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Chapter 3

Toad of My Dreams

As I reached the half way mark of the giant olive and wondered what it would be like to soar with a pterodactyl, I started to notice that the outside of the olive began to bubble and turn bumpy and discolored. Thinking I had a faulty olive, I called over a judge. I pointed out the problem and noticed that it had gotten worse. By that time, the entire olive had turned and was now completely brown and wrinkly.

The judge poked it with his white, gloved hand and the olive moved in protest. As we both jumped back, the olive started to turn around. The pimento pointed at me and blinked as a wide slit formed across its bottom. With another blink of the pimento, the table cloth started to twist and warp and rise with the olive until it formed the old toad from before standing there.

"Hello child," she said.

"Now, I'll have to check in the rule book," the judge said getting closer and poking the toad again, "but I'm pretty sure you still have to eat it if you want the prize,"

She just swatted his hand away and shooed him off threatening him in the foreign language.

"You have some strange dreams, child. I've never had to transform from an olive before; it was quite a challenge."

"Are you part of my dream?" I asked, wondering why I wasn't still eating a large olive.

"I am now. I entered your dream, child. I need to talk with you."

"Can you turn back into the olive?"

"No. Now listen child, you are not here by accident. You are part of something much bigger than yourself; something you will probably never understand."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, child, that you were supposed to be found by Ludme, and you were supposed to be part of our troop. And you are just at the start of your journey."

"Why me?"

"That is something that not even I know. But when I read your mind, it's all there; everyone you will ever meet, everything you will ever do. You have quite the distance still to go."

"Why did it start now? Why not when I'm older?"

"It's all about the timing, child, it's all written in your head!"

"Well, when will it end?"

"I cannot tell that to you that. It will ruin everything."

"Then why even tell me?"

"Because you're going to wonder why this is all happening to you."

"But you didn't even tell me why."

"You are right, I didn't."

"You aren't very helpful."

"No, I am not," she said standing there proudly.

"Can you turn back into the olive now?" I said getting a little tired of all this.

"No. I have one more thing to tell you."

"What?" I asked inquisitively.

"Nice pajamas."

"Was that it?"

"No. What I need to tell you is something much more important. In sixteen years, something will happen to you and you will need to find me again. It will not be an easy task, so I am going to give you something to call me with," she said holding out her hand.

"What is it?" I said staring intently on her wrinkled fist.

"It is a whistle carved from the shin bone of an armadillo. When you blow through it, you will hear my voice guiding you to where you need to go. But, you can only use the whistle a total of three times before it will crack," she said holding her fist out further to me.

I held out my cupped paws ready to receive the precious gift. I watched the weathered hand open and revile an empty palm. I looked up at her in question.

"I'd give it to you now, but we're in a dream, and it won't do you much good here. Come to me tomorrow, child, and I will give it to you then."

I looked at her still a little irritated that she interrupted my dream, and said, "Can you turn back into the olive now?"

She smirked.

"Just remember what I said, child."

With a grunt form the old toad, she threw her thin arms into the air and twirled in place, her skin turning greener and her clothing spreading out until she was once again the half eaten olive sitting on a table.

I looked at the olive and poked it with a fork to make sure she was really gone. Once I was sure the toad was gone, I happily continued to eat. As I sawed away through the thick green skin I heard the pterodactyl screeching loudly in my ears and I jumped in fear.

_ _I landed on the ground with a thud to fine myself back in the dark room of the circus car; the teal bird leaning over me. I winced in surprise from the closeness of his face, and looked around. We were the only ones in the room.

"You in the going with, tent is growing moment!" he said grabbing my paw and pulling me up.

I stumbled to my feet and rubbed my eyes as he pulled me along. He slid the door back open and the light of the early morning sun streamed into the card and hurt my eyes. I blinked a few times and carefully crawled down to the ground with only one eye opened. As my feet touched the dusty floor I turned and took a few seconds to observe my surroundings.

All sorts of creatures were running around holding long poles and rope and yelling and singing in the strange language. But before I got a chance to see much else, the teal bird pulled me with him and we joined the hurrying group.

