There was once a dog that came to him a dream.
His Fur as white as snow.
His eyes as blue as the cold.
He said to him in a dream:
“Be careful for he wishes to do harm to thee.”
“Watch out for his words as they are fake.”
“Watch out for his actions for they won’t take.”
“Don’t let him know, don’t let
him see, that I gave these dreams to avenge me.”
---
There was once a neighbor as greedy as can be.
His eyebrows furrowed in coldness.
His has hand as calloused as his soul.
He spoke of his neighbor with contempt:
“I want what he has, this heart of mine”
“Look at him flaunt his riches, look at him flaunt his wife.”
“Look at him flaunt his home, look at him flaunt his fruit.”
“Look at him eat as if he wasn’t once a peasant like me.”
There was once a man as gentle and kind as can be.
His luck was unparalleled.
His dreams weren’t just dreams.
He was living out his life as giving and not as dumb as he
seemed.
“Do not falter, do not notice. I see his eyes...through the
trees”
“What tricks could he possibly conspire, which tricks could
possibly succeed?”
“He killed my dog for riches, riches he will never receive,
now he transpires to kill me?”
“Oh pray, do protect me!”
---
The day grew long and the neighbors grew weary.
One stayed up out of fear and another stayed up to make
plans.
They each drifted to sleep, each dreamed endlessly.
The dog came to him in a dream…the evil neighbor dreamed an
unholy dream.
The fangs of the dog was bloodied, his coat of fur was as
black as coal.
His eyes were red as rubies.
His soul as dark as the evil neighbor’s soul.
“Do not dare...you evil doer!”
“Do not dare...you evil fiend!”
“Do not dare...you evil creature!”
“Do not dare! Do not take the life of that man, do not cut him
from navel to nose”
“Your evil ways are finished, look at what you have made me
become!”
The evil man set up frightened.
The evil man did not dare.
He sold all his belongings.
He bid his family farewell.
He ran away to the mountains to sit a long spell.
To contemplate his life, to contemplate his evil ways.
“Oh woe! The gods of the forests! Do guide me in my
forgiveness!”
“Do guide me in what I shall do, to rid me of the nightmare
dream!”
“To rid me of my nightmare of my evil doings!”
A god formed from the ground as holy as he could be.
Even though this god was covered with dirt, and even though
this god couldn’t see…
He spoke with the voice of the kindly man, the evil man deceived.
“Guide me to your home...guide me to the man that you hurt”
“For what you wish, will be…”
The evil man guided, he traversed and he wept for
forgiveness.
He found himself on the doorstep of the man he hurt.
The man with kind eyes and the heart that beat as twice as
his own.
The kindly man looked at him, saddened by what he saw.
His heart ached for his disheveled appearance.
His heart ached for his real grief.
The god appeared beside the evil man as clean as the robes
on the rich man’s chest.
“Your heart aches for your neighbor…your dog wished this to
be”
“The dog wished the neighbor to be as humbled as a bee...”
“So, I helped the dog send the dreams…I helped your dog give
you riches…and now I help this man with forgiveness.
“Do you give this man what he seeks?”
The good man only thought briefly.
The good man only thought briefly.
The good man only thought for less than a second.
“I’m a good man, and a good man is what I see…my dog is
correct to think this is what I wanted my evil neighbor to be...”
“He is no longer evil to me…”
Author's Note:
This was one of those spur of the moment ideas. I'm really trying to do different things with my stories and I have always had a soft spot with poetry (in particular I love writing it). So, that is the reason why the last minute my original idea changed. Originally, I was going to bring the dog back to life and cause the evil neighbor to lose everything for his wicked ways. I still held onto his loss, but made it by choice. I hated the evil neighbor. I mean he was horrible, but I wanted him to redeemed and also taught a lesson. Dreams are a big part of the original story so I wanted to make that a big focus point. Then the idea of a greedy man selling off his prized possessions for solace and forgiveness is very rare occasion. The only way it could really happen is if he was frightened into his grief (etc.). That's where I kept the idea of the dog, but turning his role around briefly, because in the story he's an innocent victim. It was flipped temporarily and his actions were explained in the end. The idea of the dirt God was a way to make sense out of the dog being able to connect with his owner and the evil doer through dreams. As far as the good man is concerned, I felt no reason to change his character because his character was so good. All in all, I'm really proud of what I have written and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did writing it!
P.s. In the past I had people say that the coloring made it hard to read. I tried to tune the coloring a bit. If it's still a little bit off, please comment. I'm trying to find the right shades. Thanks bunches! xJessica
The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1901).
