Will Ye page 8
Smilerina had sent him that note!
Now he had really had it -- enough was enough already.
Sure, he’d be willing to go through all sorts of agonies and dangers to retrieve a hardy treasure, but this fairy girl was really beginning to get on his nerves!
Going over to the entrance of the cave, he hunkered down behind his shield and cried out:
"Look here -- you evil one -- I came to get the treasure from a note that you sent me! And I’m tired of all this messing around. I have followed the instructions to the letter. I’m here, and I’m willing to take the treasure -- even if it means fighting off wild and evil beasts or enduring hardships. But there is no treasure that I can see! What’s the big idea? Come on out and fight me so I can get my satisfaction!"
Smilerina came to the entrance looking weary herself. Her complexion was no longer glowing and her wings were draped over her body like a dull gray cloak. She fell upon the rock as if she had been defeated, and in-between her sobs she mumbled:
"Will ye mortals never learn!"
When Sourjack became convinced that she was not going to attack him, he said: "I don’t understand what the heck is going on here. If I say I am going to leave you alone, you get angry. If I ask you for the skill-task all you do is get angry. If I dig and dig for the treasure, you get more angry. When I, myself, challenge you to battle, you start to cry! Is there a treasure here or is there not!"
"Will ye mortals never learn!"
And with that said, Smilerina collapsed completely over the rock, her wings sagging down until they touched the ground -- not a good thing for a fairy to let happen, for it can rob them of their powers.
"Just forget it!" said Sourjack in a fit of rage. "I have mushrooms to tend to. If I understood where the treasure was hidden, I’d continue the search. But I have no idea -- so I’m going back to my harvest."
"Will ye mortals never learn!"
Sourjack sighed and began his long trek back to his mushrooms.
Several days, or it may have been a week or so, passed without incident, as he began to collect up his harvest of mushrooms just before taking them to market. During all of this time he barely gave the fairy girl any thought at all -- some things were important and some where not, and he had decided that Smilerina was just not important enough to warrant any effort upon.
