A New Life on Wodlen

[shrinkingman]

Furry story. A gift for Tyrox on FurAffinity. Wodlen is a world of 70 ft tall anthro furries.

1
Chris walked along a river in New Hampshire. There were tall trees and a park. He had moved with his family from
England to the U.S. He was sixteen years old and a bit shy and was not making too many friends at his new school
but somehow inside he felt he didn't belong there. Even England might not be right for me, he thought. There's someplace
where I'd like to be but I don't know where.

Suddenly he heard a noise and noticed a large figure moving in the path between the trees...he darted off to the side
and saw a titanic pair of red-colored paws; above them, a red and white tail and an immense torso topped off by
the face of a gigantic anthro fox. He was frightened for a moment and almost thought of jumping into the river and
escaping. Then the fox spoke.

He looked down at the tiny creature and bent down slightly. "Hello...don't worry, little friend, I don't intend to hurt you."
Chris was alarmed that the giant could speak, and speak English for that matter.

"Uh...yes, thank you--for, for not hurting me, I..."

The fox chuckled warmly. "I'm glad they taught me your language...my name is Vardi and I'm from planet Wodlen.
Some Earthlings have visited us and now it's our turn to visit you; sorry I'm so big."

He extended a cupped paw down and pointed toward it. "Want to come aboard? I'd like to talk to you..."

What the hell, Chris thought. He hoped he could trust the creature. With that, he stepped on top of the paw and was soon whisked up about 50 feet (the fox was just over 70 feet tall, and the paw was being held at chest height).

"I...don't drop me, please--"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm careful..."

"I'm Chris from Earth." He said it matter of factly, as he might talk to someone from Concord New Hampshire or
Liverpool England. To a fellow human of Earth.

"I see a clearing over there, Chris...let me take you there..." Indeed there was a meadow with a small picnic area
where he could sit down cross-legged. Once he did, he held his paw against his chest and noted that Chris was sitting
cross-legged himself, on his paw. Chris looked up at the massive face--impossibly large ears, red and white fur,
and a big black nose at the end of a snout.

Vardi told him that he had landed his small spacecraft a short distance away and was out for a walk. "I was hoping not to shock anyone; you seem to be pretty brave."

"Thank you--I'm, well, trying to be. I don't know if you can find too many others like me--I mean, most people would be scared of you."

"I'd imagine so, and if I were in your paws I'd feel the same way."

"Is everyone a fox on Wodlen?"

"We have different types of animals. I have been taught the Earth names--foxes, raccoons, dogs. Nothing like you,
though. Have been told you're a 'human'."

"We have those animals here too but they aren't smart--I mean, they...don't dress or talk as you do."

"Been told that, too."

"It must be wonderful on your planet--I mean, for someone like me it would be neat."

Vardi looked puzzled. "You'd want to be on a planet of giants?"

"Why, yes. Somehow I don't feel right here...there's some place I've dreamed of that's different, with giant animals."

"From what I've seen so far, Earth isn't much different from Wodlen--other than having humans and such."

"I think it would be fun to live on Wodlen--with peop--er, animals like you."

Vardi chuckled. "You haven't even been there yet, so I'm not sure you know what you'd be in for if you were to..."

"Could you take me back? I'd like to give it a try..."

Chris recalled the experience some time later. He had gotten Vardi to promise to come back to the spot in three
days, after Vardi had met some more humans. He asked him again if he was sure he wanted to do this,
and Chris had said it was.

So here it was that he lay in his bed, wearing a red T-shirt, grey sweatpants and grey socks. He was recalling the
moment he met Vardi...and then he heard a noise outside, loud pawsteps. He got out of bed and looked out the window...

...of his dollhouse.

It was on the table in a den at Vardi's house, and the pawsteps were of a nine year old fox cub. He ran toward the
table holding the dollhouse and looked at Chris' face in the window. The cub giggled.

He was about 54 feet tall, wearing a T-shirt and shorts. Chris bent down to put on his sneakers.

The dollhouse had a living room, kitchen, and makeshift bathroom downstairs. Upstairs were two bedrooms. A Wodlenian-sized mp3 player was in one bedroom, loaded with "Wodlenian and English", a program to teach him the native
language; developed by a Professor Ungorp Vulpa of a nearby university. He would learn the language but for now
the animals around him learned a bit of English to make it easier for him.

"OK, Yoniged I'm coming down--stop that! Please!"

The cub was reaching through the window for Chris. He ran down the hall and half ran, half tripped down the stairs.

"You know what your father said--be easy on me!"

Chris flung open the door and went across the table, being careful not to fall off. It was about a 35 foot drop to the floor.
He looked down at Yoniged's legs which ended with nine-foot-long footpaws. Chris saw an even larger body show up
next to the boy's, with legs and paws more than a bit larger.

"You know he's not a toy, not a doll or anything," said Vardi. "And just because you're bigger..."

"I'm careful with him," said Yoni in Wodlenian. Chris felt the cub's paw reach around him to pick him up.

"Hey!", he exclaimed.

"I told you not to--" Vardi gave a small slap to his son on his tail--nothing harmful, more like a quick jab to get his attention. Such a blow given to a human might have killed him. "Put him down again."

The boy did that, releasing his grip--and dropping Chris in the process. The fast-reacting Vardi cupped his paws
and Chris fell about eight or nine feet down into them.

"Sorry," mumbled the boy.

"And him?"

"Huh?"

"Say you're sorry to him, too."

Chris looked up at the towering figures over him; masses of fur, weighing mega tons; and he was just a skinny
little human with arms and legs the boy could snap like twigs.

"Yeah, sorry..."

Vardi shook his head. "He wanted to come here and you treat him like he's..."

Chris stood up on Vardi's cupped paws, trying not to lose his balance. "Yoni, do you have big animals push you around at school?," Chris asked the boy.

"Yes..."

"That's not right is it, just because they're bigger. So you know what it's like to be bullied."

"Guess so. But it's different, like..."

"Why is it different?"

"Well, you're not an animal like us..."

Vardi rolled his eyes. He gently put Chris on top of the table and crouched down to see his son a bit more eye-to-eye.

"You're smarter than that, son; just because he's small and a different type of animal and not from Wodlen...he's smart
and no different than us."

"But he can fit into my lunch box...." Yoniged giggled. "And he can swim in the sink..."

"Yoni, just please be careful with me," said Chris. He shook his head; if he were a Wodlenian he'd be towering over Yoniged and wouldn't have to worry about this kind of stuff. "I wanted to come here and live with Wodlenians..."

"Not every family has an Earthling--and he's not a pet, remember, he's a good friend to all of us."

Yoniged smiled. "Can I pick you up...nicely?"

"Yes,' said Chris.
The boy cupped his paws and Chris stepped into them. He curled his right paw gently around the human, using the left paw as a kind of backup; Chris gazed up at both Yoni and Vardi.

"Yeah, I'm sorry that I picked you up like that."

"Thank you...and by the way, if I were a bit bigger I'd protect you from the bullies at school."

This made Yoni laugh.

"But I guess," Chris replied, "I'll have to settle for having you guys protect me."

2
A short while later Chris began attending the equivalent of high school on Wodlen; later there would be college. He insisted on it. Vardi's son Yoniged would bring him there (it was about three city blocks away from Vardi's home, a huge distance for an Earthling but it took just a few minutes for a nine year old fox like Yoni). He was introduced to the class and one raccoon came right over to him, curious and friendly,

Trenno was a thin, 71 foot tall raccoon, sixteen years of age just like Chris ("thin" but of course his weight was many tons).
His head (triangle-shaped if one got a side view of it) was topped by ears that looked like inverted "U"s; a black mask surrounded his eyes, and a long snout ended with a big black nose. His fur was a blend of black, brown and spots of white and a massive ringed tail protruded from the tail-hole of his short pants.

Chris had been studying up on his Wodlenian and was getting pretty good at it. For a brief second he was fearful of
the raccoon but there was something about the boy's smile and wagging tail that appealed to him.

"Hello little guy! Yip-yip-yoo ('wow, this is great'), you're the first 'Earthling' I've seen...you're cute."

"Hello...I'm Chris..."

"My name is Trenno--would you like to step into my paw? We have a little time to talk before class starts...I'll take you back to my desk."

"Sure..."

Trenno carefully held Chris in his paw and walked back to his school desk, which had a couple books and a netbook
computer on it.

"Who brought you to Wodlen?"

"A fox named Vardi--he is an 'explorer'. I'm staying with his family now. I wanted to come here."

"So he didn't kidnap you, eh? You wanted to come to such a big planet as ours?"

"Yes, I didn't feel 'right' on Earth. People--humans--were okay, I guess, but somehow I felt out of place. And I love
giant animals."

Trenno laughed. He gave a friendly touch to Chris' chest. "It's so weird, you not having fur--other than on your head--
and no tail."

"We call the head-fur 'hair'. Yes, I must seem strange to you plus being so small. We do have animals like you on
Earth." He looked around at the various foxes, ferrets, wolves, raccoons, and badgers in the class. "But they walk
on four legs, don't dress, don't talk...don't talk as you do here. We humans are the dominant animal on Earth."

"And there have never been humans here, other than you and some others I've heard of."

A couple animals went over to Trenno and Chris, interested in the raccoon's new friend.

"Yip-yip-yoo, he's tiny. P'raps we can see him too?," asked one bulky fox. For some reason Chris had pictured
foxes as being very thin, but this one was chubby.

