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Dwellers of the Jagged
Cliff Mrs. John Austin Dwellers of the
Jagged Cliff
By Mrs. John Austin
February 16, 2004
Copyright © 2004
Once upon a time there
was a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by the
wise and gracious King Theos.
The land in the
kingdom had rolling green hills and valleys.
Most of the houses were built upon the
hills. It was a safe and lovely place for
the people living in this kingdom. It's name
was Cloveland.
There was but one area
in the kingdom, which was not safe. This was
the area along a high cliff. Down the side
of this cliff were jagged rocks which stuck
out in varying lengths with sharp points.
The drop to the ground below was very long.
And so, people of the community, called this
place: Jagged Cliff. If a person were to
fall off this cliff, they would most
certainly meet their end in a very painful
and terrifying way.
There was a traveler
who once came through the kingdom. He
thought the people were ridiculous. He
walked along the cliff, jumped up and down
near it and pretended to trip and almost
fall over it. He did this daily for quite
some time whenever he knew some of the
people on the hill nearby were watching.
However, one day he really did trip and that
was the end of this traveler.
The kingdom people
warned there children of this and told them
the story of the traveler. They told their
children to continue telling this story to
their own children once they were grown and
had families of their own.
It was about at this
time that King Theos moved to his palace far
up on a flat mountain top. He kept abreast
of all that went on in his kingdom from this
location. But he did not come down from the
mountain as he had done in past times.
The fathers in
Cloveland were faithful in teaching their
children all the ways of the kingdom, and
the laws and work that each needed to do in
order that the kingdom should thrive in
unity and beauty.
The kingdom did thrive
peacefully for many years. But as time past,
20, 30, 40 years later....things gradually
started to change. The kingdom people of
this newer generation were not as diligent
in teaching their children about the dangers
of Jagged Cliff. In fact it was not even
spoken of in many homes, so some of those
children were growing up with no knowledge
of the danger.
Still, the kingdom
remained united for the most part. Some of
the children who were taught, would tell
some of the other kingdom children who were
not. So the information was spread, but not
with the same importance as it had been in
the past.
One day, the kingdom
was invaded by a neighboring kingdom, the
Mureks. The Murek's lived on the cliff on
the other side of the gorge facing Jagged
Cliff. The Mureks were having a famine and
they were desperate for food. They did not
ask for help from other kingdoms, instead
the king of Murek, who was not a wise king,
planned attacks on unsuspecting kingdoms in
order to steal their food. The kingdoms near
Murek were also built on sections of the
cliff surrounding the gorge. But the kingdom
people of Cloveland built their houses far
from the cliff for safety reasons.
The king of Murek did
not care about the lives of the people in
his kingdom, nor in others which would be
destroyed. He had not planned for the future
of his kingdom. All the wealth of the
kingdom of Murek was wasted on luxuries for
the king's palace.
The citizens of Murek
would spend most of their profits on gifts
to their king. In return, they were told
they would earn his favor. But it did not
seem that this ever really happened, for the
king was only interested in himself.
When the army of Murek
attacked Cloveland it was a great surprise.
But King Theos had readied his army for just
such an event as this. They fought back the
Murek army, which fled from Cloveland
leaving behind many dead soldiers from Murek.
Sadly, there were also several men from the
Cloveland army who lost their lives
protecting their homes and land.
The kingdom people of
Cloveland worked together to re-build things
that were destroyed during the Murek war.
There seemed to be a sense of unity
re-gained that had become a bit stale prior
to the war.
The fathers who were
still teaching their children all the ways
of the kingdom, thought it was a sad shame
that the children, whose fathers had died
during the war, would no longer be taught
these important things.
King Theos had always
proclaimed that the duty to teach the
children belonged to the father of each
household. But, these children now were
fatherless. Surely they could come up with a
way to teach them what they needed to know.
They held a meeting
and one man suggested that some of the
families that still had a living father,
could invite in another family who had lost
a father whenever they were learning the
ways of the kingdom. But no one thought much
of the idea, so it wasn't discussed.
Finally the men
decided what they would do. The following
day an announcement was made. It stated:
"All who are fatherless in the Kingdom of
Cloveland are now invited to Wednesday
Session. Wednesday Session will be a time of
instruction and guidance for all who no
longer have a father to teach them. Children
who attend will learn of the laws of the
kingdom and the work that they must continue
to do in the kingdom in order to maintain
it."
