[ VIDEO / killed the radio star ]

[supercilious]

[ Arthur is seated on the crumbled base of a statue, one leg drawn up and his chin on his hands on his knee. It's grey with pre-dawn; the fire that's lit just offscreen casts golden shadows over his features. ]

[ He is pensive and silent for just long enough that this could be an accidental piece of video - but then he yawns, stretches his arms

Comments

[Synthetic Voice ]

[internecineowl]

Have you any particular thing in mind?

[ Voice ]

[supercilious]

Not particularly. It doesn't even have to be true.

[Synthetic Voice ]

[internecineowl]

Is there any specific reason for the request?

[A small laugh.]

You could say I'm buying time while I try to remember my folklore.

[ Voice ]

[supercilious]

I'd like to learn more about the people here. Knowing only my world and my time is beginning to feel limiting. And to be honest, I'm bored.

Text | S-Sob I'm so sorry. | 1/?

[iwithoutaname]

A woman had finished her baking, so she asked her daughter to take a pot of cream and a basket of bread to her grandmother, who lived in a forest cottage. The girl set off, and on her way she met a handsome young man.

The man stopped the girl and asked, "Where are you going, and what do you carry?"

The girl smiled. "I'm going to my grandmother's house," she said, "And I'm bringing her bread and cream?"

"Which path shall you take?" The man asked, "The path of Needles or the Path of Pins?"

A moment's hesitation, and the girl responded, "I'll take the Path of Pins."

"Well then," said the man, "I'll take the Path of Needles, and we'll see who gets their first."

Text | 2/?

[iwithoutaname]

The girl set off, and the man reached the Grandmother's cottage first. Inside, he peeled back his skin to reveal a terrible monster. Quickly, he killed the old woman and devoured her, leaving a bit of flesh which he placed on a dish on the pantry shelf, and a bit of blood which he drained into a little bottle. Then he dressed himself in the grandmother's cap and shawl and crawled into bed.

When the young girl arrived, the monster called out to her to come inside. In the grandmother's house, the girl set the bread and cream in the pantry, and from the other room her grandmother called out, "Are you hungry or thirsty, child?"

"Yes, I am grandmother."

"Then drink the bottle of wine on the shelf and cook the meat you'll find there."

Text | 3/?

[iwithoutaname]

As the young girl cooked and ate the meat, a little cat piped up and cried, "You are eating the flesh of your grandmother!"

"Throw your shoe at that noisy cat," said the monster, and so the young girl did.

As she drank the "wine", a small bird cried, "you are drinking the blood of your grandmother!"

"Throw your other shoe at that noisy bird," said the monster, and so the girl did.

When she finished her meal, the monster said, "Are you tired from your journey, child? Then take off your clothes, come to bed, and I shall warm you up."

Text | 4/?

[iwithoutaname]

"Where shall I put my apron, Grandmother?"

"Throw it on the fire, child, for you won't need it anymore."

"Where shall I put my bodice, Grandmother?"

"Throw it on the fire, for you won't need it anymore."

The girl obeyed, throwing each item into the fire. And as she came to bed, she noticed the course, dark hair that covered the monster's body. "Grandmother," she said, "How hairy you are!"

"The better to keep you warm, my child,"

"Grandmother, what big arms you have!"

"The better to hold you close, my child."

"Grandmother, what big ears you have!"

"The better to hear you with, my child."