One day when Chameleon was playing in the woods she heard a strange sound. Suddenly a huge man appeared clad heavily in armor. Chameleon was stunned, she had never seen a man before. Her mother had always said that men were wicked and cruel and that if she ever saw one "Run!" Now Chameleon was too stunned to do anything. The man, sensing her confusion, sat down by a nearby tree.
"Hello!" he said, smiling slightly. "My name is Salamander. What's yours?"
"I'm Chameleon," she replied. Then she went on boldly, "My mother says all men are wicked and cruel. Is that true?"
"And who might your mother be?" he inquired politely.
"Lady Iguana."
"Ah...Well, I suppose she has reasons to believe that," Salamander muttered sourly. "Chameleon, your mother is very single minded about men. You see, there are a couple of bad men around and your mother just happened to get caught up with them. Usually men are very nice."
"Really?" asked Chameleon, her eyes wide. "are you a good man?"
"Well, I try my best," Salamander responded modestly.
"Chameleon!" a kind voice rang out of the woods.
Chameleon sighed. "That's my mother," she explained regretfully. "You better leave now."
"No," he stated firmly. "I need to speak to your mother."
"No!" Chameleon exclaimed. "She'll kill you!"
"I know Lady Iguana very well. In fact, I used to be a good friend of hers. Until her husband, your father, tried to kill her of course."
"Really?" asked Chameleon.
"Really. Now let me do the talking. Okay?"
"Okay," consented Chameleon.
"Chameleon, where have you been?" asked a beautiful young woman. The woman stopped short suddenly. "You!" she exclaimed, her eyes ablaze. "I told you never to enter my woods!"
"Lady Iguana, I came as fast as I could. I came to warn you that the King's forces are going to make battle with the Beast Masters here in your wood," explained Salamander hurriedly.
"What?!? They wouldn't dare," growled Iguana.
"We've no time to talk now," snapped Salamander. "We have to get ready for them."
"He's right, mother," intervened Chameleon. "The animals have been bringing messages about war and armored men coming closer. I think you better believe him."
"Oh... all right. Let's go!"
The three of them walked together to Iguana's tree to prepare for war.
The next day Chameleon was awakened suddenly by the sound of horses and steel. Chameleon felt a sudden chill. Silently she got up to find her mother.
She found her mother in the hallway, and she was dressed for battle. Iguana turned and saw Chameleon.
"Chameleon," her mother whispered urgently, "I need your help. You can connect minds with the animals right?"
Chameleon nodded silently.
"Good. Contact the animals. Tell them to get ready to attack those men and their horses. Okay?"
Chameleon nodded, her mind already set on making the connection.
Suddenly Salamander stumbled into the hallway, his face bewildered.
"What's going on?" he asked quietly.
"They're getting ready to attack. Chameleon!" she cried out suddenly, "Tell the animals to attack! Quickly now!"
Suddenly there were shouts from outside. Men were yelling orders while their horses were screaming in terror.
"Good work, child," Iguana murmured appreciatively, looking slightly surprised. Then she became stern again. "Chameleon, give me your hand," she ordered. "What I'm about to do requires a lot of energy."
"Yes, ma'am," replied Chameleon, extending her hand.
"Salamander, make sure those men don't break in, Okay?"
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"An old trick," Iguana replied, smiling grimly, "Are you going to follow my orders or not?"
"Yes, ma'am," he replied quickly, making a small bow.
Iguana closed her eyes and began chanting an incantation. Suddenly she felt her energy leave her. She fell to her knees. Next to her Iguana did the same. Outside was very silent.
"What did we just do?" asked Chameleon in a small voice.
"We simply removed them from this place and sent them home. We also erased their minds so that they won't come back" explained Iguana. "It's usually an easy thing to do, but there were so many of them."
Suddenly Salamander stumbled in. He was torn and bleeding. "What happened?" he asked. "One minute I was fighting a soldier, the next I was flat on my back."
"It's over Salamander. We sent them back," explained Iguana. "And as soon as I get you fixed up we'll have a nice breakfast, won't we?"