Tales of the Parodyverse

Post By

He Who Must Not Be Named
Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 01:50:28 pm EST

Subject
Little Sam (The whole thing, so far.)
[ Reply ] [ New ] [ Email ] [ Print ] [ RSS ] [ Tales of the Parodyverse ]
Next In Thread >>


Once, not so long ago, there was a village that many hardly knew, for this village was not really all that special to begin with. And, as we know, villages that seem plain are really the focus of many a grand tale. Let me tell you about this little village, named Amarose.

It was a sturdy little spot on the globe. All of it's markets were freshly stocked by the local farmers, and there was plenty of small industry about; everything from shoe to toy manufacturers. Still, this little village seemed to remain mostly unharmed by the outside world.

One day, a man moved into town, causing such a commotion that the police and ministers had to assure everyone that he was not their worst fear, nor did he carry them with him. In time, a young lady by the name of Annabell managed to meet this newcomer and soon found herself in love. It wasn't long before the two were married and the rumors about the gentleman began to die down. Then, Little Sam was born.

In Amarose, even today, there are many who recall Little Sam. They all called him this because when he was born, he was the littlest child they'd ever seen. In fact, as the years rolled on by, Little Sam lived up to his name, as he only grew to be a grand total of about three feet tall. But there was more to Little Sam than anyone would have ever guessed.

Strange things began to happen about a year after Little Sam was born. First, his father disappeared, leaving poor Annabell alone to care for her Little Sam. Next, Little Sam began craving strange foods and could scarcely keep down anything but that which he craved. Then, it became apparent that Little Sam was not like the other children...
                                

As I had explained last time, Little Sam was beginning to make some very strange changes in his life, with the exception of his size. His appetite, for foods that we would really enjoy, curbed significantly. In fact, there was little that we would find tasty that Little Sam could hold down. His diet mostly consisted of grubs and small woodland creatures, such as squirrels and bats (which were his favorite).

As I had said, Little Sam did not grow much taller than three feet high. Yet, he did grow much broader than other children normally do, and by the time he was twelve years old, he was quite a stout and strong little fellow. His hands, by then, had grown to resemble those of a grown man's- both large and broad; able to hold firm to whatever they grasped.

Now, you might be wondering how the people of Amarose were reacting to all of this. Well, it would be good of you to wonder, because that is what they all did as well. You see, Amarose was so small that everyone knew everyone, and there wasn't much that wasn't passed around the gossip mill. Why, once Old Man Giff got a hang nail infection, and by the end of the day, the whole town knew... or at least some variant of the story. Well, Anyway. Where was I? Oh yes, The people of Amarose began to wonder and gossip about Little Sam, and the rumors went flying sky high. Sam's mother, Annabell, was not one to stand around and let these sort of things fester. She knew all too well the power of these rumors, so she did the only thing a loving mother would do. She had a party and invited the whole town.

Oh, it was a grand party, and everyone who was even the slightest bit curious about her son was there! Annabell had set up a play area for the children, with lots of games and such. And, sure as the sun comes up each morning, that's where Little Sam was, for his favorite sport was games! There wasn't a one that he could not either figure out or win. In fact, Little Sam made most of the games for the party. And now that other little children were coming over for the first time in years, he would have his chance to pit his wits against the other village children. Oh, was he ever excited!


So, Little Sam had a party arranged by his mother which, of course, the whole town showed up to. Why, who would want to miss a chance at seeing Little Sam and finding out for themselves if all of the rumors weren’t true? Even the head of the town council, Mr. Dumpshire, showed up; which is saying a lot, as he is the most busiest person in town. Only the year previous he had to miss the Pre-Christmas social in order to get business done. Enough about him though. You’re probably wondering about Little Sam.

Well, as people began to arrive at the party, each bringing a wonderful dish of food to share, the crowd was already abuzz with whispers and giggles. Many of the adults made it a point to wander by the play area and take a glance at Little Sam to see him for themselves, if they already hadn’t seen him before that is. Those who had seen him before were the ones sending everyone over to look. Annabell was glad to see this, as this is exactly what she had planned. She wanted everyone to get a good long look at her Little Sam. She knew that the best way to quench a rumor is to open it in full bloom before everyone. In doing so, each person would have their own version of Little Sam in their minds and no one would take the word of another, for they would have seen him themselves. And all the while, Little Sam was having the time of his life!     

There was a rope-climbing game that Sam had made up where you have to climb to a high branch then make your way through a rope maze without touching any other rope, other than the one you were using to hold yourself up with. The other village kids didn’t believe it could be done because Bobby, the best climber of the bunch had tried twice already and couldn’t get half way through the maze before he touched a rope.

“It’s impossible!” Bobby said to Little Sam in a voice that got the attention of all of the grown-ups nearby. “If I can’t do it, no one can!” he continued as he crossed his arms in defiance.

“Can too be done!” Sam retorted. “Ya jus’ ain’ tryin’ hard enough.” And with those words, Little Sam grabbed th rope and climbed to the branch and began to make his way through the maze. Little Sam twisted and turned, swung and leapt from rope to rope with ease that would make an acrobat stare in envy. His every movement was precise and seemingly calculated, but to him it was just second nature. Little Sam was doing just one of the things that he knew best how to do and the thrill of showing off to the kids below only heightened his desire to do more.

The adults of the village were soon gathered around the rope game, staring in amazement. Not one person wanted to blink. Even the kids were slack-jawed as they watched to see Little Sam travel through a labyrinth of rope from the top of the tree to the very bottom of the next tree over. Annabell stood to the back of the crowd and just smiled. She was so proud of her son in that one moment that she couldn’t help but let a tear roll down her rosy cheek. Her heart was full of pride for her son and it wasn’t until she heard a long blast of applause that she managed to gather herself and make her way up to give her Little Sam a hug.

“Wow! That was great!” Bobby yelled over the applause. “Can you teach me to do that?” he asked with eagerness in his voice. Little Sam looked up at his smiling mother and back to Bobby and, smiling too, nodded his head.

“Maybe tomorra. I got other games ta show ya if you’d like.” An excited nod from Bobby and the other boys was his cue to dash to the next game to share his talents once again.

“You must be one proud mother,” a voice said from behind Annabell and she turned to be greeted by none other than the head of the town council, Mr. Dumpshire, and a few people who were always on his coat-tail. “He’s a talented little boy you have there.”

“Thank you Mr. Dumpshire. He’s always been creative with games.” Annabell felt herself blushing and turned to get more punch for the tables, leaving the little cluster of people to themselves.

When she got into her cottage, she found an unusual sight in her kitchen. The food had been shoved aside to make way for a brightly colored package. It was green and glittery and made of nothing her eyes had ever seen before. As she circled it carefully, she thought at first that it might be something from Mr. Dumpshire or someone else of honorable prestige. But when she looked a little closer, she saw a note with handwriting that was very familiar to her. Anger, excitement and fear came into her heart all at once when she recognized the writing as that of her missing husband’s.


The tale begins to thicken
whilst pulses begin to quicken.
What shall be said and done
has only just now begun.



The riddles that I leave,
Are all a part of me...



dialup-4.242.21.164.Dial1.Seattle1.Level3.net (4.242.21.164) U.S. Network
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6/Windows XP (0 points)
[ Reply ] [ New ] [ Email ] [ Print ] [ RSS ] [ Tales of the Parodyverse ]
Follow-Ups:

Echo™ v2.4 © 2003-2005 Powermad Software
Copyright © 2004-2005 by Mangacool Adventure