The Emperor and the Caravan
The Emperor and the Caravan is a children's tale based on the true story of a stubborn Emperor Ram that refused to move from the path of a trading caravan. The tale has been published as a mildly embellished book by the church of Resounding Truth, which is one of the most popular pieces of children's literature on Nascindor and its prevailing lesson is one of kindness and good manners.
The Book
The wheels of the carriages squeaked as they barreled down a dusty path that meandered through the Mourning Plateau.
Goods ranging from pots and pans to fancy crystal glassware carefully wrapped in soft furs clinged and clanged in the carriage at the front of the caravan, accompanied by the exhausted snorting of the horses.
Then, all of a sudden, the horses neighed and came to a careening stop, causing the aforementioned pots and pans to loudly scramble within the tarp-covered carriage.
The driver, a portly man of Druvenian descent who we shall refer to as Jonathan, was jolted awake from his sleep-like torpor and hollered loudly.
"WHAT IN TARNATION?!"
He got off of the carriage, grumbling angrily as he approached the horses. To his surprise, he found out that they had not stopped due to an injury or skittishness as he had feared, but because there was an Emperor Ram blocking the path with his stocky frame.
The ram happily chewed on his cud, completely oblivious to his role in the upcoming events.
"Shoo, ya dumb oaf! Shoo!"
Jonathan said, as he tried to dismiss the large ram by waving his arms around. The only response this elicited was a shrill whistle from the ram's horns as he defiantly swung his head around, he in turn trying to shoo away the man.
"What's the holdup? Why have we stopped?"
inquired the driver of the traveling circus that journeyed with the caravan. The members of the circus poured out from the large carriage to see what was going on.
"There's a thrice-cursed ram on the road! It won't budge."
Jonathan replied, scratching the top of his balding head and wiping away a bead of sweat. The people in the other carriages stepped out too, curious to see what the commotion was all about.
Cha'xya, an Arachnithan clown with the traveling circus, approached Jonathan and the ram. He looked at it from all angles, from up close and afar, before poking it a few times with one of his legs. Then he finally turned to Jonathan, all eight of his eyes looking directly at him.
"Yep, is ram alright."
Some of the people watching snickered at Cha'xya's antics, but Jonathan was not in the mood for jokes.
"Unless you have an idea on how to get this dumb thing off the road, I suggest you keep to your lot."
Just then the onlooking crowd parted as a massive man, bound with more muscle than exists in two regular men, stepped forth. This was Frederick, the strongman of the circus, hailing from Telothia. He brushed off his shoulders and looked at the ram.
"I'll move the beast."
In silent awe, the crowd watched with baited breath as Frederick measured the bored-looking ram before gripping it around its waist.
Muscles strained and bulged as Frederick groaned with exertion. The ram wore that same bored expression as the strongman began to scream in an effort to grant himself more strength, but the ram still did not budge.
As Frederick let go and fell onto his bottom next to the ram, Cha'xya skittered up to Jonathan and laid a leg onto his shoulder.
"Do not worry, friend. Cha'xya will remove ram. All takes is one little bite."
Jonathan looked at the Arachnitha, mortified.
"We can't hurt it! It's probably someone's livestock."
Frederick slinked back to the carriage with a bruised ego, while another person stepped out of it. It was a S'aue woman who was dressed in a mechanic's overalls. Her large spectacles magnified her optics to an almost comical degree.
"I overheard the situation. I'm Maxene Crankwhistle, but you can call me Max for short. I believe I might have just the device to resolve our little impasse."
The inventor produced a cube-like contraption from one of the pockets on her oil-stained overalls and set it down onto the ground a little ways off from the road. Soon afterwards, the sounds of loud braying emitted from the small metal box. Maxene turned to look at the crowd, clearly pleased with herself.
"This device records sounds, you see. As luck would have it, I tested it by recording the noise made by a herd of emperor rams. Our blockage should soon get up onto his own feet and waddle on over to investigate."
Once more, the crowd could barely contain their anticipation, every pair of eyes present glued onto the lazily masticating ram. A minute passed.
"Any second now..." Maxene muttered.
Another minute passed by. Then another. And another. The crowd began to murmur, most sorely disappointed that the inventor's solution was clearly not working. The incessant braying from the metal cube got to Jonathan, who piped up.
"Would you PLEASE shut that thing up? It's obviously not working."
Maxene did exactly that and pocketed the small recording device, murmuring something about having to iterate anew before she too returned into the circus' carriage. Cha'xya followed suit, but not before performing a little jig for the crowd.
"Does anyone else have ideas on how to move this thing? We're losing money every second we stand around doing nothing." Jonathan asked the crowd.
People began to suggest things, such as simply going around, but that idea was rejected outright due to the carriages not being able to traverse the rough and tumble terrain that lined the road. Someone made the claim that a winch could probably get the job done if enough people were to pull on the rope.
As the people bickered and planned, a small boy with a shepherd's crook emerged from the sidelines. Once he saw the ram, his eyes lit up.
"Droopy! There you are!"
The boy ran up to the ram and scratched at his chin, which the ram seemed to enjoy greatly. Jonathan and the crowd looked on with slight confusion.
"You know this ram? Can you get it off the road so we can keep moving?" Jonathan asked the boy.
"Sure. Droopy, would you please get up so these nice people can get to where they need to go?"
Just as soon as the boy had said this, the large ram got up to its feet and nuzzled up against the boy, who led it to the side of the road. Jonathan couldn't believe his eyes.
"How did you do that?" He asked the boy.
"What do you mean? I just asked him nicely." The little shepherd replied.
He did not admit it aloud but Jonathan felt a little bit ashamed. For it had not occured to him, or anyone else in the caravan, to even try that.
Content warning: Depiction of a spider
That one, daddy! I want that book!–A Glarithian girl to her father at a bookstore, pointing at a copy of "The Emperor and the Caravan"
by Midjourney
by Midjourney
by Midjourney
by Midjourney
by Midjourney
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