Nice to Wheat You

One snowy afternoon, a. player called Ray decided to revisit an old build. Technically, their triumphant return might have been an accident. Ray had been looking for a body of water for their newest discovery: a dried ghast block. But they seemed to be stuck in a frozen wasteland. So a trip down memory lane was more than welcome. Especially during an Overworld snowstorm! The oxidized roof called to them like a beacon in the sea of snow. 

From the green roof hung two signs, confirming that this was, in fact, Ray’s build. Their sense of direction was incredible when compared to their memory, so they had worked out a system where they left themselves little reminders.  

The first two were by the front door, next to a copper chest.  

”Welcome back, Ray!” 

How nice! Thanks, Past Ray, they thought. 

”Don’t touch the lava chest.” 

Ray looked at the chest without touching it, as instructed. They placed their hand on the door to enter and then immediately forgot why they weren’t supposed to open the lava chest.  

Ray spun around and thre it open as they braced for the fiery impact! But alas, there was only a not-on-fire book inside.  

Phew! 

Ray cracked it open. ”Seriously, Future Ray?!” 

Ooops. Oh well, Ray thought as they entered the cabin, from now on all signs would be followed! They started right away, as the only thing inside was a solitary sign.  

”You're out of material! Get more!” 

Ray started to remember why they left in the first place. And then abandoned it completely when they found an area that had more material to mine than just snow. They might as well finish what they started! Before they left, Ray raided all the chests they could find. Signs, signs, string, sighs, wool, signs, aaaaand... signs! 

Back outside, the snow was still falling. Ray looked around, everything was flat and white. So they closed their eyes, spun around, and just started walking in that direction. And what a fine direction it was, because after a while Ray came face to face with another creature. It looked familiar, yet different. Horns facing the front, eyes you could get lost in, and covered in soft, warm wool. This cow seemed to have evolved perfectly for the cold climate.  

What an icon. Ray needed to adopt it! They checked their inventory, but alas – not a single piece of wheat to be found. All they had was the dried ghast block and signs. They would have to do.  

Ray cautiously approached the majestic beast and placed a sign nearby.  

“Free wheat →”  

The cow looked at the sign. The cow looked at Ray. The cow walked away.  

Ray picked up the sign and placed it in front of the cow, but it kept walking. Maybe it had been burned by false promises before. Understandable. But Ray knew that even if they didn’t have any wheat now, they would absolutely get it! They just couldn’t risk losing the beautiful bovine like they had their base. So a little bit of deception would be necessary, and Ray would make up for it tenfold when they were both settled.  

Moving as fast as they could through the cold snow, Ray started placing signs on both sides of the cow. They made sure each one bore the promise of wheat, just in case.  

The cow, whom Ray had named Yarn, finally started to moo-ve through the crafted path. The plan was working! Hooray! Ray was so excited that they stopped paying attention to where they were going.  

SPLASH! 

Brrrrr! Ray had stepped right into a puddle of ice cold water. They turned around and discovered that the puddle was enormous. As big as an ocean! The sun was setting, casting a warm orange glow over the cold blue water.  Finally! This was all working out swimmingly. Now they could finish the first task they started this morning! Ray plopped the dried ghast in the water and then marvelled for a moment. And another moment. And another. But they snapped back to reality when Yarn let out a wise Moooo.  

The sun was setting. Beautiful. Wait. The sun was setting! No! That meant the moon was rising! Night! Panic started to rise as Ray looked around. They were lost. Again.  

As if Yarn could sense it, the cow moved closer to Ray. Typical. Now it wanted to be tamed, when Ray had nowhere to take it and was facing probable danger.  

SssSssSssssssss!  

Make that immediate danger. In the distance, Ray could see the telltale green shape of the explosive mob. Desperately, Ray emptied their inventory, but it hadn’t magically changed. Yarn pushed its gentle head against a sign.  

”Not now, Yarn!” Ray said, as they started rolling snowballs. If they were going down, it wouldn’t be without a fight! Even a futile one.  

Ray lobbed snowball after snowball as the creeper crept closer. Yarn let out another Mooooo and pushed the sign again. It dislodged, creating an opening in the fence. Yarn lumbered through. Ray glanced back. Now the cow was gone too. Fine! If it was just Ray, they knew what to do.  

They dug straight down.  

But only a little! Enough to create a hole big enough to hide in. There they crouched, waiting for the creeper to get bored. Minute after minute passed, but they might as well have been years.  

Moooo! 

Ray carefully peeked outside. It was still night. 

MOOOO!  

Yarn’s snout pushed right up against Ray’s nose. Oh, hello! Ray crawled out and let out a big GASP… 

At the sight of… 

A… 

GHASTLING!  

It was sitting patiently in the water. Behind it floated the discarded signs, wool, and string from Ray’s inventory. But before they had time to welcome their new friend, Ray heard a familiar growl. They didn’t need to turn around to see the zombies, but they did anyway. 

Ray squared their shoulders, they knew what to do.  

Snowball fight!  

As Ray was gearing up to lob another frozen projectile, Yarn let out another mooo. If Ray didn’t know better, they could have sworn it sounded annoyed. Moooo!  

Yarn was staring at the snowballs and then at the ghastlings. Snowballs. Ghastling. Snowballs. Ghastling.  

Snowballs! Ghastling! 

The penny finally dropped, and Ray jumped into action feeding the ghastling snowballs as quickly as they could. It was a coldest feast in Ray’s life, and also the most stressful. But lo and behold, it worked! As the zombies got closer, the ghastling grew bigger. And happier!