All the people of
Cloveland cheered this great cause. They
honored the men who came up with the idea
with a celebration.
Wednesday Session seemed to go very well at
first. Children were taught and the
community thrived. But not long after it had
started meeting, some of the father's became
a bit troubled.
One day, a farmer
whose name was Rinkin was in the town square
speaking with another father whose name was
Clee.
"I don't think it's
right what they are doing in Wednesday
Session", said Rinkin.
"What do you mean?"
Clee asked.
"Well, here they are,
teaching the orphans in the kingdom, and my
boys aren't learning anything about it. My
father didn't teach me, so how am I suppose
to teach them. Besides, I'm too busy to
bother with such things, I have a living to
make you know!"
"Well," replied Clee,
"Why don't you ask if your boys can attend
Wednesday Sessions too. After all, you
contribute to this community. They are
already teaching the orphans, what's a few
more boys?--If you like, I'll ask them to
teach my children as well."
Rinken and Clee
approached the men who taught the orphans
and pleaded their case before them.
The men were a little bit uncomfortable with
the idea at first, because after all,
Wednesday Session was started in order to
teach the fatherless. Those who still had
fathers should really be taught by them.
But, since King Theos had never said
anything to stop Wednesday Session, they
thought it couldn't hurt anything to add a
few more. So they decided to allow it. As
time past, more and more of the kingdom
people put their own children in Wednesday
Session. This took a great deal of
responsibility off of the fathers and they
could spend much more of their time away
from home selling their produce and building
up their land with many more conveniences.
Years past, and things
gradually changed. Very few children now
were taught the ways of the kingdom at home.
The Wednesday Session now had new leaders.
Most men were busy during the time of
Wednesday Session, so women now taught.
Jagged Cliff was no longer even spoken of.
Instead the Wednesday Sessions started using
new methods to get a larger amount of
children to attend. They used puppets,
flannel graphs, and songs that the children
could make motions with as they sang them.
They even worked hard to convince the
children who still were being taught by
their fathers, that they were missing out on
all the fun.
Soon, a few houses
were being built right on the cliffs edge.
The kingdom people who had grown up being
warned of Jagged Cliff were shocked to see
the indifference that most people now had
for the danger they were near. Those who
lived on the cliff, allowed their little
children to play right on the edge. Some
parents even encouraged them to go ahead,
and do more tricks on the cliff than the
neighbor kids. It was kind of a competition
to see who could get closest and not fall
off.
Of course, children did start falling off.
When one would plunge to his death. The
parents would be very sad. They could not
understand. After all, they had put their
children in Wednesday Session since they
were infants. They should have been taught
there by the teachers if they were doing
anything dangerous. They were told by other
parents living on the cliff that is was not
there fault. "These kind of things just
happen, and there is no one to blame."
Still the parents who
lost children off the cliff did not seem to
understand those who chose not to live
anywhere near Jagged Cliff. Some would even
make fun of them because they wanted to
believe they were doing the right thing and
that living on the Jagged Cliff or far away
from it, were just choices of equal value.
One day when the people of the kingdom were
at a regular gathering, one of the fathers,
Oren, who had been taught by his father the
rules and work of the kingdom, tried to warn
people of the dangers of being on Jagged
Cliff. But the kingdom people just laughed
at him and discussed amongst themselves what
a legalist Oren must be. They even felt
sorry for his poor children, because they
thought their lives must be quite dull.
Years continued to go
by, until it got to the point where
Wednesday Session decided to move its
meeting place right to the very edge of
Jagged Cliff. It would be a great adventure
they thought. The Wednesday Session teachers
during this time in Cloveland's history,
were usually either: a young married couple
who had not yet had children, or a young man
who was only a few years older than the
children whom he was teaching. But it didn't
really matter anymore if the teachers knew
very much. The message changed. Now the
children were taught to just love King Theos
in what ever way made them feel best. They
were told that the laws and work of the
kingdom were no longer important and did not
apply to them. The children's present
happiness was of utmost importance.
Finally, Wednesday
Session got to the point where they were
actually teaching the children to live on
Jagged Cliff as close to the edge as they
could. This would make them very
approachable by people from other kingdoms.
Then, they could tell those people from
surrounding Kingdoms that their King Theos
was love--and that he loved them. Maybe that
would make the people in the other kingdoms
around the gorge on the cliffs, feel very
good about themselves. After all, it is nice
for a person to know he is loved. They were
taught that this was the only thing that
mattered now.
