Puddleopedia | Entry / EraisesClothes

by Peter of the Norse

There were once two farmers who lived on opposite sides of a road. They were good friends and successful farmers. One day they saw Eraise walking down the road that separated them. They watched him carefully since they knew that he was not to be trusted. He walked the entire length of the road without even turning his head. The next day, the farmers were telling everyone in town about what had happened. They knew the kind of damage that Eraise could cause and warn to warn everyone to be careful.

"The oddest part about him," said one farmer, "was his bright red clothing."

"What are you talking about?" the other countered. "He was wearing dark blue from head to toe."

"I'm sorry but you are mistaken, it was red."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

The argument heated up quickly because the more one said something, the more the other insisted what they saw was right. Of course, this ruined their friendship, since they could no longer even see each other without getting into an argument. They put up large fences along the road so that they couldn't look at his neighbor's crops. Travelers who went down that road from then on always thought they were entering a tunnel.

The argument also effected the near-by town where the argument started. Even though none of them had seen Eraise, they were convinced that his clothes were either red or blue, and no one could change their minds. The fighting got so bad that someoneÍs home was burnt down. The next day, there was a meeting of everyone from the town to stop the fighting. This was a bad idea, since everyone who had a strong opinion was there to defend their side. As the street brawl got out of hand, someone on the edge of the crowd began to laugh. It was Eraise, and he was dressed half in blue and half in red. Even his hat was both blue and red.

"Thank you for a wonderful time," he told the crowd. "I've never had this outfit cause so much fun. I'm so glad I wore it."

And then, with a burst of music, he vanished. The town returned to normal after that, but the fence stayed up.