by Yossi Soika
I was hungry, tired, and extremely angry and decided to stop my search around the lake. I must search for edible food! A tall fruit tree attracted my attention. Without giving it much thought I quickly and easily climbed it and picked its fruits which looked like typically tropical fruit. I sat on the fruit tree for a long hour and chewed the juicy, tasty fruit with great gusto. I indeed felt quite relaxed in my new, extremely high position above the ground. I started looking around again hopefully – perhaps now? But nothing. I saw nothing; Melanie and Mr. Da Costa had vanished into thin air.
A spacious open area with tall, strange-looking trees in its midst caught my eye. I climbed down from the tree and walked straight to the strange trees. When I got closer I could indeed clearly see how odd they were.
They were about a hundred feet tall, their trunks naked except for the tree canopy that was covered with the biggest leaves I had ever seen. Without hesitation I quickly climbed up to the top of the tree and then I was aghast to discover that instead of leaves they were … elephant ears... or perhaps elephant trees? How did they get up here? Oh what a terrible transformation! Something else attracted my attention and immediately I hastened my climb. At the top of the trees I was surprised to discover three hidden thatched huts. They were built from strong branches, and their floors were lined with dried elephant ears. The first one was found to be empty except for some fruit peels, dry scattered bones and skeletons of unidentifiable animals. Who lives in this place? I wondered and immediately jumped to the next hut. Upon entering it I discovered a marvelous, impressive sword and next to it a grindstone. Without delay I attached the sword to my waist and jumped further to the third hut whereat a small surprise awaited me: three tiny creatures, they were Bird People nestlings. The tiny creatures, alarmed by my sudden appearance, immediately started a deafening chorus of high-pitched screams. So awful and unbearable were their shrieks that I decided to flee, but just then I noticed something familiar lying at the far end of the hut. It was Melanie’s hood. That’s impossible, I thought, was she captured by the Bird People? Maybe she lost her hood? If so, she hadn’t yet left the Third World since she can’t leave without the hood.
Hastening to grab the hood, I released a strange cry from my mouth. Melanie is still in the Third World, so I hurried down from the tree. For long minutes I walked aimlessly in a most dazzling field of wild flowers until I arrived at a vast forest. I was happy to discover that these tall trees were familiar. Suddenly I spotted an enormous human footprint… it’s impossible – the footstep was impressed deeply in the ground and was a little over three feet long… what kind of creature did it belong to? Beyond that, would it be advisable to meet such a giant super-sized creature? Unconsciously, a foreboding signaled to me that my movements were being followed. Should I run away or climb a tree? For a while I stayed put without moving and weighed my next move. Should I keep going? I started to walk at a measured pace but shortly afterwards I froze on the spot when I saw three very large human heads peering at me from among the branches of the nearest tree, just above my head. Who are these enormous creatures? Could such tremendous creatures be human? Do they pose a threat?
The three heads examined me with great curiosity as if they were amused by my appearance, which seemed all the more strange. What are human beings doing here on these treetops? And how can they stay undisturbed by my threatening appearance?
With the utmost caution, step by step I approached the trees. Suddenly I froze where I was, as if I had been struck by lightning. I couldn’t believe my eyes: about ten paces from where I was I saw three immensely huge lizards – they were about a hundred and thirty feet long, and about fifty feet tall, and at the end of their long stretched necks were human heads with manes of curly black hair. Underneath their tiny noses grew disheveled mustaches, but the most revolting thing was the twelve big human feet that supported their heavy bodies on both sides. After a brief moment of astonishment, I leaped up from where I was, and with a demon’s agility I climbed to a treetop. Only after sitting on its canopy shaking and quivering like a leaf for a long time, did I understand that my fear of the giant monsters was futile.
