The Cherries – Fabulist dVerse!

The Cherries

Once upon a time, Kitsune was out walking on a warm late spring day.  She came upon a beautiful cherry tree.  Its blossoms were now transformed into succulent red fruit, that hung invitingly all about it but just beyond reach.

Kitsune jumped up trying to get some of those succulent cherries.  But, alas, they were just too high.  She grabbed a big stick and try to knock some down, but they refused to collaborate and seemed to just laugh a bright red laugh at her failure.

Terrible Inugami came stalking down the road looking for a victim to murder.  Kitsune, was not one to run away in the face of adversity and she was also very very brave and intelligent.  She sat down on a rock and pretended to cry.

“What’s wrong with you Kitsune?” growled Ingumi.

“Ah…a terrible thing has happened!  Do you not see how this tree is dripping with blood?”

“That doesn’t look like blood to me.  The drops are too round and besides they seem to be attached one to another.  I think this must be some sort of fruit!”

“Oh…this is due to an enchantment.  But this is my friend Kodama…alas who’s suffered a great wrong.  There is only one way to free the Kodama from this tree…I must eat that fruit.  Alas, though, it is too high for me!”

“Too bad I did not come along when this person was cruelly transforming Kodama into a tree!  I would have torn him limb from limb…but now, there’s nothing I can do!”

“Can’t you get some of that fruit down for me so that I may try to save Kodama?” she said fawning “You are truly so very tall and strong!”

Inugami was really very big and proud too…he was also very vicious but one of  Kitsune’s powers was the power of persuasion!  So she used her magic voice and Inugami felt well disposed towards her and decided to try to help her “save” Kodama.

Kodama was really hidden inside the cherry tree, though neither of them knew this and so when Inugami pulled off some of the cherries and gave them to Kitsune, Kodama though he’d have some fun scaring them!

Kitsune had just popped the first cherries into her mouth when Kodama began to moan and wail!

Inugami looked perplexed and Kitsune nearly choked!

“Who do you think you are Inugami, stealing my young right off my branches like this!” Kodama said.

“Ah!  Kitsune said that she had to eat your blood so that you could be transformed back into your original form!”

“Kitsune…you’re up to your tricks again!  You wanted to eat my fruit so you brought this ignorant dog to help you!”

“Eh no!  Who are you to call me an ignorant dog!  And you Kitsune, what do you have to say about this?”

“Ah…my poor Kodama.  You’ve been transformed into a tree and from what I can see, a very bad mannered tree at that!  You should be thanking Inugami and I for trying to help you!  But if that’s how you’re going to act…well we’ll just go away and leave you to your sort!”

So cunningly hiding the cherries Kitsune jauntily raised her bushy red tail and off she went towards the woods.  Inugami growled at Kodama and said:

“Now you will remain a tree for all of your existence!” and went on his way along the dusty path looking for a victim to murder.

Kodama just laughed his rustling laugh, that sounded like wind in the leaves.  He was really very happy that Kitsune was able to get some cherries.  Now she would take the fruit far away and new cherry trees would grow up somewhere in the bright sunshine far away!

Moral of the fable: I really couldn’t say what the moral is…any suggestions?  Courtesy is the best policy…could be one but Kodama get’s what he wants by being discourteous!  What can I say…I’ll never be an Aesop!

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My story is an adaptation from “The Fox and the Grapes“ is one of the traditional Aesop’s fables.  The characters I pulled out of internet: Kitsune the Japanese fox kami, Inugami a dog kami, sort of a voodoo spirit used to murder or to kidnap one’s enemies and Kodama a spirit that lives in a tree.  Of course, Kitsune isn’t an ordinary fox, so she got to eat her cherries unlike Aesop’s Fox who wasn’t able to get any grapes and so declared that he didn’t want them anyway, because they were probably sour!

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So for today’s dVerse challenge (written by Björn Rudberg (brudberg) who says: I would like you to either:

• take an existing fable and create a poem out of it, maybe moving the anthropomorphism back to real humans.
• or, tell your own fable in the form of your preference. I think a world of foxes, lions and scorpions still exists, and can be used to create a poem.
• or simply rewrite you fable of choice in poetic words, many of the fables were actually poems to start with so you are in great company with the original fabulist.

And if you use a fable and not just the characters, please include a reference to that fable. I would love to learn how your world of fables look like.

• Write a poem and post it to your webpage.
• Enter a link directly to your poem and your name by clicking Mr Linky below
• There you will find links to other poets, and more will join
• Read and comment on other poet’s work, we all go here to have our poems read
• Promote your site and poetry you like on social media of your choice
• Promote your site and poetry you like on social media of your choice

Have a great Sunday!