The Ararie - [Fearsome Critter/Fae]
• About this Critter: a nearly featureless ball of fur, rarely found by lumberjacks in the forks of trees in the deepest of woods. mysteriously, despite not eating anything (or being able to as it lacks a mouth) it will quickly outgrow any area which it is confined within, if threatened, it will speak, but it only answers with what is very likely the worst pun you've ever heard!!
• History: The Ararie was included in Professor Walker D Wyman's "Mythical creatures of the USA and Canada" [1969] - the creature in question lacks any scientific naming or a proper illustration, but the entry for it, goes as follows:
"A strange little ball of fur without eyes, ears, mouth or feet, was once found in the big woods lodged in the forks of a tree. The lumberjack who found it took it back to camp and placed it in a cage. Though it did not eat, the Ararie soon outgrew the cage. it was then placed into the horse barn, but it soon outgrew that space by springtime. In desperation, he decided to take it to the top of the tallest tree by use of rope and pulley, then kick it out and end its life that way. With the help of the camp crew. He hauled the Ararie up to the top, raised his foot to tip it over. At that moment, the Ararie spoke for the first time, saying:"Its a long way to tip Ararie."
...No further comment is honestly necessary, but it should be noted that I cannot find any earlier record of this creature, so it’s likely Wyman wrote it himself or perhaps he heard it in an Irish pub? - it took a bit, but when I finally got the joke. ( a reference to a ear worm of a marching song from 1910.) -- The brilliantly awful pun left me broken. ...it could easily be considered an ancient ancestor to "BOFA"
• Similar creatures: "Kesaran Pasaran."