Fable of Welcome

One day in winter, many years ago, two foreigners came to the small town in the beautiful valley.  One of them was an adult, with red bristle all over his face and green eyes that darted everywhere.  The other was younger, with the same green eyes but darker hair.  You could only tell that this child’s hair was red in the direct sun at noon.  

Everyone, even the town elders, was loath to give these strangers the common hospitality due to travelers because they were afraid of a curse.  Finally, they agreed to let the two travelers sleep in the old, abandoned forge because it was the only unoccupied building that had a hearth and because it already had a curse.  That is why it was abandoned, of course.

The foreigners survived that first night, bitterly cold in the near-ruin; it was clear that this arrangement could not last all winter.  The elders, vexed by the competing demands placed upon them, sent their youngest up to the big willow tree high in the hills to the west to ask for help from the sign-givers.

This young elder arrived at the great tree and planned offer a complicated and long-winded prayer of supplication.  Before she began, however, a red panda walked up and set a delicious fruit on the ground before the elder.  The elder ate the fruit and smiled.

Parts of the prayer involved dancing around the tree.  When same panda came back with another fruit, it followed her around in a circle for a while before giving up and just sitting there.  Finally, the elder sat down and found the same panda giving her another fruit.  It waved its bushy red-and-black tail in her face and then rubbed its red head against her knee.  Confused, the elder ate this second fruit and went back to her prayer.  She would have sworn that it seemed almost impatient but that was impossible because red pandas weren’t intelligent.

She prayed for several hours but the panda did not bother her again, thank goodness.  She waited for a sign from the wise old willow but, by evening, none had been given to her.  She began her long walk down to the town and passed many red pandas walking up the hill past her.  Once she reached the small town in the beautiful valley, this elder was surprised to find the two foreigners in the elder’s hall, with a fine supper and a roaring fire in the hearth.

Just a few hours earlier, a group of red pandas had descended upon the village, bringing with them fire wood, fruits, and vegetables.  They had walked straight to the old forge, then led the two strangers to the elder’s hall.  One of them had even nipped the keeper of the keys when the keeper dithered over the doors of the hall.  Once inside, the pandas had dropped their wood in the fireplace and their food in the elder’s kitchen.  Furthermore, they had refused to leave until the townspeople had a fire going and dinner on the way.  By that time, the entire town had gathered to see the day that the pandas reminded everyone what welcome means.

It was never clear if the disappearance of the town’s entire salted fish stock on that same day was connected or not.  However, since the pandas had reminded everyone what good neighbors do for each other, no one went short that winter and, by consensus, it was the gentlest winter for many years.