Friend of The Forest

Here is my first children's short story! I am excited! I hope you enjoy reading it!
- Sarah x

Friend of the Forest 


Once upon a time, on a day that few now remember.
A baby girl was born to the village hunter and his wife, they named her Magda. 
Because the hunter had no son, he taught his only daughter his trade in the woods behind their straw-thatched cottage. 
Years went by and Magda grew, with a secret she kept to herself. 
Magda loved animals and called them her friends, even though she could not speak to them she somehow knew how they felt and what they needed to be happy and safe; so she did all she could for them. At first light when she and her father set out to hunt, she would whistle so her friends knew they had to hide. 

When her father had finished his hunting for the day, scratching his head in frustration as he walked back to the cottage; Magda always had a ready excuse to stay behind and howled like a wolf, her father was always greatly amused by this; not knowing that Magda was telling her friends it was safe to come out of hiding.
When she was sure her father had gone, Magda ran to the stream and dipped her fingers in the water and the fishes would come and kiss each of her fingers. 

Not too long after, Fabian the Fox would come; Magda had rescued him as a pup after the hunter had shot his mother and sold her fur at the local market.
Feeling sad for him, Magda had bottle-fed Fabian in secret until he was old enough to hunt on his own, now he was her friend and protector when ever the hunter was not near.
 Shortly after Fabian came, Wild Rabbit with his brown fur and long whiskers would bounce up to Magda hop into her lap. Her father had been trying to catch Wild Rabbit for a long time because he liked to venture into the kitchen garden. 
The three friends would sit by the stream until it was almost dark and then Fabian would walk with Magda to the edge of the woods. 
There were never such friends as this trio before, because Magda was supposed to hunt both Fabian and Wild Rabbit, but would never think of doing so. 
Fabian was supposed to eat Wild Rabbit and his family of little rabbits, though a skilled hunter; Fabian did not lift a paw towards Wild Rabbit. 

For a time, all was well. Seasons came and went and the three friends still enjoyed each other's company. 
Yet all it took was one day for everything to change. 
On a cold day, the snow blanketed the field with white and Magda was ill; her mother insisted on her staying in bed. Because she never whistled, her furry friends never knew that the hunter was in the woods. Wild Rabbit's foot caught in the iron jaws of one of the hunter's traps. 
The hunter took Wild Rabbit home to his wife, who cooked Wild Rabbit in a stew. 
As she ate her garden salad that night at dinner, her father seemed more happier than usual. 
When she asked him why, he bragged. "I finally caught that pesky rabbit! The one that kept getting away!" 
Magda had heard her father grumble more than once about 'that pesky rabbit', there was no mistaking which one but not wanting to believe it, Magda fled from the cottage and into the woods calling out Wild Rabbit's name as she cried. 
Fabian came out of the shadows of the trees and Magda opened her arms to him. 
"Aha! There's that blasted fox!" The hunter's voice boomed from behind her. 
In terror, Magda whirled around to find her father standing with a smug expression; holding his rifle angled towards her. "Move aside, Magda! That fox shall be our breakfast tomorrow!" 
"Go and hide, Fabian! Now!" Magda insisted, shielding Fabian with her body and turned back to her father. "Please don't hurt, Fabian! He's my friend!" 
"He's a fox!" The hunter insisted but Magda shook her head. "You've already taken one friend from me today. Please don't take another." 
The Hunter's expression faltered with disbelief. "You are the one who keeps opening my traps!" 
"Yes, because what you are doing is wrong. Animals are our friends, at least they will be if you let them." Before the hunter could say anything, Fabian stepped in front of Magda and snarled at the hunter who could only stare in shock. "He's protecting you!" He exclaimed when the ability to speak came back to him. Reaching down, Magda stroked Fabian's fur and whispered. "You have to go, my friend. I'll be all right." 
Fabian nuzzled her cheek lovingly and with a low growl at the hunter, disappeared into the trees again. "So you are friends with these...animals?" The hunter asked, lowering his rifle. 
"Yes, they come and find me because they trust me."  Magda told him. 
"Heh. How else am I gonna put food on our table? Hunting is all I can do!" The hunter wailed. 
"There are plenty of things you can do." Magda said wisely and began to tell the hunter how he can find wild strawberries to make jam. "..and we don't have to put meat in our food, it will still taste delicious." The hunter looked disgusted, but agreed to try for the sake of his daugther. 
He started by taking his daughter home and taking the hot stew off the stove. 
"What do you want to do with your friend?" The hunter asked Magda. 
Thoughtfully, Magda replied. "We'll bury him with dignity, where the wild strawberries grow. He'll like that." 
The next day the hunter and Magda took Wild Rabbit in the now cold stew into the woods and buried him beneath the dirt. The hunter gave Magda a large handkerchief full of vegetables from the garden. "Please give this to Wild Rabbit's family and say I'm sorry, I won't hunt in these woods ever again." 
"I'm proud of you, Daddy. For doing the right thing." Magda said and hugged him before setting off to the stream. One moment she was alone staring at her reflection in the stream, the next Fabian was sitting next to her; delicately licking his paw. 
"I think everything will be okay now, Daddy is sorry about Wild Rabbit. He gave me these vegetables to give to Wild Rabbit's family, I know it won't bring Wild Rabbit back but it's a nice thing to do, yes?" Magda asked him, Fabian gave her a small nod in response. 
"I'm glad your my friend, Fabian. I swear I'll always be a friend of the forest."  

For a child, a promise must always be kept - and whatever promises they give, they keep. 
Because even though Magda grew up and did not often go to the forest, everywhere she went she said to all who would listen. "Animals are our friends, if we let them." 
Whenever she did go back to the forest and whistled, Fabian would come running to her side; and where ever he went, his little foxes followed closely behind.

For Loele & Liana.