The Fool on Arrival
A bright sunny day is how we begin this story.
The sun shone its gracious light upon the green lands and the silver, snow-capped mountains. Birds sang their song as they glide across the azure blue sky. A gentle summer breeze passed through the trees, giving an air of peace on a Wednesday on the 22nd of June. The forest was certainly a blessing from Mother Nature, blessing the Earth with food, shelter and oxygen. All the woodland creatures great and small relished the serene and tranquil moment in the late morning sun, closing their eyes and taking in the sounds of nature itself.
TAP-TAP! TAP-TAP! TAP-TAP! TAP-TAP!
The blissful moment was spoiled to the rhythmic sounds of metal claps tap-tapping down the dirt gravel path in the green forest. A tune of merriment hummed through the area as a tall skinny man walked a level below casual down the path. But this man was no ordinary man, he was...how we should say...odd?
He wasn’t just odd, one might say. He was a Fool.
The Fool.
The Fool’s face was concealed by a gold mask of comedy. His tuxedo was black on the torso, purple at the sleeves, separated by a large smile on his chest. His trousers were yellow-and-blue-striped (or was it, blue-and-yellow striped? The Fool didn't care which) with a smaller silver mask of comedy on each side of his thigh. His black and white taps shoes clapped the dirt ground with every step as he twirled his green orb tipped staff with ease as he sang to his favorite carnival song in his amusing slightly high voice:
"Oh, the Merry-Go-Round broke down,
And we went 'round and 'round
Each time t'would miss,
We'd steal a kiss
And the Merry-Go-Round went..."
The Fool tapped his staff on the tree stumps as he continued onward with his song.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
KNOCK-KNOCK, KNOCK-KNOCK
KNOCK, KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!
"Oh, the Merry-Go-Round broke down,
And it made the darndest sound!
The lights went low,
We both said, 'Oh!'
And the Merry-Go-Round went.."
The Fool did a sailor jig to keep up with the rhythm.
TAP, TAP, TAP!
TAP, TAP, TAP!
TAP-TAP, TAP-TAP
TAP, TAP-TAP-TAP!
A bear in the nearby bushes scavenged through the brush, consuming the blueberries he could find to eat. His ears perked and he shot his head over the bushes to see a biped walking down the path, singing a most annoying song. The bear covered his ears and went back to eating the fruit. His temper started to boil up as The Fool went to another verse of the song.
"Oh, the Merry-Go-Round broke down,
But you don't see me frown,
Things turned out fine,
And now she's mine
'Cause the Merry-Go-Round went..."
His staff swayed through the bushes to help finish off the tune.
SWISH, SWISH, SWISH
SWISH, SWISH, SWISH
SWISH-SWISH, SWISH-SWISH...!
Unfortunately, The Fool’s staff swung into the bushes where the bear was hidden.
BONK-BONK!
In immediate response for the newly created lump on his head, the bear leapt out of the bushes, bellowing out a loud roar heard from miles on end. The bear's roar blew out a stream of air, swaying The Fool backwards and rained saliva on his colorful threads.
The roar continued on for minutes.
The Fool checked his wristwatch to time to the length of the animal's roar.
...
...
...
The Fool stifled a yawn beneath his mask.
...
...
...
The beast stopped his roaring. He looked at the oddly-dressed man with fiery rage in its eyes, a sure warning to anyone that their fates would meet a grisly end (if you would pardon that phrase). The Fool was sitting on a folding chair, reading the comics and sipping a mug of hot cocoa with a lifted pinkie. The bear growled, grabbing the attention of The Fool.
“Well it’s about time. You know how long you’ve kept me waiting for? I could’ve gotten my laundry done by the time you got through with your yowling.” The Fool looked over his suit. “Oh wait, I just did ‘bout five minutes ago. Hohohoho-ahahahaha!”
The man chuckled as he threw away the chair, comics and the mug of cocoa out of the picture. “Now what’s gotten your fur tied in a knot, Winnie? Someone stole your honey from you? Well, go find another gal and see if that makes your wife jealous.” The bear growled even more so while it pointed to the red lump rising from the top of his head.
