Entry #2: There's more than one kind?

Today has been a strange day to say the least. Loni decided that I should come with him to help him find flowers. When I hinted at the idea that the flowers were for a girl Littl, he denied it. When we got to the meadow where he said the flowers were, he described the type of yellow daisy he was looking for. He was needlessly specific for it not to be for someone else, but I didn't say anything about it.

Instead, I asked him more about Littls. I reminded him that he'd told me that some Littls had different kinds of tails.

"Some come from other places," he told me. "Being from somewhere else makes them look a little different, but no one really minds." When I proposed that there were different races of Littls, he gave me a strange look. "Why would we run differently?" I decided to drop the subject and asked him to explain how Littls from other places looked. Before he could explain however, I felt something crawling up the back of my shirt. I don't particularly care for bugs, especially large ones, but thankfully Loni pointed out what it was before I frantically tried to remove it.

It turned out to be Loni's best friend Piit, another boy Littl who had a tail similar to Loni's. He stood perched on my shoulder grinning at me and giggling.

"I scared you!" he cried gleefully. "I could feel your heart racing through your shirt!" His temperament was so different from Loni's that I had a hard time figuring out how to answer him. In the end, Loni saved me the trouble and demanded to know why Piit was out there.

After arguing as only two best friends can, Piit eventually got down from my shoulder, agreeing to help Loni look for the yellow daisies. I reminded Loni of my question and the two of them began to explain.

Far left - Piit (Temperate); Center - Kia (Southern); Far right - Luo (Northern)
Piit was quite insistent about being the example for my area.

Littls from my area (which I will call Temperate Littls from now on) have thick-furred tails similar to a dog's and also tend towards human trends in clothing. Their hair grows in fairly thick and often straight or wavy. Temperate Littls are energetic, boisterous, and generally very curious. They seem to live for the thrill of adventure, but they dislike feeling as though they have responsibilities they have to take care of.

Littls from further south (Southern Littls) have slightly wider ears and sparser fur on their tails. Their hair is usually light-colored and fine. The Southern Littl they described to me was a girl named Kia and she had apparently visited their community with her family not too long ago on a sort of vacation (or so I gathered). Southern Littls like to wear thin and light-weight clothing to help deal with the heat. They are also known for their near-impeccable manners.

Littls from further north (Northern Littls) apparently aren't seen in my area too often. The last time one visited was when Luo (a kind of ambassador) came and then left nearly twenty moon cycles ago (about a year and a half I think). Northern Littls have thick, long fur on the ends of their ears and wear thick, fur trimmed clothes. Most other kinds of Littls don't seem to like them much because of their slanted eyes and cat-like tails (remember: Littls avoid cats). According to Piit, they also never smile. Loni says this isn't true...mostly.

A drawing by Piit
of himself.

By the end of the day, we'd managed to find six of the very specific, "not for a girl", yellow daisies, which was enough thankfully. Piit followed Loni and I back to my home and (despite Loni's protests) helped himself to the things I was getting out for Loni.

While drawing in my sketchbook, Piit noticed something in the back pocket of my jeans. When I checked, I found several flowers carefully tucked in the corner of one pocket. Though I asked, neither Loni nor Piit knew who had put them there and both insisted that neither of them had done it. They were giving each other strange looks and when I asked, Loni tried to explain.

A large blue flower and two small
yellow ones from my secret friend.

"It looks like a friendship gift," he told me. "When we want to be friends with someone or get to know them better, but don't know how to say hello, we give them flowers." He said it was very strange that no one had seen the one who'd left them though. "How else will you know who is trying to say hello?"

Not knowing what else to do, I put the flowers in a vase and set it on the windowsill. I thought that maybe whomever had put the flowers in my pocket might see the flowers in my window and come forward.

Piit has decided to stay in my home as well now. He's taken a liking to television and has figured out how to work the remote by either stepping or jumping on the appropriate buttons. He's already become an avid channel surfer, never staying on one channel for more than four seconds.

I think Loni has given up trying to chase Piit out. He made me promise not to tell any other Littls about the arrangement he and I have. When I asked why, he told me that more than half the Littl population would move into my house if they found out. Needless to say, I made the promise. Loni and Piit aren't bad roommates or anything, but I can't see myself living with a veritable hoard of Littls like Piit.

Whomever left the flowers still hasn't come forward, but Loni thinks they will eventually. I find myself looking forward to that day (especially since neither Loni nor Piit have done something like this). I only hope that the flowers won't wilt before they do come forward.

Anyway, like I said, today has been strange and long. Hopefully by the next time I write, I'll be able to tell you about my secret friend.

--Doc. Fizzy

Entry #1: What is a Littl?

I'm pretty sure you will read this journal as a fiction--a fantasy invented for the amusement of others. I cannot persuade you to think otherwise, nor do I want to try. I can only put onto paper what I've seen and observed, no matter how fantastical it may be.

