baby fuzzy mama fuzzy daddy fuzzy
cousin fuzzy uncle fuzzy
by Duen Hsi Yen, an
adaptation of Fuzzies: A Folk Tale by L.Richard Lessor.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful village, on a tiny atoll
in the South Pacific, where few have ever visited. It was not
on any of the maps. There were no motels, no golf courses, no
TV's and no restaurants. The people living here didn't miss these
things. They were ordinary people, just like you would find anywhere,
and they were very happy. They had "Warm Fuzzies"! Some
people are happy only when they are at a party or when they win
a contest or when they are at a shopping mall. These Islanders
were happy almost all the time. They enjoyed Monday mornings,
storms or picnics in the rain.
They really liked people! They never mistrusted or were suspicious
of other people. They went out of their way to do nice things
for each other. The children were never scolded! If they were
distressed, someone would come and hug them. Most of all they
enjoyed meeting and greeting each other. When these islanders
would meet, they would give each other a "Warm Fuzzy."
Now what is a "Warm Fuzzy?" It is something like a puff
of warm, soft fur. The "Warm Fuzzy" loved to be given
away. It always made the village people feel better to give them
to each other. A "Warm Fuzzy" meant "I care about
you." A "Warm Fuzzy," is like an encouraging
word, a hug, or smile :)
So the custom of giving "Warm Fuzzies" grew over the
years. These Islanders gave them to sick people, so they would
get well sooner. They gave them to young couples just starting
out, to make their homes warm and cozy. They gave "Warm Fuzzies"
to just about everyone, at any occasion, just because it brought
a lot of happiness and good cheer. Everyone looked forward to
exchanging "Warm Fuzzies."
One day, a evil witchdoctor paddled to this isolated island from
a neighboring island. He looked strange, with bleached hair and
he talked an awful lot. On his island, if a child was throwing
a temper tantrum, it would just be ignored. Everyone was suspicious
and hostile to each other. He saw what was going on, that everyone
was having too much fun, and not working like they should. "This
is ridiculous," he said. "I have got to do something
about these people. They may spend their whole lives thinking
they are happy." Inside the witchdoctor's bag were "Cold
Pricklies." These were mean, little, scratchy things, and
they bite! If you look into the witchdoctor's bag, this is what
you would see:
baby prickly mama prickly daddy prickly One very mean prickly!
This foreigner came into the village one day, and pretended to
be sick. Sure enough, a kind lady came up and gave him a "Warm
Fuzzy." He asked her how many "Fuzzies" she had.
He then convinced her that someday, she would run out of "Fuzzies"
and that no one would give them back to her. He gave the kind
lady a "Cold Prickly" instead. The witchdoctor then
spread the rumor that there would be a shortage of "Warm
Fuzzies." After awhile, the wicked witchdoctor's plan worked!
The people of this atoll would cross the street to avoid a friend.
They stayed home and worried about people stealing their "Fuzzies,"
and began to give each other "Cold Pricklies" instead.
The fuzziless months turned into fuzziless years, and soon there
were quite a few people on the island who had never even heard
of a "Warm Fuzzy." Soon the islanders became strangers
to each other, and didn't even know their neighbors.
Then one day, a grandmother was telling her grandchildren about
the good old days when everyone was happy and everybody gave away
"Warm Fuzzies" and how good it felt to get one. The
children got so excited that they went out and gathered up all
the "Warm Fuzzies" they could find. Immediately, they
began giving them away to each other. It brought much happiness
back to the Island people and they realized how selfish they had
been. They all lived happily ever after.
The end :)
Last revised 2 January 2002
Copyright ©
1999-2001 by Duen
Hsi Yen, All rights reserved.
E-mail: yen@noogenesis.com
"Fuzzies:
A Folk Tale" by L. Richard Lessor
"A Warm Fuzzy Tale" by Claude Steiner
Another version of A
Warm Fuzzy Tale
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