The Binkle and the Catawampus Compass (Binkles and Magic) by Faith [fantasy] Lynella Page A

when Cerberus asked, “How is a fairy like a hummingbird?” the answer (taller than a finger) didn’t make sense to him. Even when I’m told the answer it doesn’t seem funny.
    Jeep’s bewilderment just made Cerberus laugh at him all over again. “Is the real joke on me?” Jeep asked the dog. But he got no answer. “Jeep decided to tell Cerberus his favorite jokes—about cannibals.
     “What did the mother cannibal say to her child? (Pause) Eat your soup before it clots.
    “How did the cannibal like his pizza? (Pause) He ordered a pizza with every body on it.
    “Two cannibals ate a clown. Later one asked the other one, ‘Did that taste funny to you?’
    “How did the cannibal describe the crashed airplane? (Pause) ‘It’s really crusty on the outside, but the insides taste real good.’”
           Cerberus didn’t get them. All he said was, “Bad jokes! Cannibals aren’t funny. Now elves, they’re funny. Or wizards, they’re really funny. But cannibals aren’t funny at all.” Then he snickered smugly at his own wittiness.
    ~~~
    Jeep asked Grikkl and Adah, “You said that sending me home was a test, to see if I could find enough binkle power without any help. I got enough to get back here. Since I passed the test, can’t I stay here now?”
    Adah answered, “There’s still much for you to learn. You must be able to live in your own world. This isn’t a place to escape life’s challenges.”
    “But I’m safe with you. Nothing scares me here.”
    “Learning to master your fears is one of those lessons,” said Adah.
    Grikkl added, “Fear can be a good thing or bad thing, depending on what you do about it. It can shut down your brain for the moment. That’s natural; we’re all afraid once in a while. But think of fear as just a warning—Be careful! So pay attention—don’t ignore those messages. The point isn’t for you to be scared by those feelings. Instead, see if you can notice your fear—without it scaring you.”
    Jeep shook his head in confusion. “That doesn’t make sense. Fear, scared, afraid—they sound like the same thing to me.”
    Adah answered, “But they’re not the same at all! Fear doesn’t do you harm—unless you let it scare you.”
    “Are you telling me it’s OK to be afraid? I don’t like the sound of that.”
    “Sort of—notice where your fear is coming from. From something that’s dangerous or your thoughts about it. Don’t get fooled because something is fearsome. That doesn’t mean you have to be scared by it.”
    “So what should I do instead?”
    “Treat whatever you’re afraid of like a sign that flashes, ‘Find a binkle here.’ By the time you figure out how to get a binkle in the situation you’ve forgotten to be scared. And binkle or not, you’ve gotten something better besides. It didn’t get you.”
    “Even if you’re right, I’ve been scared way too often to take a chance. It doesn’t work that way. If I see a sign it would say, ‘Stay away!’ Do you really think a few binkles can make me brave?” Jeep made a face that clearly said he didn’t think so.
    Grikkl said, “Let me tell you about a young African girl who overcame her fears. Her name was Mella. Her father was very ill and the medicines couldn’t cure him. She feared he would die, so she asked the moon goddess what to do. The goddess told her to get help from the Python Healer.
    “That advice scared Mella since even the bravest men in the village were too frightened to speak after going to his cave. But she loved her father so much that she put her fears aside and walked four days to the Python Healer’s cave.
    “The snake told her, ‘You’re a foolish girl who should be afraid of me, like all of the other people from your village.’
    “She answered, ‘I do fear you. But my love for my father speaks louder to me than my fears do.’
    “The python asked, ‘If your love is more powerful than your fear of me, would you let me wind myself around your