Granoldi the Bear

[ c. 13th Century ~ ]

The countryside at night was alive with the creatures and beings that hid from the people and the beasts of the daylight.

Noses twitched, beaks clicked, paws itched. In the moments before, Francesco would recite the Alma Putto, and the animals who gathered around his spiritual light remained quiet, even though they were so conflicted, by their very real instincts to flee or fight.

Unbeknownst why, it appeared that the smell of one another aggravated the congregation terribly, far more than the appearance of each other. Francis discovered that creatures interpret the world through their smell firstly - and so he took the leaves of the eucalypt [Bay or Linden] and laid them upon the burning charcoals of the camp fire, to help soothe their anxieties.

Amongst the group sat a large snow-white bear. Everyone knew that the white bears of fabled lands did not frequent the woods of the north. There was, however, a troop of songsters visiting the district that had acquired an albino cub when it was young it was said, and they had profited greatly from his performances. It came to pass however, that he had overtaken their height, and was manacled with cutting irons, to keep him harnessed in their employ.

Nightly there was the big reveal, where in the final act Granoldi the Great Polar Bear would lumber out through the canvas curtains, wearing his leathered suit and woollen cap.

This was always a pleasing note to leave on, and quite often the coins would be tossed into the pot, hoping to make him dance. Granoldi did not dance, yet they would collect the coins, dismantle the tent, and move on.

One day, this same bear had been found by Francis secured to a giant fir tree. The troop had left him whilst exploring the prospects of the next village.

His tender skin bled beneath the iron, making dark red patches that were staining his fur. Their unkindness to the beast was evident in this abandonment alone.

And when Francis unbolted his irons, the great bear did not run away, but stayed.

And when the songsters returned to collect him, they found that without the chains and clamps, they had no viable persuasion, and had to depart without their valued slave.


-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances