[Vfw-times] moody little story

[Oren Otter]

Not really worth reading.
feel free to ignore it.

Wut Ho
by Oren

	His name is Wut Ho.  This is not his real name.  It's a pun, designed to
reflect his youthful exuberance.  His energy is natural, of course.  Wut Ho
is an otter.
	This is not to say that Wut Ho has always been an otter.  Quite the
contrary.  His life had begun as a human child.  In fact, he had grown into
a handsome if oversized young man before changing his species.
	It's hard to say what caused him to make the decision to change.  As any
medical student knows, the change into an animal is extremely painful and
quite irreversible.  It is only those who desperately need alternate forms
for the sake of their sanity or else to avert imminent death who even
consider putting themselves through such torment, and no one has ever
survived a second transformation.  Wut Ho, however, being perfectly happy
with his human life, seemed to consider life as a mustelid so much better
that he was willing to endure the pain.
	Naturally, the otter moved away from his home in order to take up
residence in a more natural habitat.  It was because of this, and quite by
chance in the long run, that Wut Ho discovered the circle of peace.
	The circle had seemed such a friendly lot.  They appeared to be kindred
spirits in that they, like he, had chosen the form of an animal and life in
the wild over anything humanity had to offer.  They told him of how they
were devoted to peace, and he reasoned that this group would be a good one
among which to find his new home.
	His reasoning proved true.  Since joining the Circle of Peace, the otter
never wanted for companionship.  A friendly rat helped him to dig a cozy
burrow while a raccoon shared his generous food supply.  Life was indeed
good among the Circle.
	Their rules were simple.  Don't bite your neighbor.  This was the essence
of their philosophy.  Of course, Wut Ho did not know of the unwritten law.
These were people who had forsaken humanity.  Among these, it was forbidden
to praise man.
	Wut Ho, of course, thought it strange that he was the only one who
retained any appreciation for the human soul which dwelt in his brain.  He
spoke proudly of his past as a primate, and suggested at every opportunity
that others do likewise and share his lifetime-encompassing sense of
self-worth.
	It was a porcupine who had set on him first.  Her response was to flatly
deny that any of these creatures had ever been human at all.  Yet though
her verbal tirade was fierce, she made no move to harm the otter.
	Once the porcupine was through, a bear showed his appreciation for Wut
Ho's philosophy by smacking him with the back of a paw.  Emboldened by the
bear's attack, more and more animals came after the heretic.  Through it
all, however, No one ever broke the cardinal rule.
	Except Wut Ho.
	In a fit of rage, the otter sank his teeth into the ear of the bear.
	Wut Ho backed off in shock at his own actions. Ursine blood trickled down
his lip as his teeth dripped with his opponent's life source.
	It was the saddest day of Wut Ho's life when he found himself banished
from the circle for breaking the only rule.  He removed himself from the
forest which had been his home, and dug himself a burrow on the edge of the
neighboring meadow, where the stream emerges from the woods.
	There he waits to this very day, often turning to look longingly into the
woods, wishing for reconciliation, and wondering if his friends remember
him.  Perhaps one day, he says to himself, his bite will be forgiven.
	Patiently, he waits.


-Oren the Otter
8=-3
tlhaQ biQ Ha'DIbaH
The Changing Workplace: http://www.geocities.com/duster_skunk/strips.htm