What Happened Under The Aurora (590 words)
Apr. 5th, 2020 07:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mbarkerQuinn the Eskimo
http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/quinn-eskimo-mighty-quinn/
Eskimo Nell
http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Eskimo_Nell(Amalgamated).htm
Hum... Deadeye Dick and Mexican Pete... Eskimo Nell headed North...
Obviously, my story should be about the encounter between Quinn the Eskimo and Eskimo Nell? In the land up North?
Let that ferment a bit, and here you go!
What Happened Under The Aurora (590 words)
By Mike Barker
I’ve heard that you are interested in the aurora borealis, the wonder of the northern skies, that light of the night? Well, let me tell you the tale of how the northern lights came to be. You see, once upon a time, the North was always dark and cold, no lights to be seen, just as grim as it could be.
Then, one cold winter night, and remember, the nights are long up there, when the times were at their darkest, the igloos silent, and all seemed grim as grim could be, well, out of the darkness, there was a hearty footstep heard, a-crunching through the snow and ice, and he strode into their lives!
Yes, it was Quinn the Eskimo! Twice, even three times as big as life, with a hearty chuckle and a handshake that crushed other men’s fists, he walked in and asked them what the problem was.
They jumped for joy, the pigeons ran to him, some took a nap. They’d not seen nothing like the mighty Quinn. But then, well, they wailed, they whined, and they said the nights were just too dark!
Now Quinn thought upon it, and he shared fires, he shared lanterns, he shared this and that. But still, above them all, the sky was dark. Within, without, it was just too dark to shout.
They cried out, and wondered why such a great man could not help them. They were twice as unhappy, knowing that even the great Quinn the Eskimo couldn’t help them.
But then, as they groaned and screamed, she stepped into their igloo and winked. Yes, it was Eskimo Nell! She’d been down south by the Rio Grande, that lusty maid who was unafraid, and left Deadeye Dick and Mexican Pete broken and groaning behind at Black Mike’s saloon. She said she had come to the North to find a real man, a man who would satisfy her, although she didn’t know if such a man could be found anywhere.
As she told them her tale of woe, and of her search for a man who could stand up ... well, lay down with her, that’s when Quinn stood up, and raised his hand in greeting. She looked across the igloo, and smiled. Their eyes met, and those two knew that it was meant to be, that they could do what no one else had done.
So they walked out into the night, with a single sleeping bag slung over Quinn’s shoulder.
No one knows just what those two did that night, but the sky it glistened, and strange lights flew up and all around, and the ground shook and ice shattered, and then...
They came back. Eskimo Nell was smiling, and Quinn was staggering, but behind them, the sky glowed, with the aurora hanging in the air, a wonder that showed just what those two had done, out in that sleeping bag.
When the Eskimos went out and looked for that blessed sleeping bag the next summer, all they could find were scattered shreds in a spot where the snow and ice had melted, and scattered, and melted again.
But ever since, the Aurora Borealis has hung in the sky, a reminder of that night when Quinn the Eskimo and Eskimo Nell first met, and taught the Northern Sky that love will find a way!
Now tell your friends, tell everyone you know, that when Quinn the Eskimo comes, Eskimo Nell she grins and laughs as he rings her bell, and the skies above glow with their ecstasy!
And that’s why the Northern Lights shine.
The End