He led me to the tent site. I had expected to see a giant stripped mountain already, but instead it was just a large flat spot of land. From here I could see that we truly were no longer anywhere near my home. The landscape looked more like a dessert with a vast and unending horizon, broken rarely by strange pointy looking trees that grew in small oases. It was very different than the forest I had grown to know.

With the sun to our backs, we watched a team of thirty haul in a giant striped roll and place it down carefully to one side of the clearing. Then, without a moment's rest, they started running and rolling the tent out exposing the red and white pattern I had expected. As they reached the edge of the tent, they all ended in a fantastic summersault, landing on their feet. I could only assume they were the acrobats of the show.

As soon as the performers left the tent, fifty more ran up to the sides of the flat tent and pulled in every direction. More came in carrying large poles, and in a memorizing feat of skill they must have preformed thousands of times, the poles, ropes and tent came together.

I watched wide eyed as the speed of the group until the teal bird tapped me on the shoulder and pointed towards a team lifting up a very large rope and beginning to pull as a team. We ran over and grabbed some of the slack, pulling with them. They started a chant in the rhythm of the pulls and the rope slowly stretched and became taught with our efforts. I could see at least five other groups around the tent doing the same with us.

Then, like a giant beast gaining the breath of life, the tent began to rise with the poles. The mammoth grew straight from the ground in every direction. I watched as the other teams of rope pullers disappeared. I strained my arms on the thick splintery rope, feeling the blisters begin to form. I tried my best of chant with them too, repeating the sounds they were making. With each heave, the monster grew with another breath.

It seemed like it would never stop, and the tent would just continue to grow until it covered the entire earth, but with a loud shout, the group stopped, and we all moved back and wrapped the rope around a large spike that had been driven into the ground. I stepped back as they wound the last of the rope in a circle and watched the teams run into the tent with a series of smaller poles, as others tied more ropes around the tent to more spikes until, like magic, the tent was finished.

A loud cheer went through the group as they all quickly gathered inside to see their handy work. I followed the crowd that slipped through the wide entrance. I was wowed by the sheer size of the tent. It was the largest thing I had ever seen. We all walked in and gathered in a circle. In the middle was the old toad with a wide grin on her face. Once the last performer had made their way in, she held a large pocket watch above her head and yelled proudly.

Her large voice echoed in the tent as the crowd cheered again. I cheered with them; the excitement in the air was unlike anything. I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but I didn't care, it was something good.

I heard a loud pop next to me, and I saw someone pouring some liquid out of the flask and into a glass. The pungent smell hit my nose and I quickly started moving away through the crowd, not wanting to have anything to do with that stuff again. I wandered a few rows closer to the center to try and get a better view of the toad. I poked my head through a small gap between two clowns and saw that she was still holding the pocket watch proudly and chanting something while pounding her fist in the air.

I looked around to see the other circus performers, and when I looked back at the toad, I noticed a thin finger pointing at me. I gulped as she waved her hand for me to come closer. I started to back away, but several paws pushed me back out until I was inside the ring. I could feel my heavy blush warm my face as I saw everyone staring at me. The noise quieted in the room, and every face was pointed in my direction. I awkwardly walked into the center of the circle with the toad who petted my head and turned me towards the audience. She started talking and I looked around at the sea of faces. I had never seen so many different kinds of furs. There were lizards, and birds, and things I had no idea what were Creatures with shells, and claws, and beaks, things with long fur, things with none; every combination I could think of filled my eyes as I gazed. It was unreal. I didn't see any other foxes in the crowd, and a slight feeling of loneliness overcame me.

As I sighed, I heard the toad say my name rather loudly and slowly, and the crowd clapped. I felt he blush come back as I tried to hide from the encompassing stares, but failed. The toad's hand found my back and pulled me forward again, telling me to wave.

She bent down and smiled.

"Everyone knows you now; there are no strangers. Welcome home."

She went to shake my hand, and as I grabbed it, I felt something hard and pointy. I pulled back and found the whistle she had told me about in my dream. She winked at me and leaned back up. She shouted something at the group and everyone hurried to leave.

I examined the whistle. It looked organic and hand made at the same time. There were symbols and designs carved into it that swirled from the flute holes. I ran my fingers over the smooth surface and felt the aged leather strap that came from it. It looked very old and fragile.

