Page 29 of Vampire's Cupcake
Thano had no idea what Eli was talking about.
"I don't think they know it."Romeo cradled his mug."Just assume they don't know any of our stories."
"You know it?"Humbert looked accusingly at Romeo."Why have you never told it.Maybe Conal wants to hear it."
"I'd forgotten it.If you ask kindly, Eli might tell it to you."
Eli nodded.
"Why did he cry wolf?"Humbert was staring at Eli.
"There was a boy whose job it was to look after the sheep.One day he was bored, so he called: 'Help!Wolf!Wolf!'And the people in the village came running to help him protect the sheep, but there was no wolf.The boy laughed at them, and they got angry with him and told him not to tell lies.Some time went by, and the boy was bored again, so he called: 'Help!Wolf!Wolf!'and the villagers came running again.The boy laughed at them again, and they got angry again."
Humbert huffed.
"Later the same day, the wolf came.The boy called for help, but no one came, and the wolf ate his sheep."
Everyone stared at Eli who took a sip of his tea.
"That's it?"Thano was confused.
"Yup, that's it.It's a fable.Short, and it conveys a moral."
Thano didn't understand."What's the moral?"
"If you tell lies, people won't believe you when you tell the truth."
Oh, yeah, Thano could see what he meant, so he nodded.
"It was a boring story."Humbert leaned back in his chair.
Eli shrugged."I never said it would be funny."
"No, I guess," Humbert grumbled."What about the one with the bear?"
Thano wanted to grumble too.This was not what he'd had in mind when he'd brought Eli here.
Eli smiled."Two men were traveling through a forest--"
"Off the paved road?"Excitement shined in Humbert's eyes.
"Ah...eh...yeah, I assume so."Eli looked at Romeo again, and he nodded in reply.What was that about?Did they both know the story, and if so, why had Romeo never told it to them?
"All of a sudden, a bear rushed out of the foliage--"
Humbert was bouncing in his seat."A big bear?A male or a female?"
"Oh...I don't know.When my mom told it to me, she only ever said bear."
"I think it was a male bear."
Eli nodded."It might have been.Anyway, the bear rushed out, and one of the men quickly climbed a tree, but the other didn't have the time to, so he dropped to the ground and played dead.The bear walked up to him and brought his snout close to the man's ear, sniffed him, and then he walked away.The other man climbed down from the tree and said it looked like the bear had been talking to the man on the ground, and he wanted to know what he'd said.The man who'd been on the ground said: 'He told me it's not wise to keep company with someone who deserts their friend in a moment of danger.'"
"He spoke while in bear form?"Humbert looked confused."We can't."
"It's a fairy tale."
Humbert shrugged but looked disappointed."What's the lesson?"
