The Dark Wood

A Fairy Tale

by 
TheRHogue

Special Thanks to
Ginger

Once upon a time there was a small girl in a small village in a place far away. The little 
girl lived in a small house near other small houses encircling the village square. One 
evening the village elders gathered around a large fire in the center of the village square. 
The little girl's parents went out to see what was going on. When the parents came back, 
the parents were shaking their heads with dismay.

"What's going on?" the little girl asked, eager, curious and giddy with anticipation. 
Something important had happened, and the little girl wanted to know what all these 
people were talking about.

The father looked at the little girl, looked at his wife, looked back at the little girl, and 
opened his mouth as if to speak. The little girls eyes grew wide.

The little girl's mother interrupted the father's coming words, "It's not important. Now, 
go to bed." The father closed his mouth, and turned his back on his daughter. Thus, 
closing the matter from rebuttal.

The little girl was more frustrated than sad. She really couldn't sleep very well - 
especially with her parents mumbling in the distance outside her door. She began to feel a 
little sleepy, a little tired, a little…KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK. Someone was knocking 
at the door. The little girl froze stiff, and gripped the covers tightly.

A creaky door opened. "Hello all."…came a sweet cackled voice. The little girl relaxed 
as she recognized the loved voice of her grandmamma. The little girl heard a creaky door 
shut, footsteps traipse to the living room, and more whispering and sighing.  The little girl 
got up out of bed, tip toed across the cold floor, and put her ear to the door. 
Eavesdropping was taught as taboo, but the little girls desire for knowledge out weighed 
such trivial indiscretions. Unfortunately, the mumbling was now only interlaced with a 
few coherent words, but the little girl still had an ear to the door on the hopes of catching 
a few words of enlightenment. After a while, the little girls eyelids grew heavy, and her 
head began to list downward in sleep.

"Hmmmphhh!!!", exhaled the grandmother. "Well, let me talk to her." The grandmother 
raised out of her chair. "How do you expect her to sleep nights with all this hubbub 
rattling her senses?" The little girl was awaken out of her sleepy by the grandmothers 
raised voice. The little girl heard footsteps coming toward her door, and like a cat 
sprinted across the room, leaped into bed, and threw the covers over her. As the little girls 
eyes closed and her arms laid across her chest, her bedroom door opened. Shadowed from 
the light in the room behind here was the soft wrinkled face of grandmamma.

The grandmother shuffled her feet to a chair nearby, picked it up with a hallow grunt, and 
moved next to the little girls bedside. The grandmother rested the chair upon the floor, 
and sat herself down with a relieving gasp. The light from the living room penetrated 
through the opening in the doorway, past the grandmother and lay upon the pretending 
little girl. The grandmother could see the little girls chest heaving quickly up and down. 
The grandmother smiled knowing the little girl had been trying to listen in to the adult's 
conversation.

The grandmother cajoled the little girl to expose her awakened state. "Hmmm…the little 
one is asleep. Well, I guess I can tell her about all things that happened tonight in the 
village square tomorrow. Ohhh…and how interesting it was. I guess it can wait until 
tomorrow."

The little girl kept her eyes closed and said, "Could it wait until tonight?"

The grandmother smile turned sarcastically concerned. "Is my little one talking in her 
sleep? Oh I hope not. This would be bad indeed."

The little girl opened her eyes. "No, grandmamma. I'm not talking in my sleep. I'm 
talking to you."

The grandmother pretended to be relieved. "…and it's a good thing too." The 
grandmother paused and waited.

"What happened in the square tonight, grandmamma?" The little girl asked with great 
earnest.

"I guess since your awake, I might as well tell you…don't you think."

"Yes, please do." The little girls excitement began to grow.

"All right, but you must promise to keep still. No need to be fidgeting around you know."

"Yes, grandmamma."

"Good. Let see…I guess it all started with farmer Logan. He was herding his sheep this 
afternoon – something he does almost every afternoon, and his dog Shep went to get a 
few strays that had wandered up toward the forest, and…"

"You mean near the…the…Dark Wood?" The little girl stuttered and felt a cold chill run 
through her.

"I'm afraid so my dear. Uh…So as Shep went toward the edge of the woods, he stopped 
and then looked straight into the forest. Farmer Logan called the dogs name, but the dog 
didn't move. Shep just looked in the forest with his ears perked up. Farmer Logan called 
and called, but the dog just would not obey. So, farmer Logan went to get the dog."

"Oh, no…" The little girl became frightened.

