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“The First Snow Waltz” by Vixyy Fox
Today’s story is “The First Snow Waltz by Vixyy Fox. Vixyy was born into her character when she discovered the internet way back when. She is a self -taught writer, but a natural born story teller. If you like her stories, her website is: vixyyfox.com where the reading is free.
Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.
Transcript
You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.
Speaker:I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,
Speaker:and Today’s story is
Speaker:“The First Snow Waltz by Vixyy Fox.
Speaker:Vixyy was born into her character
Speaker:when she discovered the internet way back when.
Speaker:She is a self -taught writer,
Speaker:but a natural born story teller.
Speaker:If you like her stories,
Speaker:her website is: vixyyfox.
Speaker:vixyyfox.com where the reading is free.
Speaker:“The First Snow Waltz”
Speaker:by Vixyy Fox “All hail Queen Victoria!”
Speaker:Victoria Skunk came forward,
Speaker:and bowing her head just enough,
Speaker:accepted the small crown of holy berries.
Speaker:This was her mark of royalty as presented by the Mayor of their small village.
Speaker:She was now officially this year’s ‘Snow Queen’.
Speaker:Her mother had actually made some
Speaker:‘special’ arrangements to insure this coronation;
Speaker:having bribed each of the Village Elders in order to help
Speaker:with her daughter’s scheme to win back Junior Skunk’s affections.
Speaker:The old Possum placed the small circlet upon the young Skunk’s head
Speaker:and then stood back
Speaker:and bowed lavishly.
Speaker:They were in the village dance hall, and it had been completely quiet as she was named Queen.
Speaker:Almost everyone from the village was there.
Speaker:Victoria looked absolutely radiant,
Speaker:having dressed in a snow white dress that accented the shine of her black fur
Speaker:perfectly. The red of the holy berries
Speaker:and the green of the leaves in her crown looked absolutely festive.
Speaker:The occasion was the ‘First Snow’ Festival,
Speaker:held every year exactly one week after the first snow of winter arrived.
Speaker:As tradition ran,
Speaker:the celebration was ten generations old;
Speaker:exactly as long the dance hall’d been standing.
Speaker:No one was quite sure who held the first celebration,
Speaker:but it did liven an otherwise dreary existence.
Speaker:Winter was winter was winter and it would be a long time yet before spring arrived.
Speaker:The villagers now held their collective breath;
Speaker:now that there was a Snow Queen,
Speaker:a Snow King was required.
Speaker:This was the Queen’s sole choice.
Speaker:Many a mating occurred after this pick was made and the room was quickly abuzz with anticipation
Speaker:as Victoria slowly walked among her new subjects.
Speaker:Finding who she was looking for,
Speaker:she stopped walking
Speaker:and slowly pointed at her choice.
Speaker:“I choose Junior Skunk as my King,”
Speaker:she announced loudly in her sexiest voice.
Speaker:Curley Moe’s Bodacious Jug and String Band struck up the
Speaker:‘First Snow Waltz’.
Speaker:Curley Joe, a huge Brown Bear,
Speaker:gave an enormous yawn;
Speaker:having stayed up well beyond his winter bedtime just for this occasion.
Speaker:With his thimbled fingers,
Speaker:he tapped out the rhythm for the waltz on the wash board strapped to his big chest.
Speaker:As the band played,
Speaker:all eyes went to Junior Skunk.
Speaker:It was now his turn to move forward to his Queen
Speaker:so she could place a similar crown upon his head.
Speaker:They would then dance this most important dance
Speaker:as a couple. At its completion
Speaker:everyone present would then pair off and a Square dance Caller would take over.
Speaker:That, at least, had been the way of every “First Snow Festival’ up until
Speaker:now. “I decline!” Junior said loudly.
Speaker:He was obviously embarrassed,
Speaker:and most thought he was just being overly shy.
Speaker:The pair had been romantically involved the preceding summer,
Speaker:so the paring was only too obvious.
Speaker:Curley Joe stopped playing,
Speaker:and his band followed suite.
Speaker:“You can’t decline,”
Speaker:the Mayor called back happily.
Speaker:He’d been into the eggnog,
Speaker:and someone apparently, to the delight of many,
Speaker:had spiked it with something tasting a bit like turpentine.
Speaker:“Tradition says you have to now come forward and kiss the Queen.
Speaker:Next years good harvest depends on it!”
Speaker:Victoria smiled evilly,
Speaker:though only one other person in the room seemed to notice.
Speaker:That person, the little girl Cat standing next to Junior,
Speaker:squinted her eyes in anger.
Speaker:She wanted to yell out, ‘He’s
Speaker:mine!’, but she held her tongue
Speaker:knowing that at a time like this, what she thought and felt
Speaker:mattered little to the village as a whole.
