They were set upon by ferrets and hawks, snakes and owls, waterbound pikes and cunning foxes. 

"And lions and tigers, and little black terriers."

The braved foul weather, and traversed across inhospitable terrain.

"They boldly used vocabulary that no fable had used before."  Gohan chucked to himself.  "Excelsior!"

But through his wisdom and cunning, Yalmar always managed to defeat the dangers he faced. 

Gohan frowned.  "Or he let Dad handle things.  Eh, this is his story…"

The young fawn, though powerful in his own right, never ceased to admire Yalmar's abilities.

"So I assume."

It did not take long for the number of Yalmar's companions to increase.  They were joined by a

"I should probably keep Bulma out of this," mused Gohan.  "Roshi too.  This isn't a Coyote Tale…  So I guess Krillin would be the first, really.  So, something…  Bald."  Gohan chuckled.  "No, he's deserves better than that.  Hm.  A newt?  Mouse?  Chinchilla?"  Gohan snapped his fingers.

They were joined by a vagabond squirrel, quick and agile.  They befriended a chipmunk, who brought with him a distant, yet protective ferret.

"Wait, didn't Tien come from some rival school?  What did Dad say they were?  A bird.  They were some type of bird.  One the tall legged ones…  A Heron!"  Gohan scratched out and quickly rewrote his previous sentence.

They befriended a sparrow, who brought with him a distant, yet protective heron. 

"Which would bring up Mister Piccolo…"

They were at one point stalked by a vindictive wolf.  But in time, he too came around, after killing the fawn and his long lost brother and kidnapping the fawn's

"Gah."  Gohan scratched out his accidental tirade.

But in time, he too came around and joined the travelers.  With each addition that was made, the formidability of the travelers increased.  Yet at the same time, the importance of each individual member lessened.

Coming to the end of the page, Gohan proudly placed it at the center of the table, and grabbed the nearest blank sheet.  But once again his rhythm was thrown off by the disturbance, and his pencil sat motionless on the paper.

"…Actually started showing him some basic fighting moves."

"You're kidding!"

"…No…"

"Why?  With Gohan you've always—"

"I know, I know…  But lets face it, Yamcha, sometime he's going to need it, and I'd rather teach him myself than have some green demon do it for me…"

Time passed, and all of the travelers were made wise by their experiences.  By their repeated deaths and resurrections and the mystic training that had happened in between.

Gohan again scratched out his sentence.  "I should just skip Vegeta entirely.  Frieza too."

But the fawn, in particular, gained much through his travels.  Through listening to the Yalmar and the others, the fawn learned tricks that would allow it to best creatures far stronger or faster than itself.  The once nearly helpless fawn quickly grew into a strapping deer, and eventually became a full grown buck. As the deer grew

"His appetite became even more insatiable.  If that was possible…"

 As the deer grew, it began relying on Yalmar less and less, though neither openly acknowledged it.

"The only way Dad ever used tact.  Omission."

Then came the day when the party was set upon by a trio of androids and a genetically enhanced

Gohan scratched out the unfinished sentence.  "I think I'm doing that on purpose, now."

 Then came the day when the party was set upon by a bear.  Acting impulsively, the buck bowed out of the fight and let his son, still just a half-grown fawn, face the bear alone.  But his son was young and un

"I've got wrap this up quick," muttered Gohan as he scratched out another sentence.  Biting his lip, Gohan contemplated how to go about the upcoming scene.

"…Want me to what?"

"Fight!"

"Well, you are here, and it's better than demonstrating against a straw dummy."

"ChiChi, I don't fight.  Not anymore.  Not even in practice."

Gohan exhaled dejectedly.  "You had to say that now, didn't you…"

Acting impulsively Yalmar was the first to defend himself. 

"That doesn't sound quite right, but oh well."

Yet against a foe that so truly overmatched him, Yalmar's tricks amounted to nothing, and he was nearly slain in a matter of seconds.

Wounded, and lying helpless on the ground, Yalmar watched as his companions fell one by one before the great beast. 

"Actually, that's more like me in my first fight…"

Only the buck could still stand its ground, but stand its ground it did.  With its strength and the tricks it had learned, it fought the bear, pressing it back, and ultimately slaying the monstrous creature.

"'Ultimately' being the key word."

Afterwards, all the creatures congratulated the buck on it's amazing feat.

"Gah,"  muttered Gohan as he scratched out another line.  "Stupid apostrophe."

 Afterwards, all the creatures congratulated the buck on its amazing feat.  All that is, except for Yalmar. 

"Who, if you recall, had been gored two paragraphs ago.  And since I skipped Korin, nobody had any senzu beans handy."

Where the others had seen the triumph of the buck, Yalmar had seen only the defeat of himself.  The young fawn, whose friendship had once brought him out of his own isolation, was no longer around.  The creature whom had once so looked up to Yalmar now could do so much more than Yalmar ever could.  For the first time since he left his stream bank all those seasons ago, Yalmar saw himself as what he had become.  A small, insignificant rabbit trying to compete with those who would forever best him.

Gohan looked up for a moment.  "Wow, that fits for a lot of guys I know..."

"…Fought against Saiyans, Androids, and Cell!  I'm sure you can show a few moves to a three year old kid."

"Were you at any of those fights?  None of them were exactly stellar performances."

"So what?  You can still show his some basic technique."

"Yeah!"

"No."

With this thought fresh in his mind, Yalmar slunk away, and returned to the stream that had once been his home.  Once there, he returned to his old ways. 

"Of robbing from the fairly well—off and giving to the moderately impoverished."

Once again, he lived alone, and cared little for events beyond his shores. 

"In short, he discovered classic Isolationism."

None of the companions ever searched for Yalmar, admitting in their own minds that his time had passed.

"Kinda hope we'd be better than that.  But for the sake of the fable…"

"—Ow!  Watch it!"

"Gah—ha—ha—ha—ha—ha—ha!"