Vanish In The Forest

The old lady heard villagers heading her way, chanting, “Witch, Witch! Burn the Witch!”

The villagers were enraged after waking up to the village pigs slaughtered.

“Who could have done this?” asked a villager.

From a distance, another shouts, “The witch did it.”

The villagers were confused. “If there is a witch, why would she do this?”

Coming forward came a man in his early twenties. “I tell you, a witch did this! I know because I have seen this before. Witches need the blood of a pig to curse people. By the number of pigs slaughtered here today, it looks like your witch is looking to curse the entire village.”

“You mean witches are real? Do you know where to find this witch?” the frightened townsfolk asked the young man.

The man was intent on instilling fear in the villagers.

“Believe me! Witches are real and they can curse you and your families.”

“If a witch can do so much evil and set out to hurt people just for the pure fun of it and slaughter the peoples lively hood, then we my friends need to take care of the witch before she takes care of us,” cried one determined villager.

They set out to find this witch, going deep into the woods, eventually coming upon a little run-down house.

“Where did that house come from? I have never seen it before,” said a terrified onlooker.

The young man reminded everybody that witches can make a house appear with their spells and trickery.

As the villagers approached the house, they again began chanting, “Witch, witch! Kill the witch!”

Approaching the cottage, the townsfolk demanded whoever was inside to show themselves or they would burn down her house with her in it.

The old woman, though in fear for her life, had heard their chants. She knew what she was being accused of, but she emerged anyway.

“How could I do such a thing; I am old and worn out, barely able to even walk,” cried the old lady.

“You are acting, and in disguise, so we will believe you,” shouted the man.

The old lady spoke out once again, accusing the man of being a fraud, not even a man.

“What you mean?” asked a villager.

“I am an old woman with knowledge beyond your time. I sense this man to be an evil deity who can transform into a wolf. This wolf man slaughters your pigs for the pure pleasure of sport. I bring no harm to no one. I have lived here in this house for years upon years. I have no reason to want to bring harm to anyone.”

Determined to prove he was not who he said he was, the old woman reminded the villagers that he was a stranger to them, having arrived from seemingly out of nowhere.

“This my friends are the mask of evil. I will prove this to you. Once I do, I will vanish forever and never return to this house again.”

The woman approached the young man.

“I will tempt you, and you will show your true form.”

In seconds, the old woman turned into a barn owl, spreading her wings and flying away. The young man, tempted by his desire for killing animals for sport, transformed into a wolf, leaping into the air to grab the barn owl with his drooling mouth and fangs. The village people were in disbelief.

“A witch!” yelled a villager.

“A wolf!” shouted another.

“Get the wolf!” screamed the villagers. They charged towards the wolf, eventually capturing him. Injured, he had transformed back into a man.

The villagers took the young man further into the woods, tied him to a tree, and agreed to leave the faith of his life to whatever the woods would bring to him.

He struggled for days, trying to break free of the ropes, transforming again into a wolf to chew his way free. After he had transformed, he heard a noise in the distance, hoping whatever it was would pass him. The roar of a bear unsettled him.

The wolf knew he needed to escape, as he anxiously awaited the bear’s next move.

“Don’t eat me!” he yelled, frightened.

“Why would I eat you?” replied the bear.

“I don’t know isn’t that what animals do?”

“Not all animals. There is a code of ethic in these woods. We maintain our health by eating grass, weeds, berries and whatever else to survive. You might say I’m a vegetarian.”

“Do you eat other animals?” the bear asked the wolf.

The wolf shook his head.

“I heard from a little birdie that there was a wolf who slaughtered pigs and was tied to a tree as punishment. Is this wolf not you?” asked the bear.

“Yes it was me, but I am changed. Sitting here in the woods made me see that I was wrong. I should have never done that.”

“And I should believe you now? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” the bear said in disbelief.

He stood in silence, thinking about what to do. Should he eat the wolf? Should he leave the wolf? Or should he let the wolf go?

After a few moments of pondering, the bear replied, “I have decided what I am going to do.”

“What?” asked the wolf, frightened.

“I am going to eat you!”

“Wait! Wait! How are you going to punish me for slaughtering pigs by eating me, wouldn’t you be guilty of the same thing?”

“That was killing an animal for sport. I don’t play sports, and I am not punishing you,” said the bear.

“Grass and berries only hold me for so long. I need protein to last the winter months.”

The bear took a deep breath and continued. “You are my dinner for hibernation. After all, I am an animal, and this animal has got to eat!

You, my wolf, are my meal!”

The end.