loudly as he threw his paws over Harriet, who was quite stunned at the crying squirrel’s emotions.

Micklang whispered to her as he continued to cry, all the old memories coming back to him like a flood.

“Harriet, I’ve missed you so much. I told you I’d return, but I never expected it to be like this. I love you, Harriet, and I’m so sorry I forgot about you.” Micklang whispered.

Harriet patted Micklang’s shoulder as she replied.

“How do you know my name? I never told it to you, stranger.”

“It’s me Harriet. It’s me, your husband, Mark. Remember? We met by a river one summer, and you sneezed because of a bee causing pollen to fly away from a flower. I kissed you by that very same river and we were married for almost a whole year before I was taken. Remember? You told me you always wanted to call one of our children Melody because it reminded you of the birds’ song in the morning.”

Harriet let go and looked at Micklang.

“Mark? But … How? That’s not possible! I … I thought you were dead! I thought I would never see you again. When I tried to follow the car, the fumes made me cry even more and stop at the side of a hard, black path where more cars zoomed pass. I was lost, but then I came across a strange thing, a house I think it was called, totally wrecked and abandoned. That’s where I spent my lonely years, trying to figure out where you could have gone and what could be happening to you. I remember it was not long ago, at least to me it wasn’t, when I heard a snake crawl through the house and I panicked. I ran into the forest, away from the house and the snake, but I found myself in a cave instead. I could only just see where I was going, but I somehow ended up here by following the long cave tunnel further and further. What is this place, Mark, where are we?” Harriet quivered as she looked around again.

Micklang, who preferred that name to Mark, comforted Harriet by placing his arm on her shoulder.

“I don’t know where we are, Harriet. I wish I knew. But I feel that’s why I’m here, there are things around here that need to be known about. I have decided to map out the whole place, with the help of those following me. And you are here to make me feel happy and fatherly, like I should be. I love you, Harriet, but you must promise me one thing.”

“What’s that, Mark?” Harriet cleared away her tears.

“Don’t call me Mark again please, my name is Micklang now. Micklang the warrior!” He announced, shouting the last thing to his friends.

Harriet gasped as the otter group appeared from every direction, rolling down the hill or shouting with laughter as they surrounded the two squirrels ready for action.

Micklang raised his sword as they cheered him.

“Today, Micklang the Warrior reunites with his wife and discovers a new world. Tomorrow, he will venture forth with you and his beautiful wife to replace out what is out there in this strange and new world, to help those in need and try to stop whatever evil comes to those who are our friends. Tomorrow, Micklang becomes a true warrior and explorer!” Micklang announced proudly, swinging his sword in a full circle as the sun finally disappeared in the sky.

The sun-light disappearing was a magnificent sight, it filled the whole forest with an orange and red that made it warmer than it had when the sun had been up in the sky.

The big group camped on the hill side as they saw the moons appear in the sky.

Indeed there were in fact four moons in the night sky, all coming up in different areas of the sky and joining together just above the groups heads.

Micklang realized the four moons were in the place of the four points of a compass, a strange device he had heard about which was used to navigate the owner anywhere they wanted to go.

Oliver pointed to the moon in the North place and explained them to Micklang.

“They call that moon the leader. Some trees say that the leader can only go North, and therefore cannot cross paths with the other three, but the other three can mix together to confuse animals. You just got to remember which moon is which. It’s simple really. South moon is the blacker one there, east is the completely light blue one over there and west is that completely white one … there. Hey, that’s odd. East is to our left, and West is to our right. That’s not right. Something’s really odd there.”

It was about this time that Micklang received another vision from his warrior self. ′ Tell the others to travel to the fake east and stay away from the a beast I sense. Perhaps if you try being a proper warrior against this beast, things might be ok.′ Warrior Micklang told Micky.

Micky looked around wildly and saw a bush move somewhere in the forest.

“Time to go!” He ordered his friends.

Oliver could see the eagerness in Micklang’s eyes and knew better than to argue.

“Otters break camp quickly. Pistachio, sort out your mother please.” Oliver commanded.

Harriet called Melody and the other children to her as she looked around in fright.

“What is it, Micklang?” She hugged each of the kids as they screamed in fright.

“I don’t know, but I don’t want to stick around to replace out. You go with the otters and stay with them; I’m going to cover our tracks, alright. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be alright. I’ve already survived fighting a lion and several pike today. I’ll be fine,” Micklang told her in a quiet whisper.

Picking up his sword and a piece of fern, he watched the group run off West, which was the fake East, and he waved to his love as she ran off with them.

“Alright beast, show yourself, it’s just you and me now.” He announced when he knew the group were too far away to hear him.

The bulky figure stood in the shadows of the forest and stared at Micklang, knowing full well it had been detected.

“Why are you not running, creature? I’m a vicious, black bear that could rip apart anything with my two extremely sharp paws.” The figure snarled.

“Hmm, that’s funny. Earlier today I met a lion that said he could kill an animal with ONE paw, and I still ended up surviving. A black bear? I’ll believe it when I see it.” Micklang replied; remember hearing the mention of black bears when he was back at the zoo.