Trenno looked worried for a minute. "You aren't going to harm him," he said firmly. "He's just like us, only small."

"How did his tail fall off? Why did he shave his fur?"

"I never had a tail. I never had fur," said Chris, trying to remain calm. The fox made him wary.

"Didn't you see the thing on the news about the Earthlings?," Trenno asked the fox. "A couple landed here and are
staying on Wodlen, and this one--Chris--wanted to come here."

Chris had the sudden urge to jump off the desk and find refuge in one of Trenno's pockets.

The fox laughed and pointed over to an empty desk. "I guess he could have that desk but he'd have a tough time seeing..
rather big for him."

"He can stay with me. He needs someone our size to carry him around and such."

Chris thought, that sounds like a good idea. He couldn't picture himself trying to walk down hallways and dodging immense paws.

"That's fine with me, thank you," said Chris, looking up to Trenno. He sensed the raccoon had a similar..."personality"...to his. Something connected.

The fox smirked. "He must be the only student here that could fit into a backpack, or a pocket..."

Trenno pointed up to the fox and then looked down at Chris. "This is Haddy, by the way. Haddy, this little one is named Chris."

"Hey, Chris..."

"Hi, Haddy..."

"You sure you don't want me to hold him for a moment?"

Trenno let out a little sigh. "I don't want him to be hurt. You're clumsy and..."

"And you don't trust me?" The fox seemed defiant. "I'd be careful."

"Maybe later..."

Class began and various subjects were taught. At lunch, Trenno took Chris to the cafeteria and they dined together.

"Vardi's son brought me here. He's about nine years old, maybe," said Chris. He chuckled and put one hand up to his chest,
near his armpits. "A kid that age on Earth would be up to here on me."

"So he just brought you to our school and went off to his? He just left you here?"

"Well, he had to get to his own class at a different school. I told him I'd be alright."

Trenno nodded. He pointed down to his chicken sandwich, some of which he was sharing with Chris. "You'll have no
shortage of food on Wodlen. Speaking of which, how do you like it here?"

"It's amazing. Yip-yip-yoo...even the air seems better here. The food is very tasty. And so far the animals I've met have
been nice to me, mostly. Though Yoniged--he's the nine year old fox cub--grabbed me without warning a few times
and I worried I'd be hurt."

"Cubs will be cubs, I'm afraid."

"You're gentle at least. I'd be gentle if I were a giant like you. Imagine this..." Chris stood up and pointed down to the table.
"Imagine I'm the giant here and there's a little tiny fox--we'll call him 'Haddy'"

Trenno laughed.

"Can I pick you up, little fox? Ah..." Chris crouched down and picked up an imaginary creature with his seven-inch-long hand.
He had his left hand cupped and gently curled his right around the imaginary creature. "Why, hello Haddy..don't worry, I will be kind..."

Haddy the chubby fox took that moment to walk past their table. He gave them a weird look.

"Haddy, our little friend Chris is picturing how he'd treat you if you were a tiny little fox."

"Let me guess--he'd step on me with his paw (foot)."

"Hello Haddy--I would be gentle with you..."

"Well, I can be gentle--hey Trenno, can I?"

The giant raccoon teen looked wary for a moment but said, "Okay, but if you hurt him--"

Haddy chuckled. "You'd hurt ME, right? You, who must weigh half what I do?"

Chris cringed.

Trenno gently patted Chris' back. "Don't worry, Chris--he may sound like a bully but I think he's just being funny."

Trenno stood up and put one paw on Haddy's shoulder. "We're all giants to him--and we should be gentle giants.
We have class here on Wodlen--we do the right thing. He's my friend and I want to protect him."

"Oh, I'll be kind," said Haddy. "Just for a moment?"

Trenno sighed and looked down to Chris. "What do you think?"

"I-- s-s-sure, it's okay, as long as he's careful."

Haddy extended his paw down and Chris carefully stepped on it. The paw was brought up another 20 feet or so and he looked up at the macro fox. He could practically curl up in one of the fox's ears. Haddy's facial expression changed from
defiance to a more tender expression.

In his paw he held a boy his age of a different species, from a different planet, twelve times smaller than he and weighing
very little. He was wearing an orange T-shirt, blue jeans, and had footwear (sneakers) on (unlike the animals, who were barepawed).

"Yip-yip-yoo. It must be...tough to be that small."

"I do what I can...I like having big animals around, if they're friendly."

"I'd be scared poop-less if I were in your paws right now," said Haddy. "You poor lil' fella. You must...aren't you cold with no fur?"

"It's allright."

Haddy went over to a chair opposite Trenno's and sat down (Trenno had sat down also).

"See, he's being gentle with you, Chris," said Trenno. "He's a big softie at heart."

"You're doing good with me," Chris assured Haddy.

The various animals gave off a certain essence or odor (not foul, but pleasant). Chris was already used to a fox's
essence from having stayed with Vardi's family, and he could sense it with Haddy. But the giant raccoon who was sitting nearby was making a connection with Chris--they seemed to be birds of a feather, as it were.

"It looks like you've got a real pal with Trenno," Haddy told Chris. "But I can help you too, if you want."

Some animals passed by, noticing the fox and raccoon and the tiny human Haddy was holding. They tried not to stare.

"Maybe you can get your own humans for friends someday," Trenno said to them. "If they come here from Earth."

They wandered away and Haddy gently turned over Chris to Trenno, going from one set of cupped paws to another.

"Chris tells me we exist on Earth too, only we're much smaller..."

Chris chuckled. "On Earth, foxes try to steal chickens. Raccoons raid barrels....but people think they're handsome
animals, or cute."

Haddy and Trenno both laughed. "We're handsome and cute here, too...and so are you," offered Trenno.

Chris hugged Trenno's thumb and smiled. He was pretty sure that he would like it here, he would survive--though certainly there would be dangers due to his small size. He had found friends, though and somehow sensed he fit in better here.

Haddy went off to get some food ("I should really eat salad to lose weight, but I love the pork") and Trenno was left alone with his human friend.

"So, your parents were fine with you moving here--I mean, you are here to stay, right?"

Chris nodded. "Well, I told them it might just be for a while but who knows. They were hesitant. I told them I would keep in touch and I can get back to Earth if I wish, with Vardi's help."

"Do you love them?"

Chris sighed. "I guess so, but I still felt out of place on Earth and wanted to try something else..At least I didn't just run off and they'd be worried I was missing. I told them what I was doing."

3

Chris had volunteered to be a student at Trenno's high school and there was no set plan for him; Vardi had called them to let them know about him and on that morning, Yoniged had come in and dropped Chris off with the principal who then took him to one room. "I'll
just sit in with different classes," he had told the principal. Once he met Trenno he decided to stay with him as he went around.

He informed Trenno he liked him so much as a friend that he wanted to visit his family, perhaps even move there. When Yoniged came to pick him up Trenno introduced himself and Chris said that "tonight I'd like to sleep over at Trenno's house--it might even be permanent, I don't know." Yoni wasn't happy but he called his father Vardi to tell him. Chris assured him he would be okay.

"Can we stop by Vardi's house and pick up my stuff? They have me in a dollhouse but all I need is just my clothes and things."

"My sister has a dollhouse you can use," said Trenno. "It's up to you how long you stay--am sure my parents would have no problem with you. I wouldn't keep you a secret from them."

By late afternoon Trenno took Chris over to his own house. Needless to say, Chris' clothes fit into a small bag that he placed in his backpack. Chris was slightly too big to fit in Trenno's shirt pocket so he just carried him carefully, one paw pressed up against his chest.

The dollhouse was placed on a dresser top in Trenno's room (Trenno
told his sister that he'd explain at dinner why he'd need the
dollhouse, at dinner.) Trenno's room had a twin sized bed in one corner; the dresser, a desk with a computer, and so on.

When dinner took place Trenno carefully took Chris and placed him on the table. "Everyone, believe it or not, this is one of my classmates. He's from another planet--and don't worry I don't
think he'll spread disease or anything. His name is Chris, from
Earth."

Trenno's mother Garda said, "Don't be scared little one, we're all friendly here. I'm glad you have found a friend in Trenno."

"Thank you." He bowed to her and put one tiny hand on her immense right paw. "I wanted to come here because I felt
like I wanted a change. I like things so far."

Trenno's father, Groddo, met him next. Groddo swiveled his ears and wiggled his nose in delight, the massive 'masked bandit' face looming over Chris. "Yes, you are welcome here, Chris. You almost seem like a mini version of Trenno--but no tail? No fur? I mean,
you look different, not that that's bad."

"That's okay. I am a 'human' and that's how things are. I'm not cold or anything." He pointed up to his hair. "This is kind of fur for me and maybe in a little while I could grow some fur--'hair'--under my chin, too."

"How did you get here?"

Trenno said, "He was found by a fox named Vardi when he visited his planet, 'Earth', and he wanted to come here."

"Well...if you want to be among giant animals I'm sure you're happy.
Not sure how long you're staying on Wodlen."

"I don't know, depends," said Chris. "Maybe for good, I don't know."

"He can stay here no problem, right?," asked Trenno. "I asked
Jarnik for her dollhouse and put it in my room." He turned to his younger sister. "Hey, you're 11 now, maybe a bit old for dolls."

Jarnik looked down at Chris. "Haven't really had a live one yet, though."

Chris walked over to her and said hi.

