Beastly Thistles; Part 1

There is an old Russian fairy tale about a greedy merchant, his barren wife, and the little peasant girl he forces a family to give up to him. The merchant and his wife shower the little girl with all manner of gifts, but to no avail; the little peasant girl is broken-hearted, and misses her own parents desperately.

One year later, on the anniversary of the day she was taken from her parents, the little peasant girl wanders into a field of wildflowers; daisies and buttercups and sunflowers and poppies. Suddenly a wee man leaps from a flower and begins to dance. Just as suddenly a dozen more wee folk erupt from the colorful blossoms, all dancing merrily. "Dance with us!" they sing to the girl.

The little peasant girl broke into an arm-flailing, wobbly-legged jig, dancing all day and into the night, well after the moon had risen, its melancholy expression slowly turning into a smile. For the first time in a year, the little girl was happy.

This went on for several days; the little girl dancing well into the night, sleeping well past noon each day. When asked by the merchant why she was so tired, she mumbled and shrugged and said nothing more. The merchant, of course, didn't believe her.

That evening he hid among the bushes outside her window. When she ran off into the field of wildflowers, he followed her, where he hid among the bushes and watched her dance with the fairies.

Being a merchant he sniffed a profit. He knew that he could sell these little wee folk for a handsome price. The sound of coins changing hands ringing in his head, he leapt out from his hiding place.

The little girl shrieked and pleaded, "Help me! Help me go home little fairies," but the fairies had already disappeared back into their flowers.

"Oh, go back home, you little brat," the merchant barked, slavering with potential profit.

He reached for a daisy, intent upon peeling back the petals and snatching the fairy within. "Yowch!!!" he screamed. The lovely white daisy had suddenly turned into a prickly thistle, and tore at his fingers. He whirled about, this time thrusting his hand at a sunflower. "OW!!!!"

In no time at all he was standing in a field of thistles, tearing at him, clutching his clothing, snagging his hair, covering him in a downy snowfall of thistle seeds.

Seeing this, the little girl turned and ran as fast as she could, all the way back to her parents. "The flower fairies saved me," she squealed with glee as her daddy swept her up in his arms.

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