“Mom is going to kill us both,” Toss said.
“No, she won’t. This little guy is perfect for keeping her company while we are out hunting,” replied Grosha.
The twins had defied their mother’s orders not to go to the cloud temple. “She won’t know. We can bring home gooseberries, her favorite,” Grosha remarked.
“Well, we searched the entire temple grounds, and there is nothing here but old stones. Can we go now? I don’t want anyone to see us here,” pleaded Toss.
“Alright, you big baby. Wait, what was that sound?” asked his sister.
The two spun around to see a small black creature crawl out from between a crack in the stones.
“Run!” cried Toss.
“Why?” asked Grosha.
“It’s an evil demon come to take our souls back to its master,” said her brother as he tugged on her arm.
Grosha dragged Toss over to where the creature was sitting. “Hello, cutie. Would you like to come home with us?” asked the girl.
“No, it will kill us all,” insisted the boy.
Grosha ignored her twin and reached down to pet the beastie. “Awe, it likes me,” said Grosha.
After playing with the creature, Grosha announced that she was taking it home, and that was that. Reluctantly, Toss agreed.
“What do we tell mother where we found it?” asked Toss.
“The truth, of course. The creature was lost, so we brought it home for safety,” replied Grosha with a wry smile.
“Oh, brother, you know how to stretch facts to fit your wishes, don’t you?” said Toss.
Once they showed the thing to the family, everyone fell in love with it, except Toss. He couldn’t get over the idea that this creature was not what it appeared to be.
And so the story ends happily as stories should.
A note: stray animals and lost children seemed to vanish after the beastie’s arrival. Villagers put it down as roaming wolves. Toss was having none of it, but feared saying anything as he might disappear as well.
Folksburywoods 
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