"Hello! You could fit in that dollhouse--you can stay there, sure.
Maybe we can put it my room sometime, too. It would be interesting to be small enough to fit in it...hey, what's that on your paws?"

She had pointed to his feet. "Socks and sneakers. Humans usually don't go bare-pawed. Protects our feet--er, paws."

"Sometimes we have shoes; formal occasions," said her mother.

"Sneakers are just a type of shoes," Chris added.

"And I do have a brother, Chris," Trenno said, pointing him toward a younger raccoon. "This is Vrakko, who is seven."

"Not tomorrow though. I'll be eight tomorrow."

Chris walked over to Vrakko and almost tripped over his plate.

"Hey! Yip-yip-yo, you're little." He giggled.

"I think I saw something on the news about little aliens here," said Trenno's father, Groddo. "Yes...about his size...there are a couple who landed here."

"I've been told there are a couple humans here, yes," Chris told him. Chris looked up to Vrakko. "You'll be as big as your brother sooner or later; just eat well, get exercise..."

"You must hardly eat anything." Vrakko pointed toward Chris'
very small belly. "I could eat more tonight than you weigh!"

"Are there raccoons on your planet?"

"Yes, but they're only 'this' big." He held his hands apart about two feet or so.

"REALLY? Smaller than even you?"

He nodded, and wondered if such huge beings could notice
the movement of such a small head. "Yes. But they're wild animals.
Cute, though."

"Are we cute too?," asked Jarnik.

"Yes, very much. Very large and very cute."

"You're cute yourself, little guy." She giggled.

Vrakko pointed to one of his paws and nodded at Chris. "Would you....?"

"As long as you're careful."
Vrakko put a cupped paw down on the table and Chris stepped aboard. He sat down cross legged on the five-and-a-half foot long paw and got a close view of the young raccoon's face. Vrakko
gently put his thumb and forefinger around him, as if to measure how small the alien was. Chris could see his own face reflected in the raccoon's round, brown eyes.

"Well we do need to eat now," said their mother, Garda. "Put him down gently, Vrakko, and I'll get a saucer as a plate for him--maybe a little box for him to sit on?"

"Don't worry, he's not going to eat you," laughed Jarnik.

"Congratulations Vrakko," chuckled Trenno. "You are now no longer the smallest member of the family."

Vrakko laughed. "He's part of our family now?" He put his cupped paw down next to the table and Chris got off, looked at all of them and said, "If so...I would be honored..."

4
The food at dinner was delicious and Trenno's family loved being with their newest member, as it were. It seemed odd that only earlier that day, none of this seemed possible to Chris--when he was taken to school he hadn't yet met Trenno but now they had quickly forged a friendship and he had expressed a desire to stay there. Vardi called to check in on Chris and Chris told them for now he'd be staying with
the Rayneers (Trenno's family) and not to worry, he'd be fine.

Groddo, Trenno's father, spent a moment with Chris, who stood on the table as the others departed.

"I'm glad you became friends with Trenno. Usually he's kind of
shy and keeps to himself but he seemed really excited to know you."

"Thanks...we're kind of the same, same type of animal." Chris
was going to say 'we have the same kind of personality' but Trenno
wasn't a person, and what word could be used?

"You said you left your planet to come here, you wanted to...and
your parents were fine with that. I'm glad to have you here, but...
well, I was thinking what would have happened if, say, Trenno
came to me and said, 'Dad, I want to move to a planet of giant,
let's say, humans.' I would want him to be happy but I'd hate to have him go. You see what I mean?"

"Yes." Chris sat down on the table and dangled his legs over the
edge. "You're a good father, and I know you'd feel bad. My own dad?
Well, he's nice at times but somehow I don't think he even notices me. He and my mother split up for awhile, got back together, now may be splitting up again and he's so busy with his work--besides,
I just felt out of place on Earth."

Groddo nodded. "But they must love you..? What would they say now if they knew you might not come back?" He cupped his right paw and looked down at it, as if to imagine Chris' parents were sitting on it. "I'd tell them, if they were right here, 'Your son is
welcome here, but he still is your son--he's only sixteen. Is that old enough to make such a decision'?"

Chris replied, "I think so; who knows, I can go back there if I want but I wanted to try...here."

"You have no brothers or sisters?"

"No, and not too many friends on Earth. Really nobody, actually. I almost feel like this is my family."

"So be it, I guess, but keep in touch with your parents--I think there may be a way somehow--and perhaps I can meet them somehow."

Trenno showed up and asked Chris if he wanted to come into his room.

"Sure."

"You have picked up our language fast," noted Groddo.

"Yes, Vardi found someone who knew both English and Wodlenian--since there are a few other humans here--and he
developed a language course on an mp3 player. I still have it.
Someone named Ungorp; I'd like to meet him."

---
Jarnik's dollhouse, like the one Vardi had used, was more than big enough for Chris. Downstairs was a living room, dining room, and kitchen; upstairs, two bedrooms and a bathroom (with a toilet of sorts equipped with a small compartments that the giants could
take out and replace). One of the bedrooms had a raccoon doll
placed on the bed; it was a female, dressed like a teenager.
The room Chris chose had a bed (surprisingly comfortable),
room for clothes, and the aforementioned mp3 player (over 3 feet long but rather light, with ear buds seeming more like speakers). It was really 'half a house' in that there was one side with no walls.
When Jarnik used it, she had the exposed side facing toward her, but Chris wanted that side up against the wall in Trenno's room.

Vrakko and Jarnik came in to see Chris, and Vrakko kept saying that since tomorrow was his eighth birthday he wanted to have Chris to himself.

"You'll have time with him," Trenno said. "You can have him ride in your remote controlled car...and Jarnik, yes, thanks for your doll house--"

"Just please remember to be gentle with me," Chris told them. He had images in his head of eight- and nine-year old fox, raccoon,
and wolf cubs treating him like a toy, or Jarnik's friends putting him in a mock play with their dolls--or, wait, perhaps she was too old
for dolls, right?

Later, Trenno lay down on his bed, his right knee bent and Chris
sitting on top of it. Chris had taken off his sneakers and changed into sweat pants and socks.

"It would be neat to see your world and we'd be so gigantic."

"You're gigantic here, Trenno. To me."

"Do you think more humans will come here? Maybe breed and start
a new species of animal here?"

"Yes, it could be dangerous for us being so small but it could happen. You know, the air here makes me feel so great...
I've met some wonderful animals, and it's funny--I've picked up
Wodlenian so easily. It's like my brain and my body work so much better here."

Trenno nodded. "Oh, that mp3 player? I can put some cool music on there...you know we have music as one of the courses tomorrow.
The husky that teaches it would love to meet you and hear about Earth music."

"I have a netbook with me in my backpack and we can find a way to
have him hear it."

"The fox who did your language course--Ungorp? I e-mailed him;
he'd like to meet you. He speaks 'English' very well; picked it up
from the humans."

"P'raps the time will come when I'll only think in Wodlenian and I'd
forget how to speak English."

"Naw, it's your heritage--you can even teach me some of it."

Later, as both started yawning and the lateness of the hour
became apparent, Chris said it was perhaps time for bed. Before he asked Trenno to bring him over to his dollhouse, he had something to say.

"Your dad said you're shy and keep to yourself, and he was pleased you found a friend in me. I'm curious--what made you so interested in me?"

Trenno paused for a moment before speaking. "Well...I saw you, how little you were, and so different and I thought it was interesting to have such a little fellow as intelligent as we are. And--you almost seemed like a human version of me. It's like what I'd be like if I had no fur, no tail...I mean, what I'd be like if that were the case. And
you looked like you needed a friend, a protector."

"That's interesting. You're kind of like a giant raccoon version of me.
Not just that we're the same age, but you seem to be similar to me.
Only your parents seem a bit more concerned with you than mine."
He chuckled. "I never had any brothers or sisters and you do,
so I guess that's different...only after one day I feel like I've been
living here all my life, and I like it. They like me. And of course, you."

"I feel bad you're small...you need someone to help you out. And I feel good helping."

"I'd do the same if our sizes were the opposite."

Trenno cupped his paw and Chris stepped on it and he was carried over to the dollhouse; he walked in the front door and up the stairs,and emerged at the window of his new bedroom. Chris
leaned his tiny head out of that window and looked up at his new
friend.

"Here's a bit of English for you to learn. 'Good night, my friend.'
You can figure what it means."

Trenno smiled and said in English, "Good night, my friend. Parnok
vid saya."

"Parnok, Trenno."

With that Trenno got into his own bed on the opposite side of the big room and switched off the light. Moments later both fell asleep,
with smiles on their faces.

5
Morning arrived and Chris awoke; he looked out his window and could see
Trenno still sleeping on his bed, but he seemed to be slowly easing out of sleep. Chris went downstairs and walked out the front door of the dollhouse. He saw a power cord extending down to the floor (or at least to a power outlet some eight feet above the floor). He thought about shimmying down that but suddenly heard the door of Trenno's room creaking open and Vrakko
tip-toeing in. He glanced at Trenno then looked at the dollhouse, where he observed Chris just in front of it.

"Don't wake him," Chris whispered. "Give him a little--"

"Now I'm eight!" Vrakko's birthday, yes. "I can handle you for awhile?"

"No, you have to--I mean, I have to go to school with him in a little bit."

Chris thought, OK, now that the lad was a year older, he suddenly had
some more power in the household?

