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The story starts here:

The brigand's threat died out like an echo that rolls it's way through a valley of verdant pastures, slowly dissipating into memory and then complacence. The various excursions that had brought Cabo to this village had given him an abundance of experiences for him to ruminate upon and he preferred to spend his days thinking about all he had learned from the folks he had met upon his travels.

The trinkets and tokens he had exchanged along the way had not only allowed him to continue learning about the world. they had also been payment for the help he received and gave to others.
Now he was at a loss. it seemed that none of the lessons he learned would help him to deal with this strange new land and it's unusual customs. In the world of animals things made sense, but here among the bipeds all logic deserted him and the way that these creatures treated each other made no sense.

There are so many things a frog can understand, especially if he is as intelligent as our friend: Horses wanting to run free and a young Fish wanting to swim can all be deemed reasonable, but the strong taking advantage of the weak was something that he couldn't wrap his mind around. Even the Raven and Owls who quarreled over night and day and the Chicken who wanted a
moment's rest was more understandable to him.

We will never know just how much fortune and fate play in the lives we lead and maybe it's better that way. A frog on his way from here to there doesn't really need to know that the tree he was sitting in and the woman and children he defended would play a part in the schemes of his existence and determine yet another course of action that he himself did not know about. (But you did, I'm sure)

While the woman quickly forgot about the mysterious stranger, her calico cat did not. Cat, who spent her days either lounging in the shade in front of the house or roaming the area hunting for a snack or two now spent part of her time keeping tabs on the frog who took up residence in the tree across the road. Cabo also realized that the calico feline was watching him and did not want to become one of her mid-day meals, so he too, remained vigilant.

It came to pass that one day after returning to his spot in the tree after a leisurely swim and a walk around the village Cabo came face to face with Cat. She was sitting quite still in the crook of the branches that he usually occupied and if it weren't for the sunlight that happened to reflect from her flinty green eyes he would never had noticed that she were sitting there; so good was the camouflage of her coat.

Cabo popped up and begun to introduce himself, 'Hello. My name is..'
'Follow me', said Cat, without preamble and leapt lightly from branch to branch until she landed on the ground then trotted across the road and along the path that went to the area behind the house she lived in. She did not look back and Cabo could do nothing except follow, which is exactly what he did.
Cat was waiting for Cabo near what appeared to be a shrine and a smithy of some sort. It was clearly unused, but kept clean and manifested an appearance of dignity which neither time nor vacancy could diminish. Cabo approached and once again started to introduce himself 'I am', and once again Cat cut him off, 'The blade you are carrying does not belong to you! That makes you a thief or one of their confederates.' Cat sat down and wrapped her tail around herself and told Cabo of the blade which he inherited. 'It was one of a pair made in this house by a master sword maker many years ago and the pair of blades were to be delivered to the local baron who wanted to present them to the royal prince as a gift in celebration of his marriage. The swords were made and then before the craftsman could deliver them they were stolen from the house leaving the baron embarrassed and the sword master in disgrace for the baron never believed the swords were made and that the master was a liar of the lowest sort.'

Cabo listened as Cat continued to tell of the downfall of the house and the sorrows that befell the family. Then at one point he interrupted, 'My name is Cabo and I am no thief and none of the people I associate with are dishonorable.' The low growl that emanated from Cat told him that he was treading on dangerous ground, so he continued carefully, 'although I did not know the history of my sword I will tell you that I received it fairly and in friendship.' The frog continued. 'What of the other blade? Surely such a fine sword could hardly go unnoticed. Was the culprit ever discovered?'
Cat stood and walked toward Cabo. She circled him once and than sat down again, only this time she was much closer than Cabo would have liked. She spoke softly. You, frog are not a swordsman, for if you were, you would have known that the man you crossed blades with a short while back was holding the very sword I was telling you about.

Late into the evening Cabo and Cat discussed what had to be done to restore the family to it's rightful place and to punish the the man responsible for the misfortune that the house had suffered. This was not as easy as it sounds for the man was the leader of a group of desperate outlaws that had grown far too powerful for the local authorities to control. This put Cabo in a fairly bad way for the only way he could possibly get the sword back was to win it in a duel and there was no way he was prepared to take the life of another living being. He told this to Cat in no uncertain terms and then he made his way back to the tree. As Cabo was leaving the garden he heard the low rumbling growl of Cat, 'There is the blade of life and the blade of death. Though they are made from the same material and employed in the same manner. Their use is judged by whether they bring justice to the world or propagate evil. The choice is yours.'

Cabo did not sleep well. Cat's story bounced around in his head and prevented him from relaxing. He was not sure that any of this had anything to do with him. After all, wasn't he just passing through? Did it really matter what happened to the swords now? The family was done for and they would never be able to regain the prominence that they once held. No matter how hard the frog tried to justify his position, he knew that he had no choice in the matter. He approached Cat and asked for directions to where the brigand and his men made camp.

There really wasn't any need for convincing stories and making choices for that was all taken care of by the bandit who had returned to the village that morning to make good his word and kill the frog. He stood in the middle of the road in front of the sword master's house and bellowed up at the tree for Cabo to come down and face him.
Cabo appeared from the opposite side of the road and attracted the bandits attention with a simple; 'I am here'
The bandit immediately unsheathed the sword and Cabo saw for himself that everything Cat told him was true. Cabo also unsheathed his blade, drawing it slowly so that the bandit could get a proper look at it. A flash of both recognition and anger washed over the scoundrels face as he pointed and exclaimed, 'Where did you get that blade? It was stolen from me by a scurvy old sea monkey ages ago.' The bandit scowled. 'That is MINE! Give it to me now!'
Cabo looked at the bandit with a sad expression on his face. 'Yes I know where this blade came from and how it came to be in my possession.' He raised the tanto into a ready position and said, 'That it was stolen, there is no doubt. You will be receiving it, but not in the way you expect.' With those words the frog advanced, feinted and slashed at the bandit. The duel ensued and the adversaries tested each other's intelligence, ability and righteousness. Cat watched on as Cabo fought with the bandit. There is no need to describe all the parries, tricks and nastiness involved in such business. Let it simply be said that when all was done there was one less bandit and one very dejected frog in the middle of a dusty road that very few people travelled on anymore.

Cat went up to the outlaw and sniffed at the body that lay vivisected and bleeding from a single wound. He then started to remove the sword from the bandit's grip when a hoarse cry bellowed 'HALT!' Cabo moved forward still brandishing the tanto and spoke, 'That sword is mine not yours.'
Cat yowled and extended the claws on both front paws and retorted, 'after all you have heard; would you sink to the level of this, this...' Cat gestured to the lifeless corpse in the road then looked back at Cabo, 'and decide to keep the blades for yourself?'

'What I decide to do with the spoils of battle is up to me.' Cabo walked past Cat and picked up his sword. He also removed the scabbard that accompanied it and after a cursory wipe he slid the blade firmly into place. Then he did the same for his tanto. 'Cat,' called Cabo, 'will you take me to the Barron's castle. I have something here that belongs to him.'

Cat looked at Cabo in surprise and then smiled, turned and lead our frog up the road towards the Barron's residence where I am pretty sure he recieved something for his troubles.

The end....?



Post Stomp: The original uncut version of all the Cabo tales are quite long. It be very difficult fer me to chops them up and bring em to ya, so me be hoping you will enjoy the fable.
STOMP. Me means JUMP!