“A lion? In Lord Libertas’s domain? Impossible! You lie, creature, and I detest lying creatures. The only lion I know of is my enemy, a lion that calls himself king …”

“Karel? Yes, that would be him. And you’re staring at the very same creature that has changed him. He’s no longer a killing beast, I hope, and for your sake I hope the same happens to you, Lord Libertas,” Micklang interrupted.

The bear obviously didn’t like being interrupted, but it was slightly taken back by the fact that such a small creature could manage one look at a lion, let alone talk to and convince to be a good lion.

“Lord Libertas, if that is your name, what harm have I done to you, that you would want to attack me and my innocent band of followers?”

“You are trespassing on my land, and I detest trespassers. Any that do will be killed with one rip of …”

“Of your mighty, vicious paws, yes you said that already. But why waste your powers on innocent travellers that will be out of your land before sunrise? Why not use them on creatures that are not harmless, that intend on hurting you? Like me, for instance, I COULD slay you with my sword if I was given the chance, but what purpose would it be except to just be covered in your blood? I’m not a blood-thirsty animal, like most creatures might be, but unless I really, truly need to kill to save myself and my loved ones, I try to convince creatures who know my way of life to not kill for their own pleasure.”

“But what of the lion, how does he relate to you? You saved his life from something, but why?” The bear asked.

“I admit, I was fighting with him before we, ourselves, were attacked. But when it seemed he would lose his life after coming such a long way, I couldn’t stand to watch him die under the onslaught. Lion or not, he had been like me before he came here, a captive in a strange place with weird things called humans. That’s why I saved him.”

Libertas stomped out of the bush and stood in front of Micklang.

Micklang wasn’t scared of the bear, but he was curious what the bear was going to do next.

“Leave my territory, creature, and take your friends with you. I wont kill you, however I wont forget you either, you can count on that. I will remember what you said and … consider it as a possibility to change my actions. However, if you do return, I might just be good enough to welcome you warmly and make you my official spokesanimal, but not now. Now you leave and don’t come back until you’re finished with whatever journey you are on.”

Micklang bowed in thanks to the Bear Lord and ran off without another word.

But as he left, Libertas whispered to himself softly.

“I WILL see you again, Micklang. I know who you are and what you intend on doing. When we meet again, it will be our last time together. If only you knew.”

Micklang jumped from vine to ground to tree, trying to follow the recent tracks of his friends.

As he did, he noticed a fire-torch running along in front of him and wondered if it was the otters.

Jumping back to the ground, he ran along until he was right behind the light.

He could see now it was just one creature, perhaps lost, that wouldn’t stop running until they had found what they were looking for.

But even an eager animal has to stop for rest sooner or later, and Micklang almost ran out of breath when the other animal stopped suddenly and Micklang collided with it.

They stopped rolling at the bottom of a tree, with Micklang once again on top of the other creature.

“What the … Harriet, what are you doing here alone? I thought you were with the others?” Micklang gasped when he saw his wife underneath him.

“I was, but those otters are so fast, and my kids have more energy than I do. I got separated and I tried as hard as I could to catch up to them.”

Micklang looked around for any watchers and then did something he had wanted to do for ages.

He kissed Harriet.

Quite surprised, but knowing how much he missed her, Harriet let him kiss her.

“You have no idea how good I feel now I’m back with you.” Micklang said.

Harriet blushed and then kissed him back, then she blushed again.

“Do ... don’t you think we should catch up with the otters and our kids?”

“No need, we doubled back to make sure you were safe, and it certainly looks like you are.” Oscar’s voice announced suddenly.

Micklang looked around and saw the whole group staring at them.

“You … You rascals! How did you do that?” Micklang exclaimed.

“You’d be surprised how good we are at hiding, Micklang. Come on, lovebirds, we’ve gotta get going.”

Micklang and Harriet sighed as they got up and joined the group.

“Never rest, do you?” Harriet asked Oscar.

“Yes we do, it’s just we can’t rest here, especially after that creature roared at us.”

“Oscar’s right, that creature was a black bear, called himself lord Libertas. He said he wanted us outta here before sunrise. And by the looks of things, we’d better get going.”

So they ran off, with Micklang keeping a firm eye on Harriet and the kids.

Although they didn’t know exactly WHERE Lord Libertas’s territory ended, they didn’t stop anywhere until well into the next day.

They had made it to a beach and Oscar got his otters to organise a camp of rest.

While half the otters were getting the food ready, the other half held a conference with Oscar and Micklang about where they were to go next.

Harriet watched her ten kids roll around and play in the sand, chuckling when they tried to pat a crab that they had disturbed but had to run when they saw the huge claws snap at them.

“Ahoy there, land-lubbers, how d’ya do?” A voice called out.

Oscar looked up and saw a small group of mice approach with the leader wearing a rather funny captain’s hat with feathers of a parrot sticking out of it. The leader had a sword by his side and a few old, but still fatal scratches along his face.