Anita and the ball of fluff

Prompt: A child discovers something in the forest.
Source

Disclaimer: Despite never having watched totoro, I understand this may come too close to the nose. Ehh, whatever. Japanese animation is good and amazing storytelling, don't mind if I get inspired.


Anita who was turning nine this winter liked to rest against the big pipal tree and sleep in its shadows as the goats frolicked about. The other goatherds were afraid of the slopes she enjoyed not being disturbed. The midday sun and the cloth-ful of popped corns with spicy achar she had for lunch did their deed she was dozing off. A plane flew over, the goatherd peeked at the sky to look the beautiful tail trail it left behind. A big ball of silky curly brownish fur stared back at the young girl. She jumped in fear, and poked it a little with her sharp stick. It yawned and rolled around on its tummy, and stretched wide.

***
The young girl had found her new best friend, it hadn't bitten her in the two hours she had been play-chasing it and didn't attack the goats either. She took it to the stream and it lapped up the water, the corn that the fascinated child offered was all gobbled up quick. Careful like the mountain goatherd she was trained to become, the mountain adventurer smelled the being there was no rotting or nauseating smell. After poking and prodding around, playing with its silky hair the careful goatherd confirmed the animal wasn't sick or infected with any bugs. It was safe to play with.

The curious girl knew strange-animals you find in the forest had special abilitie, magical powers. You needed to force them to use their abilities. Perhaps it could fly or grant wishes like them ghosts that gave three wishes and you could ask for unlimited wishes maybe it was one of the gods vehicles and you could ask it for favor from its rider she hoped it was a magical creture who laid eggs of chocolate and sweets and if not that at least golden eggs. Strange beings that looked somewhat like a dog and nothing like a hen didn't lay eggs, but this was a magical being it could probably do anything. THe possibilities titillated the young lady she would become popular and could go to school the whole year the family could hire their own goatherd!

***
It was getting cold. The cuddly creature was now dusty and dirty and had trouble walking around. Anita picked it up and dropped it to the ground for one last time. It fell like a heavy stone.

She shouted at it, in what she wanted to be a foreign language. She tried all the words of english she knew, she asked the fluffball what his name was and where he was from. She asked in Nepali if he could understand her and if he knew what her heart's wishes were. The child gestured with her hands asking the cute hairball if he was auditory disabled, she signaled to him asking if he could fly. No good. She gve him more corn it gobbled those up. His sounds were more strained and tired as if he was done playing.

It was getting cold.

It would be dark soon and the goats could get lost. She packed up her clothes and food got her big stick and called the goats. They were lazily sitting on the grass and staring at the sun as they chewed their lunch. Upon hearing their name they perked up and ambled towards her.

She didn't know who he belonged to or if he was a wild animal. She would come back again soon and hope he was around.

She had walked by for five minutes and the animal was still lying on the ground unmoving. There were jackals and leopards in the forest, no animal was safe out in the open by themselves unless they could climb trees. That poor creature would soon be the dinner of one of the hunters nearby.

She would take him home, at least until he was healed again. She had hurt him by trying to test for his abilities.
***

Anita called him badmas, bad boy. He didn't seem to listen to anything she told him. He didn't follow any commands and didn't know good from bad. In a houseful of cats dogs goats chickens sheep cows buffalos and who knew how many ducks Badmas was just another thing that would have to coexist with everyone she wouldn't give him any special preference. Mother accepted him happily he looked like a strange breed of dog probably one of those foreign ones they were importing and gave him a nice wash.

Anita didn't like to admit Badmas was her pet, she ordered him to stay 10 hands away from her when her friends were around. He would follow the instructions for a moment, and come jumping right at her face. Mother found him a nice rug to sleep on, she was okay with him sleeping under Anita's bed since he didn't go out and get wet dirty smelly. He ate as much as two big goats but it was fine, the milk and grains were abundant and the hens were giving more chickens than anyone could handle.

***

When Anita went to school she took Badmas with him, he scurried by her side on the bridges and the steep climbs, running past her confusing the local pets. In those long minutes of walking, on days when her friends were tending to their own farms and animals, she talked to badmas about her teachers, homework, her classmates and parents. He was a patient listener and seemed to enjoy hearing her.