The Life of Oscar Otter: An Allegory of the Russian Revolution

Prologue

SNAP! There was a puff of smoke and the photographer came out from behind the camera. Mr. and Mrs. Otter relaxed from their stiff positions and praised their young son Oscar for sitting still long enough to take the picture. They walked forward in a group, with young Oscar in the middle laughing as his parents swung him back and forth.

"Thanks!" The young pup piped, looking up at the photographer.

He smiled and nodded, before he turned to Mr. Otter and said, "Please come back to collect your photo next week."

"Yes of course," Mr. Otter said in his deep voice, "see you next Sunday Mr. Fox." The fox nodded and the family turned and headed back home, Oscar skipping ahead down the path.

They arrived home and gazed lovingly at their humble two room house, before heading inside to have lunch. The Otter family was not the worst off in the villages around them. They did, after all, have a nice roof over their heads and warm blankets to keep them safe during the cold winter months. However, there were still many nights where they would go to bed, a dull ache in their stomachs as they didn't get enough to eat, despite the long hours Mr. Otter worked and the blankets Mrs. Otter sold. No, they weren't the best off, and Mr. Otter would frequently complain about his long hours for such little payout, but they were happy.

Mrs. Otter quickly went to work on the stove making dinner and Mr. Otter slumped in a chair reading that morning's paper. Oscar set the table with their one set of dishes and they said a prayer of thanks before starting their meal. They ate a humble meal of soup, rough bread, and water before washing the dishes and getting everything reset, back to the way it was. After supper, the Otter family began getting ready for bed to prepare for their long work day tomorrow. But Oscar was being difficult; he couldn't understand why they had to go to bed so early.

"Oscar Samuel Otter you get over here! Your father has a long day tomorrow and we all need to go to bed!"

"But mama! Why does he have to work all the time! It's not fair!"

"There are a lot of things in the world that aren't fair honey, but it was a lot worse before Tiger Trenton took over. Back then we had to work on Sundays too."

"Sundays too?"

"Yes, so be grateful for the time off we have now."

"Okay mama."

One week later, it was time for Mr. Otter to go back into town to pick up their picture. Oscar immediately jumped on the opportunity of going into town and asked to go with him. He agreed and they made their way back to Mr. Fox's shop. On their way, they ran into some of their neighbors who were also out on the street. They struck up a friendly conversation and Mr. Otter asked about why they were heading into town, and they explained with nervous yet excited faces.

"I'm surprised you haven't heard, Octavian!" Mrs. Lemming said, addressing Mr. Otter, "it has been the talk of the town for weeks now!" She lowers her voice to a whisper, "There's a protest at the capitol today."

"What for? Should we turn back?" Mr. Otter asked, putting his paw on Oscar's shoulder and shooting her a concerned look.

"Oh, not to worry, Octavian!" she replied smiling toward Oscar, "It's a peaceful protest, no need for violence."

Although his doubts weren't completely set at ease, he continued forward toward into town. Oscar was super excited to be going back into town. The Otters live a little ways outside of the capital, yet rarely visit it, so Oscar tried to go whenever he got the chance. He knew that that was where the Tiger was, and he knew that there was a chance, although slim, that he might see the Tiger or the Tigress while in the capital.

Oscar and his dad made their way to Mr. Fox's photography shop and picked up their picture. Then they began heading through the capital back home again. However, on their way, they saw a mass of animals forming around the palace gate. Mr. Otter knew that this must be the protest that Mrs. Lemming was talking about and although it looked peaceful, he didn't want to risk Oscar getting hurt, so he went to hurry them along.

However, Oscar had already started running toward the group of animals, because he was curious about what could be happening, not hearing Mrs. Lemming. Mr. Otter ran after Oscar, trying to get him to stop and come back, but by then it was too late, Oscar was lost in the crowd.

That was when the first shot went off and someone screamed.

Oscar, who had only been hoping for a glimpse of the Tiger, jumped in fright. His ears turned back and he covered his face with his paws. Then as more shots were fired, and more screams heard, Oscar dropped to the ground and curled up in a ball to protect himself. All the while, Mr. Otter was only looking more frantically for Oscar. He screamed and shouted his name trying to find him, but to no avail. He finally stopped when a bullet found its mark in his leg and he fell to the floor. This day, which had begun so well, was turning out to be one of the worst days of their lives.

Oscar didn't know how much time had passed, but he knew that it must have been a while, because it was dark out. He realized he must have fallen asleep or passed out at some point during the skirmish and he immediately jumped up and looked

around. What he saw would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Corpses. So many corpses, and blood. So much blood, it looked like no one besides himself had been left alive. Oscar was in shock; he didn't know how to handle the scene in front of him, so he started crying. He cried for all the animals who had died; he cried for all the familiar faces: neighbors, friends. And he cried for the strangers too, the animals who he hadn't seen until today, but with whom he still felt a connection.. He didn't know how or why this happened, but in that moment, something inside him changed.

Suddenly a thought hit him: what about his papa? Had he gotten out alive?

"Papa!" Oscar yelled, a new wave of tears making their way down his face. "Papa! Where are you?"

After receiving no answer, Oscar ran around. Not bothering to avert his eyes from the gore, he scanned each of the faces, looking for his dad. He passed countless bodies, a few barely alive, most dead.

At last, he found him. He doesn't appear to be conscious, but with a few shakes of the shoulder, Oscar was able to wake him. He cried out in pain, and clenched his wounded leg, but his eyes fill with relief at the sight of his son.

After their joyous reunion, Oscar, following his father's instructions, was able to find someone to help them. After getting Mr. Otter home, Mrs. Otter and a doctor friend of theirs worked to fix up his leg enough for it not to get infected or for him to die of blood loss. Although it was tiresome work, they managed, and Mr. Otter was on his way to recovery.

Unfortunately, even after it healed, there was something wrong with Mr. Otter's leg and he was unable to go back to work. This meant that the Otter family had to rely only on Mrs. Otter's blanket business, and on any odd jobs that Oscar could pick up.

From that day forward, the Otter family's life was much more difficult than it had been. And even though his parents assured him that it wasn't so, some part of him always blamed himself for what had happened.

Oscar went on, working as hard as he could, trying to help out his family in any way possible. He stopped going to school in order to work more, and he was always trying to find more ways to make money for his family, to support them, and in his mind, to make up for the mistake he caused.