The Piano
                                                           ~Part  14


      "An attacking band of wolves!" the newcomer shouted. "Hurry!"
      "Where is Jarow?" was Slerge's first question soon followed by the questions, "Where is everyone? Are they safe? Are the defenses up?" Slerge started toward the entrance of the tunnel. Tom nervously followed him.
      "I don't know where Jarow is but Lorsax sent a fox to look for him. Everyone is safe and the barriers are being put up as we speak."
      "Are the groups in position?"
      "Yes, ready and waiting for command." At the front of the tunnel, the group was met by the largest fox Tom had ever seen. The fox nodded to the messenger who nodded back and ran off. The huge fox turned to Slerge.
      "All defenses are in position and waiting for the signal."
      "Good. Use the standard procedure. And send someone to double check the barriers, Lorsax. We don't want the wolves getting through," Slerge instructed.
     "Yes, sir." Lorsax turned and disappeared through the entrance. Slerge turned back to Delo, Basax, and Tom.
     "Take Tom to your cave. I don't want him getting hurt," Slerge announced. Delo nodded and motioned with his head for Tom to follow. Tom hesitated but then turned and followed Basax. Their short journey ended in a small well-lit cave. At first, Tom was confused about the source of light for no torches or lanterns hung upon the walls. Then, he noticed several small holes emitting beams of sunlight. Tom was about to comment to Delo about the light when a huge, resounding crash shook the walls of the cave!

                                                The Piano
                                                     ~Part 13


      "What?!" Tom exclaimed incredulously. "Why? How?"
      "Apparently, his position of second-in-command isn't enough for Jarow. Nothing less than first will be good enough for him. He appears to have been raising a small force of foxes from within the valley. No one knows when or exactly how he'll do it but we think he'll make his move sometime while Aldero is gone," Delo replied nervously. "He was informing a minion when the fox heard them."
      "So... what are you going to do to stop him?" Tom asked them. Slerge and Delo hesitated. Tom looked from one to another. "You do have a plan, right?" The two foxes hesitated a few seconds more then Slerge quietly shook his head. "But he has to be stopped! He shouldn't be able to do this!" The foxes had no answer to that. Tom groaned. Up until then, Basax, the young fox, had just watched wide-eyed but now he jumped forward.
      "Why do you care? You're not a fox!" he challenged Tom.
      It was Tom's turn to hesitate and think. He scratched his head. Basax prodded him with his nose.
      "Why?"
     "Well... I guess, because he's doing wrong. And wrong is wrong no matter whether a fox or a human does it." Tom shrugged. Satisfied, Basax settled into a sitting position.
      "Good answer. Now, do you have a plan?" Basax answered, confident that he would get an answer. Tom shrugged.
      "Well-" Tom was cut off by another black fox charging into the room.
      "Trouble!!" the fox exclaimed fearfully.

                                                          The Piano
                                                                ~Part 12


     "The leader isn't here, a fact I had forgotten." Slerge explained." When he is gone, another fox is in charge."
      "What's so bad about that?" Tom questioned him, confusedly. "Can't we just tell the other fox?"
      Slerge and Delo exchanged a look. "Well, yes. But you'll most probably get a very different answer from what Aldero would say," Delo replied. Tom glanced from Delo to Slerge.
      "Why? Who is the other fox?" Tom asked.
      "He is a unusual fox. Unlike the black foxes,"Delo began. Slerge sighed.
     "He is a dark gray fox named Jarow. He showed up one day 8 years ago, with two cubs that had gone missing earlier. Aldero seemed to take a liking to him. Maybe he felt indebted to Jarow. No one rightly knows but plenty of rumors have circulated. Anyway, Jarow rose up in the ranks until he was second only to Aldero. Right about that time, our little incident with Zaro occured. Aldero seems to believe Zaro will prove a threat to the black foxes so he has gone to request assistance in our 'time of need'. That is where he is now, most likely," Slerge explained.
      "I still don't see why we can't ask Jarow. He doesn't seem like such a bad guy. He did save the cubs, of course," Tom objected. "Aldero even likes him, right? From what I've heard, Aldero doesn't sound bad."
      " Aldero isn't bad," Slerge affirmed. "But, Jarow isn't all Aldero thinks he is. A fox was passing by Jarow's den and overheard Jarow speaking with another fox. Jarow is going to overthrow the leader!"