They both heard Trenno yawn and stretch. "What are you...(yawn)
doing in here kiddo? Hey, leave my little friend alone."
Trenno stood up and went over to his little brother. He towered over him by a good twenty feet or so.

"OK, so you're now eight," said Trenno. "You still need some time to grow as tall as me."

"I'm getting older--just listen to my voice now..."

It sounded no different--it sounded like an eight year old trying to
speak in as low-pitched a voice as possible.

"Hi Trenno," said Chris. "My first morning with the family..."

"Good morning, friend."

"Hey...uh, how often do you guys shower or bathe? You actually don't
smell bad but Earthlings often do it once a day."

"We do it every few days. Usually it's no problem for us...but do you need to bathe or something?"

"I'll take him to the sink," said Vrakko. Before Trenno could say anything he found Vrakko pointing to one paw with the index finger of another;
Chris blurted out, "um, okay..." and he carefully climbed aboard.

"You be careful with him..."
Vrakko went into the bathroom and turned on the sink's hot and cold faucets, choosing an agreeable temperature. Chris took off his T-shirt,
sweatpants, and socks and stood there wearing his boxer shorts.

"Okay."

Vrakko picked him up and gently put him into the sink and placed a small bar of soap in the water. Chris swam around the warm water; at a couple spots, he could touch bottom with his feet and he waded around. After a few minutes of bathing himself, he asked Vrakko to take him out. A small towel or facecloth was used to dry him--Vrakko insisted on wiping him dry.

"How do you guys dry off?," Chris asked.

"We shake some of it off, then towel. Or use a dryer."

The family enjoyed breakfast. "I'll be calling you 'my son Chris'
soon enough," said Groddo.

"Cake tonight? Presents?" Vrakko was very eager.

"Sure--and before you even ask, no, you can't take Chris to
school with you. Chris is going with Trenno," chimed in Garda.

"I'm twice your age. Your big brother," chuckled Chris.

"In age, you mean."

"Hey Chris, I heard back from Ungorp. He can meet us here this
afternoon."

"Ungorp?," asked Garda.

"He's a fox at the university...knows some Earthlings,knows their
language really well. He developed a language course for Chris."

---
Early in the afternoon Chris and Trenno met up with the music
teacher, who was a husky. "We can get you some music from Earth,"
Trenno told him. "Chris plays a little music himself. He'd like to
learn some of our music and instruments.

The professor, who looked like an Alaskan Malamute, nodded and welcomed his new student.
"It's weird; we have animals just like you Wodlenians on Earth
but they're often wild, walk on four paws, don't talk, don't dress..."

"And we have nobody on Wodlen like you--well, maybe a couple.
There was something on the news. I just remember them being small.

Chris looked up at the wolf-like dog whose fur blended black, brown,
gray, and white. "Probably a human like me. Who knows, maybe more
of us can come here and breed, Mr. Nakalo."

"So small...I don't know if we have instruments we can play. Maybe
you can show us how to build the ones you have..."

"I play guitar and a bit of piano...uh, don't know if you have anything
like them."
Chris originally came from the area of a certain English city who had
been home to a very famous rock quartet. Later when he met Ungorp
he would find that the fox had investigated Earth culture and got to
know a few tunes by that group.
---
By 4 pm that afternoon, back home, Ungorp showed up and introduced himself. He was a cheerful, smart, and handsome university professor and researcher.

"I have met two Earthlings so far here on Wodlen, two astronauts, and I just got back from visiting your planet. Mostly just to see how we could
last on your planet--given our size, it isn't easy...we'd eat a lot of your
food and worry about knocking down high tension wires."

"Been to Earth?," asked Chris. "Where did you go?"

"I landed in Vermont near Lake Champlain--a couple university
professors helped me out. I visited a few cities; tried to keep a low
profile but it wasn't easy. They did love me, though I had some
mis-steps...and I won't get into those right now, but..."

"I am originally from England but my parents moved to New Hampshire.
That's where I met Vardi--a fox, like you."

"He was probably there just after me, or maybe at the same time."

Chris related how he had asked to move to Wodlen, at least for now.

"Oh my. It isn't easy, given your size. Funny thing though, there seems to be a connection between you Earthlings and raccoons here on Wodlen.
Both of the other Earthlings here have settled down with raccoon families.
You should meet Arkody--he has an Earth friend named David, and
someone named Alec is staying with the Irnsbos."

Trenno explained how he met Chris at school.

"So you have a dollhouse here? I guess that can work," said Ungorp.
"Maybe we can put in a kind of elevator--something to get you down to the floor and back, some kind of rope or string. Are you warm enough here?
I can make a battery-powered small heater for your dollhouse.
We can make you comfortable."

"Thank you," replied Chris. "Very kind."

"Oh, no trouble. I enjoy being with Earthlings. I have something interesting to show the both of you--especially you, Trenno. Can I hook up my media player to your TV?"

"Sure," replied Trenno.

"This is video footage from Earth. Look at that little creature."

They observed some home videos of a little creature, not much bigger than a cat, climbing trees, eating food, raiding barrels, and so on. It was quadroped rather than bi-ped and made "chirr" noises. The mask around its round eyes, whiskers, ringed tail and so on was a dead giveaway.

"Yip-yip yo, that's amazing--raccoons on Earth! But so tiny, and not really like us."

"Much smaller than humans, yes. There may be some cartoon shows where they talk--one of them has a goofy but lovable 'coon wearing a sweater with a big 'B' on it. Now check this out."

The footage showed a fox someone had as a pet at home. It was very athletic, jumping up and down, rolling around. Again, a quadroped.

"Kind of orange fur, not red--a fox but not like me."

"It's odd," Chris said, "but back on Earth I thought humans all looked different but I couldn't tell the difference between one raccoon or
fox and another. I can on Wodlen, then--you don't 'all look alike'."

"Well we dress different, have different voices," said Ungorp.

"Different sizes...you can tell the difference between Vrakko and me,"
said Trenno.

"Oh that of course, but I can tell the 'facial' differences here but not on Earth. And you have distinct senses and auras, spirits--I can't define it,"
said Chris.

"I will say the two of you seem alike, despite the species and size
differences," said Ungorp.

Trenno nodded and smiled pleasantly. "He and I are similar in
some ways...same age of course...but we just find some things in common and I'm glad he's my...brother."

Ungorp looked puzzled. He pointed at Chris. "Uh, your 'brother'
seems to be missing a tail and fur." He laughed. "But no, I know
what you mean."

Trenno nodded. "Have you noticed something about Chris' accent,
Ungorp? Does he remind you of some Earth musicians you may have
studied?"

Ungorp smiled. "You know, he does sound like one of the Beatles."

"Right," smiled Chris. "I'm from their part of England. And I do like
music."

"You'll have to stop me before I start to sing 'Hey Jude' or something!"
He motioned for Chris to get into his right paw, if he agreed, and he did.

Ungorp got a close up look at him then held his paw out in front of him
proudly, the paw containing Chris.

"Trenno, his size may fool you, but do not under-estimate Chris or
any other human. I have met more than a few and find them
talented, charming, smart, almost like miniature versions of us
Wodlenians. Yes, not all are, but humans like Chris deserve our
praise and love.

"And," he added, gently petting Chris' back, "they are so darn cute."

6
Trenno's brother Vrakko and sister Jarnik showed up and were introduced to Ungorp.

"I'm here to meet my third human on Wodlen, though I met many more
on Earth," he said. "It was chance or luck that any of this happened, because awhile back I was listening to radio and heard a strange language and I wondered if it was by an alien trying to contact someone. It was an astronaut from Earth and after a bit of
hunting down where he was, I met him. He was staying with three
raccoon cubs."

"So you've been on the tiny guy's planet? That must have been crazy!," said Jarnik.

"Yes--well, often fun but sometimes things got a bit anxious. Here, a lot of huge things can be a danger to Chris. There, I was the danger..." He smiled. "When I was a cub, maybe Vrakko's age or a bit older, I went to a miniature village and towered over the buildings--but in this case there were actual little humans all around.
For real."

"He's trying to help me a bit," Chris said. "Just wants to make
sure things go well for me."

"Yes. In fact, here's one thing I can do--" Ungorp reached into a bag and took out a strip of something similar to Velcro. "Trenno, when you want to carry him around, just put him on your arm next to your shoulder and wrap this around him. It will hold him securely."

They tried it out and it worked.

"I want to hold him for a little while," Jarnik said. "I will be careful."

Chris nodded and Trenno took him out of the Velcro-esque hookup
and gently put him on her right paw. She curled her fingers around a bit and tilted the paw so Chris was facing up. She gently rubbed the back of Chris' neck with a finger from the other paw.

"It's kinda funny," she admitted. "He almost looks like a little Trenno--yeah, I know he's not a raccoon, but the way he's dressed,
and--I don't know, just seems like him somehow!"

Chris took his right hand and scritched the fur on Jarnik's palm. He wondered if the action of a tiny hand like his would be noticed by her.

"How soon till Mom and Dad get home?," Vrakko asked. "Dinner and birthday cake!"

Trenno smiled and sat down next to his little brother. "So, eight years old. I was eight when you were born. I remember you being brought home; a little brother!"

"Now we've both got a 'little' brother," Vrakko said, referring to Chris. "Oh, when she's done, I'd like to put him in my radio-controlled car. Take him for a ride."

"Are you sure that's safe? He's a bit fragile....Chris?"

