Hither, Thither, and Yon

Once upon a time, there were two little villages, Rowling and Tolkien, that lived in peace with each other. Rowling and Tolkien had many, many children, some very young, others young, and a few a little older, who loved to listen to fairytales told to them by their moms and dads every night before bed. Each night they would listen to the same fairytales, and each morning they would take turns sharing the same fairytales with their friends. And they loved it! Oh, how they loved their fairytales! Rowling and Tolkien were located far from the oceans, beyond the smokey forests, way past the spider web trees. So it was somewhat of a surprise to all when a new family entered Rowling one day, looking very tired and tattered, with all of their belongings strapped on the backs of several grunting oxen. The village elder approached. “We are the village of Rowling, and I am the village elder, Hans. Who are you and why are you here?” “We are the Archaic family. I am Yon, my wife Hither, and my son Thither, who is 12 years old. We hail from a place far beyond your land, over the seas, in a land called Honah Lee.” The village elder paused a beat to consider such a fantastical statement concerning a place he had never heard of. Then the elder squinted his eyes, tilted his head, and said: “Why do your oxen keep grunting without end?” “Yaks,” said Yon. “Excuse me …” said the elder, his face turning beat red. Yon quickly added, “I apologize for the confusion. Our domestic yaks are Tartary oxen, known in our land for their grunting and squeaks.” The villager elder coughed twice and said, “We are prepared to offer you food, lodging, and care for your, um, Tartary Yaks, until such time as you decide to continue your journey.” Yon and Hither followed the attendants to where they would find food and lodging. Thither asked his mom and dad if he could play with the village children. Yon and Hither gave their permission and Thither ran to the center of the village where he had last seen the children. There they were, excited to see him as they gathered around. “Hi, I’m Thither.” “We know!” many of them shouted out. “Do you want us to tell you our wonderful fairytales that our moms and dads tell us every night?” Thither was eager to hear them. Afterward, he said, "I’ve already heard your wonderful fairytales. I know many fairytales from my land that I can share with you tomorrow." “Oh, yes, yes. We want to hear your fairytales!” they shouted as they were jumping up and down. The next morning, after eating his breakfast and completing his chores (because, you see, there is a lot of work to do when you have grunting and squeaking domestic Yaks), he met the children in the center of the village. “Please, Thither, share your grand fairytales with us!” they shouted. Thither didn’t disappoint them. The next few days he told them fantastic stories about Puff, the ageless dragon, and little Jackie Paper, along with the noble kings, princes, and pirates. The village children were mesmerized by Thither’s fairytales, soaking up every detail like a sponge. Their parents, however, were not so happy. Each night, as the moms and dads would begin to tell their children the same fairytales, their children would respond “No, no, no! Let us tell you the grand stories that Thither told us today …” Well, the uproar from the mothers and fathers soon reached the ears of the village elders, and everyone was assembled. The Tolkien village elder, Otto, spoke first. “Yon, Hither, and Thither, multiple charges have been raised against you for inciting family chaos among our village citizens. How do you respond to such charges?” Yon replied, “Sir, we are from a land far away. Many of your villagers have come around to ask about where we are from, and what we’ve seen on our journeys. It’s human nature to want to learn new things. Our son, Thither, spent the first few days listening to your exciting fairytales. Thither enjoyed these stories which were new to him. He even shared them with us. Thither thought it would be a kindness to share fairytales from our land. Naturally, the children were eager to hear these new stories, as is only normal. Thither was simply sharing our stories after the children had shared theirs with him. We are willing to do what is required to make this right. We hope you all can see it was not our intent to cause disruption. If it is your will, we are more than happy to leave your villages and be on our way tomorrow.” A hush fell over the assembly. All that could be heard was the distant grunting of the domestic yaks. Yon, Hither, and Thither were sent back to their dwelling. The elders and family heads deliberated for less than an hour. Yon, Hither, and Thither were called back to the assembly. The Rowling village elder, Hans, now spoke. “Yon, your explanation has placed this situation in a different light, and we have dropped the charges against you. The decision was unanimous. We would like to offer your family permanent residency in our villages. The family heads have also recommended that once a month all of the villagers meet, both young and old, for you to share with us fairytales from your land. This will allow the moms and dads to decide for their own families how they might include your fairytales with ours. This will allow peace to continue in both our families and the villages. Is this acceptable to you?” Everyone awaited Yon’s answer. Yon looked at Hither and Thither. Each one nodded, and Yon replied with a loud “YES!” One and all, the villagers cheered. The Archaic family realized only then that they had finally found a home. From that day forward, the villagers happily received and added the fantastical tales of Hither, Thither, and Yon to the fairytales of Rowling and Tolkien. And they all, including the yaks, lived happily ever after.