The giant lizards didn’t even blink or budge an inch when they saw my flight to the treetop. I felt great relief when I realized that the tremendous animals had stayed put with only their gaze vigilantly directed to the open field– there was nothing to fear from them – they had not sensed me and were not following me; however, something there evaded my vision; it was clear that something important had made the giant lizards so vigilant? It seemed like nothing could stand in their way. Shortly after observing them, I realized that they were feeding from the canopy of treetops … vegetarian monsters… I was in no danger. It took me a long time to muster up the courage to climb down from the treetop. How ridiculous I was to naively believe that I am so horrifyingly big.
For a long time I paced aimlessly until I arrived at a little spring, its water gushing out with great force. I crouched down and unwaveringly scooped up the cool water and quenched my thirst. Not far from there I spotted some banana trees laden with bunches of nice big banana. In one thrust I pulled out my sword and with one swing I cut an alluring bunch. A jet of reddish liquid gushed out of the tree, accompanied by a tremendously loud cry that reverberated through the forest.
Suddenly, as if by agreement, the entire grove of bananas went haywire and began to flap their big leaves around frantically. Where did that awful cry come from? I marveled, but the sight of trees that had gone crazy made me forget my first question. How could this be – bleeding trees with frantic behavior? What’s going on? I must get far away from this nightmarish place. I immediately started to leap my way out, until I was fairly far from where I had been standing. This forest is only bringing me new plights …hurry up, out, I chanted repeatedly. Not long after that, I discovered a narrow footpath winding through the low bushes. Where does this footpath lead? Who usually walks here? A surge of curiosity overwhelmed me. Am I taking the right path? Is there any new danger lurking in my way? Before I finished weighing it over, I felt the ground falling under my feet and my body slid straight into a hole covered with little leaves and twigs. A tremendous roar heaved from my mouth, a pitfall! I knew. Bruised and scratched I sat inside a hole that was twice as deep as my height. After recovering I stood up on both feet, griped the sword firmly with my two hands and waited to see what would come next.
An Astounding Rescue
and a Freakish End
What’s going to happen now? What trap did I fall into? From the laboratories of the Dolphin People at the bottom of the lake incarnated into the body of gorilla into a fool-trap…
“To hell with it!” I cried furiously. Who has imprisoned me? What’s going to happen next? I was bothered with these questions, but I was unable to imagine what awaited me. For long minutes I tried various ways of climbing but they didn’t work. That’s it. I must wait and see what awaits me in the trap; I have no other choice.
The noise of breaking branches that came from very near gave me a stir and made me jump. Stomping sounds were heard approaching the pit. For a moment the noise stopped and was replaced only by a deep, cumbersome silence. Probably the pitfall builders had seen that satisfying prey had fallen into their hands. I raised my sword above my head and stood there ready for battle. I’m not going to succumb. I shall fight, I resolved and waited for what was to follow. Suddenly, and as had already happened several times, I was the target of a shower of fruits that were thrown into the pit from all directions.
What’s going on? What plans do they have for me? All at once the fruits stopped falling and I was able to clearly hear the sound of departing footsteps and to feel again the surging stress in me. Maybe the ones who laid the traps had found satisfactory prey? What will their next step be…? Maybe none of them are fruits? Perhaps it’s a hidden bait like many others that were scattered throughout the Third World? How cunning of them…Why do they not dare to wage a f
rontal attack? Surely they are waiting for me to swallow the bait, and then who knows what will happen…
“Damn animals!” I yelled aloud, but my voice was lost in the suppressing quiet of the surrounding space. For many hours I sat, hungry and angry, in the pit and dared not to touch the juicy fruits… that with every passing minute became more juicy and more sweet-smelling… until I could hold myself no longer and in one fell swoop I satiated my hunger. After stuffing myself with the last bite, I again prepared myself for battle. But nothing happened despite having devoured everything in sight.
Meanwhile it felt strange that I hadn’t yet met my captors. Then a thunderous roar made me jump from where I sat. I lifted my head and my eyes met something they had never seen before –three monsters on the edge of the pit, emitting tremendous roars. They had elephant-like huge bodies, but with lion heads on top and thick trunks that were curled up waving above their heads. Their gapped mouths exposed a set of sharp teeth, but the strangest thing about them was their stout human arms that dangled from both of their sides.
