Jack and the Azure Flute, part 1

"What sort of yarn do you have for us tonight?" Hayley asks Brock as the group gathers out in an open field.

"I have a Jack story for you tonight--one that requires a wide open space for stage archery to be told properly." Brock replies, proudly showing Hayley a bow made of dark oak wood with green leather wrapped around the grip.

"Your arrows, Sir Ranger." Misty smiles as she presents Brock with a quiver filled with thirty arrows, their sparkling fletching glinting in the campfire light.

He then assures his audience "These are only prop arrows, but I'm treating them just like I do real arrows--very carefully!"

"Beautiful bow, there..." a hand smiles as he admires Brock's bow.

Once his weapon is accounted for, Brock begins his tale. "There was once a man who had an only son named Jack. He had been married two other times before, making Jack his son via his first wife, but both his first and his second wives had died from terrible diseases. It didn't help that his current wife and Jack didn't get along."

He then explains "Now, Jack was a kind and happy-go-lucky young man, and everyone loved him despite his knack for getting into trouble."

Giggles go up at this. "His father loved him dearly, but, when the father was away, Jack was miserable with his stepmother, who was notorious for her temper." Brock intones. "It was little wonder he only came home at dinnertime; and little wonder he preferred his books filled with tales of adventure and fantasy to her venomous tongue."

"Poor Jack..." a child sighs.

"When dinnertime came, Jack was always called to the table just in time for it to be cleared before his father came in; so that his father would not see how he was being starved." Brock continues. "But one day the father learned what was happening, and grilled his wife on her treatment of the boy."

Inspired, Misty jumps in the role of the stepmother. "Now, see here!" she screeches in character. "I wish you would take your stupid son away and bring him to a shrine, since you think he is so good. He frustrates me to no end, and if you keep him here with his ne'er-do-well ways, you 'll come home some evening to find me gone."

"No, my dear; the boy is only a boy." Brock assures Misty as the man. "Let him stay with us another year until he can fend for himself. Tell you what: let the shepherd come in here and do the housework, and Jack will take his place in the field. The man can have Jack's bed, and Jack will be delighted to sleep under the stars. What say you?"

As himself, he continues "The wife could not object to this, for, at least, the man would be more useful and less troublesome than Jack could ever be. So she agreed to her husband's proposal, and the next day the plan was put into motion. The man helped out around the house, and Jack was sent out into the fields to mind the Mareep. As he went, he sang, for he loved the green fields and the Pokemon. He wasn't looking forward to the dinner his stepmother had packed him, wrapped in a cloth; yet he sang as he went in search of the Mareep..."

Every day, sing a song, to help me sail along... Ash sings as Jack. Tura-lura-lura-lura-lay, and I'll be on my way...

"Then when he had found them, he sang..." Brock interjects.

Won't you come down, won't you come down, won't you come down to Pallet Town? Won't you come down, won't you come down, won't you come down to Pallet Town? Ash sings again.

"Then, later, when he began to get hungry, he sang..." Brock narrates.

Oh, the summertime is come...and the leaves are sweetly bloomin'... Ash sings again.

"So sitting down on a mossy bank, he opened the cloth containing his dinner." Brock narrates as Ash pantomimes doing this. "Inside was dry bread, with a very thick layer of drippings from the pot. He ate very little, presuming his father would give him something better to eat when he got home."

Ash lies back in the grass, singing nonsense gibberish as Brock goes on "That afternoon he sat on the hillside watching the Mareep and singing, when he saw what he thought was an old man with a staff approaching him. He did not know the old man was Arceus in disguise."

He then approaches Ash. "Peace be with you." he smiles in his standard Arceus voice--a gentle yet deep voice.

"Good day, sir," Ash replies as Jack. "You look tired...why don't you rest a while on this mossy bank?'

"Don't mind if I do." Brock replies as Arceus, sitting down beside Ash. "I have traveled far, and am weary, hungry, and thirsty. Have you any food? And would you be so kind to bring me back a drink of water?"

"I have food, at least." Ash smiles offering Brock some pantomime food. "As for water, I have a bottle--just wait there, and I'll go fill it at the stream."

"With that, he hurried off to get water." Brock narrates as himself. "When he returned, and the old man had eaten and drank his fill, he thanked Jack, and revealed who he really was."

