By Bjørn Range, Norway
Adrian arrived first. He is a talkative little fellow and was immediately nicknamed "Crunch Buzz". When his humans talk to him he always answers enthusiastically. Not always understandably, but he attaches great importance to communication and appreciates being treated with respect.
Two years later Adrian was joined by Aaron, a simply lovable and good-natured fellow. Aaron knows no aggression and looks completely blank when confronted by provoking males. He admires his big brother and quickly learns from him. They are the best playmates. One night, Aaron woke up when Adrian settled down beside him. Adrian smelled pleasantly of wood and looked very proud and determined. His coat showed markings reminiscent of a harness. "Where have you been?" asked little Aaron. "Oh, I was just out for a walk", Adrian replied and wouldn't say more.
Some weeks later, Aaron sensed that Adrian was awake. Silently Adrian got up, headed for the hallway and passed through the dog-door into the garden. Aaron followed him quietly, keeping himself out of sight whilst watching Adrian.
There by the apple tree, Aaron caught sight of Adrian. He stood next to a small figure dressed in green. The green-clad figure put a silvery shining harness on Adrian, raised his hands and cast an arc of light around himself and the corgi. And in a flash both had disappeared!
Aaron stayed put for some seconds before he slowly walked to the apple tree. Neither the green-clad figure nor Adrian was visible, but Aaron recognised the same pleasant odour of wood that he had smelled on Adrian some weeks ago.
Aaron stayed awake for hours waiting for Adrian who finally returned.
Aaron told him what he had witnessed and asked Adrian to tell him what adventures he had experienced during the night. At first Adrian refused to say anything, but Aaron kept asking him.
Finally, Adrian gave in and told him that he had ridden with the elves and fought against Evil.
"Oh, please tell me more", Aaron begged. "Well, alright, but you must promise that you won't tell anyone. Do you promise?" Aaron raised his paw and solemnly vowed by his food bowl that he would never disclose anything.
Adrian explained: "Many corgis have an important contract with the elves, a contract they are very proud of. When the elves are in need of a steed, the corgis are at their disposal. The elves protect the world and the humans from Evil, but the humans don't know this. And they should never know.
Things are not perfect, but it would be much worse, if the elves - and the corgis - would not fight against Evil.
Sometimes Evil is weak and worn out, but Evil can never be defeated. And thus Evil recovers, nurtured by all the negative thoughts of the humans. And then the elves and corgis have to fight it again.
This battle has taken place ever since the humans appeared on earth. Tonight the storm clouds and Evil returned. We fought for hours and our weapons are happiness, love and harmony - never aggression and anger. The corgis are skilled in the use of these weapons. With love, peace and trust in victory they can ride through the air with the elves on their back and disperse the storm clouds with the magical glow sticks of the elves."
"But now we have to sleep."
Aaron had sat still and listened but now he asked his older brother "Can I join you one time? Please say yes!" Aaron was quiet for a long time but finally he agreed. "You may come with me when we visit the elf queen. Then she can decide whether you can become an apprentice. And again, now we must sleep!" Aaron slept happily dreaming of elves, corgis, heroic deeds and storm clouds.
Some months later, Adrian said to Aaron: "Tonight we shall meet the elf queen. She would like to get to know you and see what capabilities you have." A little later the humans switched off the lights in the house. The two corgis waited for a while before going into the garden. A full moon had risen and the shadows were deep. Down by the apple tree two handsome elves waited and bid the corgis a hearty welcome.
"Dear friends", one of them said. "As Adrian knows, my name is Argon and this is my dear friend Elenwe.
We are very grateful for your service Adrian and we have high hopes for your brother Aaron. We shall now equip you with these shining harnesses. Be careful not to lose them because they are magic. Follow us and feel safe."
The two elves raised their hands and cast an arc of light around themselves and the two corgis. Suddenly the garden had disappeared and the four of them now found themselves on a green plain among big old oak trees.
"Follow us", the elves said. "The elf queen is right over there". "But where are we now?" Aaron asked. Elenwe explained: "We are now in a world outside yours, and yet alongside yours at the same time. Can you see the hill over there?" "Yes" said Aaron. "I know it well as we often went there for walks. Does this mean that we are in our world concurrently with this world?"