The oddly dressed Fool examined the bump for a minute or two.
“Wow. I haven’t seen a head with a lump that red since my last doctor’s appointment,” the Fool chortled. “And what is it that doctors use to cure lumps like these?”
Then he was struck with an idea. He reached back to his staff and pulled it out in front of him. With one little BUMP, the wound went away.
Only to have it reappear on a different part on the top of his head.
The bear was feeling mighty P.O’d. The Fool reached up and gave the bump a series of light little taps with his staff. The bump finally disappeared into his noggin.
Then it reappeared in another spot on the head.
The bear was on the verge of a temper tantrum. The Fool shrugged with a sheepish grin (oh, wait. You can’t see his face). In a sudden desperate move, the Fool swung his staff back and CRACK! The bear howled and held his injury with both claws while the guffawing culprit hightailed it out of there. The bear’s eyes finally went red, roared one final time and started to give chase to The Fool.
The Fool’s tap shoes made a swift running rhythm as he tried to outrun the bear. He looked back to his chaser. The bear was plowing through the dirt path in a mad and raging frenzy.
“Uh-oh. Time to turn on the turbo,” he told the audience.
The Fool boosted his speed by a dust cloud. His tap shoes was clapping the ground faster than the applause in the studio audience. He looked back again and at a lump of fur with its claw ready to turn him into a human coleslaw appetizer. With one last trick up his sleeve, the Fool jumped and did a full 180 to the grizzly who already started to swing its claws at the jester.
“Goodbye.”
He snapped both of his fingers.
POP!
The Fool disappeared into bubbles just as the the bear hit the man. He looked at his claws and continued to charge ahead. By the time time he looked up, he was making a headfirst beeline right into a...
CRASH!
...tree.
The bear’s eyes spun around in opposite directions as tiny canaries flew around its head. The Fool reappeared with a POP! of bubbles sitting on the beast’s back. He cuffed the claws with an oversized pair of cuffs.
“You’re under arrest for streaking in the woods,” the Fool said in a gruff voice. “You’re not supposed to run bear-naked. Hohohohoho-hahahahaha!”
The Fool jumped off of the bear, did a full somersault in the air and landed on his shoes with a tap-tap. He walked over to the beast and put on a ranger’s hat on its head. “Remember, Boo-Boo: Only you can prevent florist friers.”
The Fool stopped and pondered.
“Or was it tourist criers? No, maybe is was Morris the Driver...” The Fool shrugged. “Ah, well. Doesn’t matter. Now back onto the road.”
The Fool swung his arm and his staff appeared out of nowhere in his hand. He disappeared over a small mound, humming the same merry song he was singing before his run in with Ted back there and held his staff at the upper part across his back.
Meanwhile, a certain yellow pegasus walked out of the bushes with a line of ducklings following behind her. “Here you go, little duckies,” Fluttershy said in a sweet, soft voice. “Now you take this path down a quarter of a mile and turn left. Then you’ll be back at your pond in no--”
Fluttershy gasped as she saw the bear lie at the tree with its claws cuffed behind its back, hurt and unconscious.
“Oh no! Mr. Bear, are you alright!?”
Fluttershy flew over to the bear and gently shook him. The bear opened its eyes and looked over to the pegasus, the same pegasus who helped curb the tension in his back. Now he wanted cold revenge served on a silver platter to the grinny-faced man.
“Oh, you poor, poor baby! What monster would do such a heinous thing to someone as sweet as you?”
The bear took a pinecone nearby with its teeth and drew in the dirt. He drew the face, the same face that taunted and outwitted his brute strength. Fluttershy covered her mouth with her hooves. The once cutesy concerned look for the bear turned into a mad scowl.
“Ooh...ooh, that big, dumb, meanie! How dare that thing come here and attack an innocent creature like that!” Fluttershy yelled to the sky and shook her hooves. “As Celestia as my witness, I shall avenge you, Mr. Bear! So swears Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy “ooped” and curled back into her mane in embarrassment.
“Umm...if that’s okay with you, Mr. Bear.”
The bear rolled its eyes.