The Curse of the Red Eyed Witch

The next morning a bright light shone in his eyes with blinding brightness. Slowly he opened his eyes and squinted against the brightness of the morning sun. His eyes didn't seem to want to focus at first. His head felt groggy and his mouth felt dry. He reached up with his hand to rub his face when he saw something that was not his hand. In front of his face were black paws. He screamed and tried to back away from the paws. Suddenly his eyes came into sharp focus; his surroundings were not what he was expecting. Bars surrounded him where walls had been before. The pungent smell of hay filled his nostrils. A wooden floor was underneath him. It slowly dawned on him he was in a cage. He looked at his body and his mind seemed to stop functioning. White hot terror coursed through his body. The circus sounds were loud and he could hear things from across the grounds. Distinct smells came to him. He distinguished each one as if it were colors and hues floating by in front of him. Mr. Crow noticed a couple of bowls over by the cage bars. He got up and stumbled over to them. In one was water and the other was a mere scrap of food. When he peered down into the water bowl what looked back at him was not his face but that of a black jaguar. He fell back in shock and horror. The red eyes once again floated in front of his face.

"No! It can't be! It's just an old circus tale!" he thought frantically.

 Suddenly an old woman stood before his cage,  silent and staring.

Finally she spoke, "Do unto others and you would have done unto you."

Mr. Crow closed his eyes and when he opened them again, she was gone. There was no trace of her, no scent and no sign. He started to pace in his cage. It was difficult at first getting used to walking on all fours. But soon he had the hang of it. He paced agitatedly looking for someone, anyone to come near. "Surely, someone will notice soon that I am not around! My circus people will save me! They love me! They fear me! They will get me out of this infernal cage," he thought as a smile crossed his lips.

Soon two handlers walked by and Mr. Crow called out to them. The only sound that left his mouth was a growl. He coughed and tried again. This time all he did was roar. One of the handlers looked over and said, "Hey, Joe, looks like the boss got a new cat." The handler called Joe looked over and said, "Poor dumb animal. It would be better off in a zoo or something. At least it would be treated better. Oh well, it's what the boss wants. "My way or the highway," Joe said, emphasizing the boss's words.

"Hey, Frank, have you seen the boss this morning?" Joe asked as they walked on by. Frank laughed and said, "Maybe the boss finally left."

Both men chuckled at the thought and Joe said, "Nah, we can only dream." Both men walked out of sight.

Mr. Crow brightened at the last statement. "Now they will notice, now I will be saved!"

Mr. Crow was just getting his hopes up when he noticed another man walking by. His heart stopped in horror. "It can't be! I am me! What is this?" He sniffed the air and could smell clay and something he had never smelled before coming from the imposter. The true Mr. Crow crouched low and a deep rumble escaped from his throat. The imposter turned and looked at him with a dead expression on his face. A mechanical smile spread across his lips. At the cold dead look from the imposter, a whimper escaped from his lips.

"Welcome, Mr. Crow, to being on this side of the bars." A low rumbling voice said from his right.

He turned his head only to see a lion looking at him from the cage next to his. The lion lay on his side staring intently at him.

"How can you talk to me? How can I hear you?" Mr. Crow asked in frustration and confusion.

"All the animals can talk to each other. At one time, humans could understand us as well. But then they decided to have their own words and thought themselves above us," the lion said with a sad expression on his face.