“So, it’s Friday, Madam,” said Ralph.
“What’s on your mind today?”
“How do you know it’s Friday, Ralph. You don’t keep track. That’s Pinkie stuff,” replied herself, Maeve.
“Well, since you want to know all my secrets, Ranger Rick knows it’s Friday, so if I want to, I know it’s Friday too,” said Ralph.
“Oh, I see!” said Maeve. She didn’t really, but she doesn’t like to be caught in the dark.
“Let’s see. What’s on my mind? Naming. That’s what’s on my mind,” said she.
“How so,” asked Ralph.
“I have noticed, over the long years in which I have sat upon your shoulder and listened to you at great lengths, that you give names to people, animals and in fact, birds, such as myself,” said Maeve. “Why do you do that when they have perfectly serviceable names already?”
“Ah, my dear,” said Ralph. He laughed and craned his head around to get a good look at her on his shoulder. “I do it because I am so full of love that it comes out of my mouth in the form of love names.”
“And a love name is what, Boss,” said Maeve.
“Oh, that’s hard to nail down, Maeve. Sometimes it amounts to something special I see in a creature. Or, it could be a joke that we have between us, maybe a secret joke! It’s like calling you Black Leg. It just means that you’re a pretty bird with black legs because you’re a raven and ravens have black legs and I love you,” explained Ralph.
“But these names change and stack up until a creature has a bunch of them,” said Maeve.
“Uncle Bob is a good example, Maeve. He’s not an Uncle, but he has some ineffable qualities of uncle-ness. He’s silly and affable, like an old uncle. When I call him Bob, I’m giving him a courtesy, as a fully adult brother. Uncle Bob is his main love name.
“I call Ramona Mona, because it’s soft and near, like she is,” said Ralph.
“How do you know it’s Friday, Ralph. You don’t keep track. That’s Pinkie stuff,” replied herself, Maeve.
“Well, since you want to know all my secrets, Ranger Rick knows it’s Friday, so if I want to, I know it’s Friday too,” said Ralph.
“Oh, I see!” said Maeve. She didn’t really, but she doesn’t like to be caught in the dark.
“Let’s see. What’s on my mind? Naming. That’s what’s on my mind,” said she.
“How so,” asked Ralph.
“I have noticed, over the long years in which I have sat upon your shoulder and listened to you at great lengths, that you give names to people, animals and in fact, birds, such as myself,” said Maeve. “Why do you do that when they have perfectly serviceable names already?”
“Ah, my dear,” said Ralph. He laughed and craned his head around to get a good look at her on his shoulder. “I do it because I am so full of love that it comes out of my mouth in the form of love names.”
“And a love name is what, Boss,” said Maeve.
“Oh, that’s hard to nail down, Maeve. Sometimes it amounts to something special I see in a creature. Or, it could be a joke that we have between us, maybe a secret joke! It’s like calling you Black Leg. It just means that you’re a pretty bird with black legs because you’re a raven and ravens have black legs and I love you,” explained Ralph.
“But these names change and stack up until a creature has a bunch of them,” said Maeve.
“Uncle Bob is a good example, Maeve. He’s not an Uncle, but he has some ineffable qualities of uncle-ness. He’s silly and affable, like an old uncle. When I call him Bob, I’m giving him a courtesy, as a fully adult brother. Uncle Bob is his main love name.
“I call Ramona Mona, because it’s soft and near, like she is,” said Ralph.
"Sometimes I like to call Bob and Berry Left and Right!" He giggled. "They can't keep it straight and neither can I!"
“I suppose it’s the same reason I call you Boss,” said Maeve. “It’s your main quality, with a bit of humor attached to it. You’re not actually bossy, but you are commanding in a sense, without the quality of nitpicking bossiness.”
“A thing I like to do with visitors to the forest here, is to observe their hearts and give them a name that is a connection between me and them. I know them then. I choose something in this person. I have a sneaky feeling that my names might even help them somehow to change in a direction that they would like to go. Say, I see a lonely skinny kid wandering around, avoiding his family and being a general pain, I might name him something to do with wisdom and courage. I never know. It just comes to mind.
“Sad discouraged women are a favorite subject. I like to inject some hope and maybe a little glamour into their internal landscape. Why not? Women need a little of that or they fade,” said Ralph.
“Well, you asked me what was on my mind, and I did tell you, and you did answer,” said Maeve. “Thank you. It explains a lot,” said Maeve.
She paced back and forth on his shoulder, fussing and making raven noises for a few moments.
Finally she stopped pacing and said, “Aw, Boss. You know I love you! How could anyone not love you? You’re a fount of wisdom and greatness on two big hairy feet!”
Maeve then took off to fly to her nest, and Ralph just sat there smiling up into the air as she flew. He shook his head, grinning, and decided to go see what was going on back in the Home Clearing, just down the path from his big cedar log.
“I suppose it’s the same reason I call you Boss,” said Maeve. “It’s your main quality, with a bit of humor attached to it. You’re not actually bossy, but you are commanding in a sense, without the quality of nitpicking bossiness.”
“A thing I like to do with visitors to the forest here, is to observe their hearts and give them a name that is a connection between me and them. I know them then. I choose something in this person. I have a sneaky feeling that my names might even help them somehow to change in a direction that they would like to go. Say, I see a lonely skinny kid wandering around, avoiding his family and being a general pain, I might name him something to do with wisdom and courage. I never know. It just comes to mind.
“Sad discouraged women are a favorite subject. I like to inject some hope and maybe a little glamour into their internal landscape. Why not? Women need a little of that or they fade,” said Ralph.
“Well, you asked me what was on my mind, and I did tell you, and you did answer,” said Maeve. “Thank you. It explains a lot,” said Maeve.
She paced back and forth on his shoulder, fussing and making raven noises for a few moments.
Finally she stopped pacing and said, “Aw, Boss. You know I love you! How could anyone not love you? You’re a fount of wisdom and greatness on two big hairy feet!”
Maeve then took off to fly to her nest, and Ralph just sat there smiling up into the air as she flew. He shook his head, grinning, and decided to go see what was going on back in the Home Clearing, just down the path from his big cedar log.
🤍
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