Copyright © 1993, 2002 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: March 30, 2002 .

from New Fantasies

Sun & Wind Rematch

 
March Wind was feeling rather chipper this morning, stirring up a storm here and there, but mostly puffing out annoying gusts. Grownups along the streets on their way to work or shopping struggling under his might, he enjoyed. His favorite time of day was between eight and nine in the morning and again at between three and four in the afternoon: school children was his favorite pastime because they weren't as strong. He would laugh uproariously between mighty puffs when he saw homework papers flying from a hand or a hat lift suddenly from a head. He laughed so hard at a little girl with a red schoolbag running after her Brownie cap, while trying desperately to keep her long hair from flapping her eyes, that he had to rest. It disappointed him that the girl was now free to regain her cap and that he would not be able to blow away her schoolbag; but he was determined to seek her out after school.

When he approached dosing Sol, he had to puff away his uncle's hot breath passing through his heavy snores. When Sol stopped snoring, Gusty quickly blew cold breezes into his ruddy face. Sol jerked open his red eyes and groaned, "Oh, it's you, is it?...Up to mischief again, eh? You take an awful chance sneaking up on me like that. My solar winds could burn you out completely─they don't like competition from upstarts, you know."

"Good heavens, Uncle Sol, have you no sense of humor?" he asked nervously, knowing Sol's hot temper. "You did in the old days. Remember when you tricked me long ago?...And didn't I take it like a sport?"

"His gas burped deep within. "What do you mean tricked you. It was a fair contest."

"In the result only. I meant that in the contest you had to remove that man's cloak. He removed it himself!"

"True, but he never would have if I hadn't sweated it off him," Sol reminded him. "And you couldn't expect me to burn it off him."

"Just the same you tricked me," Gusty whined.

"Well, so did the man. After all, he was too smart and strong for you. And you used no strategy as I had."

"Sure, people expect me in March; they don't expect ninety degrees in my season. I tell you it was an unfair contest. You could never have gotten away with it against my cousin Hurricane."

"So you want a rematch with my other nephew to do battle for you─ can't blow your own wind, eh?"

"Hold on, Uncle Sol, you're cooking too fast! I do want a rematch, but I've got plenty of wind to take care of it myself," Gusty said with a huff and a puff.

"It's okay by me─either way you lose. I can boil away the force of both of you, Sol boasted, flapping his flames with pride.

"Don't be so sure of yourself. Don't forget I was confident the last time, too─and I lost."

Old Sol tilted his axis and belched out a gaseous flame and laughed. "You sure were cocky; perhaps I shouldn't have taught you a lesson. Elders should, after all, let the young ones win once in a while. Well, what's the challenge this time? But I warn you, nowadays they wear coats and not cloaks which will make it all the harder for your tired lungs to heave up enough force to blow off."

"Oh, that isn't the deal now─too smart for that," Old Gusty said. "No, this time It's going to be a little girl."

"A little girl! Gosh, Gusty, don't you have any pride?" Old Sol said angrily. "I don't want to pick on a defenseless little girl."

"Oh, don't worry; it's harmless," Gusty assured him. "All you have to do is remove her hat from her head and make her drop her schoolbag."

"You call that a challenge?" Sol chuckled out a jittery flame. "Why, when she starts to feel my rays she'll have to take off her hat and put down the schoolbag in order to rest from the heat wave. That's easy."

"Yeah? We'll see. I'll meet you by that school down there at three o'clock," Gusty said blowing himself away to visit some clouds down below.

"Wait a minute─talking about dirty tricks─I'm not myself this time of season, especially at that hour." Sol said, churning his solar wind.

"That's the deal. What's the matter? Can't handle it? Want to give up?" Gusty howled.

"No way do I ever concede to anything!─except my loss of bedtime, of course....Darn! I haven't had a wink since those doggone sailors proved the world was round....But you can be sure, laddy, I'll be there and whip you badly─again. Now, it would be a different story if it were my dear sweet niece, Breezy, who wafts gentle summer breezes across our earthlings, I would let her win."

At three o'clock Old Sol lowered down and angled in at the school. Some hot beads of moisture bubbled over his brows when he realized he could not ray down on the school at this hour because a tall building was in his way. He mumbled to himself, "Young Gusty has gotten wiser, but with a little sweat and bending round that building, I'll manage."

Gusty swept in right over the school. He looked up and winked at some clouds that floated above him. He controlled himself while the children rushed out into a still afternoon. When he spotted the little girl with the Brownie cap and the red schoolbag, he very softly blew high and away toward Sol so he could point her out to him. "There, below, that little girl swinging the red schoolbag! I'll go first just like the last time."

"Be my guest, but I can tell she doesn't trust you the way she's hanging on to her hat," Sol said.

Gusty blew back over; then with a sudden drop toward her he exhaled mightily, catching her off guard and she toppled over on her knees and dropped the schoolbag and the latch broke spilling some books out. To his surprise her hat stayed on! He puffed and puffed. Still the hat stayed on. He swept down right above her, but she grabbed the schoolbag and held it tight over her head. Gusty was exhausted and had to let up. The girl stood up and started running. He followed until he saw that she out-foxed him by sticking a hat pin in her hair. "Oh, no," he puffed. "Oh, well, at least I got her to drop the schoolbag. He blew back up to Sol and signaled that it was his turn and added, "I can still win if you can't remove either one."

"No sweat,...come to think of it, a little sweat will do it!" Sol chuckled. He rolled down his bulk and aimed in on the little girl, who was already warm from running. She stopped to open her coat, but to Sol's surprise she didn't try to remove the coat and kept her schoolbag in her hand. She continued on to the end of the street where she turned behind the tall building and into the shade. Sol belched, "Drats!" But then a big fiery smile expanded even more his huge face when she emerged from the shade. He burned down on her with all his might. The girls' brisk pace, came to a halt and she wiped her forehead. "Ah, I've got her now!" Sol cried out. "She's ready to put down the schoolbag and remove the hat."

Instead, she brought the bag up to her body and cradled it in one arm while she raised her hand to remove the pin from the hat. Sly Gusty hiding behind a black cloud blew on it gently. The cloud floated over the girl and showered her with rain drops. She left her hat on to protect her hair and started to run, dropping her pin. Sol and the cloud followed. Sol was yelling at the cloud to get out of the way. But his nephew just kept blowing the cloud along. Old Sol, not used to working so hard this time of year had to give up but not before he spit out in angry defeat a weak solar wind to his March Wind contestant who deftly escaped the hot vacuum. Disappointed Sol continued west to get ready for sunset.

Though he already won, Gusty for good measure blew off the little's girl's brownie cap. She chased after it; and when it rolled into a puddle she cried. His proud feeling in getting even with Sol for the humiliating defeat a hundred years ago, turned to shame as he felt sorry for the little girl. He blew away the black cloud. He then hurried to find Breezy who then quickly caught up with the little girl to take her home with gentle breezes to dry her off and her cap.

The next morning the little girl came out of the house to head for school. This time she had two hat pins. She stood on the porch to check the weather. There was an overcast─Sol was sulking behind a cloud─and there was no wind. Because her father could not fix the schoolbag, she had to carry her homework and books in an embarrassing shopping bag. As she stepped off the porch the wind stirred. "Oh, no, not again!" she cried. She held her hat and drew the bag close to her and started walking down the path when suddenly the wind dropped in front of her feet a new, shiny red schoolbag.

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