Tale 169: Juno and the Enchanted Rock (Ash)

(real tale: Coyote and the Rolling Rock)


"You know, Azurill's wondering if you'll ever come up with a new puppet show..." Misty interjects.

"Well, I have a potential storyline for one...wanna hear that?" Ash offers. "In lieu of me not packing Erin and Juno?"

"Pini!" Happini replies.

"Azu!" Azurill agrees.

Ash clears his throat and begins "Once upon a time, on a day much like today, a Pichu named Juno was out for a walk, when she happened to meet Erin, a young Riolu mage renowned for her spells, even if they didn't always work."

"Hi, Erin! I was going into town today, and wondered if you'd like to come with me?" he asks in Juno's high pitched voice, to some giggles from the Pokemon.

"Of caurse--a journey's much beter wit' a companion." he replies in Erin's distinctive lilt.

As himself, Ash goes on "As the two of them walked on, the sun grew hot..." He wipes his brow for effect. "and when they came upon a big rock, Juno suggested..."

"Why don't we rest here for a while?" he suggests as Juno.

"and she tossed a blanket over the rock." he continues as himself. "But this was no ordinary rock--what Juno didn't know was that Erin had enchanted it with a spell beforehand."

Misty and Brock chuckle at this. "The two of them rested as the sun rose ever higher in the sky, and the day grew warmer." Ash continues. "Eventually Juno got too hot for the blanket, and laid it on the rock."

"I don't need this blanket." he interjects as Juno. "I'll just leave it here in case somebody wants it."

"Bad idea..." Brock cautions.

"The two friends walked on, but soon it started clouding up." Ash goes on as himself. "When a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and thunder rolled, Juno and Erin had to run for shelter. Before long, rain was pouring down from the once-blue sky."

"Told'ja leaving the blanket behind was a bad idea..." Brock smiles at Misty, who giggles as she pictures the Pichu and the Riolu soaked.

"Once they had found shelter in a cave, Juno turned to Erin and said...." Ash interjects before switching to his "Juno" voice. "Will you go back and retrieve the blanket? We can cover ourselves with it and stay dry."

As himself, he goes on "Erin went back and retrieved the blanket, and as the rain fell, the two huddled under the blanket, staying dry."

He pauses for a beat, then adds "Well, mostly dry." to some giggles from the audience.

"After a while, the rain stopped, and the sun began to shine again." Ash continues. "Juno and Erin sat together sunning themselves."

"I'm hungry...why don't we stop and have some lunch?" he suggests as Juno.

"I'm gettin' a leetle hungry meself..." he agrees as Erin.

"So Juno shared her lunch with her friend." he continues as himself. After a few seconds, he continues "Just as they had finished eating, Juno suddenly heard a low rumble way off in the distance."

"Uh oh..." Misty stifles a giggle of anticipation.

"When Juno looked to see what the rumbling was, she saw the rock rolling over the top of the hill, and rushing downhill toward them!" Ash announces

The audience howls with laughter as they picture Juno's likely reaction. "Of course, Erin was safely at the top of a tree, pleased her spell had worked." Ash assures the audience.

"My giant rolling rock spell worked!" he comments as Erin.

"But as for Juno, she had to run and run." he continues as himself. "She ran as fast as she could, only staying just ahead of that rock. Just then, she smiled to see a river ahead of her. She leaped in and began to swim across, happy to know the enchanted rock could not catch her there."

He adds as an aside "Besides, any rock would sink to the bottom of the river, right?"

"By all practical logic, yes." Misty replies.

"But then again, enchanted rocks don't really follow practical logic." Brock grins, anticipating what happens next in Juno's attempt to elude the enchanted rock.

"But much to Juno's dismay, when the enchanted rock reached the edge of the river, it amazingly floated across the water, thanks to Erin's spell." Ash replies, acknowledging Brock's observation with a nod. "When she reached the other side of the river, she raced out and into a forest, and as soon as she was deep in the forest, behind a grove of trees, she lay down to rest."

"Phew!" he wheezes as Juno,to laughter from the audience.

"Don't get too comfy, Juno..." Melody cautions.

"But just as she had begun to catch her breath, she heard the sound of trees crashing down--the enchanted rock was STILL after her!" Ash intones, to more laughter. "She ran through the forest, out into the open plains."

"Hee,hee...this is too funny!" Misty can hardly contain herself laughing.

"As she ran, she saw some Ursarings crossing the plains." Ash explains.

"Help!" he calls as Juno "There's a rock chasing me!"

"But when the Ursarings saw the enchanted rock rolling toward them, they didn't stop to help. Instead they bounded into the forest as fast as they could." he continues as himself.

The audience roars with laughter before Ash continues. "Then, Juno saw a herd of Bouffalant, and she called to them..."

"Help me stop this rolling rock!" he pleads as Juno.

He grins before continuing "But it was too late. Before the last word had left Juno's mouth, the Bouffalant stared in awe as the enchanted rock squished Juno into a Pichu-cake right there."

The audience howls with laughter as they picture a "flat" Juno. "Later that day, a trainer was passing that way when he spotted the flattened Juno out there on the plain." Ash continues when the laughter quiets. "Figuring that the Pichu would make a nice little rug, he carried Juno home and laid her beside the hearth. It took Juno all night to do it, but by morning she had popped back into 3D again."

"She slipped out the window and ran away before anyone in the house was awake. But she learned a lesson from that enchanted rock..." Ash concludes. "If you give something away, you must give it away forever."

"Bravo!" Brock leads the applause.

"That would make a funny puppet show!" Misty agrees.

"Let me know when you put it on as a puppet show--I'd love to see you perform three characters." Melody adds.

"Okay! I'll write the script as soon as I get to a PC." Ash smiles, pleased his newest idea is a hit...