The Legend Of the Great Potato

Chapter 2 : Great Fortunes

The morning light breaks through the pane of glass next to the farmer's bed. The piercing light causes him to wake. He rises with glee, jumping out of his bed, quickly puts on his clothes, jumps into his boots, and rushes to the bathroom, squeezing a lump of toothpaste onto his toothbrush. Swiftly, he brushes his bright white teeth, then quickly slurps some water to rinse off the foam from the paste on his mouth.

Outside, the Cockatrice Trixie, as always, perches on top of the barn, crowing as loudly as she can, causing her to spew flames. Excited about the result of his newly planted seeds, the farmer skips a few steps as he rushes down the stairs, almost falling to his knees, but at the base of the stairs, he manages to keep himself from falling.

The automaton toaster, routinely readying the toast for the farmer, is named Fred. Fred promptly toasts the bread with a slight char, just as the farmer likes it. Fred takes a shingle of butter to spread on the toast and a sprinkle of sugar. The farmer thanks Fred for the delightful slices of toast, then devours the two pieces instantly.

The excited farmer rushes to the front door, with his pants barely hanging on and forgetting his shoes. He slams the door open, creating a loud bang that slightly frightens Trixie. The view of the enormous crops brings the farmer to his knees, and as he kneels, he shouts aloud, "TRIXIE, IT WORKED, GIRL! IT WORKED! YAHOOOOOOOOOO!" A single tear falls from his cheek. The farmer is so profoundly moved that he celebrates with Trixie.

The farmer finally calms down after a few minutes of dancing and prancing with Trixie. He goes back for his shoes, as he has only just noticed the dirt beneath his blistered feet. He finds a pair of farming boots and notices Trixie behind him, nudging him to cast the spell. "Don't you worry, gal, with these, we'll be plenty busy," the farmer responds. Trixie waits patiently by the field.

The farmer grabs a pair of claws, each several inches long and shaped like the crescent moon, sharpened to perfection. He whistles to summon Trixie, and the Cockatrice races towards the porch of the house, noticing her digging claws. Once more, she crows out of excitement. The farmer casts a spell on Trixie, enlarging her once again. Trixie stomps around the farmer, fanning her feathered wings, displaying blood-red feathers accented with smaller shimmering gold feathers at the top of her wings. She flaps her wings, blowing dust everywhere. The farmer, caught in the dust storm, says, "Alrighty, gal, stop yer gawking, and let's get to work." Trixie runs out to the field, creating an even bigger pouf of dirt clouds.

The farmer grabs the saddle, commands Trixie to stop running around, and she comes up to his face, laying gently. The farmer takes another few minutes to secure the saddle to Trixie so it won't fall as he rides on her back. The farmer rides forth upon Trixie's back as she gallops toward the crops. The farmer is shocked by the sheer size of the plants. He is flabbergasted and can't fathom how well the seedlings grew overnight. The farmer tugs on the leash of Trixie, mounted on her mouth, and she stops in front of the field, where the crops have grown so tall that they block the view he once had. The farmer grabs his hand trowel from his tool bag, strapped around his waist. He starts digging just an inch at the base of the stem of the crop, and he notices a cluster of Solanum Tubers, "potatoes," he whispers. He digs around the plant and notices heaps of varying sizes of potatoes. He grins and says, "Well, girl, we're gonna be rich!" The farmer once again jumps up and down, celebrating because he knows that his village is suffering from hunger due to the recent decline in the value of their industrial crops. The people want more silky clothes rather than cotton, which is what his village mostly grows. He thinks to himself that he has single-handedly saved the village, but he also wants to profit. The farmer then asks Trixie to call Alister the bull.

Alister the bull is an extremely muscular bison, and even with his thick fur, his bulging muscles are still visible, with astonishing definition. Alister usually hangs inside the barn, lazily sleeping most of the day, because the farmer rarely needs his help. Usually, Trixie is enough to do most of the work, but not this time. The bovine was given to the farmer for free because the previous owner thought that Alister was born prematurely, and the family thought it best to euthanize him. However, the farmer had grown attached to the extremely small calf, who was only 10 lbs when he came out but steadily increased in weight. The farmer took in the young calf, cradling him in his arms. Alister now stands 10 ft tall on all fours, weighing an astonishing 8,890 pounds. He is a beast amongst animals. Though Alister is very lazy, often just sleeping and waking up only to eat. The farmer never knew why Alister became so huge, but he never questioned why. The farmer loves Alister like his own child, but as he grew up, he had to stay in the barn for obvious reasons. Now the farmer just visits him to feed Alister. This got Alister a bit distant toward everyone. But today is different, for the first time in a year, the farmer has sent Trixie to summon Alister. Alister stands happily, as he had been waiting for the farmer to call him once more to be of use to his master.