The grandmother saw the frightened look on the little girls face. "Now, there's no need to 
be scared little one. Farmer Logan reached his dog near the woods, and they were about 
to herd the stragglers when they heard some voice coming out of the forest. And that's all 
my dear, just a voice of some kind, and that is what all the commotion was about this 
evening. Everyone was just trying to figure out what farmer Logan could have heard."

The little girl wasn't scared anymore, but she still felt tense. "Maybe farmer Logan heard 
a monster."

"If it was a monster little one, we have swords to cut it to pieces. No monster would dare 
come into our village. So, there is no need to fear a monster little one."

"Maybe, it was the voice of a dragon." The little girl conjectured.

"If it was a dragon, our archers would easily strike its soft underbelly with their powerful 
bows, and drop it as quickly to the ground as it did to the air. No, there's no need to fear a 
dragon little one."

"Maybe, the voice was a group of wild beasts." The little girl pondered.

"If it were wild beasts, our hunting dogs would chase them off with their tales between 
their legs. You don't have to worry about wild beasts little one."

"Maybe, the voice was of a ghost or spirit."

"Well, no ghost or spirit would leave the forest in the day time. The sun's rays would 
burn the ghost into nothingness. If the spirit tried to come into the village at night, our 
fires that burn would leap into the air like spears to destroy such an aberration. When a 
ghost smells the smoke from our chimneys, they know to tread no further…No, little one, 
you don't need to fear a ghost, spirit, monsters, dragons, wild beasts or anything else. As 
long as you stay here in the village, nothing will ever harm you."

The little girl felt content. As she looked over the shoulder of her grandmother, and 
through the bedroom door she saw the shadowing flames dancing on the living room 
walls by a fully stoked fireplace - a fire that would protect her from that which may hide 
in the Dark Wood.


As the seasons passed, the little girl turned into a strong, vibrant and lovely young 
woman, while the mysteries of the Dark Wood continued to haunt the dreams of the 
villagers. Not one villager in these many years had even stepped foot into the dense 
forest, and the farmers kept their animals as far away as possible.

Then on one beautifully sunny spring day, the lovely young woman was playing with her 
one-year-old puppy dog in a pasture near the Dark Wood.  The dog was full of energy, 
jumping, running, barking and rolling in the grassy field. The young woman was 
laughing, jolly and happy to see the young pup at play.

Suddenly, the young pup looked into the directly of the Dark Wood. The young woman, 
still half laughing didn't notice the intense look on the pup's face as it stared inquisitively 
into the nearby forest. When the dog shot toward the wood at a full run, the young 
woman, overcoming her initial shock, yelled at the dog to stop. As the dog reached the 
very edge of the Dark Wood, it stopped, and seemed to be listening intently. The young 
woman was racing toward the dog telling it to stay put. When the dog stopped at the edge 
of the forest, the young woman felt some relief, and slowly approached the young naïve 
pup. Just as the young woman was about to reach out and grab the young pup, the dog 
quickly and unexpectedly leaped into the Dark Wood, and ran and barked. Echoes of the 
barking seemed to cascade through the entire forest. After only a few seconds, it was 
unclear where the dog's barking was coming from. The young woman stood at the edge 
of the woods, and hollered in a crying voice, pleading for the pup to come back to her. It 
was then she realized that the Dark Wood had become silent again. Had she lost her 
beloved companion to the evil, which stood before her in the form of limbs, thickets, 
leaves and unknown creatures? The young woman bowed her head and began to softly 
weep.

A sound came from the Dark Wood – faint, distant and unclear. The young woman 
slowly raised her head as tears ran down her soft cheeks, hoping the faint echo was her 
dog coming back to her. As the moments passed, there was only silence. Then, like 
before, a sound echoed through the forest. The young woman sniffled. The sound was not 
of her dog, but something else. Once again, the sound came again, only louder this time. 
The young woman started to take a step back as fear began to overcome her feelings of 
loss. But instead of taking the step back, she stood frozen in place. Once again, the same 
sound came again deep from within the forest. The young woman didn't move because 
she had been frozen with fear, but because the sound seemed to be that of voice – a 
person's voice. The young woman turned her head with her ear facing the forest. Again, 
the voice called. The young woman upon hearing the voice again thought she heard and 
perhaps even understood what the voice was saying. Again, the voice echoed through the 
forest.

