Three wise men and a boy, by Jean-Pierre d'Armagnac
Three wise men and a boy were walking through the woods on their way to Stormwind. On their way they found a deer, locked in a beartrap with one of its legs, and bleeding severely. The young boy yelped in panick and hurried to the deer, tearing a piece of his own shirt, using it as bandage to staunch the bleeding and speaking words of strength to the deer. The wise men looked with an encouraging smile as the boy addressed them:
"Please, wise men, can we not help this deer? We can free it and mend its leg. I shall bear it with me on my shoulders if I must all the way to the city where it can be nurtured further in the stables till it is fit to walk on its own."
The wise men looked in wonder and asked,
"Can you bear it thus far then?"
The boy shook his head. "I do not know. But what else can we do?"
The wise men nodded and replied:
"Your heart is true and your intentions are pure. But there is more to consider. Can we host the deer in the stables of Stormwind and how shall we act to beartraps in the future? Truly, these traps too belong to someone. And what if you can not bear the deer all the way to Stormwind? Shall we have to continue what you have started and who will bear the responsibility of your action and ours? This is a life we are talking about. Grant us some time to discuss this matter."
But the stout boy did not wait to ask another question: "Can I not free the deer and nurture it meanwhile?"
"My dear boy, give it time and we shall return to you with an answer."
And so the wise men wandered a little further down the road. They discussed the matter, the consequences, the rules they were to follow, the work behind it, the responsibilities that it would hold and time slowly passed as they talked.
One of them chose not to idle and declared to continue his journey to Stormwind, to consult the stablemasters. Another joined him for he would not be required to bear any responsibilities in the matter. The third would come to Stormwind as well, so that they could continue discussing the rules on the way and since he could send letters regarding the beartraps from Stormwind.
Slowly the days ticked away till one of the wise returned to the beartrap, hoping to bring the boy the good news. There would be a chance to mend the deer and bring it to a nearby town for urgent treatment. That would be all the boy would be allowed to do and then together they could return to Stormwind. A clear rule on beartraps was in the making and it would solve many beartrap dangers.
Upon arriving, however, he found only rotting remnants of a mangled deer carcas, still stuck in the beartrap. The young boy had disappeared.
