Jabberwocky.
Daniel Coleman.
"Twas brillig, and the slithy toves.
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Banders.n.a.t.c.h!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
"And, hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.
"Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
a" Lewis Carroll.
Through the Looking Gla.s.s, and What Alice Found There *See the Glossary at the end of the book for unfamiliar terms.
PART I.
*Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.
Misha and Teia stood on the outskirts of the wabe, peering into the crowd of townspeople gathered to witness their Sixteenery. Each held a new red ribbon with gold tips, to be tied in their hair until their wedding days.
The majority of the town of Dehva showed up to witness the simple ceremony signifying their pa.s.sage into womanhood. It was one of the rare occasions that took people away from their fields and flocks, their shoring and shingling, and their tending and trading.
The menfolk were anxious to return to their vocations. The women contemplated their kitchens, for brillig rapidly approached. The eleventeen-year-olds stared at the two maidens with wide eyes, while young men fidgeted, furtively calling dibs on the young ladies.
A large sundial stood in the center of the gra.s.sy wabe, the usual meeting place for celebrations and ceremonies.
Two mome raths meandered across the open lawn, their flat, upturned snouts seeking a decent wallowing bog. Finding none, the pale green raths outgrabe repeatedlya"their wheezy bellows and interspersed snortles were all that upset the peaceful ambiance.
Pitiful borogoves cast mop-shaped shadows as they flew overhead and Mayor Arad strode to the center of the wabe. No one in the a.s.sembly paid attention to the s.h.a.ggy birds until one shadow grew unnaturally, covering nearly half of the wabe.
Along with the oversized shade came a rush of wind that carried the scent of decay. An odor like a putrefied wound filled the wabe and brought with it the taste of rotten meat. The crowd looked up to see a malformed beast descending. The monster was a tangled ma.s.s of limbs, teeth, wings, and tail all in the wrong proportions and angles.
A cry of "Jabberwocky!" went up and the a.s.sembly was released from its trance. The wabe was thrust into pandemonium as people scattered like an uncovered nest of dormice.
The Jabberwocky clattered onto the stone sundial, which crumbled under the impact. Its simmering eyes were heavy-lidded, giving the creature the appearance of dim-wittedness. However, its irises burned a fiery red that waxed in intensity as it bellowed. The eyes displayed both fury and stupiditya"a terrifying combination.
Mayor Arad had the misfortune of standing within reach of the Jabberwocky. With serpentine speed the monster lashed out and clamped down on the mayor"s chest with its jaws, leaving the mayor"s body twitching in the mayhem.
The Jabberwocky lumbered forward and scooped up the unfortunate cobbler in its jaws. Bones snapped under the power of the creature"s teeth. It opened its mouth, releasing the body and the cobbler"s bones crunched again as the broken corpse collided with the ground.
Chaos surrounded the Jabberwocky. It scanned the crowd until it saw the fleeing forms of Misha and Teia. In four slinkish strides it closed the gap, catching a girl in each of its scaly, clawed hands. A few bravish lads rushed to protect the girls, and were rewarded with a brutal blow from the creature"s tail, which sent them sprawling limp as cloth dolls.
Once the creature"s fury was quenched and its quarry was s.n.a.t.c.hed, it bounded into the air. Men returned with swords and bows only to see the sinewy frame silhouetted against the sky with two fragile figures dangling in its grasp.
A red ribbon fluttered in the wind, still clasped in one girl"s hand.
Tjaden loved water. It was dependable. Consistent. He watched a trickle escape a small pooling in the irrigation and set off on its own, finding the correct path. Water always went straight. Not forward or north, but straight down. He knew it didn"t have a will, or the ability to make decisions, but he admired the steadiness.
He had heard about the open ocean that tossed large ships to and fro, and the mighty waves on beaches or in desert floods that knocked men down and dragged them under. The worst he"d seen were violent monsoons, but even then the wind and lightning caused most of the damage.
The irrigation was running smoothly and he had indulged himself long enough. There was work to be done. Walking back to the uncleared land, he joined Ollie, who picked up his axe when Tjaden approached.
"I don"t even think the Jabberwocky"s real," Ollie said, continuing their earlier conversation as he swung his axe at the base of a tree.
"How can it not be real?" asked Tjaden, chopping at his own scrubby mesquite.
Ollie leaned on his ax and asked, "Have you ever seen it? Do you know anyone who has seen it? Has anyone within a hundred miles spied so much as one of its filthy claws?"
Tjaden stayed focused on the tough tree trunk. Between breaths he answered, "Go ask the families of the girls it"s carried off."
"You introduce me to just one of them and I"ll be happy to," Ollie replied.
Still swinging, Tjaden said, "The silk merchant"s guard said it killed a dozen people and s.n.a.t.c.hed two girls from their own Sixteenery in a town called Dehva last month."
"Dehva? Really?" Ollie asked with mock interest. "That"s exactly what I"m talking about. It"s always a town on the other side of the kingdom that no one"s ever heard of."
"You go look for the Jabberwocky if you want. I"ll stay here and clear this land so my father can plant orange trees in the spring."
Ollie cursed as he half-heartedly chipped away at his tree again. "Fantastic fables for feeble folk. The Jabberwocky"s a myth invented by peddlers and minstrels. The King"s Elite encourage it so they can take credit for keeping us safe from things that don"t even exist!"
Tjaden"s next swing barely caught the edge of the tree and his face flushed. "How can you talk about soldiers who risk their lives every day as if they were greedy liars?"
"I"m sorry, Jay," Ollie said. He seemed genuinely apologetic and his voice took on a bit of a whine. "But banders.n.a.t.c.hes? Barbantulas? The Jabberwocky? They"re all too fantastical."
A stubborn saltbush took the brunt of Tjaden"s frustration before he answered his friend. "Personally, I"m glad we don"t have any of those around here. But as far as barbantulas, my father"s seen one, so cross those off the list of creatures you choose not to believe in."
It wasn"t a hot day, but the sun was intense. Sweat rolled down Tjaden"s face and off his jaw line to the ground. He paused to watch a few drops fall, as water always had and always would.
Ollie stopped swinging again, and stood watching Tjaden mercilessly finish another mesquite tree. "I don"t care much, as long as old Jabberjaw doesn"t come around here picking up maidens and hauling them off to who-knows-where."
"He"d just be doing you a favor, Ollie, saving you from all that rejection," Tjaden said with a smile.
"Oh, but you have nothing to worry about from your beloved Elora."