The Giant Egg

     Once upon a time. . . *cough cough* (blows nose and wipes eyes.)

     These awful allergies! I have the Neowart Fungus growing outside my door, and I am one of those rare people with a severe allergic reaction to the spores of the Neowart Fungus! *cough cough*

     Close the door, will you?

     Now, on with the story.

      Once upon a time, there was an egg. if such a thing exists, please tell me. This story was told to me by my Peophin, Arethien. Now, where was I?

     Oh, yes.

      Once upon a time, there was an egg. Now, this was a huge and enormous egg, laid possibly by the Beast, who lives in its lair on the Tyrannian Plateau. This egg lay on the Tyrannian Plateau, and baked in the hot sun. Considering it was the month of Relaxing, it had every right to bake. Now, the good pets of Tyrannia were very worried that if this egg should hatch, another monster would wreak havoc in Neopia. So they transported the egg (don't ask me how!) to Meridell, where the temperatures were more moderate and wet. In this time, Meridell was empty, yet very fertile. Meri Acres had just been established, and they were very unhappy with their new predicament, but what could they do? Considering there were no other pets in Meridell, it was indeed the most logical place in all of Neopia to put this enormous egg.

      Soon this egg began to turn yellow.

     Eh!? Oh, a mottled green, you say? Whatever, Arethien!

     Now, where was I? Oh!

     Soon this egg began to turn a mottled green.

     Now the good pets of Meri Acres as well as some new settlers (namely the Ixis) thought their worries were over. For surely the egg was rotten!!

     But soon a periodic rumbling began coming from the egg that sounded much like sneezing-

     What, Arethien!? Oh. Snoring, you say? All right then.

     Soon a periodic rumbling began coming from the egg that sounded much like snoring . The pets of Meridell decided, after holding a great counsel over which a young but crafty and clever Ixi (named Sinsi) presided - over Illusen the earth faerie! - that they would crack open the egg. Hopefully the unborn monster within would die, and Meridell would be rid of this presumed plague on the land.

     But this was not to be. When they hired Judge Hog to crack the egg open with a large and sturdy marrow (provided free of charge!) this particular marrow burst open, and its seeds were scattered all over Meri Acres. The seeds sprouted and Meri Acres had the brilliant idea to start a Guess the Weight of the Marrow contest with the descendants of this huge marrow, named 'Old Bessie'.

      An angry and embarrassed Judge Hog went away to Faerieland, where they say that he had a rather nice vacation. :)

      When Judge Hog came back, the egg was already open!! He was very surprised when everybody said that Alton Moughbry did it. Good old Alton was in charge of the potato counting, which really wasn't a muscle building job, if you think about it. But dull Alton said he had lifted some pretty heavy potatoes and marrows in his time (which sounded strange coming from a Kacheek merely a year old!!). And VOILA!! The egg cracked open, and what should tumble out but the Turmaculus!

      Now, this sounded a bit fishy, so I went ferreting around and hired an Ixi Private Eye. This clever and curious Ixi also went ferreting around and what should she uncover but a young Alton's diary!! The incriminating excerpt is enclosed :

     Month of Celebrating, Y1 -

     Tonight the Egg hatched. I was pounding away with the deformed but sturdy potato ( I could almost hear it wailing as it THUNKed against the Egg! *sob*) when I heard a funny tapping noise. I moved aside and watched as a tiny crack, thin as a Spyder's web (those things are scary! Eight legs! Who needs them all???) began to encircle the Egg. Fascinated, I followed it. It was almost as fun as counting potatoes! Soon a high, steady chirping began issuing from the Egg, and the Egg started rocking. With a mighty heave, the monster inside broke free from the shell and reared its head up, and swiveled it around completely, stopping when its eyes fastened on me. Terrified, I scampered away into my bed and snuggled in between the potato sack sheets. I had left the darling potato there!! For once, my fear overcame my love for potatoes. I remained in bed, and upon awakening, told all of Meridell that I had cracked the Egg. They all believed me, too!! It shows their irrefutable trust in me, a trust which I have betrayed. My conscience will hound me forever. I turn to my potatoes for solace.

      - Alton Moughbry, Potato Counter of Meri Acres Farm, Meridell

      The Turmaculus then was wise, wide-awake, rich, and HUNGRY! So the residents of Meridell fed the Turmaculus food in return for knowledge and rare items. Pets from all over Neopia journeyed to Meridell to see this amazing King of all Petpets, which weren't very common then. . . (He especially enjoyed the exotic foods from places such as Tyrannia, the Lost Desert, and Mystery Island - he always wanted to go to the great festival of Gadsgadsbogen but never got to, because he fell asleep before then.)

      Soon Meridell was populated with many races of pets and their owners and became a rather desirable home for all, especially evil, considering the number of ruthless, evil tyrants that Meridell has had and overthrown since then. Of course, many pets have been taken traveling to Meridell with their petpets, who wish to pay homage to their great, slumbering King lying in the middle of Meridell.

     Meridell has grown much since then.

      Illusen lives in her private glade, far away from the Dark Faerie Jhudora. Sinsi has made up a game. Her favorite saying is now ' Hello, kind pet, and welcome to my code game. . .'

     Hmm. . . I wonder if Meridell will ever be free of the Darigan Citadel!!

      One might say that the Turmaculus brought a curse to Meridell, whether unknowingly or purposefully. Others argue, saying that the Turmaculus is a blessing - when it's awake. For the great Turmaculus, King of all Petpets, has fallen asleep from his full stomach. Only if your petpet awakes him - and he stays awake - will Meridell be free of evil tyrants.

      Oh, yes, and what of Alton Moughbry, you ask? Well, when I confronted him about this piece of evidence, he confessed his pardonable lie. He said he only wanted some glory. Judge Hog is happy that Alton didn't best him, and the Turmaculus is still sleeping. Dull but peaceful old Alton is now getting his share of glory in Meri Acres, counting a whopping 7,894 potatoes in a mere 2 hours. Of course, he is trying to beat that. I suggest you go on over and help him. He still works at Meri Acres, in Meridell. Meridell is still a rather pleasant and green place, full of simple games and pure fun. Right off the coast is Roo Island. The Blumaroos and Ixis coexist peacefully, despite the everpresent Darigan Citadel which will hopefully be overthrown.

      You know, I once heard that the King of Brightvale as well as the Brain Tree were going to visit the Turmaculus, with great gifts of food, but then the King of all Petpets fell asleep from his own gluttony, and the two wise beings turned around without any new knowledge except that which they obtained from the other.

The End