Remix: The Sun is a Bright Canary Yellow... (Cockeyed Optimist by naturalbluicons)
Title: The Sun is a Bright Canary Yellow and Shining in Your Eye
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Summary: All one wants is a little piece of... space to call their own. Damn kids...
Rating: PG
Warnings: Please, this is me we're talking about Three-way fandom butchering? Tin Man belongs to Sci-Fi, etc; The Wizard of Oz belongs to L Frank Baum; and Babes in Toyland belongs to Walt Disney.
Title, Author and URL of the original story: Cockeyed Optimist by naturalbluicons
It seemed to be far too much work to just be left alone. Following dutiful service, he'd been retired, with honor for said service, and chose to live a life of peaceful solitude. There had been enough racket for a hundred lifetimes and he managed to leave without a big production.
He'd never been cut out for the job - he just didn't like people. They had no respect for him, for his brothers. They were treated as servants, lowly and invisible. He had feelings, after all. It was obvious the warning signs had little effect once those sheep came through.
~*~
"Sheep can't read," they told him. "They'll wander back home," they said. Did they? No. They stayed. They nibbled on the grass at his feet and rubbed up against him, as if he was just some scratching post.
It was insulting.
And then came the children, hollering for the sheep and ignoring the signs telling them to go away. And then they got trite when informed of their trespassing. Ignorance of the law was no excuse, for goodness sake!
Then the older children came - more adult than child - and they were sent to the Toymaker.
Let him deal with them.
~*~
The explosion shook the ground, all the way to where they stood guard. Fearing for the Toymaker - and, possibly, for the children - they hurried to the edge of the grounds and, eyes wide with surprise, witnessed no destruction.
"Should we go?" one asked.
"We go no further," another said.
They waited a bit longer before deciding that they were not needed. Besides, their job was to guard the forest for trespassers. Once to the Toymaker, it wasn't their business.
Why couldn't people be more like the gypsies? They stayed toward the sea and out of the Forest of No Return.
~*~
With the destruction of the factory, there was no need to keep the place a secret, therefore no reason to keep guarding it. The Toymaker would move into the village, where there would be people to help him make the toys, and they would be left to live out the rest of their existence as they wished.
Having the freedom they so desired, each of them went separate ways - though the older ones preferred to stay put - seeking their own adventure.
He had a cousin who lived at the edge of an abandoned apple orchard.
Perhaps that would be peaceful.
~*~
The apple orchard had been a pleasant experience, at first. No one asked his business, the weather was nice and, far as the eye could see, the landscape looked more like a painted backdrop.
A man did live just across the way, but he was a rather silent-type. The biggest annoyance to him was that, when the sun was just at the right spot, the reflection from the man's axe left him seeing spots. He tried to look away, he even turned around, but the heat of the sun left him with a scorch mark in a rather uncomfortable place.
~*~
Having thought he was finally rid of nosy children, his delusion was crushed when, once again, he found himself a scratching post for some domesticated animal. This time, however, it wasn't a sheep, but a dog.
And then the girl, just as rude as those children so long ago, and the man with her - where had he heard that voice before? - stealing from his poor cousin and neighbors, causing a ruckus. And she had the nerve to act offended?!
What was the world coming to?
He was thankful for her appearance, though, if only for getting rid of the glare.
~*~
The sun was too bright in his old age, and it seemed to be quieter as he moved away from the road, so he headed into the woods. And, for a good long time he was content. All right, he did have to admit, on occasion, that he missed having someone to talk to.
He couldn't very well talk to himself, of course. One might think him crazy!
One evening, hearing the rumble of thunder, he decided to head for the clearing and catch some refreshment.
Five minutes later, he was being pushed around by a man with a zipper.
~*~
_______________
Forest of No Return - Babes in Toyland (Walt Disney 1961)
Also, to explain two bits:
* the 'painted backdrop' is an Oz reference from Remember WENN
* Ray Bolger was Barnaby in Babes in Toyland -and I fell in love with him, evil or not- and, obviously, Scarecrow in Oz. Granted, it was 28 years BEFORE Babes in Toyland... Pretend that part doesn't matter...
