Harvest Moon TV!

Episode One: Welcome!

Jack was a regular boy (age unspecified). He went to school just like everyone else, he procrastinated doing homework and chores all day, and he even had friends. But you see, Jack had some very serious predicaments he was put in that set him apart from all of the other children that you or I have ever known. The first predicament was that Jack's grandfather died and it was now up to Jack to go and take care of the farm and put it back into tip top shape like it had once been many years ago. This is quite a responsibility for such a young fellow as Jack. The second problem is that poor Jack only had the mental capacity of a six year old.

Now, one would think that any considerate or logical family would sympathize with the youngster under such harsh conditions, but not Jack's family. No sir! Jack's father decided that it was time the youth learned how to get out there and make it alone in the world. Poor old Jack thought it was a great idea, but that was because Jack is stupid.

So on the first day of Spring, Jack's father drove him out into the middle of nowhere to a place that wouldn't even have been comfortable in the 50's (town name unspecified). How wonderful, Jack thought to himself as he pulled in to the small farm.

"Now Jack," his father warned. "I will come back in 2.5 years to check your progress, and by that time you'd better have this ol' farm in spiffy shape. Do you understand?"

Jack smiled moronically, eyes closed and everything. Jack's father went on to explain just how long 2.5 years was, just in case.

With that, they said their goodbyes and the older man was on his way. Jack looked around at the property, it was all his now. But there was one thing he didn't understand; why weren't there any animals? This was a farm, was it not? And what in God's name happened to all the vegetation? How was he supposed to eat? He was just about to explore the shed for an animal he could slaughter when he heard a friendly "hello" from behind him. Jack turned around, but could not see where the noise had come from. Perhaps he had imagined it.

"Down here!" the friendly voice sounded even more cheerful this time. Looking down, Jack could now see a very short old man looking up with a smile on his face.

"A midget!" Jack smiled and picked the man up, hugging him tightly. Jack had always wanted a midget of his own.

"Yes, yes, welcome. You can put me down now Mr. Jack." Jack did so reluctantly. "Welcome to our humble village. I cannot begin to tell you how excited we are to have a new face in our midst. Would you like me to show you around the town so you can meet the residents and see the sights?" the strange little man offered.

Jack nodded wildly. What a nice little dwarf, he thought.

"I'm the mayor of this town, by the way. Call me… Mayor." The small man turned to exit the grounds. With that, they were on their way.

Intermission

As soon as they stepped into town, the first thing Jack could see was a park. It was the smallest park he had ever seen and only consisted of two trees. The small mayor took a left turn and soon they were at a house.

"This is the fortune teller's house, Jack. She lives here with her grand daughter and rarely leaves…" the mayor could not finish his sentence, for Jack had already bolted straight for the front door in hopes that the fortune teller could tell him great things. Upon entry, all was dark around a small table and the fat old woman seated comfortably at it could barely be seen.

"Trust me, kid, you don't wanna know." A voice came from the old hag. This only confused Jack, and he smiled and introduced himself to the witch. The woman's grand daughter appeared out of nowhere and introduced herself to him as well. When the mayor appeared in the doorway and beckoned the small minded Jack to follow him, Jack ran back and gave the little man another big hug, lifting him from the ground once again like a puppy.

Continuing on their path, the second house was the livestock store. Both entered happily and Jack was thrilled to find that there really were animals available in the village, but he did not know which animals were to be his friends and which ones he would kill mercilessly.

"Hello there, I'm (name unspecified). I own this livestock store. We sell cows and chickens and all of their living needs. I suspect I will be seeing you in here quite a bit over the next couple of years, am I right?" the white bearded man cocked an eyebrow.

Jack let his tongue hang out at the side of his mouth as he nodded promptly at the man's assumption. It then came to his mind: chicken tastes good! It was settled now, Jack would have a chicken and eat it. Jack had just had chicken the night before with his parents at their house and it was delicious, perhaps one that he slaughtered himself would taste even better.

"One chicken, please." Jack placed his order.

"Oh there will be plenty of time for that tomorrow, my young friend." The mayor tugged Jack by the arm. "The eager fellow must have work on his mind constantly."

The livestock store owner smiled and said his goodbyes as the two travelers walked out and continued on their route through the town. Further down the path was the marketplace which consisted of 3 small houses. The first house was the tools shop, and upon entering the store they were greeted by a pleasant and slim fellow and a ratty little girl.

"Ah, is this the new farm owner?" the man at the desk asked the mayor with a pleasant greeting.

"It is indeed." The mayor looked over proudly at Jack.

"I am the tool shop owner. It is a pleasure to meet you, young man. This is my daughter, Ann." the small girl stepped forward and curtsied shyly. She couldn't have been much younger than Jack himself, but there were a few things that bothered him about her. For starters, despite her big orange hair put into a ponytail, she looked much like a young lad would. It had to have been the clothes she was wearing, they were dirty and ragged much like Jack's baggy overalls. Another thing was that there was a trace of intelligence in her eyes, and though Jack couldn't recognize it for the life of him, he wanted absolutely no part of it.

"I'm Jack. We're busy." It was Jack's turn to grab the mayor by his arm and drag him out of the shop.

"What a shy young man." The shop owner looked over at his daughter.

The next house was the restaurant. Upon entry, Jack realized how hungry he was after thinking of the dinner he had enjoyed the previous night. Four figures awaited him on the inside of the house and greeted him very kindly. There was a stout older man who introduced himself as the owner of the restaurant, a woman of the same age who was introduced as his wife, an older gentleman who seemed drunk out of his mind who didn't introduce himself at all, and an ugly girl named Ellen.

