Tale 32: The Buneary Herder (Brock)

(real tale: Jesper, Who Herded the Hares)


Ash nudges Melody awake as Brock begins "In a far away land, there was a small kingdom on the plains, ruled by a kind and just king. He only had one child--a daughter named Andrea. He loved Andrea very much, but often laid awake at night wondering what sort of husband Andrea would want when she was of age to marry."

"Hm, what's Princess Andrea like?" Misty muses.

"You'll see, okay?" Melody assures her.

"When Princess Andrea came of age, her father issued a proclamation throughout his kingdom and the neighboring kingdoms." Brock continues. "Whoever could bring a rainbow of pearls and complete certain challenges devised by the princess would have her hand in marriage. Many a rich merchant, adventurer, and prince came to the castle, but though they had a rainbow of pearls, not one could pass the trials the princess devised. A few adventurers tried to pull a fast one by offering the king some fake pearls, but the king and Princess Andrea were not that easily fooled. Before long, the number of would be suitors trickled off."

"Then who did she marry?" Ash wonders.

"I'm getting to that." Brock assures Ash. "Now, in a certain village by the coast lived a fisherman who had three sons--the youngest of which was named Todd. Todd's brothers were fully grown, but Todd himself had just come of age that year. One day, the fisherman found a lot of Clamperls and Shellders with pearls inside. Todd and his brothers heard that the king was seeking a suitor for Princess Andrea, and decided to see if any of them was worthy of her hand. So they each gathered a pearl in every color, and agreed to set out for the palace in the order of their birth, with the eldest brother setting out the next morning."

"Pini pini?" Happini asks.

"The eldest brother had not gotten far when he saw some Durants and some Ledybas battling each other." Brock replies.

Pikachu snaps to attention, interested in the prospect of a battle. "The Durant queen begged the eldest brother to help her, but the eldest brother refused. Then he met a female mage on the road, who asked what he was carrying. The eldest brother had no idea the woman before him was a mage, and so he said he was carrying cinders. The mage cast a spell to turn the eldest brother's pearls to cinders, much to his horror when he arrived at the palace!"

Laughter fills the air. "The next day, the middle brother set out, and the same thing happened." Brock continues. "He refused to help the Durant queen against the Ledybas, and lied to the mage, saying he was carrying ashes. The mage then turned the pearls into ashes, much to the middle brother's horror when he got to the palace!"

More laughter goes up as the group pictures the middle brother's reaction. "Finally, it was Todd's turn." Brock waits for the laughter to quiet, then continues. "When the Durant queen asked for his help, he caught as many Ledybas he could in a net. The remaining Ledybas fled, and the Durant queen promised to help Todd."

"Then Todd met the mage, who asked what he was carrying." Brock continues. "Todd showed the mage his pearls, and shared his lunch with her as he told her about what he was going to do with them." He shows the audience a blue prop pearl. "The mage was touched by Todd's kindness, and gave him a magic whistle as thanks."

Ash finds his whistle again as Brock goes on. "The royal court was amazed when they saw Todd's pearls, and he was welcomed like a prince. The queen, however, was concerned that Todd was a mere commoner; but Princess Andrea assured her mother that she didn't care for a suitor's riches--if they brought a rainbow of pearls and completed her challenges, she would marry them all the same."

"So what did Todd have to do?" Melody asks.

"The next day, the king brought Todd out to a field where a large pile of wheat, barley, oats, and rye stood, and challenged him to separate the one pile into four piles, one of each grain." Brock continues. "As Todd was wondering how to do this, he fell asleep. The Durant queen came with some Durants while Todd slept, and organized the four piles. When the king came to check on him at sunset, he was stunned that Todd had managed to complete the challenge."

"The next day, the king left a hundred Bunearies in Todd's care, telling him if even one was missing at the end of the day, he would fail." Brock intones. "The Bunearies quickly scattered in all directions, and Todd could hardly keep up with all of them. But then he remembered the magic whistle the mage had given him, and decided to play it to see what would happen." Ash decides to play the Zelda whistle song for effect.

"Azu?" Azurill immediately recognizes the melody.

"I don't see any whirlwinds..." Misty assures Azurill.

"No sooner had the whistle's song faded away, the Bunearies came hopping back to his side. Princess Andrea was surprised when Todd returned with the Bunearies, and requested he repeat the challenge for two more days.

The next day, Princess Andrea came to Todd in disguise as a peasant girl and asked for one of the Bunearies. Todd agreed in return for a kiss." Brock continues. "But at the end of the day, when he used the whistle to call back the Bunearies..." Ash plays the Zelda whistle theme again. "even the one Todd gave away came hopping back."

"Amazing!" Melody is impressed.

"On the third day the queen came to Todd disguised as a huntress, saying she wanted a Buneary to serve a guest for dinner." Brock continues. "Todd agreed--if the huntress would tiptoe in a circle while looking up at the sky and clucking like a Combusken."

The group howls with laughter as they picture how silly the disguised queen looks. "The queen was unsure, and knew people would think she'd gone nuts, but did what Todd asked of her anyway." Brock continues. "But at the end of the day, when he used the whistle to call back the Bunearies..." Ash plays the Zelda whistle theme again. "even the one Todd gave away came hopping back."

"Azu azu?" Azurill asks.

Brock concludes "When the king heard of how clever Todd was, and how Princess Andrea seemed to like him, he concluded Todd was the best choice, and the two of them were soon married. When it came time for Todd to ascend the throne, he ruled with the same wisdom and cunning as he did when he herded the Bunearies."

Melody leads the applause. "What an interesting tale--you are nothing less than a master!"

"Yeah--Brock could even make the phone book interesting!" Misty agrees.