They remembered in
their history the invasion of the Mureks. As
a means to reach to the Muriks, and show
them they held no grudges....they decided to
have âⓊMurek DayâⓊ during one Wednesday
Session. They sent out invitations to people
who were in Murek and other neighboring
kingdoms.
When it came time to
celebrate Murek Day, many people from other
kingdoms came. The kingdom children who
lived on Jagged Cliff played Murek music to
make them feel welcome. (Murek music was the
same as their own in sound, but the words
were different). They also made little
bracelets for all their visitors. Some had
written on them: âⓊTheos Loves YouâⓊ,
others had the words: âⓊWhat would Theos
do?âⓊ --By this time no one on Jagged Cliff
knew what Theos would do, because they had
never been taught, but they still thought it
was a nice sentiment.
Still there were some,
who had through the years continued to live
away from Jagged Cliff . They had continued
to be taught from generation to generation
by their fathers....just as King Theos had
commanded so many years before. Their houses
were on little flat topped hills above the
cliff area. There seemed to always be light
flickering from them, which the people on
Jagged Cliff could see. But the land around
them had not been taken care of since so
many had moved to the cliff, so the former
beauty of Cloveland had vanished.
These people who
remained in the distance on the hill, became
outcasts among the people of the Jagged
Cliff. Oh, the cliff dwellers would still
speak to them, because after all they did
live in the same kingdom. But they would
make sure to steer the conversation away
from the original laws and works that King
Theos had commanded.
One day Kinth, a man
who lived on Jagged Cliff was passing Tovell.
Tovell lived far from the cliff on the hill
above it in the distance. This is what was
said in their conversation:
"Hi Tovell, Is your
family still living way over there away from
Jagged Cliff?"
" Yes we are, Kinth."
" Well, I gotta hand
it to you. You sure stick with what you
think you should do, even if you are one of
the only people who do think that is what
you should do. But you know, I think about
your children and wonder if they are really
getting out of life all that they should."
"Yes, Kinth, I believe
they are. We try to follow all of the laws
and do the works that King Theos commanded.
It is a very satisfying life and we enjoy
living our purpose.
"
"Well, we could never do that. But I think
it is okay if you do. You know, to each his
own and all that. It is just so sad that you
can't see the view from where you are.
Looking over the cliff is fantastic! It is
really a rush. I wish you could see it!"
"Why Kinth, don't you
realize our hill is higher than the cliff?
We see your view as well as far beyond the
cliff. Would you like to come over and look
at it from my house?"
"Oh, no,no,no, I
haven't got time for that. I'm a busy man
you know. I have to hurry home right now.
The kids in the neighborhood are going to
play blind man's bluff near the edge
tonight. We usually lose a few over the
cliff when they play this, but everyone who
doesn't fall off.... sure does have a good
time. Gotta go, see you later. But remember
King Theos loves you."
Tovell was saddened to
hear of the children falling off Jagged
Cliff to their deaths. But he continued in
diligence and obedience in teaching his own
children the ways of the kingdom, the laws
and the work that needed to be done.
You see, Tovell really
did love King Theos, and his entire family
did as well. They were determined to live as
the king had commanded.
A few years later, the
Jagged Cliff community decided they wanted
to stop being called a part of Cloveland.
They didn't want to turn people away who
werenâⓊt from Cloveland so they decided to
come up with a more modern and inviting
name. They officially changed their
community's name to: Edgerush.
When Tovell was ninety
years old, his children and grandchildren
and great grandchildren were gathered around
his bed. He knew he was dying, but he wanted
to teach them one more time: the ways of the
kingdom, the laws to follow, and work to be
done. He blessed them all and died in his
sleep.
By this time, there
were few people living in the Edgerush
community on Jagged Cliff. So many had
fallen to their deaths, and very few
families continued to have children because
they just didn't want to bring children into
such a dangerous life. Yet, they remained
unwilling to move away from the cliff. It
was what they were used to, it was familiar,
comfortable and they wanted to continue as
they were.
However, the small
community which had stayed on the hills away
from Edgerush had grown through the years.
Now their population filled many hills in
Cloveland. Again fathers were teaching their
children the ways of the kingdom, the laws
and the work that needed to be done. The
work was indeed getting done.
News came from King
Theos, telling the people that he would
return to Cloveland when it was restored to
it's original beauty. The kingdom people
rejoiced in the news. They continued in
earnest to do their work and live their
purpose....training their children
diligently and preparing for their coming
king.
~ The End
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