Eeek, eeek, eeek...

In the spirit world, my name is Dances with Light and Shadows. In my former cat life, I lived 18 years with Mariel, the author, until I crossed the Rainbow Bridge. As a proud, mighty, and curious, no tail, Brown Tabby-Manx, wise spirit, I now pounce, eek, play, and purr from the afterlife and serve as Mariel's inspiring Muse, bringing you YA (Young Adult) short stories or cuentos with animals as characters, conveying a moral like "The Fable of the Sick Lion and the Wary Fox," with a rain forest twist. I learned about fable from Arturo Uslar Pietri, the Venezuelan novelist, historian, writer, television producer, politician, and fabulist. I was Arturo's cat in a former life. Whiskers for peace!

The Deal

In the emerald Amazon Rain Forest, the reddish-brown, wise Danta planned to barter with her cousin, the old Jaguar. As an idea took form, the sable, short thick hairs along the spine of her hoary coat rose into a brush.

"My dear, Tigrito," the tapir whispered to the sleeping Jaguar. Her tiny onyx-black eyes sparkled.

"The dry season arrived, Tigrito. The river is full of hungry voracious piranhas. You are too old to hunt and weak to fight your deadly enemy, Anaconda, the biggest snake in this jungle," Cousin Danta paused and raised an ear.

"I'm no Tigrito, comadre. I am a mighty Jaguar, the king of the Amazon," the Jaguar said and yawned.

"Come on, pretty pussycat. You don't want to end your life squeezed by Anaconda's powerful coils and swallowed whole," the tapir said to Cousin Jaguar. Eyes squinting at the sun, the wise Danta patiently waited for a sign. The peccary proceeded when the old Jaguar arched one thick, gray eyebrow.

"Anaconda is the queen of these waters and swims with grace and agility, but she won't leave the riverbed."

"That's because she fears ticks," the Jaguar said and released a deep sigh.

"I have a plan, mighty king," Danta said, raising her flexible snout, sniffing, and showing her teeth. Sniff, sniff; she detected a mood change in Jaguar's scent.

The old Jaguar placed his jaw on his front paws. "My dear wild pig, the beauty of being old is that I know all your tricks."

"No, no, no, no. Tapirs are not wild pigs," Danta said and bounced. After raising her prehensile trunk, the tapir stamped her foot on the ground, "A little respect, please. Aren't you hungry for flesh? Wouldn't you love to catch your last wild danta before you die of old age?" The tapir leaned forward and stared at the Jaguar's purple eyes. Standing next to his nostrils, she released the pungent scent of her glands.

"I am too old to catch a running tapir. I live on birds and large rodents. They are pre-dic-ta-ble, dear Cousin Danta, and easier to hunt."

"What if I assure you that you can capture a tapir," Cousin Danta said crookedly. Her body temperature rose eight degrees.

Intrigued by the tapir's persistence, old Jaguar replied, "All right, Cousin Danta. Let's hear your proposition."

"My youngsters need to cross the river, and they can't wait until the wet season. There are no berries to forage in this barren patch. The river is low and filled with hungry piranhas and deadly anacondas. Go to the riverbank upstream, splash on the water, and make these awful critters think you plan to cross the river. While you distract them, my youngsters will safely cross the river downstream."

The mighty Pantera orca looked very similar to a leopard. Still, he had a more muscular build even in his old age. His pink tongue licked the tan and orange coat with black spots on his shoulder.

"And what do I get?" the Jaguar rolled his eyes and covered both ears with his paws.
The wild tapir gently removed one paw.

"After my youngsters are safe, I will let you hunt me."

"That is the foolish thing I have ever heard, Cousin Danta!"

"I want to die with dignity, gracefully running away from the King of the Rain Forest." The wise peccary sat and looked up at the mighty jaguar straight in the eyes, "I promise it will be worth it, Cousin Jaguar."

"Why would I go to all the trouble of chasing you across the jungle?" Old Jaguar asked, paw scratching his left ear.

"Foresight, dear friend, you must save wild young dantas if you want your youngsters to eat. A deed like this affirms your title, King of the Amazon."

"Let me nap on this. Come back in an hour," the Jaguar said, stood up, walked under a rubber tree, and lay under its shade.

As Causin Jaguar napped, the wise old Danta approached the ravine, stepped in the river until the water reached her ankles, and splashed vigorously. Soon, a school of euphoric red-belly piranhas gathered around, showing flat, triangular, needle-sharp teeth.

The wise peccary climbed onto a river rock to barter with short-tempered piranhas from a safe distance.

"Good morning, Cousin Piranhas. I have an excellent deal for you."

"What is it? Si, si, si, tell me, pronto. I can't spend the rest of the day chatting with a smelly pig."

A drooling piranha suggested with a sinuous voice, "Dear Cousin Danta, why don't you step down from that rock and get in the water, mijita? That way, I can hear you better."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes, Cousin Danta. The water is deliciously refreshing," said another scheming fish, expanding its gills. "Take a bath with us!" Its open mouth revealed a nasty row of protruding shiny teeth.

"I'm not stepping down this rock, mijito. Listen to me."

"Hurry, Cousin Danta. We don't have the whole day."

"My youngsters need to cross the river, and I know how hungry you have been for days." Cousin Danta showed a grimace expressing genuine concern.

"Si, si, si, tapir is our favorite meat. Yum! In ten minutes, we can chew you down to the bone," the school of ugly flesh-loving fish said and laughed.

"I have a plan," Cousin Danta said. "In an hour, my youngsters will be crossing the river downstream. If you let them cross the river, I will let you eat me whole."

"But we like a young, juicy, tender piece of meat. Don't we?" Piranha asked her gang.

"Si, si, si, si, juicy, young meat," they responded, looking at each other and nodding.

"We all have our preferences, but the river is low, and you won't get past their thighs. Besides, if we save my youngsters, you protect your future—the wet season approaches. When the river rises, you and your offspring will have fresh wild danta meat to eat. What do you say?"

Piranhas deliberated for a few minutes.

"We will swim by the flat rock upstream in an hour."

Cousin Danta ran to Cousin Jaguar and finished arrangements. As Cousin Jaguar approached the riverbed, Cousin Danta called Anaconda.

"Anaconda, Anaconda, save me. Cousin Jaguar wants to hunt me. This is your chance to devour him."

Anaconda, anticipating her favorite meal, coiled in the shallows of the stream and waited for Cousin Jaguar. Mining businesses and hunters deforesting the Rain Forest had forced jaguars, her favorite meal, to migrate.

Piranhas, known for not keeping their word, waited for the young tapirs downstream.

Promptly, Cousin Danta gathered her youngsters. Together, they ran to the river's midpoint and safely crossed it.
Once safe on the other side, Cousin Danta waved at Cousin Jaguar. The mighty king roared, acknowledging the old peccary's wisdom. Mas sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo. Cousin Jaguar thought.

Piranhas cursed, enraged for not figuring out the old danta's trick.

Cousin Danta told her youngsters, "You can barter with Jaguars and Anacondas, mijitos, but never trust a piranha or a gold digger. They are bad news."

Together, the tapir family foraged under the shade of an ungurahui tree. The stylish palm had grown tall and lush on the floodplain.

As Cousin Tucan preened the feathers of his ebony black wings with its large, bright orange, yellow, and black beak, Cousin Danta sang to her youngster foraging among wild berry bushes.

About The Deal: This fable is a chapter from one of the YA (Young Adult) novels in the series of five novels written in Lucid Surrealism, a literary style concocted by Mariel Masque.