Free Speech According to Rat

As the sun neared high noon, Stefolous ambled down a trail of slippery mud leading to his usual water-hole. He loved the feel of compost and grass and clay squishing under his feet, for to him it was the best feeling in the world.

A rustle of grass approached at a fast pace from the opposite direction, and soon a panting, mud-speckled squirrel appeared.

"Stefolous, Stefolous! Have you heard?"

What a silly question, and just the kind you would expect from a hasty rodent. Politely he replied, "It depends on what you wish to ask me about what I've heard. I cannot answer with a yes or no until I know what I am suppose to have heard or not have heard."

"Rat has decreed that we are now all allowed to air our opinions openly to each other, and we can even talk in public."

"You mean, President Fox is encouraging free speech?!"

"Yes. It doesn't matter if animals have to pay or not to listen, but anyone can speak their minds publicly."

Stefolous did his utmost not to roll his eyes, for he felt that the combined assurances of a rat and a fox was not too reliable. But he need not have bothered, for the squirrel was off again, kicking mud 3 inches into the air in his haste. The tortoise ambled on and pondered over what it all meant. By the time he reached the water-hole, and greeted the other visitors there, he had resolved to attend as many meetings as he could and to report all that he heard.

For ten days and nights he listened and thought in between naps, and he listened and thought in between meals, and by the end of that he was ready to write an article. His assistant had to ask for help from two other dung beetles because the coverage was so extensive that it was impossible for him to ready the Tortoise Express on time without extra help.

Two days latter, when the newsletter finally came out, Rat scanned through it word-by-word. Every incriminating statement was underlined with the red dye of ripe berries, so that by the time he was done, his paws and underbelly were soaked with the juice. He presented his findings to Fox and the cabinet ministers.

"See Mr. President," Rat waved the Tortoise Express above his head, "all the impostors and traitors are out. They have nothing but criticism for your government and they even dare air their unsubstantiated views."

Macaque said, "But Rat, you did promise free speech to the animals."

"Free speech, true, but not slander and defamation."

Vixen shrieked, "Those are nothing more than play of words. You told us you wanted to encourage free speech to gauge the feelings of the animals, to encourage an air of open discussion with you. Not this."

"Show some respect," Donkey bayed. "Those animals should be more thankful for the prosperity and good life that President Fox has brought us."

Fox interjected, "Please, Minister Donkey. You don't have to get riled up by the opinions of one of the other representatives. It is good that the animals speak. However, putting those defaming words in writing is another matter. Feeble-minded animals tend to believe that anything in print is the truth. When that happens, then we will have civic unrest and discord."

Tortoise hunkered deep into his shell, as though to shield himself from a physical onslaught. Now he understood why the autocratic Fox had allowed Rat to announce that the government encourages open meetings and discussion forums. It was so he could destroy existing presses that were not in his favor. The voices outside continued.

Fox asked, "What should we do about this?"

"I propose that we arrest them all," Donkey barked.

"No, that will turn them into victims and put the president in a bad light," Rat said. "I think we should arrest the reporters and take away their licenses because what they had reported was clearly defamatory. We can forgive the young hot-headed animals for being foolish, but reporters have an obligation to check their sources first before reporting on them."

Stefolous, Tortoise thought as he stretched his neck out of the shell. I must find a way to tell him. After the Cabinet Meeting, Tortoise returned home with uncharacteristic haste and hired a firefly to bring his message to the editor of the Tortoise Express. But his message came too late, for when the firefly reached the newsletter's press-den, she saw a troop of wart-hogs digging and widening the opening of a hole Stefolous had squeezed himself into. She slipped into the hole before one of the hogs could swipe her.

Halfway through her flashes of the message, Stefolous stopped her and said, "Tell Minister Tortoise to inform the herons from goat-country about my arrest. They will know how to focus the animal world's attention on my situation. Then tell him not to forget about Owl. For all we know, this may be just a way for Fox to divert everyone's attention from the fraud charges against him. Now go." Fangs sank into Stefolous's hind leg, and with a yelp, he was dragged out from the hole.

The firefly sped out of the den and disappeared into a cloud of starlight. She flew to the center of the jungle with them then parted company before flying to Tortoise's nest. It blinked Stefolous's message to him. Tortoise called for twenty more fireflies, and following the journalist's instruction, he sent out messages to all the herons he knew in goat-country about the arrest, and its reason. Then he lay on his belly and closed his eyes.

High on the side of a cliff, in a deep cave littered with rotting gnawed bones, Owl watched in dismay as Stefolous was dragged into a cell across from him. The tortoise was beaten so badly, he could barely open his eyes, and all Owl could hear coming from him was wheezing coughs.

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