I looked up and realized that I was the only one left in the tent. I quickly ran outside and saw a similar site as before with performers running back and forth, only this time carrying wooden benches and lights. People started moving in and out of the tent, and I decided that I would be most useful out of the way.

I started walking out away from the hustle and bustle and up to one of the small groves of trees. They all looked like they were covered in scales, and the leaves looked like long, thick feathers. I grabbed one and started playing with it. It was surprisingly light. I sat down in the shade and looked over at the commotion around the tent. I closed my eyes and nestled into the curve of the trunk.

I played with the whistle, moving my fingers over the smooth sides, and letting my mind wonder.

"My, what a lovely trinket you have there."

I opened my eyes to see a large spider looked down at me from the tree tops.

I grasped the whistle and put it into my pocket.

"Where did you get it?" he said slowly climbing down the tree and sitting next to me.

"I've always had it."

"Really?" the spider said, looking off into the distance of the desert, "because, I lost a whistle just like that yesterday." He moved his head to face me.

"Well, this isn't it," I said shoving it further into my pockets, knowing I was supposed to protect it.

"Well, maybe you should let me see; just to make sure that you didn't accidentally pick up mine."

"No, I know this one is mine."

"Oh, come on, let me see."

"No. I think you should go away."

"You aren't being very friendly."

I just crossed my arms and looked away.

I felt something bump my side and I turned to see the whistle in the spider's claw.

"Ha, I knew it! This one's mine. See here?" He gestured to the symbols. "That's only on mine."

I stood up and stomped my foot.

"Give me that back!"

"Why? It's mine. See the..."

"No, that is mine. You are just trying to trick me. Now give it back to me."

The spider just lifted it high into the tree and hung it off a branch.

"Look kid. You aren't getting this back, so why don't you just run off. It's just a dumb whistle."

I could feel my face get red in anger, and my muscles get tense.

"Look! That is my whistle, and you are going to give it back to me right now."

The spider smirked at me and got down on all his legs. He climbed closer to me, and I saw my reflection in his many eyes.

"I think I have a better idea..." he said as two large fangs emerged from his mouth.

I felt every hair on my body prickle as I started to walk back, but felt two legs press firmly against my back stopping me where I was. The spider's head moved closer, and the long, black fangs moved around my head. My body froze not knowing what to do. Would he really eat me for the whistle? Had I already failed my journey? My mind slowed with fear and nothing seemed real. I only hoped that this was all just another dream.

I felt the spider's breath on my nose and I shut my eyes fearing for a very real end. My heart raced out of my chest as I felt a fang rest on the back of my neck. I heard a chuckle and knew it was all over. The lips of the beast touched my forehead and I heard a familiar voice yell.

The fangs slipped from my head, one scrapping my cheek and cutting my skin. I collapsed on the ground and grabbed my face. I opened my eyes to see the spider crawling above me and over to the voice.

Ludme was standing with a large carved stick about twenty feet away. He was yelling and challenging the spider. The spider walked slowly towards him responding in the language.

I looked at my paw which was covered in blood. My heart raced as I looked at the red liquid that was pouring from my face, and I looked back up to the two.

Ludme had not changed positions standing in a menacing pose with his weapon held tightly behind his back. The spider was standing in front of him as they exchanged angry words. Ludme flinched to psych out the spider, and they began moving in a circle to size each other up. Their steps were rough and well planned out, both waiting for the other to move.

With a twist of his wrist, Ludme brought the stick to the spider's leg. The spider flicked the stick away, and swung Ludme's arm back. They returned to the circle and waited. My eyes dared not blink.

The spider lunged at Ludme, flashing his fangs and spreading his front legs wide. He was much larger than the lemur, but Ludme showed no fear. They returned to their sizing circle and stared at each other.

I looked up at the whistle swinging gently from the branch above me, but a sudden movement in the corner of my eye brought my attention back to the fight. Ludme had leapt up and taken a swing at the spider's head. The spider had flicked the stick away again and did his lunges once more, narrowly missing Ludme's arms. He swung the stick and hit one of the fangs. The spider recoiled back in pain, holding his wounded mouth. But within a few seconds, he was back in the fight. Ludme made another swing at his head and the spider pushed him back. Ludme landed in a roll and held the stick like a spear in front of him as he regained his footing.