                                                                The Piano
                                                                   ~Part 11



      "Wow. Its so... so like a human town," Tom gasped. Slerge laughed.
      "Yeah, yeah, I guess so," he agreed. The two headed down into the valley and headed toward the south side of the valley.
      "Where are we going?" Tom asked.
      "To see the leader," Slerge announced. Tom nodded a little nervously. They entered one of the smallest holes in the hillside. They traveled down the  dark tunnel for a little ways. Other tunnels branched off to the sides. Soon the tunnel began to brighten. It opened into a large hollow. Small caves bordered the larger one. At the back, was a cave larger than the rest. Hanging mosses hid the interior. Slerge motioned for Tom to wait.
      "Hey, Delo!" he called. A small black fox scurried from one of the caves.
      "Hello, Slerge!Ah..." the fox noticed Tom watching. "Uh, who is this?" he softly questioned Slerge. "Friend or foe?"
      Slerge laughed. "Friend." Then he added, winking at Tom," ...I think." Delo nodded then gave a quick howl. Another smaller fox bounded out, tripping on his over-sized paws.  Delo sighed.
      "Basax, how many times have I told you to SLOW DOWN!" Delo reprimanded him. Basax mumbled an apology, staring at Tom."Now, watch the human while I converse with Slerge." Basax vigorously nodded his head. The other two foxes went a little ways away. Tom looked down at Basax, who's back only came up to his knee. He wondered how old he was or how foxes counted age. The other two foxes returned.
      "Bad news," Slerge announced.

                                                              The Piano
                                                                 ~Part 10


        "So, Zaro, went crazy all of a sudden?" Tom asked. Slerge nodded. " I still have a question. When you came through the portal, why were you so menacing?" Tom asked.
Slerge smiled.
        "Well,um... I sort of did as a joke...sort of,"Slerge tried to explain, finally he ended. "You wouldn't understand." They walked in silence for a little while. Tom then asked,
        "So, can I go home?" Slerge sighed.
        "That might be a problem. We can't let you go home until Zaro is taken care of. He's dangerous. You can stay at the camp."
Tom sighed.
        "What about my mom?"
        "Don't worry. She'll be fine," Slerge assured him. Tom nodded. They soon came to a break in the trees. They emerged and saw a small valley dotted with small mounds. The walls were speckled with caves and small holes. A small lake was in the middle of the valley. Dark foxes could be seen traveling busily from mound to mound, cave to cave, and entering and exiting holes.
        "We're home," Slerge announced.

                                                               The Piano
                                                                   ~Part 9


     The foxes crouched, preparing to strike. Tom cringed, covering his head and turning away, expecting the fatal blow to land any minute.
      "Wait!" a voice called. Tom looked up, fearfully, then gasped. Another fox appeared, slightly limping.
      "Slerge? But, I thought..." Tom trailed off. Finally, he finished."I thought you were the bad guy. But, somehow, I'm not sure a bad guy would save me."
      "Correct, and incorrect. Yes, I am Slerge, but no, I am not the bad guy,"Slerge affirmed. The other foxes bounded off. Slerge motioned for Tom to follow him which Tom did, cautiously.
      "Let me guess. Zaro told you that he's the good guy and I'm the bad guy, right?"
      Tom nodded. Slerge smiled.
      "That Zaro! Always mixing things up. Though he really must have meant it this time. Poor guy." Slerge shook his head sympathetically.
      "What do you mean 'poor guy'?" Tom asked.
      "Well, a while ago, Zaro was a really nice guy, always helping people. But, then, one day, he went out into the woods alone on an errand. He didn't come back for a while so a search party was sent out and found him lying, unconscious. When he woke up, he was different, distracted. He got confused a lot. He went out into the woods by himself a lot, but he never said what he did. He was more mean, snapping at foxes when they asked him to do something. Then, one day, he stole something. I caught him and then when asked, Zaro blamed me. Well, they banished him and no one heard from him for a while. After a while, I went out to see how he was and he kept running away until he vanished in the bushes by the lake where I followed him and found you."

