Etham was growing quickly. He was getting too big for his house. Then one day, after a lesson on building with rocks, Etham tried to eat Mr. Owl! That ogre grabbed Mr. Owl by the wings, bared his stinky yellow-brown teeth, and was ready to take a big bite, when Mr. Owl, knowing exactly what would happen if he did not act quickly, bit the ogre’s fat dirty little nose as hard as he could. The ogre screamed in pain and threw Mr. Owl against the wall. Mr. Owl wasted no time escaping out the open roof while the ogre child held on to his bloody nose and screamed and screamed. Miranda’s neighbours fled for their lives. Etham thrashed and kicked until his house was a circle of muddy sticks on the bank. All the while Miranda had been calling into his smaller, non-pointy ear for him to stop; but the ogre’s dumb hunger and stupid rage deafened him to her cries of terror. To test his strength against the ones who cared about him and becoming free at their expense was just something he had to do.
Etham wanted to live and work on his own. Etham did not want a tiny twig and dirt box to live in by the stream. Etham did not want to eat nuts and study unimportant things all day long. Etham knew how to build. Etham could make his own food. Etham didn’t need anyone. Etham had his own destiny and he saw it standing before him like a dream in his imagination. Etham’s destiny was a stone tower taller than the tallest oaks in the ancient forest. Etham was going to build that tower.
All four of Miranda’s neighbours crossed the sparkling blue stream never to return. They all agreed that Etham had betrayed them; and if something like that happened again, one of them could be eaten! It was for their own safety that they could not forgive him.
Only Mr. Snake seemed oddly satisfied about what had happened. Sure, he agreed that they must never return, but their was something untrustworthy in his voice; and he said everything with a kind of sideways grin. Mr. Owl suspected foul play. Mr. Owl was certain that that snake had done something awful. The others just believed what they had been told from legends old: Trust an ogre as you would a snake; an ogre cannot be trusted.
As for Miranda, she knew she was safe. Etham, too, knew that there was something so deep and true in their love that he could never consciously harm her. There was that, and then, of course, there was the fact that such a clumsy ogre simply had no chance of ever laying a hand on such a lithe fairy. Then again, perhaps there are more than one way to catch a fairy and only one is with your hands.
After many apologies from Miranda on behalf of Etham, her neighbours agreed that they would help him and give her advice, but on the condition that they would only ever speak through Miranda and that they would never ever cross the blue stream, not even if Etham was in danger. They simply could not put themselves at risk. Miranda agreed to their terms and began to work harder than she ever had before.