Saturday, February 2, 2013

Otis The Wolf, parts 1174 - 1177



1174. You can be certain the account of what happened to Otis is the truth simply because I, being a Duck, am incapable of making anything up. Duck stories have been handed down from generation to generation and are devoid of any fiction, and lack even any sort of invention or elaboration. Facts are all we care about, and inevitable conclusions. So I leave unanswered the question: do disasters strike in triplicate, or is it is a literary device of fairy-tales and dumb repetitive jokes.

1175. Let's just say that sometimes reality has the structure of fiction, and sometimes fiction has the structure of reality but it is all just coincidence. Like I said before, it is possible for people to draw absolute conclusions form a single example, how much easier to draw conclusions from three related evil things happening all at once.

1176. But to continue with our story. Just as there was an old gray wolf named Ottus who had it out for Otis and wanted to destroy him and drive him out of the community, so there was a wolf-like rather grayish old man who took a suspicious sort of interest in the Boy's companion and began to ask awkward questions about him.

1177. This elderly man was a well known veterinarian, or what we today would call a veterinarian, and like the Boy's father the blacksmith, he was a very important member of the community.  No one much liked this old man but it was not entirely his fault. He was almost never able to cure any animal diseases or ailments but instead had four remarks that he used in all situations.

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