The Enchanted Forest

It was a cold winter’s evening. The wind whistled across the rooftops and played with the falling snow, scattering it in all directions. It had been snowing for a whole week and snow had piled up on the window sills, whilst the windows were covered in frost. The grown-ups were just finishing their supper, and the little children were getting ready for bed.

Little Lily dived under the warm duvet on her soft little bed and quickly began wriggling about, eager to warm it up. Once she had settled down, her grandmother sat down beside her and gazed at her little face with a smile.

‘Grandma, you’re going to tell me a story, aren’t you?’ asked Lily in her high-pitched little voice.

Her grandmother gently stroked her and said:

– When I was your age, all I could do was dream that someone would tell me a story.

He then added:

– Which fairy tale would you like?

– A good one. One you haven’t told me yet.

‘One I haven’t told you about yet,’ repeated the elderly woman, her gaze drifting thoughtfully into the distance. Then she looked towards the window, gazing not at it but somewhere far away, before turning her gaze back to the child’s face and saying:

– Right, here goes: once upon a time, there was a vast and dense forest. People told many legends about it. They said it was enchanted and that anyone who entered it never came out again. For many years, people had given it a wide berth, and even the nearest village was a two-day’s journey away. It was in this very village that a little girl lived. She was unhappy. At home, she had nothing but chores to do, and outside everyone shunned her because she was different from them. At school, they called her all sorts of names and humiliated her every day – they tried in every way to drag her down to the ground and crush her even further there. And they succeeded! Few people saw her big, beautiful eyes, because her head was always bowed. And her shabby, ill-fitting clothes concealed her beauty even further.

That’s right, Snowflake – she was beautiful, but the constant taunts and the nasty names they called her had become the truth even to her. Every day she felt more and more suffocated in that environment, where she found no happiness. And in those days, there was no other environment apart from the one into which you were born. For centuries, there had been only one way to change that. And she accepted it. Yes, Snowflake, she decided she didn’t want to live any longer. But she didn’t want to end her life just like that either. She wanted to show everyone that, in fact, they had never really known her. She decided to go where no one dared to go – into the legendary and fearsome forest. And so as not to waver, she packed a small bag of food and set off the very next day.

It was spring, and the walk through the mountains was a real delight for her. The gentle mountain breeze constantly ruffled her hair, caressed her face and carried the scent of freshness. She walked for two days and two nights, spending her evenings sleeping in the very heart of the meadows, covered with a green carpet and strewn with countless flowers. On the morning of the third day, the girl woke up and, just as she had done the previous morning, looked around curiously. All around her stretched a sea of green hills, but ahead of her, no more than an hour’s walk away, lay a large, dense forest. And it seemed as though something truly mysterious and enigmatic emanated from it. The little girl had no doubt that she had reached the destination of her journey. But for her journey to be complete, she had to enter the forest and find what she was looking for. For another legend said that there, everyone finds what they are looking for.

Before setting off, however, the girl untied the little bag and calmly ate the rest of what was inside. When she entered the forest, she was overcome by curiosity rather than fear. She walked slowly, looking around with interest in all directions. The forest was truly dense and there was no path to speak of. At that moment, she saw nothing strange in the fact that anyone who entered here would get lost. She knew that she too would get lost, but that did not worry her.

So, as she walked through the forest, marvelling at it more and more, the girl suddenly stopped. She realised she was falling in love with all the beauty around her, which filled her with a thirst for life. A life she had, until very recently, turned her back on. At that very moment, filled with hesitation and wonder, a low growl sounded no more than twenty paces ahead of her. She looked ahead and saw a huge black wolf lying on the ground, its ears pinned back, ready to pounce.

Of course, the girl was frightened, but she nevertheless slowly made her way towards him.

– Come on, wolf, kill me! I’m not afraid – she said.

The wolf remained standing there whilst she slowly approached him. When she was just a few steps away from him, to her great surprise, he stood up and walked off somewhere.

The little girl remained standing there like that for a long time. She couldn’t understand why, after meeting the messenger of death, she was still alive and standing.

– You’re the answer.

The human voice that came out of the blue frightened her more than the huge wolf. She turned towards the voice and saw a boy who wasn’t much older than she was.

The girl looked at him in bewilderment and asked:

– What are you on about? And who are you?

– Fear.

