‘Tickling Butterflies’ – The Last Rule and Regulation

Tickling Butterflies is an epic fantasy, containing 128 fairy tales that together create one huge story. Here’s the story so far. We are in the middle:

 

The Last Rule and Regulation

(Containing the daring tale of an heroic escape from the Land of No Respect.)

 

Once upon a time, during his quest to save the Land of All Legends, King John the Cute had travelled to the mysterious Land of No Respect. There, he met a sad man in the mountains who told him great truths which had been gained at a terrible price.

That sad man’s name was Benjamin Miller, an orphan from another land. Once he had finished his tale, King John the Cute came to his feet.

“Surely your realize,” the king told Benjamin Miller, “that your story has not yet come to the end.”

“My story is over,” said Benjamin Miller. “It is simply that I cannot die.”

“Benjamin Miller, I am on a quest to find hidden truths about the Land of All Legends, to discover its secrets, and to save as many lives as possible. Perhaps I will save yours. I promise you here and now that I will do my best to help you find a way home.”

“There is no use,” said Benjamin Miller. “I have given up that hope centuries ago. Do not waste your time.”

“You have told me great things, to which I must give quite a lot of thought. But you have also given me hints as to where to proceed. If the Original Monster travels between my land and your original land, then we must find him. We must learn what he knows, we must learn the secrets of that other land, we must learn the secrets of the Original Monster, and we will use our knowledge to help you get back to your own land.”

“I have tried. For decades. The Original Monster is elusive beyond words.”

“I am the king. I have more resources than you have ever had.”

“You will not find him. You will not be able to bring me back to my world. The mirror has shown me the truth.”

“The mirror has shown you that someone is writing stories about you,” King John the Cute corrected him. “But it has not shown you that you will never return to your home.”

Benjamin Miller thought about that statement. “That is true,” he said, surprised.

“Come, let us leave the island together and return to the palace, where I can continue my quest.”

Benjamin Miller took a step back. “No, no. You do not understand. We can never leave this place.”

“Why?”

“Because of the last rule and regulation of the Land of No Respect. I have been here for centuries, and I have learned all the rules. And the twentieth and last rule and regulation states clearly that you will always achieve the opposite of what you really want. I wanted to leave, and so I have been here for all these years. Ochi wanted to kill the doctors, and so he was killed himself. That is how the Land of No Respect works, and its rules and regulations are magically enforced on this island.”

King John the Cute considered this statement for one minute and eleven seconds. Then he took a deep breath and exclaimed, “I am the king of the Land of All Legends, and I decree that the rules and regulations of the Land of No Respect will have no hold on me or my friends!”

The king’s voice echoed through the island. Through the glasses with the magnifying qualities, Benjamin Miller could see that everyone in town had stopped and looked around, searching for the source of the voice.

“Chariot!” King John the Cute’s voice boomed across the land. “Come to the top of the mountain! We must leave immediately!”

For a long minute, Benjamin Miller looked around, afraid that something might happen to stop their escape. But then a cloud peered in through the caves.

“At your service, my king,” said the cloud.

“Come,” said King John the Cute. The king took Benjamin Miller’s hand, and helped him climb aboard Chariot.

At the king’s orders, Chariot rose into the sky and quickly floated away in the direction of Capital City and the palace. Soon, the island of the Land of No Respect was a dot in the ocean. And soon after that it could no longer be seen over the horizon.

This has been the daring tale of an heroic escape from the Land of No Respect. This has also been the splendid story of the first time John the Cute, the boy from Bambooville, truly felt like a king.

 

(To be continued on Sunday…)

Tags: comedy, English, fairy tales, fantasy, Online Book, Serialized Novel, Tickling Butterflies