It all began one day when I found the sugar bowl in my kitchen turned upside down. Sugar was spilled all over the counter and the window above the counter was cracked open a little. There were tiny prints in the spilled sugar, but they were so small I figured that they must belong to mice or something similar. I swept up the sugar and closed the window, but instead of dismissing the incident from my mind, I decided to set up a simple trap.

A few jelly beans for bait.

Using a corn handle, I propped up a colander and laid three jelly beans and a sprinkling of sugar under the trap as bait. I figured that since whatever it was liked sugar, it might also like jelly beans.

I went about my day as usual and often checked back on my trap, but it remained undisturbed. I left the trap setup over night and it was only once I was in bed that I realized that I'd closed the window. There was no way something as small as a mouse could open the window, but I was too tired to get up again.

I woke early the next morning and went downstairs to check on my trap. Much to my surprise, I found the kitchen window cracked open and the colander sitting right-side up (rather than upside down). The jelly beans were gone, but something small and furry lay on the counter just under the window.

Loni was embarrassed getting caught looking so
bloated. He tried to tear my drawing up, but I've
managed to patch it back together with some tape.

At first, I thought it was a large mouse or a rat, but I could see that it was wearing clothing--tiny scraps of worn fabric sewn together with stitches so small that I could not see them. Most of the third jelly bean was clutched in the creature's hand and the creature itself was snoring quietly.

Either my movement or scent woke the creature and it stared at me with large, blue-green eyes that were so human-like that I was stunned into silence. After a long moment, it tried to sit up, but its stomach was so large that it could hardly bend in the middle. It muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Curse those beans!" before trying to roll away down the length of the counter. I stopped its movement by creating a wall with my hand and I asked it what it was.

"There's no need to shout!" it cried back at me, dropping the jelly bean and covering its long ears with its hands. I wasn't aware that I had been shouting. I was speaking in a normal voice, but I supposed that since it was so much smaller, my normal voice might sound much louder. In a quieter voice I repeated my question. "I'm Loni," it told me. When I emphasized that I wanted to know what it was, it said, "A boy." It seemed he didn't call himself by any sort of species name. For clarity from now on, I will refer to creatures like Loni as "Littls" since they are so small.

Loni; he only stood still for about a minute before he began
wandering around again. I had to persuade him with some
grapes to sit still long enough for me to sketch in the finer
details. He tends to give me this look a lot. I'm not sure why.

It took a long time to convince Loni that I was not going to stick him in a cage, nor was I going to feed him to a cat. By the time he could move around again, I felt we'd established a decent understanding: I would provide food and shelter for him if he would tell me about himself and others like him.

According to Loni, Littls are just about everywhere, living and hiding from humans. They are, in fact, as fascinated by humans as we are (or at least I am) by them. They take worn out clothes from driers and from under beds to make their own clothes, though that is not to say that they can't make their own fabrics.

Loni has announced his preference for light-weight cotton in pretty much any color except purple. He says that it makes him look like a berry.

Littls like sweet things and often venture into human-inhabited areas to find sugar or cookies or anything else sweet that has been left out. Loni told me that they only go in at night so that they aren't spotted and there is a network of information about houses that have cats (creatures the Littls avoid at all costs). They seem to be okay with dogs, but Loni wouldn't explain why when I asked. He just shrugged.

Littls are very clean and they see their personal hygiene as extremely important. Loni explained to me that being dirty would lead to sickness and a lack of luck. Later, he hinted at girl Littls liking the scents of various flowers, so I guess that's what he meant by "luck". Hairstyles are also very important to Littls. They are emphatic about being different then everyone else and so there are some rather... elaborate hairstyles worn by some Littls if Loni is to be believed (I have no reason not to believe him). According to Loni, Littl hair grows continuously throughout their lifetime, never stopping.

When I asked him if there were any bald Littls, he didn't understand what I meant, so I explained. To say he looked horrified would be putting it mildly, but it is the only word I have for the expression he showed me then. Hair is very important to the Littls. It's a sign of health, status, and creativity. Loni told me that he'd never seen a Littl without hair and said that he pitied humans without hair.

It was at this point that he pointed out that my hairstyle (a simple ponytail) was a little plain, but I decided not to try and explain that humans didn't strive to be different by any means necessary when it came to hair (mostly because I felt I would probably lose the argument).

Littls also pride themselves on their tails, though some types of Littls had different tails. Loni explained that most of the Littls in my area had a tail like his but that his was nicer. When I asked why, he waggled it at me and said, "Look at the shine! I have a secret oil that makes the fur very healthy." Thinking back to his mention of "luck" and female Littls, I asked him if he had someone special that he wanted to show off for. He blushed and fidgeted while insisting that he didn't.

Loni comes by often these days, telling me stories of other Littls and keeping me abreast of the latest Littl trends. I look forward to our future conversations and I also hope to keep a log such as this of each of those occasions.

--Doc. Fizzy