This story contains some violence, and is not suitable for very young children.


The following story is fictional. Any resemblance it bears to actual people, places or events is purely coincidental and not the intention of the publishers.


Sometimes, when the cruelty of man and their ignorance pushes The Ancient One to the limits of his endurance, as he sleeps he leaves his human form and takes on his true nature. Spreading his wings, he soars the night sky, hunting. This is a bad time for those who have no goodness in their heart, for to The Ancient One they are prey.
This particular night The Ancient One was upset by the murder of a young child near his home. Though the perpertrator had been caught, The Ancient One knew others like him prowled the night. The Ancient One despised such men, for children were his greatest joy. He headed inland, soaring on the night wind, listening to cries and voices no one else could hear. Below him, the great country where he lived spread wide and full. There was goodness here, but it was overshadowed by such greed, hatred, and distrust, that sometimes The Ancient One wondered if his efforts were worthwhile. Were these creatures worth the many years of suffering his people had endured?
Below him, he saw a great quarry where once the stone for making great cities had been ripped from the earth. The Ancient One had once worked in such a place. He noticed a car far below, and from it he heard a sound....a soft, gentle sound, the weeping of a child. The car stopped at a gate. A man emerged from it, unlocked the gate, then returned to the car. Curiosity now filled The Ancient One. As the car made its way up the winding road on the edge of the quarry now filled with dark and murky water, the Ancient One folded back his wings and went into a dive- a dive that would make the pilot of any jet plane envious. Silently and swiftly he pulled out and hovered in the air, just over the car as it came to a stop on the edge of the quarry. The driver emerged and began to take steel weights out of the back which he laid on the edge of the quarry.
Then, he ran a rope through the holes in the end of the weights. Stepping back, the man seemed to admire his work. Then, going to the back of the car, he opened the trunk and lifted out a bundle, something wrapped tightly in a blanket, which was tied in several places.
"Now, stop that noise!" the man said. "Remember what I told you. If you were good and did everything I asked, I'd take you to a place where there'd be some other children for you to play with. Now, we're there. Be good just a minute more, and you'll be with those children, like I promised you."
The Man laid down the bundle, then picked up the end of the rope tied to the weights, and one tied to the bottom of the bundle. He was about to tie them together, when The Ancient One tapped him on the shoulder. The man looked up and on seeing The Ancient One in his true form, stepped back in horror, forgetting he was so close to the edge. The Ancient One's hand shot out, striking the man hard, in the chest. Before the man could recover his balance, he went over the edge. He landed with a loud splash, and began to struggle violently in the water.
"My God! My God! Help me!" the man screamed, "I can't swim!"
"Children," The Ancient One said, "your friend has come back to play with you. Take him down to the home he gave you. Let him again share your bed.
As the man struggled, small hands suddenly thrust up out of the water. Some grabbed his arms, some grabbed his legs, some wrapped around his throat, and they hauled him beneath the surface.
The Ancient One watched until a sudden rush of bubbles broke the surface, then turned back to the little bundle laying on the ground. He bent down and snapped the thick ropes holding it together like they were made of tissue paper! Opening the blanket the sweet face of the little girl smiled up at him. Strangely, children never feared The Ancient One in whatever form he happened to present himself. "Hello!" he said.
"Hello!" said the little girl. "Are you an Angel?"
"I was," The Ancient One said, "a long, long time ago."
"Where's the man my mommy and daddy said was to take care of me?"
"He's down there," said The Ancient One. "He was going to throw you in, but he fell in, instead. But he lied to you. Your mommy and daddy never told him to take care of you. He took you without their permission. He took other children, too; these children"
As The Ancient One spoke, the spirit forms of a couple of dozen children floated up over the edge of the quarry and stood looking timidly at The Ancient One.
"I cannot stay," The Ancient One said, "but they will keep you company until morning. They will tell you all their names, and where they are from, and you will remember so the nice people can send them home. Do you understand?"
"Yes," the little girl said, "the man didn't fall in, you pushed him."
The Ancient One laughed. Spreading his wings he lifted into the air. "Don't be afraid," he said.
"Will I ever see you again?" the little girl asked.
"Someday," answered The Ancient One, "you will see me in my other
form."
"How will I know you?" the little girl asked.
"You can see," said The Ancient One, "what is truly within. You will know; as you could see through the blanket, you will know."
He again lifted into the sky heading west, toward the setting sun. He left the land, and followed along the great shore. This night's hunting was not yet done.

 


 

 


 

 


 

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