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Cultural Background |
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Storyteller's Cabin |
Smitty was about to throw the old tail out the door, when his growling stomach reminded him of how hungry he still was. So he took that tail, cleaned it, cooked it with some of the herbs from his garden he had stored away, and ate it. It didn't taste that bad --why, it kinda tasted like chicken! With his stomach finally full, Smitty got back into his warm cozy bed.
Smitty had just drifted off into a deep sleep when a strange sound awakened him. It sounded like something trying to scratch its way into the cabin -- perhaps a raccoon. Smitty knew that if he stayed real quiet it would probably go away. So he stayed as quiet as he could, but then he heard a strange, otherworldy voice, which hissed, "Taily- Po, I want my Taily-Po!!" Smitty thought the wind was playing tricks on his ears, but he heard it again, "Taily-Po, Taily-Po, I want my Taily-Po."
Smitty jumped out of bed, flung open the door and called out to his dogs, "Iknow, Youknow, Comtiko Callico, come on over heayah and see what's making that noise!" The dogs came running, barking and sniffing around, but they didn't find anything at all. So Smitty put the dogs back outside and went back to bed.
Sleep had just eased itself into Smitty's body when he heard the voice again. This time, the scratching sounded like it was at the window. Whatever it was, it really, really wanted to get in! But the scratching seemed to be on two walls at one time. Smitty called out, "Hey, hey, hey, who's that at my door? Get on away from heyeah!" Then he heard the strange voice again, only this time a little louder: "Taily-Po, Taily-Po, I want my Taily-Po. Taily-Po,Taily-Po, I'm comin' to get my Taily-Po!"
Old Smitty, who wasn't one to frighten easily, was getting a little shaky -- this was getting really weird. So he eased to the window and called, "Iknow, Youknow, Comtiko Callico, come on over heyeah and see what this is scratching at my house!" The three dogs bounded up to the porch and they sniffed around and barked, barked and sniffed, but they never found anything at all.
Smitty decided to stay up for the rest of the night to protect himself, his dogs and his little cabin. So he pulled a chair next to the fireplace, grabbed a blanket from his bed and settled in for the rest of the wind-chilled, wintry night. Sleep soon overtook him, and once again he dozed off.