                                                             The Piano
                                                                   ~Part 8


      "Hey!Where'd he go?" Tom exclaimed. He moved closer, noticing that there was no sign of the fox or the rope.
      "I wouldn't go near that if I were you," Zaro warned., advancing a little.
      "Why?" Tom asked, curious, as he knelt down in front of the piano leg.
      "Don't touch that!" Zaro exclaimed, as Tom reached a hand out towards the piano leg. As soon as he touched it, Tom felt a strong tugging. He fell forward but never hit the floor. He shot forward, bright light streaming by. A few minutes later, he fell onto tall grass. He stood up slowly, rubbing his eyes. Tom opened his eyes and looked around. His back was to a immense lake, but tall grass was all he could see for miles in all other directions. On the other side of the lake was a forest. Tom looked around and then, seeing that there was nowhere else to go, started around the lake toward the forest. After ten minutes of  walking in tall, scratchy grass under a blazing sun, Tom was grateful for the cool shade of the forest. He rested for a few minutes under a tree near the beginning of the forest, debating whether to go on or not. Suddenly, Tom stiffened. Then it came again: a rustling in the thick bushes. Tom realized the danger of the situation. He didn't know where he was, in a strange forest, not knowing what kind of animals lived there.He slowly started inching toward the lake. Three black foxes leaped out of the bushes, snarling warningly as they advanced on Tom. Tom kept backing up until he put his left foot back and heard a splash. He swung his head around, panicking. The foxes circled around one in each direction. Tom gulped, frantically searching for an escape. He was trapped at the edge of the the lake by the three growling foxes with no escape.  

                                                            The Piano
                                                                ~Part 7



      "Zaro! Look out!" Tom called out, as Slerge lunged for Zaro, unleashing a battleaxe from a holder on his back. Zaro dodged and rolled to one side. Slerge attacked Zaro time after time, each time Zaro dodged them just barely. Tom did his best to stay out of the way. Frantically, he looked for a weapon to help Zaro. He spotted the guitar leaning against the piano. He grabbed it and swung it at Slerge, whacking him in the back. Slerge flew across the room and slammed into the wall, sliding to the ground with a sickening crunch. Zaro looked from the still form of Slerge and then to Tom. He nodded gratefully and quickly ran to his fallen foe.
      "Do you have any rope?" Zaro asked Tom.
      "Rope? Oh, uh, yeah," Tom answered, a little surprised by his action. He ran to get the rope from his closet. Running back, he announced,
      "Here's the rope." Tom tossed the rope to Zaro. In a matter of seconds, Slerge was bound to a piano leg.
      "Now. Let's go find that portal." Zaro stood up, dusting off his paws.
      "Wait...what? Where just going to leave him here? Aren't we going to send him back to his world?" Tom asked, confused.
      "Of course we're going to leave him here. We can't take him with us and we can't send him back to his world. You forget, his world is mine too. If we send him back, he'd just cause more trouble for us. Now, come on," Zaro replied, heading towards the door.
      "But, Zaro! We can't just leave him here. What if my mom finds him. Then she'd---" Tom was caught off as he ran towards Zaro.
      "Ughhh." Tom turned back to see Slerge slowly gain consciousness. He inspected his surroundings and then began franctically trying to escape.
      "You can't leave me here, Zaro. I'll escape and find---" As Slerge tried to escape, he turned and suddenly disappeared.

