No idea; that's why I asked. I'll start posting these over shortly, but first, one more. Let's meet the current Pope!
The Tale of the Cats and the Possum
The nervous young priest hovered for a moment at the door of the sixth Pope-in-Exile before he knocked. “Your, your Holiness, sir, it's M-Mark. Do you have a moment, sir?”
“I do. Enter, Brother Mark.” The priest entered, and Pope Luther was already gesturing at a chair. “Please, sit. How are you and your wife settling in?”
“Oh, oh we-we're fine, sir” he stammered. “I mean, we've been h-here a few months, uh...and Lee's seeing the, the midwife, and the baby should be, uh, due in a month, and, your Holiness, uh...”
“Some tea?” Pope Luther had his hand on a kettle. “It has cooled a bit but should still be a little warm.” Brother Mark sputtered a bit, unable to figure out if it was more polite to say yes or no (having the Pope pour him tea!) so Luther went ahead and poured a cup, and pushed it to the priest. “Please, drink.” Mark did; it was indeed lukewarm, but still smelled of the dried herbs it was made from.
“Brother Mark, please calm down. You don't need to be awed by me all the time. Leave the formalities for ceremonies. Maybe your child will be a playmate with my newest granddaughter.” He sipped his tea. “What did you need to speak about?”
“I hope it's not a waste of your time, sir.” Mark drank some more tea and took a breath.
“It's, it's sort of theological. Something the children are saying.”
One of the Pope's eyebrows lifted slightly. “What is it?”
“This-maybe it's too silly. But the children were telling a story to each other. That in the Garden of Eden, Jesus came to give them all a warning and a blessing, but it took so long and the animals didn't understand so when Jesus got to the furry animals, most of 'em and Adam and Eve had wandered off. Only the cats all curled up to listen, and Mr. Possum was so scared that he passed out. And that's why only they got fully Blessed.”
The Pope thought a moment, then nodded. “I think I remember that. Something about the Lord laughing with the possum so the fainting would protect him.”
“Yes, your Holiness, and it's not theologically sound, and I told the children but Sister Madi-”
The Pope did not sigh or give a sign of his thoughts, which were, Mark, not this sort of thing again. “Did you have possums in Canada?”
“We, we knew about possums.”
“They are weird, silly creatures who strangely don't get the Plague, so there is a weird, silly story why. Brother Mark, it is a children's story, told by children to other children, forgotten when they go to their apprenticeships or back to their farms. I heard it as a boy but had forgotten it until you mentioned it now.”
“Sir, but it's not a proper Christian story.”
Please don't make me have to explain Ojibwe spirits and angels again.“No, but it's harmless. I assume Sister Madi told you, we don't have the time or manpower to worry about these sorts of trivial things.”
“She did.” Brother Mark looked deflated.
The Pope put a hand on the priest's shoulder. “Brother Mark, I understand your concern, but you must look to greater things. Humanity barely survives on our lakes, by the grace of God and the skin of our teeth. Our thoughts must be towards survival. Perhaps, if we can clean more areas, double our population, get some more breathing room, make contact with the east, we can worry about nitpicky details like this. You are young; maybe you will see that day, if it still bothers you.” He rose, and moved towards the door to show the priest out.
Brother Mark rose. “Thank you, your Holiness, for hearing me.”
“You're welcome, Brother Mark. God bless you and your family.” And I need to work on these dangerous doctrinaires.
Poll