"Hello…" 

The young woman felt self-doubt creep into her mind. Was this her imagination playing 
tricks on her? Was this evil forest trying to entice her into its grasp to take her away like 
it took her poor helpless puppy away? Or, was this someone lost in the forest trying to 
find their way out? The young woman stood resolved. Again, the voice echoed.

"Hello…can anybody hear me?"

The young woman wasn't sure what to do, but if someone was lost, she should try to help 
them. "Yes…Yes I can hear you." She yelled into the forest. There were a few moments 
of anxious silence until…

"Hello, I can hear you too…Who are you?" the voice questioned.

The young woman was still apprehensive, "Who am I? Who are you first, and what are 
you doing in the forest?"

The voice replied, "I'm not in the forest…I thought you were in the forest."

"No," The young woman said, "I'm not in the forest either. Wait…if you're not in the 
forest, where are you?"

"I'm in my village at the edge of the forest." Replied the voice.

"So am I." The young woman was a little confused.

The voice and the young woman continued to talk and ask questions. After a few more 
minutes of conversation, the young woman turned and ran toward the village. She was 
very excited, and began to tell everyone what had just happened. The village elders 
grouped together in the village center and listened intently on what the young woman had 
to say. When the young woman told them that there was another village on the other side 
if the Dark Wood, there was much skepticism. 

One of the elders said, "The voice could be a smart monster trying to pull all of us into 
the forest just to eat us for its supper. Maybe your puppy dog was just its appetizer."

Another elder said, "Maybe it's the voice of a magical dragon who is trying to hypnotize 
us, and then steal all of our sheep and pigs."

Yet another elder proclaimed, "The voice might be a ghost or spirit wanting to corrupt us, 
and use us for its own evil purposes."

There was mumbling in the gathering crowd. The young woman who stood before the 
village elders heard the crowd begin to speak of monsters, dragons and ghosts.

"Wait!" The young woman yelled – a bit surprised by her own convictions. "What if I 
went into the forest, and brought this villager I spoke to back for all to see and hear?"

One of the elders added, "Your bravery is to be commended, but what if you became lost 
or worse. The Dark Wood is deep and voices echo East, West, South and North. How 
would we know anything if you never came back?"

The crowd mumbled again, and the young woman thought about the problem.

"What if I tie a rope around my waist, and enter the forest. I can't get lost because I can 
follow the rope back. If I see a monster, dragon, ghost or wild beast, I will tug on the rope 
3 times, and you can pull me back to the village."

The crowd mumbled again. The elders talked amongst themselves. The young woman 
waited, not sure where her courage was coming from.

The high elder rose and said, "So be it. Everyone is to assemble all their ropes, and we 
shall make them into one, bless the child that risks so much."

The young woman wasn't sure if she was happy that the elders accepted her plan, but she 
was resolved to go through with it. As the villagers collected their ropes, the young 
woman when to the edge of the Dark Wood, and told the voice what she was about to do. 
The voice told her that it would meet her half way.

After a few hours, all the ropes in the village were tied into one very long rope. The 
young woman tied the rope around her waist, looked at the bright blue sky hoping it 
would not be the last time she would see such beauty. She looked at the villagers and 
said, "I have talked with the voice beyond the Dark Wood, and the village beyond the 
Dark Wood is assembling all their ropes into one. So, that I may meet one of them half 
way." 

Some the elders nodded in the affirmative, and declared it was a sign of trust. While other 
elders bantered of deception from evil creatures.

The young woman turned toward the Dark Wood, and yelled, "Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready." Came the faint reply of the voices echoes.

The young woman turned and looked back at the village shining brightly in the afternoon 
sun. She looked at the villagers, and at their hopes and fears. She looked forward at the 
black and emptiness under the canopy of the dark wood.

"Here, I come!" the young woman yelled as her first step, perhaps the only step of her 
kind to enter the mystery that was the Dark Wood. The young woman heard the echo of 
the voice, "And, here I come." The voice gave her comfort, but the echoes seemed to be 
coming from everywhere. The young woman continued in a straight line. "Can you still 
hear me?"

"Yes." Echoed the voice, "But I can't pin point where you're coming from. The echo's of 
your voice seem to be coming from everywhere."

The young woman thought for a minute. "Are some echo's louder or fainter than others?"

"Yes…Yes…We should move toward the louder echo's. Is that what your thinking?" 
asked the voice.

"Yes, go toward the loudest echo's." The young woman wasn't sure if this would work, 
but anything was better than nothing – hope was better than failure. When the young 
woman looked back, her village had been replaced by the darkness of the forest. Her only 
reminder of what lay behind her was the taught rope squeezed around her waist.

