At an unknown time, in a land of little importance, there lived three brothers. Roaming the roads of their native country, they were still young at heart, youthful of face, nascent in understanding, applying themselves to no profession or worthwhile endeavour.
One day, as they were wandering off the beaten track, a man appeared before them out of the very air. Before any of them could yell for surprise, let alone draw their swords, the man clapped his hands and instantly all three brothers’ skin warped and twisted, until they were no longer men, but tigers. They tried to cry out but only a terrifying roar issued forth from their jaws. The man before them laughed:
“Your vagrant ways have come to my attention. You clearly value not the precious life you have been given. Instead of outright killing you, however, I will give you three days to spill another human’s blood, thus proving that you truly desire another chance on this earth.”
With that he vanished. The three brothers were left perplexed and confused. Should they obey this strange man, who clearly had phenomenal powers. If they have been able to discuss the issue amongst themselves, perhaps they would have been saved but alas, they knew not how to communicate in their tiger bodies! Growling and snarling and mewling, each brother found his siblings’ caterwauling completely incomprehensible.
After some time, the eldest brother got up off his haunches, and began to make his way down the path, having decided to take the life of the first individual who crossed his path.
You write this kind of thing really well. I feel like I’m in the midst of a real fairy story. Bodes well for you I’d say. After all, I think it was Oscar Wilde who implied that you can’t be a real father and be unable to tell stories to your children.