Tom got to come home a day early, on Friday instead of today. He arrived home safe last night.
Here's his last tale from this trip.
-------------------------
I was up early this morning. I performed my usual morning ablutions and was leaving for work when I noticed an envelope lying on the floor outside the door to my hotel room. I glanced up and down the hallway, but there was no one in site. The envelope was bright green with a brilliant golden seal right in the middle. It had my name written across the front of it in a rather small and precise manner. I took it back to my desk in the room and got out a letter opener. Inside I found an invitation that went as follows:
"His Royal Majesty, King of the Land of Ire, The Most Mischievous One, Absolute Ruler of His Domain, First Lord of the Little People, The Beegist of the the Little Ones, Lucky O' Leprechaun requests the presence of one Tom Perry at his royal demesne at precisely 7:00pm tonight for a reception and story telling."
"P.S. To get to the royal palace, simply kiss the invitation."
It was a summons from the King! As you can imagine, I was very excited about this turn of events. I wondered what the summons could be for? Story telling sounded interesting, but who would be telling the stories? Well, I was just dying to find out. I worked the rest of the day as usual and then headed back to the hotel after work.
Now given that I was going to be in the presence of royalty, I thought that I should dress for the occasion. I put on my best clothes and my finest shoes. I made sure that I looked my best and then I made ready to leave. I grabbed the invitation and stood right in the very center of the room. Then, with more than a little trepidation, I put the note to my lips and gave it a kiss.
There was an audible "Pop!" and I disappeared from my hotel room, to reappear again in the middle of Lucky's Court. It was amazing! For a race of little people, when they build a palace, they build it BIG! It was an enormous hall. It must have been 300 yards wide and half a mile long! And it was just packed to capacity with leprechauns. They were everywhere. And it wasn't just Leprechauns there. There were all manner of fantastic creatures in attendance: There was a matching set of unicorns, One giant, a herd of centaurs, probably a dozen Gaelic foxes, and more. The fairies were so thick in the air that I caught myself wishing for bug zapper. They're like little talking Mosquitoes.
The entire hall was carpeted in a lush lawn of, what else? Clover. Apparently, leprechauns are not the only ones who love the stuff. The unicorns were munching away on the clover quite contentedly. Who knew? Up against the far wall was the royal throne. I set off in that direction, dodging sprites and evading pixies. I made my way to the dais and the herald announced my presence.
"Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! Tom Perry has an audience with the king!" You know, I've waited all my life to hear those words.
There at the head of the dais stood his majesty and the queen. "Ah Tom, it's good to see you lad. I was wondering, you've done such a good job telling your girls stories about us. Isn't it about time that you told us a wee bit about them?"
"So tell us a story big man. Tell us about where you come from. And make it good!"
Well, as I'm sure you can understand, that was a challenge of the highest order. What can I tell the King of the Leprechauns about my story?
Without further ado, I jumped right in, "Your royal highness, while Ireland is a land of magic and mystery that I have come to love, I come from another place - a place both very similar and quite different from your lovely isle. Where I live there are great volcanoes that ring our land. They are fearsome mountains that at the whim of the gods will spit liquid fire into the sky and hurl ruin down upon the unwary.
Furthermore, when the gods beneath these mountains become restless, the earth will start to shake and tremble. So we are a people that have come to be comfortable living on the brink of disaster. Maybe it is the beauty of our lands that helps to quell our fears. You see, much like your own country, ours is a land of green (I think you'd like it there). We have great forests that cover the land from the great mountains all the way down to the sea.
In those forests roam beasts quite unlike any you have around here. Where I come from there are ferocious bears and mountain lions that prowl the wilderness. There are great elk and deer that graze in the meadows. And their are birds, from the magnificent eagle down to the lowly blue jay that make their homes in the trees.
Like in your country, We live on the boundary of two great domains. Specifically, the forest and the sea. Beneath the waves are lonely Leviathans and colonies of Mermaids, Giant Kraken and the occasional sea sprites. I've seen all these creatures and more while sailing in the waters near my home.
Speaking of my home, my lovely wife and I have two beautiful princesses named Aspen and Genoa. One has hair that shines like wheat and the the other has hair the color of barley. The two each have their own magical qualities that make them more than special to their mother and me.
For Aspen's part, sometimes I think that she is part seal maiden because she feels for things so strongly that I think she would give up her skin to come to the aid of anyone in distress. She is a studious lass and has read every book she can find about you and your adventures. On the other hand, her sister Genoa is a little pixie at heart and loves to cause mischief at every opportunity. I think you'd really like them both.
They are but wee lasses who fill our lives with joy. It is for them that I share the stories of the adventures that I've had while in your fair land your Majesty."
During all of this, Lucky listened attentively, giving the occasional nod. When I was done he smiled and said, "That was a grand tale! Here are some gifts for your fair princesses! Please give them these with my regards." And with that, Lucky gave me two small packages, one for Aspen and one for Genoa.
The remainder of the night was a reception that I will never forget (but is perhaps for another story). I awoke in my room the next morning with two packages on my nightstand which I will bring home with me tomorrow.
Coming home soon,
Dad
No comments:
Post a Comment