The Tale of the Buck Who Loved Only Himself

[[.Lady of Shalott.]]

Nightsong sat down with his wayward child. She was far too egocentric for her own good, and was turning into a spiteful doe, all in the chase for being the most beautiful and having the most beautiful. It simply would not do.

"Daughter, have you heard the story of the buck called Narcissus?" he asked her, not sure of her response.

"Yes, Father, I heard it from a doe I met. It's about some beautiful buck who gets turned into a beautiful flower. It made me think about what flower I would be," she responded. As an afterthought, she said, "Probably more beautiful, though."

Nightsong mentally sighed. He would have to tell this tale, then.

"Let me tell it to you again, and hope you hear it properly, this time:

'Before the buck himself, a Narcissus was not a flower. The flower we know today as the Narcissus was called by a different name.

I do not profess to be knowledgeable about the dreaming of a kimeti still in the sac, but I know that Narcissus dreamed of a lake long since dried up, that lay near the very center of the Motherfather's domain. It was treacherous to get there, and there were not many kimeti to return, but those that did said it was the sweetest tasting water they had ever drank.

However, that story does not concern us. This one does.

Narcissus was such a beautiful buck, that by the time he came of age every kimeti within a cicada-song was in love with him. He, however, spurned them all, content with only himself.

There was a poor doe named Echo who loved him more than all the rest. She was cursed by the Motherfather, however, so that she could only repeat what was said to her.

So when she followed Narcissus as he walked through the swamp, she could only repeat his queries, and after rushing to him and being rejected by the vain buck, she was reduced to nothing but her voice. It is her that yells back in your voice, when you hear it.

After this heartbreak, Echo's mother cursed Narcissus to fall in love with the first kimeti he saw. Unbeknownst to him, he checked his reflection, and fell so in love with himself that he was rooted to the spot. He died there, daughter, starved from not being able to leave his relfection alone. From his body sprung the flower we now call the Narcissus, in his honor, but was once called the Golden Flower, which, if it bloomed on the New Year, would give the finder luck.

But now we know the flower through the tale of the buck who loved only himself.'

Do you understand now, Daughter?"

Instead of waiting to guage her response, he nuzzled her gently and walked away.

Streaked-Sky was left there puzzling over the answer. It obviously wasn't about a pretty flower, but she'd have to think about it more.