                                                              The Piano
                                                                  ~Part 6


      "As I was saying, before I was so rudely and heartlessly interrupted, my arch nemesis returned. If you remember, earlier in the story I said that I was blamed by a fox. His name is Slerge. He returned with five other foxes to annihilate me. They chased to a enormous lake. I tried to hide in some bushes but he found me. He tried to get me to come out, but his mistake was saying that it was my fault and that he was right. I kept backing up until I suddenly felt myself fly backwards. I shot backwards, realising that it must have been a portal because I never could have have fallen that far across the lake. Then I met you and its now," Zaro finished.
      "Wow. That's... incredible. So what do we do now? Are you going back?" Tom asked.
      "I can't go back that way. They're probably waiting for me there. If I want to go back, I'll have to find another way. But I'm not sure there is another," Zaro replied.
      "Then let's go find out!" Tom exclaimed, jumping up excitedly. He ran to the door and then turned to see if Zaro had followed him. Tom had just turned the doorknob when a voice caused him to jump and turn in surprise.
      "Running again, Zaro? I thought you were braver than that." Tom turned to see another black fox.
      "Slerge! What are you doing here?" Zaro spat out the name.
      "Slerge? Your nemesis?" Tom asked Zaro, wonderingly.
      "Yes, his nemesis. I bet he already told you how I blamed him wrongly. But, I won't argue right now. Right now I have other work to do," Slerge replied, advancing, menacingly.  

                                                                            The Piano
                                                                                 ~Part 5



      "Oooooooh! A nemesis?! How much cooler can this GET?!" Tom exclaimed, excitedly." So what happened next?"
      "Do you have NO pity?" the fox glared at Tom. "I get thrown out by my own family, am almost starved to death, my nemesis returns to ultimately kill me and...and all you can say is 'Oh yay! This poor fox is going to die! Whoopee!' Do you even have a heart?!" the fox shouted.
      "But I thought you said that you were strong enough to endure it? Were you lying?" Tom asked suspiciously.
      "I was. But I was thrown out of my home to starve. When most people learn about that they have pity. But obviously you don't! And for that I won't tell you the rest of the story." The fox turned his back on Tom.
      "Please!!!"
      "No!"
      "Zaro, please!"
      "Only if you say you're sorry and that I was right all along.
      "Whatever." And with that, the black fox began to speak again.

                                                                        The Piano
                                                                              ~Part 4



      "What do you mean, outcast?" Tom repeated. The fox sighed again.
      "It's a long story, but if you have the time, I'll tell you," The black fox looked unsure. Tom nodded. The fox cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and, in his raspy voice, began.
      "My name is Zaro. I used to live in a large fox colony-"
      "Where?" Tom interrupted excitedly.
      "In a magical land," the fox answered. Tom shrugged, rolled his eyes, and shook his head.
      "Like I said, I lived in a fox colony. I was the leader's son. One day, one fox, who had always envied and hated me, pinned the blame of some crime he did on me when I didn't do it! Then everyone hated me and they threw me out of the colony to starve-"
      "So that's when you became an outcast?!" Tom interrupted again.The fox sighed, annoyed.
      "Yes! Now please! Let me finish!"
      "Oh, proceed..."
     "Thank you! As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me,"(The fox looked meaningfully at Tom)" they threw me out. In the forest, I endured many hardships. Of course, I was strong enough! But one hardship drove me out. The return of my arch nemesis!" 

