Saturday, December 13, 2014

Otis Escapes, parts 3987 - 3990

 3987. He made his way into the same wagon he had escaped from, and woke the Rooster from a sound sleep. He began to explain his plan to the Rooster but the bird would hear nothing of it and objected violently. “Are you out of your mind Otis,” he said, “we have a perfect life here with the Fowler. Do you not realize that what we are doing in the dog fighting rings is theater, pure and simple, and everyone loves us?”


 3988. This notion struck Otis as strange. Obviously the bird was correct, and yet Otis could not accept it. It might be theater to begin with each night, but by the end of each night Otis had to dispatch from the land of the living two or three dogs who had never done him any harm, and the Rooster had no such obligation. 


 3989. The Rooster understood what was bothering Otis and so embarked on a different line of argument. “Look,” he said, “I will admit that the comedians we traveled with and the plays we were part of were wonderful, and also, I know that you never had to murder anyone. But a dog and a rooster without the aid of persons can’t do those things. Where will we get the audience? How could we make ourselves known?” 



3990. “No,” said the Rooster, “if we run off we will just be a wolf and a rooster abroad in the land and at the mercy of every hungry person. Here we are safe, and what we do has its purpose, in a manor of speaking.”

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