Chris looked apprehensive but said, "As long as he's careful."

Ungorp told Vrakko, "Yes--just remember the huge size difference. How he could get injured if you're not gentle."

"It'd be fun," the lad responded. He asked Chris if it was OK.
The Earthling said it was.

"Kitchen floor," said Trenno. "And don't make it go too fast."

Chris was placed into a truck that seemed sized for an Earthling. There was actually a strap that he fastened which served as a seat belt. Vrakko took a remote control transmitter and turned it on; soon Chris was going about 30 or 40 miles an hour (relative to what it would be like on Earth). It headed for the leg of a chair; Vrakko turned the control so it avoided it. Then it headed off toward a small area containing a laundry basket. Vrakko put the brake on --a button helped to stop the model car. The car backed up. Then it headed toward some kitchen cabinets.

Inside Chris was, at first, enjoying the ride but he was starting to get frightened. Before he knew it the car sped up and it hit a cabinet door and flipped on its left side; Chris yelped in pain when his body hit the side door of the car. The next thing he knew,
the cub's almost nine-foot-long footpaw was on the right side of the car, flipping it upright.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?," Trenno shouted as he entered the room. He saw Vrakko bent down trying to get Chris out of the car. Chris moaned a bit as he was gently placed on the boy's left paw and brought up some thirty feet or so.

"Are you okay little guy?," Vrakko asked.

"I feel a little pain...I think I got a bruise..."

He handed him over to Trenno, who put him on a counter. Chris pulled his shirt up a bit; it looked like there was indeed a bruise
developing on his left side. Vrakko said he was sorry and Trenno put his hands on his little brother's waist and turned the boy around so he could face him.

"Ow!," said Vrakko, even though it didn't really hurt.

"The slightest thing could hurt or kill him...Why did you--" Trenno
couldn't think what to say next.

"He doesn't seem too bad..."

"Yes, I know he didn't break an arm or a leg--at least I don't think so--but you HURT him!"

Vrakko flinched, fearing his older brother would slap him.

Ungorp and Jarnik came in; the fox took a look at the human's
bruise and tried to make sure he was all right. Chris grimaced
and blurted out, "I should have said 'no'..."

Vrakko started to tear up, partly because he was afraid he would catch hell for this (even more), and partly because he felt bad
Chris was hurt.

Jarnik crouched down and looked at her little brother eye to eye.

"Vrak--I think he'll be okay, other than...but, please...not a doll.
Not a toy."

"I think he'll learn from this," Ungorp admitted. "But I fear for
Chris..." He looked down at the Earthling. "We are Wodlenians
and we shouldn't be doing things like this."

Chris nodded; the pain was starting to lessen. Trenno grabbed some ice and wrapped it in a paper towel. He only needed a little of each. It was applied to Chris' side.

---
Trenno asked Ungorp to stay for dinner so he could meet his parents. When they showed up, he was welcomed graciously. Then Trenno asked his parents to talk to him for a moment in his room.
He explained the injury Chris had gotten.

"We talked to him--we explained how fragile Chris is, and I hope he got the message. I think he feels bad about it. I think Chris will be okay; I put a cold compress on it."

Groddo nodded. "I was afraid something like this would happen.
I'll talk to Vrakko, too--I'm sure he didn't mean it. But you say Chris is okay?"

"It seems like a small bruise--well, probably not small to him..."
He moved his paw around the left side of his body, in an oval about
ten feet or so, meaning Chris had about a ten inch bruise.

Both Groddo and Garda spoke briefly to Vrakko, trying to be both firm and gentle. It was a talk that basically said, We know you didn't mean it but the next time could be a lot worse, and we will penalize you greatly if it should happen...so...don't let it happen.

A short while later they ate dinner and Ungorp explained a few things about humans and his trip to Earth. He admitted that at one point he heard police sirens and he jumped over a river (trying not to bring down a new bridge) and ran to a house on fire. He saved a mother and child from the flames and was called a hero.

"That's great! A life saver!," said Garda.

Ungorp nodded but looked a bit ashamed. "Well, that was good, but a minute earlier I was a bit of a klutz. I tripped over a car--no bigger than his toy car, maybe even smaller--and I fell down and crushed a couple cars. Nobody was in them, but..."

Ungorp glanced over at Vrakko.

"...We giants have to be careful around humans," Ungorp continued.

Vrakko looked down for a second and said softly, "Yes...we do." Everyone at the table realized that you don't have to be an eight year old kid to make a mistake like that.

A moment later Ungorp started to mention how there was now an informal agreement between Earth and Wodlen, it seemed. Each had technologies and knowledge they could share; language,
and culture. Each planet could share with the other. It actually could be a bit of a money-maker too. Wodlenians could enjoy Earth music or TV shows; Wodlenian cubs would soon be delighted in the adventures of Harry Potter, and Wodlenian culture would spread to Earth.

"Cures for cancer. Help for the hungry. Earthlings moving here to
share with us, and vice versa. Of course, it's tough for us because the food is limited," said Ungorp. "I brought some of my own. They did share some of theirs. I had a glass of alcoholic cider--imagine how huge it would seem to them."

Through all of this, Chris sat on a dollhouse chair next to a dollhouse table that had been brought to the family table and placed on top.
At times he would cross over to Ungorp and in doing so passed right in front of Vrakko. He glanced up at him; the boy started to tear up a bit.

"It's okay, Vrak," said Chris, reaching his tiny arms around Vrakko's wrist and hugging it. "You didn't mean it, I know."

Vrak nodded and sniffled. "I wish you were our size. Yeah, it's kinda fun having someone so little here, but..."

"...life here is a bit dangerous for him, you mean?," asked Trenno,
finishing the sentence.

Vrak looked down for a moment. "I'm not the littlest one around here anymore, but I'll take care of the one who is."

Moments later birthday cake was shared and Vrakko cut the first piece. It was a very small piece. He put it on a paper plate and brought it to the other end of the table and placed it next to Chris.

"I don't know when your birthday is," he said, "but I want the little guy to be the first to enjoy the cake."
7

Jarnik lay down on her left side in bed, blanket on and the house well heated. She prepared to go to sleep. At one point though it seemed like she felt a bit chilly...and she noted it was light out. When she opened her eyes she noticed she seemed to be in a different room.
Things seemed artificial in some way. She got out of bed and was shocked when she caught herself in a mirror--the mirror was above a dresser she hadn't seen before, and the face she saw was of an 11 year old raccoon without fur--there was flesh instead. Her head was covered with blonde hair. She could sense her tail was missing--and it was. Instead of paws she had hands and feet. She was a human.

For a moment she wondered if it were a dream but was it real? She flung open a door and saw a hallway; ran down it and saw another door, half-open, with a human figure getting dressed. It was Chris.
He stood up and she noticed he was a head taller than she was.

Was this a dollhouse? Her old dollhouse, with little (almost) six foot tall Chris a bit bigger than she was; was she only five feet tall?

"Oh, you're up," Chris said to her in Wodlenian. "Vrakko or Trenno should be here any minute. I hope you're getting used to it by now."

"Uh, getting used to what?"

"Your size, your species. I know it must be hard for you; if we were on Earth you'd have an easier time..."

"What happened?"

"Oh, you must still be in shock--a couple days ago when you started to shrink...started to change..."

"OK, here I am," came a voice from outside. Jarnik went to the window and saw her 51 foot tall younger brother outside, smiling down at her. He was still a raccoon, but was now a giant. This indeed was a dollhouse, what used to be hers! She noticed she was wearing nightclothes that were apparently doll sized.

"Vrakko is taking you to school in a few minutes, remember? You're at the same school; Trenno's taking me to ours."

She noticed Trenno had a mirror in his room too and she moved closer to it to get a look at herself. It was so odd seeing a human face look back at her, and a face that was not tiny.

"I know it's shocking but something made you change--and you don't look bad. You told me just yesterday that you'd gotten used to having no tail anymore."

"I'll come back in a minute if you want," came Vrakko's voice from
outside.

"Chris, you just about ready? We do have time for breakfast
at least," came the voice of Trenno from outside.

"Your classmates get a kick out of you now," Chris told her.
"Your friend Vodda likes carrying you around. Ungorp gave her
a little pouch so she could carry you easily, it goes over
her shoulder. Remember?"

She sensed she was walking back to her little room and putting her school clothes on, then walking downstairs to the first floor and then out the dollhouse. Vrakko loomed way above her.

"Smallest one in the house, little Jarnik!," gushed Vrakko. He smiled, and thought how unique it was that his own sister was a human now, just like his adopted big, or little, brother Chris.

She looked down and noticed she was barefoot. A thought popped into her head: eventually she'd have to find doll shoes that fit her,
because it wasn't always easy to walk barefoot. Humans often wore shoes, unlike Wodlen animals; needless to say, Chris' sneakers were too big for her tiny 'feet'.

Vrakko extended his paw out and she stepped on it. She mumbled something about "I should move to Earth, at least I'd be the right size." She found Vrakko was moving his paw up rapidly and she got a good look at the giant eight-year-old cub's face. He wiggled his ears and wriggled his nose.

"Hopefully I won't catch what you got. I don't know if I'd wanna be a human...or at least that small."