The spider lunged, and ducked under the stick, grabbing Ludme's foot, but Ludme took the opportunity and swung at the spider's unguarded eyes. A loud roar echoed across the desert as the spider let go of his leg and held his eyes in pain. Ludme scrambled to his feet and took another swing at the spider's abdomen.

I looked back up at the whistle and decided I should climb. I stood up and tried to get a footing on the smooth scaly bark of the tree. My foot kept slipping, and I looked back over to fight. The spider had moved and was now fighting half blindly with Ludme trying to stay hidden. He jumped up and whacked him in the thorax and the spider fell to the ground. With another angry roar, he got back up and turned to where he thought Ludme was, but was only greeted by a jab from the stick.

I looked up at the whistle and tried again. I found a footing and moved up, digging my small claws into the smooth wood. Little by little, I shimmied up, finding small chinks in the bark to hold on to. Finally, I reached the top of the branch and looked out over the feathery leaves.

Ludme was under the spider, who was trying to attack him with his fangs but was barely being held back from tearing the lemur to shreds. He shifted his legs and kicked as hard as he could, pushing the spider up and over onto it's back. Before the spider could even move, Ludme jumped to his feet and sprung into the air. With a strong thrust, he shoved the stick deep into the spider though the weak joints of his chest.

The spider's legs twisted in pain and he released a high-pitched scream as Ludme jumped back. I watched as the spider's legs slowly curled and lost their life and the squeals of pain died. Ludme kicked the spider's abdomen making sure the creature was truly dead and reached over to pull out his weapon from the lifeless body. As he did, a long string of light green slime stuck to it, which he quickly wiped off on the ground. He pulled out a knife from his pants and carved a notch to add to the many already cut into the side of the well used stick.

He looked over to the tree and I waved. He waved back and slowly began walking to me. I reached forward and grabbed the whistle. As I looked at it, I felt my legs slip and all of a sudden the earth was rushing towards me.

With a grunt, I saw Ludme leap towards me and I felt his arms around my sides, breaking my fall. I sat up and looked at him. His fur was wet with sweat and his clothing was torn and dirty. I looked down into my paw to make sure the whistle was fine, and I noticed that Ludme was looking too. I quickly hid it in my pocket and he looked at me confused. He shook his head and pointed at me. Then in a very thick accent he said "trouble."

I smiled and he did too. He pointed at my cheek and then pointed towards the tent. I nodded and we stood up. He took my hand and we walked to the old toad's car. He knocked and we went in.

There was no smoke this time, and instead of the shapeless mass of fabric in the back we had seen before, she was now carefully doing a handstand on the fingertips of her left hand. She was humming to herself and had not seemed to notice we had come in. I was amazed that she could support her entire body on the four frail looking fingers.

Ludme said something to announce our presence, but she did not move. The humming slowly softened until she stopped and her one orange eye opened to us.

"Sudoone?" she crocked.

Ludme nodded.

We watched the old toad gently maneuver her way back, contorting her body and cracking her joints as she did until she was once again on her feet. She walked over to me, held my chin, and tilted my head to see it better in the faint light. She hummed as she let go and moved over to the wall of bottles and dried plants. She clinked around until she found a bottle of blue liquid and plucked a few dried grasses from a bunch hung on the wall. She ground up the grass in her hand and let it fall into a bowl where she added some of the blue liquid. She reached up and grabbed a vial of pearly liquid and carefully dropped one single drop into the mixture. She picked up a pestle and ground the mixture together before adding a few more drops of the blue liquid in. She looked down at the concoction, nodded and picked up the bowl.

She walked over to me, got down on her knees and studied the wound again.

"So, you met a sudoone. How'd you like him?"

"I didn't."

"Ha, I didn't think so. They aren't very nice creatures, child. And they aren't from around here either. That one traveled far for whatever he was looking for."

She looked into my eyes to make sure I understood what she meant. I nodded.

"Well, fortunately, sudoones aren't poisonous, but they still have a nasty bite. How does it feel?"

