Tale 92: The Magic Book (Ash)

(real tale: The Magic Book)


"There was once a couple who had a son they loved very much--we'll call him Martin." Ash begins. "Ever since he was little, he had been told that when he came of age, he must go out into the world and seek his fortune. So the morning after his sixteenth birthday, he set off to seek his fortune with nothing but the clothes on his back."

"So what adventures did Martin get into?" Melody wonders

For a while, he enjoyed the long walk down the winding path." Ash explains. "Every now and then, he would stop to drink from some clear spring or pick some ripe Berries from a tree. The Pokemon of the wood would look at him from beneath the bushes, and he would smile and wish them good morning."

"Aw..." Misty pictures the tranquil scene.

"After he had been walking for some time, Martin met an old man on the road." Ash goes on. "When the old man asked Martin where he was going, Martin replied he was off to seek his fortune. "The old man offered Martin a chance to serve him, with Martin being paid 2000 gold pieces a year for his service. Martin agreed to enter the old man's service, and they set out together. On the way, they crossed a deep valley and came to a mountain, where the man opened a trapdoor, and bidding Martin follow him, he crept in and began to go down a long flight of steps. When they got to the bottom, Martin saw a large number of rooms lit by many lamps and full of beautiful things."

"Wow..." Melody gasps. Happini sighs dreamily as she pictures the scene and the treasures in the room.

"While Martin was looking around, the old man instructed him to keep the rooms clean, and spread sand on the floor every day." Ash goes on. "In Martin's room was a table where there was always food and drink, and his bed, which was fit for a king, stood in a corner. There were all kinds of clothes hanging on the wall, too. But he was warned not to open a certain locked door, or else."

"Or else what?" Misty challenges.

"Patience--we'll find out what 'or else' is soon enough." Brock assures Misty.

"A few months went by, and Martin proved himself a reliable and hard worker." Ash continues. "One day, the old man had to leave on a very long journey, so after saying his goodbyes, Martin sat down to a good meal, and then went to bed. But he couldn't get to sleep, so he got up and went into all the rooms."

[What did he find?] Mai is interested.

"He found a great many treasures, but even though he still did his required work every day, he couldn't stop thinking about what was behind the locked door." Ash explains. "Then one day he decided he would go and see for himself."

Misty swallows hard at this. "Martin crept inside, and the first thing he saw was a heap of bones." Ash continues. "He thought about just leaving the room, when he spotted a shelf of books. Martin loved to read, so he took one of the books from the shelf. It was a spell book, filled with spells of transformation into anything in the world simply by singing a song. So he put it in his pocket, and ran quickly away out of the mountain by a little door which had been left open in the side."

"So what did Martin turn into first?" Brock is interested.

"When he got home, his parents asked him what he had been doing and where he had got the fine clothes he wore." Ash replies. "Martin tried to explain that he earned them himself, but his dad didn't believe him. As Martin left, he told his parents that they would see a great Arcanine at the door. They were to take it to the castle and sell it to the king, and he would give them a thousand gold pieces for it."

[Did it work?] a Meowth asks

"Sure enough, the next day, everything happened as Martin had said." Ash replies. "Martin's dad sold the Arcanine to the king for a thousand gold pieces, which they put away for safekeeping. The next day Martin came by again; Although everything had turned out as he had foretold, he found that his dad still didn't believe him. So he told his parents that the next morning. there would come a great fat Miltank, as big as the house." Everyone gasps as Ash makes a big form in the air to illustrate his point. "They were to take it to the king, where he would pay a thousand gold pieces for it." The next day, everything happened as Martin had said--they took the huge Miltank to the palace, where the king was stunned at the size of the Miltank. He gladly paid a thousand gold pieces for it, which went into safekeeping."

"Pini pi?" Happini asks.

"Martin came over again a few days later, but his dad STILL didn't believe him." Ash explains, much to Pikachu's chagrin. "Martin said that the next day, they would find a Ponyta outside by the gate. They were to ride it to market and..."

"They would get a thousand gold pieces for it." Misty, Brock, Melody, and the Pokemon say along with Ash.

Ash grins, pleased his friends have caught on to the refrain. "And then what happened the next day?" he prompts.

"Everything happened as Martin had said." everyone replies.

[What about the book from before?] Korra wonders.

"I'm getting to that." Ash assures Korra before going on. "Martin's parents built themselves a huge ranch, and never had to worry about food or money again. They didn't know that Martin really was all those Pokemon."

The lightbulb goes off in Brock's head. "For a minute there, I thought you were going on a really long tangent..."

"Some time later, Martin learned the king was seeking a husband for the princess." Ash goes on. "So Martin snuck into the royal gardens, and transformed himself into a beautiful emerald ring." He pauses to sing Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... for effect. The princess--we'll call her Liana--found the ring and eagerly showed her father, the king."

"But as soon as she was alone, to her amazement, the ring suddenly left her finger and became a boy. Liana was scared out of her wits at first, but when she heard a male voice singing Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... and looked again, the boy became a ring again. Then she heard the song again..." Ash sings Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... again. "and then turned back to a boy. This went on for some time until Liana began to get used to these sudden changes."

"Pini Hapi?" Happini asks.

"Martin told Princess Liana he was sorry for scaring her, but he had actually sought shelter in the palace because the old mage from before was trying to kill him." Ash continues. "Princess Liana agreed to protect Martin, and it wasn't long before they fell in love."

"And they all lived happily ever after?" Brock guesses.

"The king, meanwhile, didn't like the idea of Princess Liana marrying a commoner." Ash cautions. "So when he found Martin and Liana together one day, he ordered both of them thrown in the dungeon."

[That's not nice!] a Meowth gasps, appalled

"A week or two went by, but when the king went down in the dungeon to check on them, he could hardly believe his eyes when he found that Princess Liana nor Martin were not there. Instead, there was a large hole in their cell, big enough for two people to pass through."

"How did they get out?" Melody asks.

"Here's how they got out..." Ash explains as he grabs a sketchpad and draws a crude dungeon map, complete with stick figure drawings of Princess Liana and Martin in one cell. "They had fallen down that hole..." Ash draws a dotted line under the cell with the stick figures. "into a portal..." He then draws a crude fantasy portal and draws the dotted line through it. "...which led into a castle built of pure gold at the other side of the world." He then draws a castle with a yellow marker, then draws the Princess Liana and Martin figures with the black marker he used before. "But the king had no idea about any of this." The group giggles as Ash draws a confused king stick figure at the entrance to the cell. "And so Martin and Princess Liana lived in the golden castle for many years." he concludes, drawing a red heart over the Martin and Princess Liana figures as the group applauds...