"Hello…Hello…" the voice persisted.

The young woman listened to the strong echoes, and moved toward them. "I'm here. I'm 
here." She yelled.

The two adventurers continued to search for each other hour after hour. The young 
woman's voice began to feel dry and horse, but she continued to call out. Now and again, 
she would have to back track as the strength of the echoes moved which caused a change 
in her direction. After another hour had passed, with parched lips and throat, the young 
woman began to feel dizzy with potential hopelessness. She began to think that maybe 
the voice was a monster or ghost trying it's best to wear down her stamina or make her go 
crazy. She looked at the rope around her waist. Maybe a forest demon had cut the rope, 
and if she tried to follow it back to her village, the ropes end would not be laying in the 
safety of her village, but in the ominous hands of an evil creature wishing her demise. It 
all seemed surreal - the thick forest around her, the heaviness of the air, the 
claustrophobic encircling of the darkness all around her. Was she going mad? Could she 
take anymore of this? Could she get back? What would become…

Snap!

The young woman heard a twig snap. There was no echo. The sound went directly to her 
ears. The young woman attempted to say something, but her dry throat brought only a 
gasp.

Snap!

The sound was closer. The young woman attempted to swallow, but she felt only the 
dryness of a parched tongue.

Snap! Snap!

The young woman saw something move in the distance. She hesitated. Was this some 
wild beast? Should she tug on the rope 3 times, would it even do any good? The figure 
moved closer hidden by tree trunks and high thickets. The young woman could either run 
with what energy she had left or hope her instincts were right all along. The voice said it 
was villager from beyond the Dark Wood. Maybe it was, and maybe it wasn't, but the 
young woman felt resolve and desire overwelm her - once and for all, the truth of what 
did and did not exists in the Dark Wood would be known. The young woman moved 
toward the moving figure. Her steps could be heard as she broke branches under her feet 
as she moved. The figure seemed to know where she was and continued in her direction. 

The young woman stopped moving forward as did the figure coming at her. Before both 
of them arose a wall of thickets to impenetrable to walk through. The young woman 
looked left. There was no opening. The young woman looked right, and she saw the 
smallest of openings. As the young woman went toward the opening, so did the figure. 
The voice had disappeared some while ago. Had the creature about to confront her 
destroyed the voice, and was proceeding to destroy her? The young woman's resolve was 
steadfast. She had to know. Was this a monster to be slayed with swords, a dragon to be 
brought down by bow, a wild beast to be hunted by dogs, a ghost to be destroyed by fire?

The young woman reached the opening in the thicket, hesitated with heart pounding, and 
entered the narrow passage. As she entered, so entered the figure, and at last they stood 
face to face – body to body. The young woman grabbed her rope, and with a slight 
tug…untied the knot that had bound the rope around her waist. Now, with the end of the 
rope in her hand, she held it out to be taken.

A hand reached out and grabbed the rope the young woman had offered. The young 
woman then walked closer to the figure before her, and untied the rope that was tied 
around the waist of the young man standing before her. The young woman then took the 
ends of both ropes, and tied them together to become one.

The young man tried to speak, but only emptiness filled the air. The young man tried 
again with a parched and dry whisper, "…I… have… your dog." He said with a smile. A 
tear welled up in the young woman's eye as she took the young man's hand and lead him 
back to her village by following a rope, which now tied their two villages together.


Years later the young woman had a little girl. On night, when the young mother had 
kissed her little girl good night, the little girl asked, "Mommy?"

The young mother turned to look at her sweet child, "Yes?"

"Mommy…my friends were playing in the field today, and when we got near the Dark 
Wood, we heard some sounds. And one of my friends said that maybe it was a monster 
that would eat us up. And another one of my friends said that maybe it was dragon that 
would burn down our houses. And another one of my friends said that maybe it was a 
bunch of wild beasts that would shed us to pieces. And my other friend said maybe it was 
a ghost or spirit that would haunt us forever. Which is it mommy?"

The young mother smiled assuredly, and said, "You don't have to fear the monster, the 
dragon, the wild beast or the ghost, my dear."

"Why, mommy, why?"

"Because there are no such creatures in the Dark Wood."

"How do you know that mommy?"

"Because I've been there…and the only thing I saw in the Dark Wood…was your loving 
and dear father. Now, go to sleep, and sleep well my dear."

"Yes mommy. I will."

  
"Being afraid of the unknown limits the potential of what can be known." – TheRHogue