Sharky The Pirate

First Pirate Encaunter

Like every tale, this one too begins... Once upon a time, in a distant year found somewhere between the years, there was a kingdom. But don't think it was any kingdom we humans imagine, with kings and queens, princes, princesses, castles, dragons, and the like... no.. it was a different kind of kingdom. A kingdom of peace and tranquility, where familial warmth reigned, and the king and queen lived happily in a rural barn along with their possums.

Life there was wonderful. Father Ben would rise each morning before the sunrise and get to work, which mainly involved gathering the much-needed calories for the family. Their diet was diverse, and given that the field offered everything needed, it wasn't particularly hard to fill the children's bellies, even saving a little for rainy days.

Mother Sue, on the other hand, took care of the family's comfort and the children's education, and sometimes even Father Ben's, especially in the fall when the fruits had fallen from the trees and the master of the house had collected them in large containers to prepare medicinal decoctions and drinks that only Father Ben truly appreciated.

Reading was the family's favorite pastime. You might think that possums are not particularly intelligent, but in Grandma Ruth's family, there were no illiterates. She was exceptionally strict, or at least she thought so, and she placed great importance on good manners and fluent reading. Therefore, every evening she would gather the family around her, open the next weathered book, and start to read. Quite often, she would fall asleep and someone else had to finish the story, but the important thing was that the family immersed themselves together in the world of fire-breathing dragons and brave heroes who feared nothing in the name of justice.

These tales instilled in our hero the feelings of honor and responsibility, which, although they constantly got him into trouble, still gave direction to his life and gave him hope that one day he too would be described in a heroic book.

And so, the days rolled on, like a river through the valley, slowly and without much incident, until one day, or rather one night, something terrible happened.

Robbers. Who would have thought that someone would dare to attack the farm? After all, it was guarded by the fiercest, bravest, and most terrifying guard that ever existed? For little Benny, the guard dog Spike, or as he liked to call him - Sheriff Spike, was the biggest monster he had ever seen. Spike was actually very kind, loved the children, and didn't mind the possum family living in the barn. They made sure no snakes came near, there were no insect pests, and the food they ate was so scarce that nobody noticed a few missing loaves of bread or a jug of raspberry wine throughout the year. But on this day, Spike realized that the world is full of evil people who wouldn't hesitate to slit someone's throat just to get their hands on a gold coin or a bag of meat. Such were the pirates, and the wolf pirates who visited the farm that night were the worst of them.

They hadn't come just looking for gold, they had come to take everything valuable, including their food reserves for the winter. Spike was tied up so he couldn't escape and bring help, while the pirates began to suffocate and rummage through every corner of the farm. Every valuable item, be it gas lamps or silver forks and spoons, every bag of flour, and every can were carried away in the pirates' sacks. There was no room, cupboard, or pantry that wasn't ransacked. Spike painfully watched what was happening and just hoped the wolves wouldn't sniff out the possum family. They lived under the floor of the barn, and the smell of manure and hay masked their tracks. The wolves were greedy for loot and perhaps only that diverted them from the barn, which had nothing valuable for them.

When everything was over, Spike thanked fate for keeping him alive. Actually, it wasn't exactly fate, but the greed of the wolves, who, arguing over who could take a larger bag, had completely forgotten to finish off their captive. Thus, the farm remained empty, the rooms disheveled, the wardrobes and cupboards wide open, some even broken. However, Father Ben's family survived. The pirates had not sniffed out their home and hadn't touched the two most precious things to them. Life and their food reserves for the winter.
After the robbers left, Father Ben and little Benny gathered the courage to come out from under the barn. Their astonishment at how the rich, bright, and cozy farm had turned into an emptied, cold, and gloomy house was immense. Their hearts pounded fiercely, and their little eyes barely held back the grief, but all that changed the moment they found Sharkey alive. The poor thing was tied up and beaten like a stray dog, but he was alive.

In the following few days, Spike spent his time with the possum family. Fortunately, they had food reserves not for one, but for five winters, which was more than enough to keep everyone alive through the particularly chilly winters in the farm's valley. And after Sharkey fully regained his strength, he set about restoring the farm. Spike, as well as the possum family, lived as if nothing had happened. By some strange trick of consciousness, they were swept up in the flow of life, or perhaps more accurately, the life of certain hoofed species. In other words, they were engulfed by the whirlpool of everyday normality, which smoothly ironed out every life wrinkle. Everyone went back to their old lives, everyone except little Benny.

The events with the pirates changed his life. From that day, Sheriff Spike was no longer the biggest monster for little Benny. From that day, he began to dream of becoming a pirate. He decided that as soon as the opportunity arose, he would venture into the wide world in search of fortune, but as a pirate. Not just any pirate, not one who robs defenseless farms like those miserable wolf pirates, but a real one, one who crosses the seven seas and fears nothing. One who plunders the immeasurable treasures of lords and distributes them to the families of his crew. A pirate-hero. That's how Benny saw himself. Every day, he played pirate games, made himself a hat, and found a real weapon. Well, it was actually an old rusty butter knife, but for him, it was a pirate sword imbued with the blood of his enemies. From that winter, little Benny was no longer Benny; he became the terror of the seven seas, he became Pirate Sharky.