[Editor’s note: Read part one here.]
“My dearest Mother,” said the Troll, “I have been watching my river in your service. One year ago, to this very date, despite my great hunger, I gave up eating of the flesh and I mourned my life’s activities. I wish only to serve you, but I do not know how. During this year I have hungered much. Despite my hunger, I only ate the fruits of your trees that fell and lay rotting on the ground. I am not built for climbing and gardening.
“As I traveled here, I witnessed seven small children on a raft. They were floating on my river when the raft capsized. They fell into the rushing water to drown. I had a great hunger to devour their flesh. I denied this hunger, leapt into the river and pulled them to safety. I must confess that my great hunger troubled me deeply. I had to depart immediately after saving them.”
Tam-Tam and Waywis looked at each other with knowing eyes. What a trifle. They and their sisters would laugh at this tale for eons to come. The Queen would certainly make of Traylon the clown that he was.
The Fairy Queen stood for many moments in thoughtful silence. Then she spoke softly into the moonlit night.
“Tam-Tam and Waywis,” she said. “For your dedicated service, I grant you my blessings and give you leave to return to the work that you so love. You and your fey sisters are always on my mind.”
She turned to look at Traylon, her eyes glistening. She spoke.
“Great beast of the rivers and running waters, for you I have a boon. You will dwell with me in the Sacred Garden. Fruit and vegetables will be brought to you by my beautiful servants and you will sit on my council for as long as you desire. This is my wish and my command. In this way I express my thanks to you.”
Tam-Tam and Waywis were stunned by what they heard. They looked at their Fairy Queen in dismay and consternation. “But, my Queen,” they cried in unison. “We have been your obedient servants for so long. We feed the world. We have given the gift of flight. We obey you always. Why the beast and not us in your garden?”
The Goddess looked at them all for a long time and then spoke for the last time during the gathering.
“You, Tam-Tam, and you, Waywis, have always served me. You were created with the desire to serve and have followed your true nature. You, on the other hand, Traylon, are a destroyer and a natural eater of the flesh. You have, at great and immense cost to yourself, turned on your compulsion to eat meat in order to serve and worship me in a better way. You have done what does not come naturally to you for the greater good. It is easy to do the correct thing when it is your nature to do so. To defy that which calls to you from the depth of your being, this is truly an act of love for my Queendom.
“Tam-Tam and Waywis, you have received my blessing and shall return to that which you know. Traylon, for your overcoming, I lift your hunger, your craving for flesh, and I shall grant you my Grace—forever.”
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