                                                                                The Piano
                                                                                    ~Part 3 


       Tom's mom pulled into the driveway and rushed into the house. "Tom! Tom! Where are you?!' she called, frantically searching her house.The house was strangely silent. Even the pets seemed missing, that is, until she found the cat, hunched in a corner of the couch, its fur sticking straight up. Tom's mom reached out to pet the cat, but it arched its back and hissed angrily at her, causing her to retreat. Tom's mom slumped into a chair, trying to figure out where her son was. A howl filled the air, filling the mom with fear.
                                                     -------------------------------------------
      Tom cringed and inched slowly away from the creature. It just curled up and let out a mournful cry. Tom stared at the fox.
      "Who are you?" he whispered. The fox looked up and let a sorrowful sigh. Then, it spoke.
      "That's what they all ask. Who am I? That's simple. I'm a black fox, an outcast," the fox replied in a raspy voice. Tom couldn't help it as a feeling of curiosity arose in him. Tom said one word which summed up all his questions.
      "Why?"

                                                             The Piano
                                                                  ~Part 2


      Tom groggily sat up, wincing as pain shot through his head. He slowly stood up but almost immediately fell down again as his legs crumpled beneath him. After a few more attempts, he was able walk a little ways while holding onto the wall. Tom looked around so see what had knocked him over. Then he noticed a small black lump a few feet away. Tom didn't exactly want to know what this creature was but curiosity finally convinced him to go investigate the lump. He was  slowly making his way over to it, when the lump began to unfold. Tom backed away as the creature sat up. It was a black fox. Tom relaxed but then fully realized that a black fox had gotten into his living room. Tom ran to the phone and dialed his mom's cellphone number.
      "Hello?" his mom asked.
      "Hi, Mom, this is Tom.Uh, Mom? I know this will sound super strange, but somehow, a black f--".
      "What? A black what?" his mom answered, confused.
      No answer.
      "Hello? Tom? Are you still there?"
      Still no answer. Tom's mom quickly hung up and raced to the front of the store, out the door, into her car, and speedily drove home, completely forgetting her purse.
      A old man hobbled over to her abandoned cart and stealthily rummaged through her purse, but disappointingly found nothing, because in her hurry to leave her house to get her shopping done, Tom's mom had forgotten to bring any money.                                  

                                                                      The Piano
                                                                             ~Part 1



     Once upon a time there was a young boy who loved music. But he didn't like to practice his piano songs. On one especially hard day, he was hiding under his bed as his mom called for him.
       "Tom! Come practice your piano!" she yelled, entering Tom's room. Finally she found him.
       "There you are! Now go practice your piano." Tom forlornly trudged over to the piano and sat down as he opened his books.
       "I'm going to go to the store now so don't open the door to anyone!" His mom instructed him. Tom nodded.
       After a few minutes, Tom tiptoed to the door and peered out the peephole. He grinned and ran back to his room. Just as he passed the room with the piano, he heard a pitiful wail! Tom shivered at the sad wail. He listened for it again. When nothing happened, he shrugged and started back to his room.
       "Waaaaaaahh! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!" Tom froze. There it was again! Tom sighed. He just had to know what that sound was. He crept to the door of the room. He slowly opened it.
       WHAM!!
      Something bowled into Tom. Tom screamed! And then, everything was silent.
      Unusually silent.



    

You might have heard a version of this story. But, I bet you haven't heard this version.

                                                        Liars Won't Be Believed


      Once upon a time, there was a young girl who lived in a village at the foot of a mountain. Every day, she watched their town's crops because her father had cautiously warned her, "Look out for avalanches because it will ruin the town's crops."
      One boring day, the girl was so bored that she thought she would die. Suddenly and idea popped into her head which had been filled for days with unpractical ideas of what to do. Jumping up and waving her arms frantically, she shouted,
      "Avalanche! Avalanche!" The villagers rushed away to their emergency shelters. The girl laughed so hard she almost burst. When the villagers returned, they were very angry at the girl because of what she did. But the girl promised not to do it again. But, one day, because she was more bored than ever, she jumped up and screamed,
      "Avalanche! Avalanche!" Once again, the villagers rushed away and came back soon, expecting to find rubble and ruined crops but instead a cheerful, laughing girl.
      "Never do that again!" they commanded her, furiously. And she didn't.
      As she was watching the mountain, a booming sound filled her ears, similar to the thick dust which filled her eyes and mouth, causing her to choke.Her terrified scream,"Avalanche! Avalanche! Help!" barely made its way to the villagers. But, because of her pranks, they ignored them.
      "Avalanche! Avala---!" At this, the villagers looked at each other, not sure if it was just a prank. When they spotted a cloud of dust approaching them, they knew it was real. Unable to help her, they instead rushed to their emergency shelters. All except the girl's family, that is. They stayed behind to try and help her. When the villagers returned, the girl and her family were nowhere to be seen.
      One villager remarked,"Just goes to show that you shouldn't lie because no one will believe you and you could die like her!"