– I’m not scared at all! I asked you your name!

– I told you so.

She looked at him even more puzzled.

– Fear? Who on earth gave you a name like that?

– It doesn’t matter, – the boy replied calmly, and continued: – You came looking for me, and here I am.

– Am I supposed to look for you? Of course! What I’m looking for has absolutely nothing to do with you.

The boy smiled and set off.

– Wait! – the little girl caught up with him. – Where are you going?

– I’m heading home.

– Do you live here?

– Yes.

– Can I come with you?

– No.

‘Well, what am I supposed to do then?’ she frowned.

– Same as me – go home.

– But I... don’t want to.

– Why? – the boy stopped and turned to her. – You were scared of people’s gossip, yet you stood up to the huge wolf? And what happened when you entered the dreadful forest? You found it more beautiful than anything else.

‘Who are you?’ the girl barely managed to whisper.

– And who are you?

The little girl was completely confused. However, the smile that appeared on the boy’s face reassured her.

‘Wait a minute!’ she realised. ‘Did you see him?’

– Who?

– The Wolf!

– Of course.

– So why didn’t he do anything then? What if he’d jumped?

– He wouldn’t have jumped.

– How do you know?

– Well, I know I wouldn’t have jumped!

The girl looked at him in amazement.

‘Are you and he one and the same?’ she asked.

‘Everyone sees me differently,’ the boy replied vaguely.

Thinking back to that moment, the girl said:

– It was a beautiful wolf.

– Just like the forest, isn’t it?

– The most beautiful!

– Don’t forget that! Don’t forget him either. Don’t forget me either.

‘Never!’ she promised.

The boy smiled.

‘Our meeting is over, little girl,’ it said. ‘I’m sure you’ll find your way.’.

At these words, the girl turned round, and imagine her surprise when she saw a small but clearly defined path. When she turned to ask how it had appeared, there was no one left to answer her. This time, it did not surprise our heroine, who whispered softly: „I will never forget you!“

The elderly woman paused in her story. Complete silence reigned in the room. Outside, the wind was not to be heard either. It was as if everything had fallen silent and was listening to her story. Little Lily, her big eyes wide open, was listening too.

‘So?’ she asked. ‘Has the little girl gone home yet?’

– Oh yes, little snowflake, she didn’t even realise how quickly it had happened – it seemed to her as if it had been just a moment.

– And what happened next?

– Then, the very next day, she put on her finest clothes, combed her hair neatly and set off for school with confidence. From that day on, everyone could see her beautiful eyes and delicate face, because she never kept her head bowed again. From that day on, other people’s opinions were no longer what determined her life… never again! The gossip of children and adults was henceforth doomed to the fate of thousands of sea waves, hopelessly crashing against the coastal rocks. And whenever a difficult moment arose in the future, a large black wolf would appear before her, towards whom she, just as she had once done, would set off once more. Strong, beautiful and unwavering, she found her happiness. She also found love, and they had a daughter whose face was a mirror of her own. And in it she saw just how beautiful she truly was. She had not forgotten her promise either, and every day she remembered that forest, that wolf and that boy, without whom her life would have been meaningless and different.

The old woman stopped again. She looked into the child’s eyes, which were still wide open, and said:

– Shouldn’t you be asleep by now?

– Weren’t you supposed to tell me a proper story?

– What was wrong with that one, anyway?

‘That wasn’t a fairy tale. You never once mentioned the girl’s name, and in every fairy tale she’d have a name!... That’s you, isn’t it, Granny?’ little Lily whispered softly.

The old woman smiled and replied in a whisper:

– Let this be our secret, my clever little snowflake. Do you agree?

– All right, but only if you tell me another story! A normal one.

– ‘A proper fairy tale,’ her grandmother repeated, and fell into thought. Then she began to tell a new fairy tale – slowly and captivatingly.

Very soon, the soft duvet began to rise higher and little Lily took a deep breath. Her velvety eyelids closed over her beautiful child’s eyes, which would not open again that night. The elderly woman kissed her and switched off the bedside lamp. As she stood up to leave the room, she glanced at the frost-covered window. There, the wind and snow had drawn the figure of a little boy, a clear smile visible on his face.

The woman’s eyes filled with tears.

‘Look after her!’ she said, glancing towards the little bed where a fairy-tale creature was sleeping, a creature who would one day find her