Speaker:Curley Moe began tapping away on his wash board again.
Speaker:His band followed suite,
Speaker:once again beginning to play ‘The First Snow Waltz’.
Speaker:Junior found himself being pushed forward by many paws
Speaker:and though he struggled against it, he rapidly lost ground.
Speaker:“I can’t!” he yelled out as loud as he could.
Speaker:Curley Joe sighed and stopped playing.
Speaker:His band followed their leader and once again things became quiet.
Speaker:“Are you saying you’re married?”
Speaker:asked the Mayor in an equally loud voice.
Speaker:This was the only thing that could possibly prevent someone from being King when they were chosen.
Speaker:There was a rash of loud laughter
Speaker:since everyone present knew Junior was quite single.
Speaker:The dance hall then became
Speaker:completely silent
Speaker:as everyone waited for his answer.
Speaker:The villagers were collectively enjoying the melodrama playing out for them.
Speaker:“No… I’m not married,”
Speaker:he replied to the question.
Speaker:“But…” Curley Moe began tapping away on his wash board again,
Speaker:and his band followed suite,
Speaker:playing loudly and drowning Junior’s protest.
Speaker:Once again, the young Skunk found himself being pushed forward.
Speaker:Victoria Skunk was smiling at him openly,
Speaker:and though she only stood with her arms held out to him, the poor youth’s mind saw her standing there rubbing her small breasts and licking her lips in anticipation.
Speaker:He was to be sexual food for the Queen of the First Snow;
Speaker:and then who knew what.
Speaker:It had been known to happen.
Speaker:He had been told this was so by
Speaker:his friends and all of them prayed to be named.
Speaker:“I can’t!” he yelled again,
Speaker:flopping to the floor in an attempt to get away from all of the pushing paws.
Speaker:Curley Joe sighed and stopped playing.
Speaker:His band followed, coming to a stop one by one.
Speaker:The Bear yawned a huge yawn,
Speaker:and staggered slightly as if he was going to fall off of the small stage.
Speaker:Signaling the Mayor over, he whispered in his ear.
Speaker:The old Possum nodded in giddy agreement.
Speaker:“Due to the fact that our band is about to collapse,”
Speaker:he announced loudly,
Speaker:“I will ask you one last time Junior Skunk;
Speaker:what is the reason that you so declare that you can’t dance with the fair Queen Victoria?
Speaker:I am sure she has plans for you after the dance,
Speaker:and I for one cannot think of a better coupling… ”
Speaker:He paused, seeming to catch what he had just said.
Speaker:“Coupling…” He giggled and took another drink of his eggnog.
Speaker:“Did I just say coupling? I meant match… you all know I meant match.”
Speaker:There was much laughing, and many elbows found accompanying ribs in the enjoyment of the joke.
Speaker:Victoria stepped lightly to the Mayor,
Speaker:her tail perfectly combed and looking so absolutely beautiful
Speaker:that everyone present wondered at Junior’s reluctance.
Speaker:Leaning forward, she whispered quietly to him.
Speaker:He giggled again and rubbed at his ear.
Speaker:“That tickled,” he said,
Speaker:“And I am indeed jealous of this young Skunk you chose.
Speaker:Now then… what was that again my
Speaker:dear little Skunkette?”
Speaker:“Mistletoe,” she said loudly,
Speaker:and this time she did look at Lucy Cat.
Speaker:There was no covering her look of triumph.
Speaker:Junior had to kiss her if there was mistletoe.
Speaker:She had won, and she was excited by this thought.
Speaker:“A splendid idea!” the Mayor declared.
Speaker:“Anyone… where is the mistletoe? Let it be brought forth and the declared King shall be kissed by his Queen!”
Speaker:A sprig of mistletoe was brought out dangling down from the stick upon which it had been tied.
Speaker:It was placed directly in front of Junior’s face where he sat upon the floor,
Speaker:and then pulled up just out of the way.
Speaker:Victoria, with the help of the Mayor,
Speaker:demurely knelt down in front of him.
Speaker:Curley Moe began tapping away on his wash board again
Speaker:beginning ‘The First Snow Waltz’,
Speaker:and his band fired up one more time.
Speaker:“I forgive you Junior,”
Speaker:the pretty little Skunk whispered.
Speaker:“I’m certainly glad of that Victoria,”
Speaker:he whispered back,
Speaker:“But…” She grabbed his head and was about to still his protest with a huge…
Speaker:soft… sensual kiss
Speaker:when a great glob of mashed potatoes caught her square in the face.
Speaker:There was a collective gasp from everyone present,
Speaker:and then there was food flying from every direction.
Speaker:Within seconds, as Curley Moe’s Bodacious Jug Band played the required song for the occasion,
Speaker:there occurred the largest food fight in the recorded history of the village.
