There wasn’t enough to sustain me because it is a town made
by and for mice. The fact that they let me stay to eat alone was shocking. They
served fifteen different types of cheeses (five of which unknown to our world
because we simply do not have the animals from which it came) on platters of
old tree bark. The only available drink was water in the form of drops. Seeing
that I did not want to eat their entire food rations and their serving size was
fit for mice (barley a crumb by human standards), I was lucky enough to find
the tree by the edge produced apples that would sustain me.
As I
mentioned/noticed, upon looking into the vines and pumpkins, everything was
beautifully furbished for a mouse, therefor I ate outside as they circled and
sat at my feet. Everything constructed by found items. The tables and chairs
being twigs tied together with string or grass, plates made from acorn tops and
bowls/cups from acorn bottoms, beds of elevated feathers, rooms carved out of
the buildings with pumpkin and vine walls. There are no utensils of any kind to
eat with, nor are there any knives to be seen.
Table talk:
‘Squeak, crunching more squeaking, talking about a new
pumpkin growing, how a bird almost found them, squeak, how some left and went
too far, squeak, how Jack stopped by to talk about how things are, squeak,
footsteps passing over, narrowly escaping under a foot, how someone was almost
caught by a bird.”
Something specific that you pass:
As I passed the castle of the tin woodsman, I noticed some
stones and I thought I saw one move. I decided to ignore it and keep going if I
wanted to see the Emerald City in time. But as I moved past it, I thought I
herd a grumbling sound. I stopped to look again and could have sworn that I saw
it move. I turned to act like I was going, but turned back around fast enough
to see what was going on. As I did this, I noticed that there was a man who’s
back looked identical to the rocks that were there, but the front was pink. I
don’t mean flesh pink, I mean pinker than normal.
“OH” he
said trying to lie back down and blend in, but I had already saw him and he
knew it. “Well you found me out. You know most people here ignore my sounds and
keep walking. NO time and no consideration, Nope.” I stare at him and agree.
“Why are you
doing this…this try to get attention and blend in again? If you want people to
see you, just stand up and say something.” I say
“If I
wanted people to see me I would!” He exclaimed, “But I want people to want to
see me. What’s my talking worth to them if they don’t want to hear it in the
first place?” And while I think that’s a funny way of going about doing
something, I suppose in Oz that works fine.
“So what do
I want to hear then?” I ask as I sit on what I think to be a stone, but as he
moves, turn out to be his feet. To my surprise, what I thought just looked like
rock, actually felt like rock. It was cold and rough to the touch, just as the
others.
“Ah you are
and interesting one. Well, the only thing I have to tell is to be careful while
walking through Jack Pumpkinhead’s pumpkin patch. Things aren’t always as they
seem,”
“But isn’t
that just Oz?” I ask
“Well,
yes,” he admits, “but you should pay special attention…to the area by your
feet. It’s just at the edge right before the large apple tree just before you
think you are nearing the Emerald City, look down and stand still, and they
will reveal themselves to you” I nod, thank him and keep moving.
Politics:
After hearing
Ramskes’ tale, more mice join around. Some of them in dark, jewel tones while
others appear to be in burlap. I look to Ramskes and ask,
“Are you
the leader?” He chuckles as says,
“My dear,
seeing that mice are the cleverest animals, do you think that we really care
who is in charge and who is not?”
“Well, how
do you get anything important done?” I ask
“You see,
we mice all know that we are all important to each other. If one of us doesn’t
help, the whole colony is harmed. We do not need the fighting of who is best
out of all of us because we would spend way too much time fighting over who is
more important than the rest and we are open to being taken. No, there is no
need. We dress how we want and we are all leaders at one point. We know we are
the cleverest animals and therefore have nothing to prove. This is also the
reason why the foxes hunt us and everyone else is threatened by us. They want
to be the best; we do not want because we know, and therefore we are. Simple as
that.”
Magic:
I did not
really notice or see any magic being used by these humble yet imposing
creatures. I assumed that they would have some kind of magic, being in this
land, and then I realized how many people go about their days walking over or
near this small town, but never seeing or harming them. I ask this of Ramskes,
who nods and replies,
“Yes, you
are truly seeing. You must be part mouse. You are right in assuming that
everyone in this land has some kind of magic, but have you ever noticed that
sometimes you loose things? You put things down and for a second you look away
and it’s gone? That is how we collect our magic. We are scavengers and collect
the things people put down. We hold a hiding stone that we have buried under
the heart of our town so that so one sees us, but, if someone like you happens
to find us and we feel threatened, we do have a vile of magical powders. Again,
as people walk by, sometimes the magic rubbed on them falls off. Magic does not
stick forever and we collect the fallen magic. We mix it as we see fit and then
use our own concoction on those who have found us. We either erase this place
from their minds or turn them into one of us.”
“But if
there is no leader, who does this?” I ask
“We all
know when outers come and find us. Normally I am the one to handle the magic
powder for I have been around the longest and see how it works. If not I, then
whoever is brave enough to venture out first to speak to the person has the
burden of handling their outcome.” Rmskes replies.
Tradition:
Every week, there is a day of rest
and relaxation, but most importantly, time spent with each other. They take a day where families gather
together and spend the day together. They don’t talk or visit friends, but
spend the day with parents, children and grandparents. If someone does not have
a full family, like Ramskes for example, they gather together in a day of
reflection with each other.