"It hurts."

"Well, I would expect so. Now, this mixture is going to burn a little, but it's going to heal your cut in a few days. Are you ready?"

I nodded, not truly ready for more pain. She dipped a finger into the mixture and placed it on my cheek.

It felt like hundreds of needles prickling the side of the cut. I howled in pain and tried to hold it, but she stopped me before I could.

"You can't touch this, ok? It's very delicate, and if you don't touch it, it won't leave a scar."

I nodded again, and she brought her fingers back to my cheek. The needles stabbed again as she smoothed the potion in. I tried not to whine, but I felt a tear roll down my cheek. She globed on a few layers and blew, making it dry before she stood back up.

"Now, don't touch it. I'm going to go make a cast so it'll set properly."

She walked over to the wall again and pulled out a large ceramic jar which she pried open. She pulled out a couple of soaked brown leaves and let them drip back into the jar. She placed them down and pulled out a bottle of a tan colored power which she sprinkled over them. She beckoned me to come over, and when I did, she picked up one of the leaves, and placed it on my cheek. The cold wetness conflicted with the stinking heat of the cut as she smoothed the leaf out. She picked up the other and smoothed them over the shape of my cheek. I could tell they were sticking to my fur, and I couldn't move that side at all.

She blew on the leaves for a while and tapped them to make sure they were hard.

"When this falls off, you will be healed. Try not to touch it, and don't peel it off when you feel it come loose. It will happen on its own time. Ok, child?"

I nodded and blinked, feeling another tear roll down my fur. She smiled.

"Close your eyes, child."

I closed my eyes and heard her clunking around behind me. The creaking of boxes and a smash of glass and what I assume to be a curse word later, I heard her move in front of me again and tell me to open my eyes. When I did, she was holding out a gorgeous piece of candy that looked like blown glass around a piece of cotton candy.

I quickly grabbed it and she laughed. I wasn't sure whether to play with it or eat it. The old toad motioned for me to lick it, so I did.

The candy crackled on my tongue and changed colors. I squealed with glee as my mouth tingled and I went for another lick. The old toad petted my head, and she talked to Ludme. He nodded, and the toad turned back to me.

"Ludme is going to take you over to the tent so you can relax and watch the performers practice. Come back to me when the cast falls off and I will see how well it worked."

I nodded, licking my tasty candy and Ludme took me out. We walked over to the tent and walked inside. The emptiness that I had seen before was gone and there were bleachers all across the sides of the tent, and there was a large blue ring in the center. There were ropes hanging from metal structures at the top of the tent for the acrobats, and a troop of clowns were running around in a circle being chased by one with an oversized bat.

Ludme pointed to the bleachers and I sat down. Then he ran up to the troop and joined in. I laughed at their antics and they enjoyed the audience. I broke through the candy cage and started pulling out of the fluffy center to discover a bright red ruby made of sugar. I plopped it in my mouth and it turned to a sweet, cool liquid. The entertainment and candy made me forget about the pain and I was having a good time again.

The clowns finished and the acrobats came out. I watched them effortlessly flip through the air and I clapped loudly at every astonishing trick. After that, the contortionists came out to perform, and then the knife thrower. I closed my eyes for most of it, but I peeked through my fingers for a few throws of the rushing daggers. This was the first time I had been to a circus, and it was just like in the picture books.

After a night of cheering and clapping, I found myself struggling to stay awake. The sun had gone down and the desert had started to cool. The roaring fire had been built and I made my way over to its warmth. As I walked past, I noticed a large spider leg curling in the flames. I sat silently watching the burning body, remembering what had happened.

I needed to repay Ludme, but I didn't know how an eight year old could do such a thing. The last of the oversized insect burned and hissed away, and I sat back watching the flames lick the dark sky. Ludme walked up and I sat up to greet him.

He plopped on down looking like he had something on his mind. He turned to me and in his thick accent said, "I am of the ....glee you ....are not death." He said it like he had memorized a line someone had told him.

"Thank you," I said slowly so that he could understand.

"Not my problem," he smiled.

I smiled back trying to be sensitive to his errors.

He laid back and so did I and we watched the flames dance against the sky again.