She saw his massive tail curling and uncurling and could hear footsteps coming from the dollhouse. It was Chris, waiting for his 'ride' from Trenno. Then suddenly she imagined she was in a forest and she sensed it was on another planet. The trees were tall, but seemed in the right proportion to her body. She heard a loud "chirrr!" and looked over to one tree. It was a raccoon, but an Earth raccoon--quadroped, not wearing clothes. She gazed at the tiny animal, tiny enough to be cradled in her arms like a small baby.

"Vrakko?," she said. The raccoon responded with a chirr but suddenly scampered up the tree. Then she heard another voice and looked around.

"Did I scare that little critter?," said the voice that was deep and male. It was her father's voice but when she turned around to look at him, she saw he was a human. A human with hair both at the top and bottom of his head.

"We have your sneakers back in the car," he said. "You can't keep walking barefoot."

A prepubescent voice was then heard: "Yeah Jarnik, you're not a raccoon," came the voice, and she looked over and saw an eight year old human boy. The next thing she knew everything was dark. In front of her was--a pillow. It was night, she was back in bed--she groped around and hit a button for a light. It was not a huge switch for a tiny light, it was normal sized, for a bedside lamp. She was back in her own room--and--as she got up and looked for a mirror in a nearby bathroom--a furry face looked back at her. With a long snout and a mask around the eyes. With her right paw, she touched one of the ears on top of her head. She felt her tail move around.

She wandered back toward her bed in a slight daze but then relief came to her. She gazed at the clock; it was an hour or two before
sunrise. The yellow-orange sphere would soon be lighting up her Wodlenian world again.

She felt warm again, knowing she had fur and not flesh. The dream had been so real. She went back to sleep then found herself waking up again and she leaped out of bed (now it was clearly past sunrise) and ran into Trenno's room. There he was, next to the dollhouse, having just woken up himself. She peered into the left bedroom of the dollhouse and saw Chris' tiny figure putting his socks and sneakers on.

"He's got a head start on me," Trenno said. "I'd better get dressed too, we got breakfast just about ready." He sniffed. "Smells like
sausage."

"Oh Chris," she said. "I just had the strangest dream, I was...
human."

"You were?," he laughed. Trenno laughed too. "You'll have to tell us about it." He playfully touched her tail. "Was it fun?"

to be continued

[shrinkingman]

8--REVISED AND EXTENDED

Just before she left, Jarnik gave something to Chris. It was a bit of raccoon fur, maybe 2 feet by 3.5 feet by nine inches thick. "Here...I cut this out of my tail. I won't miss it--and it'll keep you warm." She had told her brief dream to the family moments earlier.

"Yip yip yoo (wow)...that's so nice of you," said Chris, as he felt the fur. "Sometimes it is slightly cold in the dollhouse, but here you are giving part of your own fur..."

"Again, really nothing. I want to make sure you're warm."

"That was an interesting dream you had," replied Chris. "You being
small enough to fit into the dollhouse, and a human like me..."

It was understood at Chris and Trenno's school that Chris was to be respected and treated carefully; a creature one twelfth the size of the other animals, one from a distant planet. There was a little bit about the three Earthlings--Alec, David, and Chris--in the Wodlenian
media so there was a bit of notoriety though Ungorp wanted to make sure they weren't overexposed.

"Being a household name would be good," he told Chris, "but there are dangers-- you could be kidnapped. It happened to Alec--some
rabbit kits got him--and David--a teenaged fox did."

"Yes," Chris had said. "I know you'd be concerned about me."

"So yes, if you were all over the media someone might get the idea to nab you..."

One day at Chris and Trenno's school, it did happen; or, actually, it happened on Trenno's way home (he had Chris on his upper arm,
attached by a velcro-like device). Suddenly three animals approached him--a fox, a wolf, and a raccoon. Trenno was about to ask them "can I help you?" when he noticed they all looked at each
other for a moment and the fox suddenly reached over and pulled
Chris off Trenno's arm, detaching the velcro . The wolf kneed
Trenno in the groin while the raccoon pulled at Trenno's other arm
and tried to bring him down. Trenno tried to fight back but found himself on the ground; the wolf collided with the fox though, and the latter animal dropped Chris. He felt himself falling down and bounced off Trenno's chest, then he rolled off, down to the ground.

"Dropped him!," the fox exclaimed. He reached down and tried to
pick up Chris. The tiny human found himself on the ground, trying to dodge the various footpaws of some of the animals. It was all a blur; a grey footpaw kicked him up, he bounced off the fox's tail, and then before he knew it a fox's paw curled around him and he was stuffed into a backpack.

Trenno had stood up and demanded they turn Chris over to him.
Suddenly the wolf and raccoon tried to tackle him again, and the wolf yelled "Run, Traxi, we'll hold him..." The fox ran over to a car,
got in, and took off.

"Nooooo," moaned Trenno, again trying to stand up. Now it was his turn to fight against the two attackers; he kneed one in the groin
then bit at the other's face with his sharp teeth. Trenno felt
himself getting punched and kneed again and he collapsed onto
the ground.

The wolf and the raccoon attackers suddenly took off, getting into another car which started up and sped away. It took a moment for
Trenno to get up, and it was painful to walk. He was more worried about Chris, though, a fragile alien who now was in the hands of
kidnappers.

Trenno couldn't see where the cars had gone. He couldn't find his
cellphone but a minute later he spotted it in a bush, where it had somehow landed. He called the police and told them what had happened. "Traxi", evidently a fox, was the one name he had gotten.

"I think there's a senior at my school named Traxi," he told them. "I don't know who the other two were." He tried to describe their
clothing but it was all so sudden he didn't quite get an accurate
description.

The police called someone at Trenno's school and asked if there were any students in the senior year named Traxi...as a kidnapping had just been committed.

"Someone kidnapped a 'Traxi'?," asked a school official.

"No, he helped to kidnap the...little guy. You know." The officer
couldn't remember the word 'human'. "

"Traxi...Bellfo? He's a fox. 17 years of age. We have his address, it's..."

--
The wolf, whose name was Mardo, had possession of Chris, though.
The three had all met at his house and put Chris into a cage.

Traxi Bellfo the fox, Mardo Ratner the wolf, and Vark Lenn the raccoon were all 17 years old and all attended Chris and Trenno's
school. They weren't really in the same classes as Chris and Trenno, but they saw the two of them talking and had gotten the memo about treating the Earthling with care.

"Bunch of crap about that, " said Mardo. "Who cares."

"We're being nice to him," said Vark. "We'll feed him, maybe even
let him out."

"Please just let me free...let me go back to Trenno," said Chris,
putting his tiny hands around the bars of the cage. "I don't belong locked up, guys. Please..."

Vark went over to the cage and looked at Chris. "Don't complain.
We may not feed you."

Mardo laughed and opened the lock of the cage with a key,
then took Chris out and headed toward his kitchen. "C'mon guys."

Before Chris knew it, he was tossed into a freezer.

"Little furless freak, let's see how he likes that," said Traxi. "Too bad we can't see in without opening the door. Give him a few minutes."

"Do you think he could escape through the ice dispenser?"

"Not without getting cut up. There are blades in there," said Mardo.

"We could get in trouble, guys," said Vark. "If he tells, or if his friend there, Trenno, does."

"I get him tonight--you get him tomorrow, and you the night after that," Mardo said, pointing to Vark and Traxi.

Vark sighed. "Poor little guy must be freezing in there."

"Is it just me or do raccoons have a soft spot for --hoomans, or whatever they're called?," said Traxi. "Why are you so suddenly
concerned?"

Vark shook his head. "I said I'd go along with this but now...
come on, he's so small. I feel bad for--"

"You do? It's not our fault he's that size. Tough crap."

"Please...it's so cold..." came the voice in the freezer. "I'll die..."

Vark reached over and opened the door of the freezer.

"Hey! My house, so what are you doing messing with--," exclaimed Mardo, but before he knew it, Vark had reached in and carefully put Chris into his paws. He closed the freezer door with his elbow and
wrapped his paws around Chris, who was shuddering. Chris looked up at Vark, his immense eyes surrounded by a black ring.

"Thank you...," he blurted out.

Vark looked over at his friends. "You said you wanted to play around with the little dude, but this isn't right."

"We can hold him for ransom," said Traxi. "Trenno will want him back so badly..."

Traxi heard a noise coming from his cell phone. It was an alert for
a text message, coming from his younger brother. POLICE LOOKING 4 U AT HOUSE WHATS UP

"How did they find out?," Traxi asked. "Does Trenno know me?"

"He might," said Mardo. "And they may ask around and find us."

"Which is why we hide him tonight, and keep quiet if they do come for us." Traxi looked over at Vark. "I said you get him tomorrow
night. Mardo has him tonight."

"I don't belong to any of you," they heard Chris say.

They all looked down at him.

"Who do you belong to, then...Trenno?" asked Traxi.

"No, I don't belong to anyone--well, other than the fact that he's
my brother."

Traxi and Mardo laughed. "I don't see the resemblance!," said the fox.

"Adopted, kind of," said Chris, who was at least starting to feel
warmer.

"So who do you like best, foxes, raccoons, or wolves?," asked Mardo.

"I would say raccoons, I guess, but any animals are fine--as long as they don't hurt me."

"Do you like us?"

Chris sighed. "It's hard to like animals who hurt you, steal you..."

Vark shook his head back and forth then looked up at his friends.

"Guys, this little one doesn't deserve to be..put into a freezer,
or a cage."

"That's what you say," said Traxi. "Keep it up, you won't get the right to keep him tomorrow night."