As Arceus, he tells Ash "A thousand blessings upon you--you have been kind to me. In return, I want to grant you three wishes. Think carefully, and then name what you wish, and it is yours."

Ash thinks for a moment, then tells Brock "I wish I had a bow, like the rangers do."

Imultaos, ame no hao bakezo...Brock sings as Arceus, seemingly conjuring his bow from thin air, which he gives to Ash. "This will last for as long as you and your descendants live," he explains as Ash pulls on some arm guards. "No matter how far away your target is, it will strike true."

As himself he narrates "Jack was delighted, and, eager to test it out, he aimed an arrow..." He waits for Ash to ready his shot at a target in a tree. "and let it fly at a Talonflame passing overhead."

The audience holds their breath as Ash fires, making the whistle of an arrow echo through the night and hit the target with a thunk.

"Nice shot!" Delia comments over some light applause.

"The arrow sped and pierced the body of the Talonflame, which fell down at his feet with a plop." Brock narrates. As if on cue, the target Ash hit does this, the arrow still embedded in its bullseye.

Ash muses some more as he retrieves the arrow. "Someone who can give me a bow that will never miss, can give me almost anything."

He then tells Brock "I wish I could learn to play the flute, but we are too poor to pay for lessons."

Karuto, iichiida shou... Brock sings as Arceus again, seemingly conjuring Ash's favorite whistle, a silver D with a green mouthpiece, in his hands. "This is a magic flute," he explains. "When you play it, anyone besides you who hears the music must dance, and keep on dancing until the music stops."

As himself, he continues "Jack thought this was wonderful, and would have played something right then and there, but decided not to--there was always the miko to play for.

He then intones "Now Jack had to think about what his third wish would be."

Ash assumes a thoughtful pose as Brock narrates "Jack thought for a long time, and after what felt like hours, he chuckled to himself."

Even Brock's audience can't help but laugh at Ash's feigned laughter. "When Arceus asked him what was so funny, he could not reply right away, as he was still laughing over his funny thought. Finally, when he was able to speak, he said..."

"Sir, it crossed my mind that my stepmother is always giving me dirty looks and always scolding me. I wish that when she does this she will laugh, and keep laughing until I tell her to stop." Ash fills in Jack's dialogue.

Brock lays his hands on Ash and sings Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... making Ash appear to glow. He then explains as Arceus "When she gives you a mean look or yells at you, she will laugh until she falls to the ground, and then keep laughing until you tell her to stop."

He smiles--only he and Ash know how the three magic tricks were performed. "When Jack had thanked him, Arceus said goodbye and departed for the heavens. Meanwhile, Jack sat and contemplated his three wishes, feeling as happy about his good luck as a Shiny Pokemon."

The audience giggles at Brock's metaphor. "When the sun finally set and the day's work was done, he got up and started homeward with a spring in his step." Brock continues as Ash readies the whistle to play. "As he went he played his flute, and all the Mareep and Tauros and Ponytas and Growlithes danced, laughing in between tunes at the sight of them kicking up their heels. Even the bird Pokemon and the Combees waltzed in the air, and, as he crossed a bridge, he saw the little Goldeens pirouetting in the stream below."

Ash plays a set of three reels for effect. "As soon as he reached home he put the flute away, and going into the house, found his father at the dinner table." Brock continues when the applause dies down.

"Father," Ash requests as Jack. "I am terribly hungry after looking after the Mareep all day; and, besides, my dinner was very dry."

"Here you are, my son," Brock replies as the father; giving Ash a pantomime piece of meat.

As himself, he intones "When the stepmother saw Jack getting such a nice portion, she gave him a look that would have made a Miltank give sour milk. Suddenly, she burst out laughing."

Misty bursts out in feigned laughter as Brock continues "Her husband stared at her in amazement, but still she laughed, her sides shaking all the while; and louder and louder she laughed, until the rafters shook with her guffaws and she fell to the ground, still laughing as if she would die."

"All right, that's enough!" Ash calls as Jack, prompting Misty to calm down.

"At this, the stepmother stopped laughing and struggled to her feet, looking more dead than alive." Brock continues.

The glowing Poketch reading 10:00 PM gets his attention. "But how did Jack outwit the miko and get the better of his stepmother? We'll tell you more tomorrow night."