Speaker:Victoria’s crown was knocked from her head and trampled upon.
Speaker:Junior, savvy enough to stay on the floor, was still covered with blueberry pie guts.
Speaker:The Mayor, at first ducking the deluge of mashed potatoes,
Speaker:flung what was left of his eggnog and hit his wife, and former Snow Queen, square in the chest with it.
Speaker:She, in turn, found herself in possession of a sweet potato pie,
Speaker:and promptly pushed it into his face.
Speaker:In the end, order was only restored by the decree that everyone must leave,
Speaker:and that the women folk would all come back the following morning for the clean up.
Speaker:The male critters were to come at the same time,
Speaker:bur meet at the town hall to discuss what had happened (a
Speaker:little veiled and clearly understood notion
Speaker:that all should bring a jug
Speaker:and they would have a good laugh). ---------------
Speaker:On the walk home,
Speaker:Junior Skunk and Lucy Cat walked ahead while their parents followed at a discrete distance.
Speaker:Regardless of the cold,
Speaker:both of them removed a glove
Speaker:and held paws as they walked. Skunk Scanectity said to Cat Frothenshire, good naturedly,
Speaker:“Ya got a good right arm there Frothy;
Speaker:pretty handy with the pickled cabbage I saw.”
Speaker:His voice made a cloud in the chill air,
Speaker:which was illuminated by the full of the moon.
Speaker:“As you do yourself Old Sir,”
Speaker:replied the feline good naturedly,
Speaker:“I believe I saw your paw in the bean bowl.
Speaker:That made for a messy throw didn’t it?”
Speaker:“That it did. I also noticed that our wives didn’t do too badly in the ruckus,”
Speaker:the old farmer added.
Speaker:After saying this he received a slap to the back of his head by Bella.
Speaker:She and Catalina followed just behind the men.
Speaker:Both were heavily wrapped up in woolen shawls.
Speaker:“Speak for yourself…
Speaker:and only for yourself Skunk,” she told her husband.
Speaker:“I baked a good few of those ruined pies.
Speaker:Not likely I would have spoiled my own work.”
Speaker:“This is true, my fine wife,”
Speaker:he replied with a laugh,
Speaker:“But I did see you chuck a good many belonging to the other wives.”
Speaker:Bella let that one go with a shrug of her shoulders.
Speaker:“Self defense,” she told him. “It still
Speaker:remains to be seen who actually started the fracas,”
Speaker:Thomas said, good naturedly.
Speaker:“Who ever it was, I am greatly in their debt for the sake of our Lucy, and your Junior.”
Speaker:Catalina Cat remained strangely quiet.
Speaker:This of course, caused the other three in her company
Speaker:to look at her questioningly.
Speaker:In the moonlight reflecting off of the fresh snow,
Speaker:her face was clearly food splattered;
Speaker:and much more so than the rest of them.
Speaker:Scanectity smiled and said softly,
Speaker:“It was you that threw the mashed potatoes at Queen Victoria wasn’t it?”
Speaker:“I had to do something,”
Speaker:she replied. “My poor Lucy is so smitten with your Junior…
Speaker:well… I just had too.” Bella put a paw on the Cat’s shoulder
Speaker:and told her, “If you hadn’t,
Speaker:I certainly would have.”
Speaker:“As would I,” laughed Thomas.
Speaker:They all looked at Scanectity,
Speaker:who had not said anything.
Speaker:He chuckled. “Yes I saw.
Speaker:My paw was already in the bean bowl, but they don’t throw quite as well as mashed potatoes.”
Speaker:He winked at Alice,
Speaker:“So I kinda figured I’d just back you up.”
Speaker:Catalina smiled at him.
Speaker:“Lucy stole the crowns,” she said softly.
Speaker:“In that case,” Scanectity told her,
Speaker:“I would venture a guess that the ‘new’ Snow Queen will be paying our house a visit this night…
Speaker:which is the first stop on the way home in any case.
Speaker:Due to the inclement weather, I will suggest that your family stay with my family this night.”
Speaker:“Coffee, pie, and a clean up,”
Speaker:Bella chimed in. “Done,”
Speaker:Thomas said, taking his wife’s paw,
Speaker:“We would be delighted, wouldn’t we dear?”
Speaker:As Junior and Lucy walked,
Speaker:they heard the voices of their parents singing
Speaker:‘The First Snow Waltz’.
Speaker:Without a word, they went from holding paws to walking arm in arm…
Speaker:she with her head on his shoulder,
Speaker:and both of them wearing their crowns of holly berries.
Speaker:This was “The First Snow Waltz”
Speaker:by Vixyy Fox, read for you by Khaki,
Speaker:your faithful fireside companion.
Speaker:You can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,
Speaker:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Thank you for listening
Speaker:to The Voice of Dog.