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Summary: All one wants is a little piece of... space to call their own. Damn kids...
Rating: PG
Warnings: Please, this is me we're talking about Three-way fandom butchering? Tin Man belongs to Sci-Fi, etc; The Wizard of Oz belongs to L Frank Baum; and Babes in Toyland belongs to Walt Disney.
Title, Author and URL of the original story: Cockeyed Optimist by naturalbluicons
It seemed to be far too much work to just be left alone. Following dutiful service, he'd been retired, with honor for said service, and chose to live a life of peaceful solitude. There had been enough racket for a hundred lifetimes and he managed to leave without a big production.
He'd never been cut out for the job - he just didn't like people. They had no respect for him, for his brothers. They were treated as servants, lowly and invisible. He had feelings, after all. It was obvious the warning signs had little effect once those sheep came through.
~*~
"Sheep can't read," they told him. "They'll wander back home," they said. Did they? No. They stayed. They nibbled on the grass at his feet and rubbed up against him, as if he was just some scratching post.
It was insulting.
And then came the children, hollering for the sheep and ignoring the signs telling them to go away. And then they got trite when informed of their trespassing. Ignorance of the law was no excuse, for goodness sake!
Then the older children came - more adult than child - and they were sent to the Toymaker.
Let him deal with them.
~*~
The explosion shook the ground, all the way to where they stood guard. Fearing for the Toymaker - and, possibly, for the children - they hurried to the edge of the grounds and, eyes wide with surprise, witnessed no destruction.
"Should we go?" one asked.
"We go no further," another said.
They waited a bit longer before deciding that they were not needed. Besides, their job was to guard the forest for trespassers. Once to the Toymaker, it wasn't their business.
Why couldn't people be more like the gypsies? They stayed toward the sea and out of the Forest of No Return.
~*~
With the destruction of the factory, there was no need to keep the place a secret, therefore no reason to keep guarding it. The Toymaker would move into the village, where there would be people to help him make the toys, and they would be left to live out the rest of their existence as they wished.
Having the freedom they so desired, each of them went separate ways - though the older ones preferred to stay put - seeking their own adventure.
He had a cousin who lived at the edge of an abandoned apple orchard.
Perhaps that would be peaceful.
~*~
The apple orchard had been a pleasant experience, at first. No one asked his business, the weather was nice and, far as the eye could see, the landscape looked more like a painted backdrop.
A man did live just across the way, but he was a rather silent-type. The biggest annoyance to him was that, when the sun was just at the right spot, the reflection from the man's axe left him seeing spots. He tried to look away, he even turned around, but the heat of the sun left him with a scorch mark in a rather uncomfortable place.
~*~
Having thought he was finally rid of nosy children, his delusion was crushed when, once again, he found himself a scratching post for some domesticated animal. This time, however, it wasn't a sheep, but a dog.
And then the girl, just as rude as those children so long ago, and the man with her - where had he heard that voice before? - stealing from his poor cousin and neighbors, causing a ruckus. And she had the nerve to act offended?!
What was the world coming to?
He was thankful for her appearance, though, if only for getting rid of the glare.
~*~
The sun was too bright in his old age, and it seemed to be quieter as he moved away from the road, so he headed into the woods. And, for a good long time he was content. All right, he did have to admit, on occasion, that he missed having someone to talk to.
He couldn't very well talk to himself, of course. One might think him crazy!
One evening, hearing the rumble of thunder, he decided to head for the clearing and catch some refreshment.
Five minutes later, he was being pushed around by a man with a zipper.
~*~
_______________
Forest of No Return - Babes in Toyland (Walt Disney 1961)
Also, to explain two bits:
* the 'painted backdrop' is an Oz reference from Remember WENN
* Ray Bolger was Barnaby in Babes in Toyland -and I fell in love with him, evil or not- and, obviously, Scarecrow in Oz. Granted, it was 28 years BEFORE Babes in Toyland... Pretend that part doesn't matter...