Jack had been stunned to hear the girl's name because though Ann dressed much like a boy, this girl just looked like one, and he had initially thought she was one. Her hair was cut very short, her face was dirty and long, and her nose stuck out very far and glowed a bright red.

As disgusted as Jack was with the sight of this so called "girl", he felt compelled to stay and play with the older fellow who repeatedly wobbled and fell helplessly to the floor. Jack danced from side to side, jumped from one foot to the other in front of the falling over man and giggled like a schoolgirl.

"That's my grandpa, he's a little intoxicated at the moment. Thank you for not judging him as many do." Ellen smiled sweetly.

Jack stopped dancing immediately. He didn't know what 'intoxicated' meant, but he knew that when he finally got his chicken he would invite this old man over to celebrate the feast with him.

"Jack is just taking the tour of the old town with me and meeting all the villagers. It has been quite the day so far and he really seems happy to be here." The mayor stood as tall as he could, reflecting proudly.

"Well we look forward to seeing you again soon." The owner said happily as they bade each other farewell.

Intermission

As they moved along to the next house, the mayor stopped and turned to face Jack.

"Now, Jack. This is the town bar, it is closed on Sundays but it has a very lively night scene. If you do decide to enter this place, I expect that you act as responsibly as possibly and be careful not to have too much to drink." Jack knew very well what that meant; if you drink too much, you will wet the bed.

"Right." Jack agreed in all seriousness.

The two took another right turn and soon found themselves in town square. This was the biggest part of the town and the mayor explained that this was where all of the town festivals took place. They continued on once more and found themselves at the largest property in the town.

"This is my humble abode. Feel free to come in anytime and chat. I am a busy man, however, and will not always be readily there; but my lovely wife will be sure to be there anytime to offer you a tea." The mayor again stood very proudly. "Unfortunately, the day grows short and we must be on our way. But do stop by soon so you can meet her, she really is a wonderful woman and I'm sure she's dying to meet you."

Jack was bored by this. Grabbing the mayor by the arm, he pulled him away from the house and down the path, leaving the mayor a little stunned and a lot confused.

A tall building was next, and again the mayor did not beckon him to go inside.

"This is our church. I expect to see you there every Sunday along with…" he could not finish.

Jack ran away.

The mayor stood alone, more confused than ever. What a strange boy, he thought. Perhaps the poor boy had experienced something very traumatic as a child in relation to the church, yes, that must have been it. With that, he was on his way back to his own house to get to work.

Left to himself, Jack realized that the mayor had not bothered to follow him. He looked around, frightened that he was all by himself in a strange place. Beside him was another small house, so he decided it was best that he enter it without knocking and ask for directions.

He opened the door and walked up to the lady at the desk. This was indeed another shop, he concluded. The nice lady at the front desk was pretty with bright pink hair and a little green bow on the top, but much too old for the youthful Jack to consider.

"Hello, stranger. cough. How are you doing this evening?" the woman smiled at him.

"I'm lost!" Jack's eyes were wide with exasperation.

"You're lost? How old are you?"

"I'm…" Jack was about to count on his fingers, but suddenly the door burst open behind the counter.

"I'm going for a walk, mother." A gorgeous young girl with big pink hair emerged from the entrance. "Oh, I didn't know we had company. Excuse me for my interruption, my name is Nina."

"I'm Jack." The boy stared.

"Oh, the boy who is running the old farm! I was told about you." The girl's mother concluded. "Nina, why don't you bring him back to his house, the poor dear is a little lost."

"The old farm?" Nina looked at him oddly. "The path is literally right next to our house, how did you get lost?"

Jack froze uncomfortably, not knowing what to say.

"Oh, this town looks all the same. I'm sure it is very easy to get lost if you aren't from around here." Nina's mother said sweetly.

"Hmm, I guess that is true." Nina lead Jack out of the shop and out onto the path to his farm. On the way, she informed him that the shop they had just left was the flower shop and that they had everything he should need for planting his crops. Only then did it occur to the poor soul…

"I have to plant crops?"

Intermission

Jack arrived back at the farm and reflected on the day. He liked the people that he had met and there were sure to be more friendly faces for him to meet in the coming days. He looked around his little house and suddenly he felt very lonely. There were only four channels on his old television and nothing else he could amuse himself with except for a stupid old journal.

Suddenly he heard a knock at the door. He quickly walked over and opened it, only to find that the visitor was none other than the ugly girl that looked like a boy, Ellen.

"Hi. I was wondering… do you like dogs?"

Jack considered the question carefully before nodding his head wildly as he always did. Eyes closed.

"Great, well I'm sure you will get along great with this little guy! Unfortunately, I can't take care of him right now but if it isn't too much to ask of you, would you take care of him for me?" out from behind the girl's leg, a little brown puppy showed its face shyly.

A smile crossed Jack's lips, and soon it turned into a grin. He swept the dog off its feet and hugged it close to him. It was no midget, but it was company nonetheless, and would serve as a true friend.

Ellen was very satisfied with herself for choosing Jack as the owner of this loveable pet and she thanked him wholeheartedly. She told him that the dog's name was Koro, but Jack in turn informed her that that was just not so. He was to be called Ruff, because that seemed to be the only word the dog knew how to pronounce.

Ellen left and Jack played briefly with the dog before getting bored and forgetting the poor thing outside in the cold. Tiredly, he walked over to his bed and decided that he should write in the journal to keep a record of what he'd done so that his parents would be proud of him when they came to visit.

Yeer 1: Munth 1: Day 1

I metted lots of peple today. It wos fun. I metted a mijet, a gerl that loox like a boy, a beootiful gerl with pink hare, and I got a dog to. I sware Im going to make this farm good. Aggen. I named him ruf. And her mommee is prity to.

The End