Uppers and Downers

UPPERS AND DOWNERS

The Uppers lived in a village on the hill, name of Upsville. The sun always shone there, always plenty of birds and corn. They laughed a lot, because life was good. There was fresh water nearby, lots of food and they could always have a good time.

Down on the flat was another village, Down Town. They were the Downers. Life wasn't that great for them, so they cried a lot. They lived in the shadow of the hill, so didn't see much sun. They couldn't grow as much food, so had a hard time feeding their kids.

A lot of the Uppers said the Downers were just lazy, and couldn't be bothered working their way up the hill. But any time a Downer tried, well, an Upper would be there to turn them away.

One day the Uppers were laughing and eating and drinking, then someone spotted a bunch of Downers raiding their vegetable patch. They ran out and laid into the Downers with whatever they had to hand, and sent them packing.

They went back, ate and drank, and laughed until they cried.

When they stopped crying, Middle Upper wiped his eyes and said "Maybe that wasn't right."

He continued, "Maybe those people needed that food."

Upper Upper stroked his beard and regarded him sternly. "They were stealing from us."

Little Upper piped up: "Why do they need our food?"

"Because they haven't enough to feed their own littles." said Middle Upper.

Upper Upper shot another stern one but too slow.

"But that's not right!" exclaimed Little Upper. For once he wasn't laughing." And it's not fair!"

"Can't we do something? I have food, why can't they?"

The room fell silent, and everyone looked at Upper Upper expectantly. He stroked his beard again, thoughtfully this time, then smiled and laughed. As he looked at Little Upper, you could just about see his heart melting.

"All right, you all know what to do tomorrow." He said

The next day was a buzz of activity. Food was roasted, toasted, boiled, broiled, simmered, steamed, grilled, crumbed, compoted, and served up with a sauce and garnish. Tables and seats were carted down the hill and arranged in a loose semicircle. The banquet was then brought down and served up.

When, steaming and sizzling, the food was impossible to ignore, Upper Upper called out:

"Downers!"

"Downers!"

No reply, But Upper Upper tried again.

"We come in peace, and thought you might like a bite to eat, y'know."

After a pause, the village gate opened a bit, and a few faces peered out.

They came out shyly, sat down and after a few timid minutes, began to eat . They accepted the apology. Everyone sat down together and enjoyed the banquet. The Downers were blown away by the feast the Uppers had made for them. The Uppers were happy, the Downers were amazed.

After they had eaten and talked for a bit, Big Downer asked the Uppers if they would like to see their gallery. The Uppers were confused, but accepted the invitation and followed Big Downer into the village, up to a large hall.

The hall was filled with art: sculpture, carvings, paintings, glass, pottery, tapestries, prints, drawings, you name it. Swirls of shapes and colours surrounded them. The Uppers looked about them, astonished.

"What...is this?" Upper Upper finally asked.

"It's art." Big Downer replied.

"And...what's it for?" The Uppers, peering about, were trying to wrap their heads around this. It wasn't as if they didn't like it, but...

"It's what makes our lives matter. It's how we talk to each other." said Big Downer with a smile. "Life's pretty tough down here, so sometimes all we can do is make something beautiful to make each other happy.

Also," he continued, "it helps us to live forever." He gestured. "This tapestry was made by my great grandmother. I think of her whenever I look at it, so she's still with us. My grandfather made this sculpture. I myself made this, and it will live on after me."

Big Downer reached for the wall and plucked down a large staff, a chieftain's staff, ornately carved, inlaid with mother of pearl, a pair of large black and white feathers adorning the top. He presented it to Upper Upper.

"I guess I made it for you." He said.

Upper Upper was speechless. It was a minute before he could find anything to say.

"I don't know what to say." was what he said.

"Say you'll pass it on," said Big Downer. "And tell where it came from."

"I will."

Upper Upper studied the staff carefully, and the gallery around him and finally asked:

"If you made more of this...art...maybe even showed us how to live forever - would you accept food and stuff in exchange?"

Big Downer smiled. "Well we mostly do it to please ourselves and each other, but I'm pretty sure we can come to some arrangement. See, your people made this wonderful feast for us, and that took some talent, so we're halfway there already." And he actually laughed, along with Upper Upper.

"Well," said Upper Upper seriously, "we have plenty of food, but nothing like this. We'd be grateful."

"You'd be welcome." replied Big Downer.

They made their way back out to the banquet, Upper Upper proudly bearing his staff, and talked it up and yes, an arrangement was come to pretty quickly. Everyone raised a toast and cheered, and it suddenly seemed a little sunnier in Down Town.

Upper Upper and Big Downer embraced each other as friends. Little Upper and Small Downer elbowed each other as they sat together. Little Upper laughed until he cried. Small Downer cried too, with tears of laughter, and bittersweet joy.