"Why do any of us get to 'keep him'? He has the right to be free
and stay with whomever he wants."

"Have you noticed his size? I think he'll do what WE say. I don't
think he's in any position to fight us."

---
Meanwhile Trenno was worried sick about Chris. He was assured by the police they could find him. "We didn't see him at his house, but we talked to his brother and parents."

"Did you search his house?"

"Yes, but found nothing," said the police officer.

"What about the...wolf and the raccoon?"

"Ah. His brother mentioned Traxi's friends, and we're trying their houses next."

The first was Mardo's and they found all three of them there
and searched the place but there was no sign of Chris. They expressed ignorance about the incident. As it turned out,
a neighbor had the habit of leaving his garage open and they had
run in and hid the cage, with Chris inside, there. It was padlocked and Mardo had the key. And they forced Chris to breathe in
a substance that would knock him unconscious for a few hours...

(more stuff)
"Well, I need to get home for dinner," said Traxi.

"So do I," said Vark.

Mardo's parents were just getting home from work. He said hello to them then went out with Vark and Traxi; Vark was going to walk home while Traxi was going to drive his car.

"Listen guys," said Vark. "Chris, the hooman, he's probably going to wake up in an hour or two..."

"Yes, and Mardo can get him and have him for the night. Keep
him well hid though," Traxi instructed Mardo. He turned to face Vark.

"You raccoons," he scoffed. "You are your little bitty alien friends."

"So I'm bad for feeling sorry for the little guy?"

"Hey--he did tell us he was 'adopted'--so I guess he's a raccoon like you, huh?," laughed Mardo. "Leave it to raccoons to get all soft and mushy-like."

"That's species-ist," said Vark. "You know no one species is any better or worse than another."

"Really? I eat fish, I eat chicken; we must be better than them."

"They're not intelligent like all of us are." Vark looked down for a moment. "We're giants, to him. If we went to his planet we'd
tower over everything."

"Yeah!," said Traxi, pumping his fist. "Destruction!"

"No, not destruction. No, we'd be awesome and helpful to them,
and we can be that way to Chris right here. We are...giants.
We shouldn't hurt a little guy like that, just because we can."

"Wimp. You're just upset because we beat up his friend, a raccoon
just like you."

Vark's mouth dropped open. "Just like us...Chris is just like us.
That's just it--he's our age. He's like us, without the fur or tails.
How would we like to be treated that way?"

"Look," said Mardo. "We are in trouble here. We could get suspended or expelled from school, maybe even wind up in
jail for taking the creature."

"Kidnapping. That's what we did," said Vark. "Oh why did I agree to this? I think when you put him in the freezer, I finally woke up."

Suddenly they heard a voice nearby. "Where is my little friend?
You took him."

They turned around and saw Trenno, who had shown up, having looked up Mardo's address in a phone book.

"What little friend? You mean the doll?," chuckled Traxi.

"My human friend, Chris. You have him here, right? Or is he in your car? Give him back."

"Do you want to tangle with us again? Three of us, one of you."

Then Vark went over to Trenno and stood next to him and looked over to his friends.

"Two of us, two of you."

"You're defecting to his side, ringtail?" He laughed. "Raccoons!"

Vark looked at Trenno with sorrow. "I'm ashamed that we...
sorry we beat you up and took your friend."

"Do you know where he is?"

The other two got angry. "Vark!," shouted Mardo. "You traitor!
Don't you dare..."

Vark turned to face Mardo. "Bring out the cage key, or I'll
turn you both in."

Trenno got excited. "You have him? Where...a cage???"

Mardo let out a long sigh. "Unbelievable." He walked back into
his house.

"You're not getting him that key, are you?," asked Traxi. "Please
tell me you're just going in to have dinner." In a flash, Traxi raced over to try and block Mardo.

"Just give up." Mardo went inside and emerged with a key.

"I'll be late for dinner, so I'd better go," said Traxi, getting into
his car.

"Are you reporting us to the police?," asked Mardo.

"Yes. Maybe they'll show you some mercy--oh hell, not that you
deserve any--but you have a chance to redeem yourself. Please
take me to him..." He looked over at Traxi. "Go, if you have to,
but we're not done with you."

Traxi scoffed, started his car, and drove away. Mardo looked over at
Vark with a bit of disgust and said simply, "Make sure I get the
cage back."

"Good to see you guys aren't apologizing or anything," said Trenno
sarcastically.

"I am," said Vark. "Follow me."

Two houses away, the garage next to a neighbor's home was still open. Vark slipped in through a side door and got the cage out. They went to a nearby park.

Trenno looked in and saw Chris was asleep--or, knocked unconscious. Vark inserted the key in the padlock and carefully took Chris out. The human was on Vark's right cupped paw, still
unconscious but stirring a bit.

"I'm sorry," said Vark, getting emotional. "I was stupid to go along
with this. Then again, if I didn't maybe he'd be still in the freezer...."

"He got put into a freezer?"

"Just for a moment. I got him out. I just realized that it was wrong.
Wrong to take him, wrong to beat you up, wrong to put him in a cage..."

Chris started to awaken. Evidently the dose of chemical that knocked him out hadn't been strong enough to make him unconscious for two hours. He looked up at Vark's face and then saw Trenno was nearby.

"Chris? Are you feeling all right?," asked Vark.

Chris nodded. "Where are we?"

"A park near Mardo's house. They knocked you out..."

"Vark? You got me out of that freezer...thank you."

Vark nodded and smiled. "I am so sorry."

"Trenno...I'm so glad to see you. I wish I could have helped."

"Chris? Helped...?"

"When they were beating you up. But I'm so small, there's
no way I could have."

"I tried to protect you, but there were three of them."

"Where are the other two?," asked Chris. "The wolf and the
fox?"

"They went to their homes. But they will be punished, by the school, by the police--I may be punished too."

Trenno said, "Maybe they will go easier on you. You got him back."

Vark smiled. "I told them you were just like us--smaller, no fur, no tail, but just like us. And they had...we had..no right to take you
like that."

Trenno looked over to Vark. "If you had asked nicely I would have let you hang around with him--that is, Chris would have agreed to..."

Traxi, Vark, and Mardo all appeared in school the next day; Trenno had explained to school officials what had happened. They got a stern lecture and were suspended for three days. Their parents agreed that the boys would stay at their homes and study,
and privileges were suspended for the three days. At the end of the three days, all three of them were to show up at school again
and apologize to Chris and Trenno.

The school officials said they were being very lenient. No charges
were filed with the police, despite the kidnapping and assault.
All three were told it would be much worse if they broke any rules or laws in the future.

9
When the three days were up, Traxi, Vark, and Mardo all appeared back at school. They showed up to the principal/headmaster's office and sat at a round table with the principal--and Trenno, plus Chris
who sat atop a book in front of Trenno. Chris and Trenno both looked uneasy. The three 'offenders' seemed frustrated they had to be there.

"We said what you did was wrong and you were disciplined by this school and your parents. We didn't turn you over to the police, on the condition you took some time off to think about what you've done and I hope you've learned from it. You knew you were to treat the human well."

In effect, their crime was kidnapping and imprisoning Chris in a cage (twice) while they had kneed, punched, and brought down Trenno.
But the school wanted them to learn a valuable lesson.

"Now," the principal, a ferret, continued, "we need to have you apologize."

Traxi looked down for a moment with a do-I-really-have-to-do-this?
expression, then looked up and over at Chris and Trenno.

"We do need to say we're sorry. I had seen you guys and thought it was kind of stupid to have a little pet--I know, you aren't, Chris--
a little pet attached to your arm, Trenno. I figured we could take
Chris and have a little fun with him, since he's so tiny. I was going to just have Vark and Mardo hold you back, Trenno, while I took Chris away but they got a bit carried away. So did I really; I should have just introduced myself and asked to see Chris for awhile."

Mardo said, "We wanted to just goof off on him since we were so big. I'm sorry, we were so stupid. He's just, so small; we couldn't
picture him as being just like us."

"Which he is," chimed in Vark. "I saw that...I'm sorry, too. But I
saw he was really just a teen like us, only smaller. Helpless. I was
stupid to go along."

The principal spoke up. "We did tell you to respect him as one of your own. We have animals of different species here and so is he.
He so happens to be from another planet, and is smaller than us.
We should be honored to have a visitor from another world here."

Chris piped in, "I wanted to come here."

Traxi looked surprised. "To be with giants? Really?"

"Yes. I like giant animals--when they're kind."

Vark looked sad for a moment. "We could have killed you if
we weren't careful."

Chris walked over to Vark. "And you did something to knock me
out, some kind of chemical--"

"So you wouldn't start screaming for help when the neighbor got home. For all we knew the chemical could have killed you, too.
We weren't thinking."

Chris walked over to Mardo and looked up at him. "Kids our age can be smart but some can do dumb things. Just before I left there
was something on the news about some kids at a high school
who snuck some alcohol in--colorless, blended in a water bottle;
one kid, maybe 14 years old, went into the woods and drank so
much of it he almost died."

The principal nodded. "Animals can do stupid things, or hurtful ones."

Vark said, "If I were there I would have tried to stop him."

"You would have scared him to death, being so big," said Traxi.

"Well, no, imagine if I were a hooman like him, and..."

"Anyway, we all do apologize," said Mardo. "I shouldn't have stuck you in the freezer either--I know it was just for a minute but I wanted to see..." His voice dropped off.