Elenwe confirmed that he was correct and continued: "Our world is in many ways the same as the human world, yet at the same time different. We are at all times able to visit your world, whereas everyone living in your world needs permission to come here. Welcome to our world valiant friends."
Under the huge oak trees they approached a clearing, and there the elf queen sat on a plain wooden bench. "Come and sit beside me", Adrian said. Argon and Elenwe respectfully took a stand behind the two corgis.
Aaron studied the elf queen. She was neither young nor old but possessed an ageless beauty and dignity. They were all silent and the elf queen looked at Aaron for a long time. Then she smiled.
"My young friend", she said. "Your heart is full of love, but you have not as yet the necessary strength to master the important tasks here in our world. But we shall be glad to test you further and to build up the required strength. Are you prepared to come here every night until the next full moon? Will you do this?" Aaron quickly looked at Adrian and said: "Yes, I'm prepared!"
"It's a deal then. We shall begin tonight. Elenwe and Argon can you lead our friends to the elf-in-chief to begin with the training?" The two elves nodded and guided the corgis along.
Elenwe and Argon greeted the elf-in-chief politely and introduced the two corgis. "I know you, Adrian", he said. "You have a good reputation among the elves for your courage and inconvincible optimism. Never as yet have you lost your composure, not even in a battle against the most violent storms. You and Argon are an unbelievably well-attuned team - on the other hand, you also know each other very well. And now you brought along your brother."
And to Aaron he said: "The elf queen says that you have an extraordinarily loving heart - she saw in you something very rare such as unconditional love. That's a most precious trait, as innocence should be a normal condition. But she also said that you must learn to protect yourself against Evil because the human world is the way it is."
Aaron was impressed by the kind words but at the same time confused. "How can you know what the elf queen thinks of me? We have only just left her and she cannot have had the time to talk to you!" "We have exchanged words mentally", the elf-in-chief explained.
"Way back, the humans were also capable of exchanging words over great distances. But like so much else that has been lost, they have forgotten this ability because they focus on things which are not essential and which make life and living far more complicated than necessary."
Slowly and painstakingly Aaron learned from the elf-in-chief to focus on good, pure thoughts, free from doubt and aggression. "Peace and harmony in mind are the precondition for a good life and an important weapon against Evil", the elf-in-chief said. "If you manage, even under stress, to focus on these preconditions, you will be of great help to us. As a corgi you will then be worthy to bear the markings from the elves' harness on your coat."
Aaron also learned to fly through the air carrying an elf on his back, borne by the positive thoughts shared by both rider and corgi.
However, when Aaron began to doubt his own abilities, he immediately noticed that he was losing height. "Only positive thoughts!" Elenwe, who was Aaron's rider, reminded him. And once again Aaron flew through the air, happy about this insight. By the next full moon, the elf-in-chief announced that Aaron was now ready for his duties. "We will call you when the time has come and we will meet at the appointed place."
A few months later, Adrian and Aaron awoke simultaneously and looked at each other full of expectation. Now they would be proven. Quickly they slid through the dog- door and went into the moonlit garden.
There they were met by Argon and Elenwe who equipped the corgis with the shining harness and saddle. By means of the arc of light they were quickly transferred to the world of the elves. Many corgis and elves were already lined up in long rows, waiting. The elves carried sticks topped by a golden light for dispersing the storm clouds.
They all waited for the signal by the elf queen. "Let's go" she said. "You all know what awaits you and what you have to do."
The corgis and their riders flew through the air, higher and higher. Far away on the horizon they saw how the storm clouds were banking up and they noticed the lightning and heard the thunder. Evil was advancing and threatened the world of the humans anew.
Argon was riding Adrian and Elenwe Aaron, both with raised glow sticks. "Aaron", Adrian shouted. "Stay near me and do what I am doing". "Yes, will do", Aaron shouted back.
The two brothers rode through the air together with a group of twenty elves and corgis and Amrod, their leader, led them directly towards a huge dark cloud. With the elves' glow sticks pointing forward, it looked as if the clouds dissolved into thin air. "That was easy enough", Aaron thought cheerfully.
