Part Nine: The Beast of the Forest
The story of the Beast of the Forest continues as one of the bandits gets to know their captives and Jimmy begins to miss home...
Today’s story is part nine in The Beast of the Forest — the story of a boy who sets out into the forest to disprove a local legend.
To readers: Part Nine does get a bit spooky at the end so it may be worth reading ahead to check that you think it is suitable depending on your little one.
Here’s a link to part one:
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Night was near. The setting sun covered the forest with a pumpkin glow. The birds in the trees could be heard chirping as they settled for bed. Perhaps they were telling bedtime stories to their little ones.
Jimmy, Leo, and the bandits had stopped to rest for the night at the edge of the path. Tomorrow they would have to set off into the true thick of the forest -- no more paths to guide their way.
Jimmy and Leo were tied to the trunk of a tree while the five bandits set about preparing camp. The bandits quickly got a fire going and then it was time to gather up some food. Four of them then fanned out into the forest, searching for prey and berries.
The second-in-command bandit named Henry was the one to stay behind to look after Jimmy and Leo.
Henry sat on a log by the campfire and watched the small boy and the enormous man that were his captives. He was looking them over, trying to get a read of them. Their eyes were different to each other. They didn't look like father and son. The man was a clear veteran of the forest. You could see it in how worn his clothes were and the way that his boots only just barely clung to his feet.
The boy, however, had a cleanliness to him. His clothes were neat and his hair was trimmed.
The icy forest evening was beginning to creep in. As Henry looked at his captives, he noticed the boy was shivering.
Henry then got up from his log and walked over to the imprisoned pair.
He looked them over one last time. Henry had spent a lot of time in recent years around rough characters. Bandits did not spend much time around good company. Mostly, they spent time around other bandits.
As Henry looked at Jimmy and Leo, he sensed a kindness and a gentleness in both of them. There was something about them -- something that took Henry back to his days before being a bandit, back to when he was a baker living a peaceful life in a town that felt like home.
"Can I trust you two?" asked Henry.
Jimmy immediately nodded his head.
Henry looked to Leo; he wasn't as cooperative.
"Please, can I trust you?" said Henry.
Finally, Leo nodded his head too.
Henry then untied Jimmy and Leo. As he freed Leo, there was a part of him that expected the giant of a man to immediately turn around and throw a punch at him. But Leo didn’t do that. He just quietly rubbed his wrists where the rope had been stinging him.
The three of them then went and sat around the fire.
Jimmy rubbed his hands together right up close to the flames, trying to warm himself up, while Leo stared into the fire in silence.
"We'll have some food for you soon," said Henry.
Neither Jimmy or Leo responded.
They both looked relatively calm, but Henry felt uneasy.
"I'm sorry," said Henry finally. "I'm sorry for all of this... this whole mess."
"How about you let us go then," said Leo, looking at Henry.
"I can’t," said Henry. "Not yet. But if you help us to finish this thing then you will both be as free as weeds in an abandoned paddock. I'll even make sure you get a cut of the prize."
"Will you now?" said Leo, apparently unconvinced.
"We're not evil," said Henry.
"Right," said Leo, "because non-evil people kidnap children all the time."
"It's not that simple," said Henry.
"Actually, it is that simple," said Leo.
Henry gave up and looked to the fire. He knew Leo was right.
"What were you two doing in the forest anyway?" asked Henry.
"I was searching for the Beast too," said Jimmy. "And I thought I found him."
"You two barely know each other, do you?" said Henry.
"I met Leo yesterday," said Jimmy.
"And you still went to all of that effort to try and free him?" asked Henry.
"He would have done the same for me," said Jimmy.
Henry looked at the two of them. They were both staring into the fire, exhausted.
A new voice then broke the quiet, "Oi! What's going on here?"
It was Arthur.
Henry looked over to find Arthur and the other three bandits all coming back.
"It's ok," said Henry. "They're not going to run."
Arthur was unconvinced.
"I swear," said Henry. "Trust me."
Thinking, Arthur looked at Jimmy and Leo. He then looked at Henry. There was desperation in his eyes.
Deciding it wasn’t worth the fight, Arthur sat down by the fire, followed by the other bandits.
“Tonight’s feast… berries,” said Arthur. “Berries, berries, and more berries.”
Each of them were given a handful of berries. Henry made sure that Jimmy and Leo got their fair share too.
Once it was time to sleep, Jimmy lied down near the fire. He took off his shoes and used them as a pillow under his head. He was on his side, looking at the campfire with tired eyes.
He thought of the annual festival back home where everyone in town would gather in the town square for a great big bonfire. He remembered being there at the festival, sitting in between his mum and dad by the fire and eating hot chestnuts. Everyone in town would be singing and dancing. He could feel the warmth of his parents holding him. He could taste the warm chestnuts.
Lying there in the forest, he knew how much his mum and dad would be worrying about him right that very moment.
He wasn’t even thinking about the Beast. He just missed his mum and dad.
In his mind, he tried to go back home to the festival, to being with his family.
Imaging himself there, he then heard a chant that all the kids would sing:
“The Beast, the Beast,
It eats and eats.
The Beast, the Beast,
It never sleeps.”
Here is a link to the next part in The Beast of the Forest:
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