Chris looked up at all of them. "I do accept your apologies. I'm glad it turned out well...Trenno?"

Trenno said, "Yes, I accept their apologies too. I will say it hurt
when they kneed me, but it hurt even more knowing they took you
like that, Chris."

Traxi asked Chris, "We'll ask you from now on when...as of matter of fact, Chris, I want to ask if I can hold you in my paw. Is that OK?"

"As long as you're gentle." Chris moved over toward Traxi who cupped his right paw and Chris stepped aboard. He sat cross legged on it as Traxi gently drew the fingers toward him, and he used his other paw in case Chris fell off. In his right paw he held a human being from planet Earth, just shy of six feet tall, dressed in a red hooded sweatshirt, jeans, socks and sneakers. He had long blonde
hair and was slender.

Chris looked up at the massive face above him; red fur on top
and white fur on the bottom half of the snout; a black, cold nose
and green round eyes.

"I really am sorry we took you. We should have asked." Traxi
looked over at Trenno. "He is just like us, in some ways. He's
not a little pet."

"We share the same kind of interests, we became friends quickly--
he's like a little version of me, and I want to protect him," Trenno said.

Mardo looked over at the tiny human and said to him, "I feel bad you have no tail..."

"I'm used to it," Chris said.

Chris looked up again at Traxi. For a moment he thought the fox
would be sarcastic, rebellious; a jerk, at this meeting, but suddenly he had softened.

"A big guy like me hates being wrong," he told Chris. "But I was wrong. We were stupid, even maybe hateful...or...jealous."

"Jealous?," asked Trenno.

Mardo spoke up. "You had a little alien buddy and we didn't. I know,
we 'should have asked'. It was almost like you had a toy, a pet, a game, and we didn't."

"More humans might move to Wodlen," Chris told the wolf. "Maybe more animals might get little friends from Earth."

"Vark," Traxi told the raccoon, "you noticed right away we were
doing the wrong thing. But you did right."

Vark nodded. "I did go along with you but something was telling me it was wrong to do, and when I saw him in the cage--then put in
the freezer..."

Traxi chuckled. "I think I said something like 'what is it with you raccoons, feeling sorry for someone little like Chris'. But you
were right." He gently placed Chris back on the table.

"And from now on I want you to treat him with respect, of course.
Especially since he's so small and life can be dangerous for him,"
said the principal.

"We will," they all agreed.

The animals who had captured Chris didn't seem so bad now. They had learned they made a mistake and did what they could to
correct it. Sometimes it takes a mistake, once it's corrected,
to bring about a positive outcome. They acted rashly, were
punished, and now were learning that the little creature
they didn't think much of was actually someone to be treasured.

Chris wondered if there was something in the rich air of Wodlen;
it made him feel good and satisfied. The animals wondered if
there was something in Chris being an Earthling...an alien who
managed to charm Wodlenians just being what and who he was.
----
That night Trenno lay in bed, on his back, occasionally turning his head to his right. Chris lay there, beside the pillow, on his back as well. A 70 inch tall teen and a 70 foot tall teen, close friends. Brothers, even.

"Why were we created this way?," asked Chris. "Me, a human,
you a raccoon, the different sizes, and on different worlds."

"Nothing wrong with being different, of course. We're intelligent creatures who can find things in common, despite the differences."

"Maybe it was just chance that put us in these bodies and on our own worlds. Trenno, do you believe in God?"

"I'd like to think so. I don't know for sure. Something, or someone,
created the universe. And He must have had a reason for putting us in these bodies, and on our planets."

"Same here, I'd like to think so...something created all of this. And you know, as much as I like being with giant animals, sometimes I do wonder why we are the sizes we are. It can be dangerous being this size. I do like having you to protect me, but sometimes I wonder if it would be better if we were the same size."

"Yes. And you know...whomever created us, and the universe,
maybe they meant for us to be friends, and for me to be your
protector. Could have been the other way around for all we know."

"So...I'm picturing a little bitty raccoon no bigger than my hand,
coming to Earth, and I'd protect you..."

Trenno laughed. "Why yes, it could have been that way, and thank you for offering to do that, if that's the way it HAD been!"

They were silent for a moment. Trenno said, "So, you still
like Wodlen, even after all this with those guys?"

"Yes, I do."

"It's so interesting that you don't want to go back to Earth. I know you like it, but is Earth really that bad?"

"It can be bad, or good, but I just didn't feel a part of it. When I met Vardi and he told me he was from a world of giant animals I figured I'd try it. You know, my father asked if I was sure I wanted to come here and be here. Was I doing the right thing, wouldn't my parents be worried. I...I felt I was doing right."

He still occasionally saw Vardi and his family, of course, but had
forged a strong friendship, or was it a sense of family, with Trenno and his parents and siblings.

Trenno nodded and yawned. "I'd better take you over to your...
house." He almost said 'dollhouse'.

"That's OK, I'll head there on my own."
After asking to pick him up, Trenno reached over and picked up Chris in his right paw, brought him back over his body, and deposited him gently on the floor. Chris walked over to a makeshift elevator Ungorp had made; he stepped aboard and was brought up 45 feet or so to the dresser top, where the dollhouse was.

"Good night my brother," he called over.

"Good night," Trenno, half asleep, murmured.

Chris got into his bedroom; there was now a small space heater
Ungorp had installed but he didn't see the need to put it on tonight. Still, as he got into bed he put the 'blanket' of Jarnik's fur over himself as he got into bed. The thick, soft fur felt good over his body.

He went to sleep in his home within a home, on the planet he chose to be on. He had pleasant dreams.
10

The size difference meant that someone like Trenno had to help Chris out with various things, at home and at school, though sometimes he could cope with various innovations. When he got up in the morning, he would get dressed, walk out of the dollhouse and over to an elevator Ungorp had put in. It really was much like a modified soup can, with a cut out so he could get in. Pressing a button brought it about 45 feet down by way of thread which seemed to him like rope. He would get out and walk carefully over to Trenno, who would take him for a bath (in the sink) and then to the kitchen table to eat.

Chris was carried around by Trenno when at school, sometimes by way of a velcro-like fastener on his upper arm, and sometimes at the top of his backpack (with the cover pulled back so he could breathe, of course). When he had to go to the rest room, Trenno would take him in and put him on the lip at the bottom of the urinal (it was about a foot and a half wide).
As Chris urinated in the huge repository, Trenno stood by and made sure no animal headed toward it. If Chris had to do "number two", Trenno kept a portable toilet of sorts in his locker. It was much like the "porta-potties"
on Earth, at music festivals or construction sites.

During class, Chris would sit on top of Trenno's desk. He had his own kind of netbook and recording device. At lunch period, he would sit atop Trenno's desk and eat some of his food, on smaller plates. Soda pop or
soup could be fit into a one-foot-diameter bottle cap for him.

The day when the three 17 year olds returned to school, Vark and Traxi
sat at a table in the cafeteria, talking and eating.

"So I'm guessing you weren't punished as bad as us," said Traxi. "You helped him get back to Trenno so I'm sure your privileges weren't
cut back."

"On the first day they were," the raccoon replied. "I was okay after that but I did get suspended for three days, just like you....I noticed he wasn't
afraid of you by the way."

"Chris?"

"Yeah, when you held him in your paw."

"Why would he be scared? If I did something wrong I'd be in trouble.
The principal was right there."

"He wouldn't have been scared anyway. He seems like a nice guy,
and brave--being next to 'giants' like us."

"He's used to Trenno."

"Yes," said Vark, "but Trenno's kind to him. We weren't. Hmm, I might have felt a bit frightened if I were that size."

Traxi smirked. "I sort of figured you'd have sympathy for a lil' guy."

He had smirked because Vark was on the shorter side himself. He was all of...65 feet tall.

"You seemed to be softening up a bit with him. Maybe you're becoming a raccoon like me." He glanced at the fox's tail. "Whoa...I think I'm seeing black stripes on there..."

He was kidding of course. Traxi rolled his eyes. "Now, really!"

Mardo joined them at that point. "I was talking to Trenno and Chris over at the other end of the room," he explained. "I think they're fine with us now,
as long as we act all right. I was kinda defending you," he said to Traxi.

"Me?"

"Well, you've told us before your parents are strict and I said sometimes
you might seem a little mean because you're frustrated about that."

"Did you get a psychology degree when I wasn't looking?"

Mardo chuckled. "But I know it hasn't been easy for you, Trax."

"So were you saying that was why I, or we, took Chris?"

Vark jumped in, "Traxi isn't a mean fox. I think we saw his softer side today, didn't we, Trax?"

Trax smiled and continued to eat.

"They told me that they've got foxes, wolves, and raccoons on Earth but they don't really talk, and...raccoons raid barrels, foxes steal chickens,
and wolves bay at the moon."

Traxi deadpanned, "I paid for this chicken sandwich, I'll have you know."

"And they hunt and trap foxes and raccoons for their fur."

Traxi laughed. "Those little hoomans might have a tough time with me!"

(As a matter of fact, Ungorp was told by humans about how foxes were hunted. When he was on Earth, a human named Peter Hernandez played a CD by a Earth group called The Beatles. "Listen to this part at the end...
the song is called Good Morning Good Morning." There were various sound effects including barking hounds, horse hoofbeats, and horns. "That's
the sounds of a fox hunt," Peter had said.)

"That's there but not here," Vark said.

to be continued