Many elves and corgis rode around them in orderly formations, dispersing the storm clouds with their sticks and dissolving them. Their leader Amrod gathered the group with Adrian and Aaron around himself and pointed to a new, even larger storm cloud. In close formations the group set in motion, again with the glow sticks pointing forward, and rode directly into a heavy downpour. In the darkness of the cloud Elenwe and Aaron lost contact with Argon and Adrian.
An enormous flash close by blinded them and threw them off balance, whilst the thunderbolt cast them to the side. All of a sudden Aaron felt discouraged and depressed in the face of these enormous negative forces and dropped beyond control. Elenwe tried to cheer him up but Aaron simply felt so sad and overwhelmed by the encounter with so much Evil. Nothing mattered any more, life had lost its meaning. Lower and lower, faster and faster he descended towards the earth. "DON'T GIVE UP", shouted Elenwe. "NOT NOW!"
Suddenly Aaron noticed a shadow at his side. Argon and Adrian had observed how Aaron and Elenwe dropped uncontrollably and took up pursuit. "I love you bro Aaron!" Adrian shouted through the thunderstorm. "Do you love me?" Aaron thought confused. Once again Adrian shouted his loving message. "That was good to hear", Aaron thought. "Now I'm happy again! And I love you too my brother!" he shouted in return.
The rapid descent slowed down and shortly afterwards all four stood on secure ground. Looking up, they could see how the elves riding on corgis dissolved the storm clouds with their glow sticks. Suddenly they heard a harsh sound and a bang. Close by they saw a elf who sat up, confused but unharmed. Next to him lay a lifeless corgi. "Oh, no", the elf said. "Courageous Wilja was so saddened by all this Evil that she lost control and crashed. What shall we do now?"
The leader Amrod had landed after the battle and rode towards the elves and corgis gathering around the lifeless Wilja. He stepped down from his corgi, stroked Wilja's head and said: "We elves are immortal and here in our world we cannot allow others to die. We must find her soul and unite it with her body."
Amrod held his hands over the corgi and the onlookers saw how a healing blue light flowed through her body, back and forth, until her body had regained its original shape. "Now her body is healed. But where is her soul?" Amrod asked.
A few minutes later they found Wilja's almost transparent soul hiding under a shrub, anxious and vulnerable. "Come my brave little one", Amrod said. "Let me bring you back to your body." Wilja looked confused, but didn't mind being picked up by Amrod, who carried her carefully and gently. "Look your body is whole again - you can safely slip into it". Subsequently Wilja's soul carefully settled in her body and the elves and corgis could see how body and soul became one again.
Wilja rose cautiously, rolled on her back and wallowed luxuriously in the grass. Then she got up, looked around and shook herself - life was beautiful! Hence everything was again as itshould be.
"Aaron come here, the elf queen has something important to say", Adrian called from the crowd of elves and corgis. They were now all gathered around the elf queen who spoke to them. She said: "We can never eradicate all the Evil because the humans never want to forsake it. It can be difficult for us to understand this attitude because everything would be much easier if Evil no longer existed. But we have to put up with it and try to limit the damage that Evil causes in the world of the humans."
She looked around. "I have a message especially for you corgis. Being sorry for yourself can be destructive. Self-pity makes it difficult, if not impossible, to overcome adversities. Being sorry for yourself can inhibit us. A wise old adage says: It's not about how you feel, but how you take it. Admittedly it is sometimes difficult to understand the adage and sometimes even more difficult to see the bright spots. But we must remember that we always have a choice. Even in the darkest moment we can take responsibility and do something constructive. We must never give up, we have to learn from the challenges and live on - wiser and better. Thank you all for your great service tonight. And a reminder to the elves: "Don't forget to remove the harness and saddle from our dear, faithful four-legged friends!"
Aaron yawned loudly when he and Adrian finally were at home again. He took a quick glance in the mirror, stopped and looked closer. "Adrian", he exclaimed happily and proudly: "Now I also carry the markings of the elf's harness on my coat!"
Translated from the Norwegian Corgi Post 4/2019 by ANo, with kind permission of the author.
All graphics by ©Béatrice Quinio 2020 - https://www.facebook.com/arlequinartworks/
07.01.2021