I held my sword with both hands and prepared myself for the last battle, but before I knew what was happening one of the strange animals extended its long trunk and pulled me effortlessly out of the pit. Half-shocked, trapped, and squeezed, I was delivered to the unknown. I don’t know for how long I was unconscious, but when I opened my eyes, I quickly closed them again. The three elephant-lions raced like locomotives in a vast field, they were besieged from above by a vast flock of Bird People that encircled us with their swords ready in their hands, shrieking and screaming loudly. A little while later I was thrown on the ground, and the three monsters accelerated their gallop until they vanished. The Bird People retreated from their chase and headed directly to where I had landed. With great effort I stood on my feet again and lifted the sword with one thought in my mind – to defend myself from the new threat. The Bird People circled me few times, but nothing happened. I couldn’t understand what was going on and why they hadn’t attacked me yet. Surely they were not afraid of my sword. After circling me for some time one of them descended in a circular motion, landed, and stood five steps from me.
“Hello, human being!” he chirped at me. “You have nothing to fear. Perhaps you don’t remember, but you released both me and my friend from the prison of the Dolphin People. I feel sad to see you in such a terrible condition, but I will do anything to help you in this morose world. Remember, you’ve got some friends.
“Man – you are fortunate to have a two-part body – a gorilla-human fusion, and most fortunately your head is mounted on your shoulders. Many of the Third World sons are unrecognizably deformed. I will be grateful to you until my last day for your courage. I owe you my life; unfortunately my friend didn’t survive the great pressure and floated to the water’s surface.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t feel sorry, human being. It is better to drown in the lake than to serve as a guinea pig in the Fish People’s laboratories. I have just rescued you from the hands of the cruel and ruthless Elephant People. When they capture their game they skin them alive – they are very fond of hides, and then they nibble on their victims with great gluttony.”
“That sounds appalling. I’d really hate to be chewed,” I remarked derisively. “Could you please tell me how I can get out of this crazy world? I must find Melanie, my girlfriend, who came here with me.”
“I’m really sorry, but I haven’t the slightest idea. No creature in the Third World, I believe, knows how to leave this place. All I know is that there is a terrible barrier and tremendous pressure that separates our world from that of the Ten Tribes.”
“I come from another world, in which there is great evil and foolishness. Most people have not yet learned how to live like human beings. Many are vicious creatures among mankind and their wickedness has no limits. You, my new friends, who live in this place, are far from being part of this human malice where lust, greed, and hunger for power prevails.”
“I’m glad to learn about the Outer World, and now more than ever. I’m sure that our fate is to be here. We have no aspirations to share life with humans. My friend, Gorilla-Man – I must leave you – I must return to my tribe. Remember! You have a true friend. And now listen well! You don’t really have any chance of getting out of this place … right now you are a gorilla with the shriveled head of man; my appearance is of a bird-person; this is our world. Accept your new world. From now on until the day you die you belong here.”
“You are wrong. I must return home. This is not my country.” I was quick to reply. “I must return to the company of humans.”
“My second piece of advice to you is to forget your companion. In your new form you might amuse her, but you will never be like you used to be. Certainly, she doesn’t need a gorilla with a human head. If you’d like to live with us in the tree tops you are very welcome! I must tell you – you are nothing like the man I saw in the laboratory. Give some thought to what would happen to you if you were to return home in your new form. Research institutes would haunt you like birds of prey, and you, my friend, Gorilla-Man, would end your life in endless laboratory experiments. Your life would be worthless. So I repeat my offer to you – join me and live on the tree tops as a friend of the Bird People.”
“But, only a short while ago I was in one of those tree tops where I picked up the sword that I’m holding right now.”