                                                                   ~THE END~

                                                            Asha's End



      The dwarf struggled in the sorceress's grasp. Arms flailing, it shouted,"Great wizards! Help, I say, help! Somebody! Help me!"
      The sorceress said nothing, only gripped tighter, preparing to strike with her wand. She raised her arm to strike. Seeing this action, the dwarf stopped struggling and prepared itself to die. But the blow never came. The sorceress's shriveled, old hand was held back by the power of the wizard! He had snuck up behind and quickly tapped her hand with his wand. The sorceress was as still as a stone. The wizard strode around to face the dwarf.
      "Well, Burnff, my dwarf.You've gotten yourself in quite a large fix. No matter. You'll be free in the swish of a wand."
      As he said this, he had seemingly carelessly tapped the hand that held Burnff and then caught him in another hand.Setting Burnff down with his friends, the wizard turned to the sorceress.
      "Asha, you have long plagued this land. Each day I yearned to destroy you. Now I must," he said. Asha scowled at him as she strived to free herself. The wizard simply tapped her heart. The dwarfs stared in disbelief. With one stroke, the wizard had defeated someone they had fought for years. Asha was gone.

                                                                     ~The End

                                                                  An Object of Magic


          As Katelyn sat drawing, a quick knock on the door signaled the arrival of the mail. Jumping up, she ran to collect it. Once she had it, she carefully sorted it until she came upon a small piece of paper.
     
                                            ART CONTEST: ALL AGES
                                                Entry fee: $5.00 per artist
                                          Entries must be entered by May 1

         Katelyn rushed to her mom."Mom! Mom! Can I enter?! Please!"
         "Enter what?" her mom laughed.
         "This art contest.Its only five dollars. I'll pay!" Katelyn replied, showing her mom the ad.
         "I guess."
         "Thanks, Mom!" Katelyn hurried to get her drawing equipment.Sitting down at a table, she looked through her artbook, trying to decide which one to submit.
         Eventually, Katelyn realized that she would have to draw a new one. But what should she draw? A pasture with horses? An alien ship abducting humans? A birthday girl blowing out her birthday candles? Katelyn liked to draw animals best so that was what she would draw. Soon the scratching of pencils was all Katelyn heard. A picture of astounding beauty was created as her pencil swept here and there. The beauty was abundant but the talent was a sight to behold! Katelyn sat back and viewed the finished product. A sun shone warmly on a green forest glade. Fan-like leaves seemed to flap in a small breeze.Chipmunks and squirrels chattered in the trees as birds chirped their morning song. A doe and her fawn nibbled the grass as rabbits bounced around them.
            Katelyn stared at her work.
           "I did this?" she whispered, amazed. Her mom came over.
           "Oh, Katelyn! Its, its so... so lifelike and serene!" she breathed.
           Katelyn never submitted her her piece of art but instead put it in a frame on her desk. It was only a decoration to her friends and family, but to herself, it was an object of magic. Every night she dreamed about the fairytale world she had created. She never boasted of it but only said humbly when friends asked,
          "I made it for a contest but I never sent it."

           To this day it sits on her desk.
                 
                                                              ~THE END~