“Our homes are your home. Take as much as you want; see this sword as a gift of appreciation from the Bird People. And for now my friend, remember the Third World is full of ingenious and highly and sophisticated traps. Goodbye and see you again soon.” As he ended his words, he ascended and flew away with the rest of his flock, disappearing from my sight.
They would skin you… his words repeatedly echoed in my head, I must be careful! Crazy world full of traps. How lucky I am, I pondered, if I had not helped those miserable ones, the Bird People would not have come to my aid. For a long time I strolled aimlessly until I found myself on a hill, and at its head I detected only a few steps away hundreds of mud heaps arranged in perfectly straight rows, crisscrossed with tiny but spectacular mosaic-tiled sidewalks. I approached with great caution and examined them closely. I had no doubt that there were some living creatures there, but where were they and why couldn’t I see them? Is this place deserted? Very carefully I crumbled one of the nearest heaps away. What a great surprise it was! The interior of the heap looked exactly like a tiny residential house, as a matter of fact, a precise copy of such a home can be easily found all over the world. Four large rooms, a straw mat on the floor, and utensils for storing food. Unbelievable! Tiny mud homes fantastically similar to human homes! But the most joyous thing was to discover some tiny honeycombs filling up one of the rooms.
“At last! A familiar nourishing treat!” I claimed with unrepressed delight, sucking the honey passionately.
As soon as I finished licking the luscious honey, a sharp threatening buzzing noise was heard approaching. I lifted my head and saw three creatures hovering above my head. They circled me at great speed so I could hardly see what they were.
I must get out of here; I smell trouble, I thought and jumped quickly into the thicket of the nearest forest. The farther I ran away the less I could hear the buzzing noise, probably a sign that they were no longer near me. They have disappeared I acknowledged joyfully, I acted wisely… surely, the buzzing creatures must be angry because of the loss of their sweet storeroom. But my joy did not last for long. A loud noise of approaching buzzing heralded the bad omens. Shortly afterwards a massive flock of the flying creatures buzzed again over my head. At once I leaped from where I was and bolted, evading the buzzing flock, but soon a myriad of extremely strong cobwebs covered my body and stopped my escape. Desperately, I continued to run toward the nearest grove but my tired limbs would not carry me anymore, soon I found myself lying on the ground bound, like a butterfly’s
cocoon, by endless cobwebs. They effortlessly lifted me high and flew away at an amazing speed. Every now and then I tried to move or see who my captors were but to no avail.
The Great Escape
I hovered high above the trees of the forest. What kind of enormous strength do these tiny beings have? Suddenly they slowed their pace and descended en masse onto the clay heaps I had fled from not long before. Just ahead of touching down, I detected a wide opening at the foot of the heap. I wondered how I missed such a large opening when I had explored the heaps previously. My questions went answered as I descended at an irritating slow pace to that opening that actually turned out to be a huge hole, until my body touched its bottom. Although it was thoroughly dim, I estimated the depth of the hole to be about 108 feet. In that same moment, the tiny cobwebs broke off, leaving my body unwrapped.
The Lilliputian creatures continued to swirl above me until the sound of their buzzing waned, and before I had time to explore my new location, the lid was closed above me and I was left in the murky darkness. I could not believe that such tiny creatures had such strength, and that such fine threads were as strong as cords of steel. It was beyond me. For how long I stayed there I could not guess but it seemed like an eternity to me, until I heard noises and howls coming from far away. Although I lifted my head I couldn’t see the source of the noise. Are there other creatures imprisoned in here too? My question remained unanswered. The sounds of the approaching noise increased until it became very close. Suddenly I felt the presence of many dozens of ant-sized creatures that were crawling and oozing a cold and foul-smelling liquid on me. A fear crept into my heart that they may preserve me as food for harder days to come. Or perhaps they were preparing me for a terribly hideous ritual? And I might be their next meal? However, after a few moments the tiny creatures left, and a deep silence prevailed.
