The Forest's Tale

The Forest's Tale

Once upon a time,  in a deep-deep forest, there lived a few grey old goblins.They had no children to dance around them or entice them with extravagant demands. For years, they lived, ate and slept in small caves with small doors and holes for windows. Their plants and trees drooped and bore no fruit and the moon always set first on their part of the forest because its silver gaze would go for waste when there was no one to shine it on.

One routine-some night,  when all the goblins were busy fixing supper out of dried beans and ginger; two women made their way to the forest's stream. Their tap-tapping feet drew snails out of their moldy shells and rats out of their mud caked holes underground. The maids slowly stepped into the water, starting ripples - blub-blubb-blubbb ; wetting one ankle now, now another , now one knee, then another. The water was cool as the night, spreading like a silver piece of silk with crease-like ripples.As they bathed, they sang :

"Ho ! My Silver moon ,

Shine upon those who swoon,

Give them one last boon-

For they'll be leaving soon .

Tomorrow's only for those who survive

Drink from thy mighty flask at five

Hidden in the depth of archives

Of those who were once alive "

The goblins hid behind their trees. The bats stuck to the leafless branches of large red barks. The trees themselves straightened up - of course they had to look their best around such beautiful ladies ! The moon was charmed by their presence and shone extra bright on the forest that night.  All the life in the forest listened with all their ears- some with a pair, some with one more or less than a pair. None of them dared to rustle a leaf, flutter an eyelid or show any sign of their presence.

So the maids finished their bath, and walked away tinkling their silver ornaments -a gift from the moon.

Next night the forest looked dressed up in the anticipation of the maids' visit. The pebbles had a faint glow on them and the trees looked red-er. The maids got in the water - which seemed fresh as cream now and bathed while singing in their sweet-sweet voices :

Oh ! Old tree-o-oak ,

Tis said in the big book ,

That with your one look

Our dear earth shook .

Tomorrow's only for those who survive

Drink from thy mighty flask at five

Hidden in the depth of archives

Of those who were once alive "

Again the life in the forest gathered to listen - to such beauty that no one had ever told them about; grey old beings as they were.

So they maids finished their bath and walked away chewing, this time,  sweet bits of leaves and nuts- a gift from the red oaks.

Days passed ; centered around the blissful melody of the night's angels. Other parts of the day were either spent preparing for the night or munching away on dry ginger.

The maids sang about the warmth of the fire, the smoothness of stones and the softness of water and returned home with exotic gifts every night. In return,  the forests grew nicer and nicer day by day... brighter and more productive.

But all living things think alike don't they? If you see little of something nice,  you wonder what all of it can do to you.  You are given a little pleasure when you find yourself asking for more, more and then All.

So one routine-some night- yes ! this was the new routine-some-ness of the nights ; when the maids came and dipped their tender feet in  the water , the forest awoke : leaf by leaf, tree by tree, creature by creature !  

By now ; the moon was so bright, it stayed up until the sun struggled for his place .The pebbles glowed so well that they could be mistaken for fallen stars and the oaks were so red with nuts, that they resembled blood rubies.

But a little more shine wouldn't hurt of course ! Infact, it would benefit rather than hurt. So the awakened forest crept up slowly behind  the maids who now sang :

" Where can I find thee oh ! who do I trust

When my eyes are old, laden with rust

Among the sea oh! Among the dust -

Was all this true oh purely lust

Tomorrow's only for those who survive

Drink from thy mighty flask at five

Hidden in the depth of archives.....

.. Wait ! I heard something "

And then- swiftly but steadily , the forest and its life consumed the maidens' beauty . First song by song .. then limb by limb until only silence prevailed upon the same old routine-some nights once again.

Author's Note

Well, I wrote this when our family went to this cottage near the jungle for a holiday . It was so quiet, so different from the street-light filled city and I wondered if the forest communicated with nature itself.
Please tell me what you think of it :)
Picture courtesy : Google

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

Honest and a mystical tale.
"And then- swiftly but steadily , the forest and its life consumed the maidens' beauty . First song by song .. then limb by limb until only silence prevailed upon the same old routine-some nights once again."
I like the vision of the forest and the ending. All shall fall to age and journey. Thank you for sharing the outstanding story.
Coyote

[Nirupama.H]

Thank you !!

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome.

[matrixmark]

Reallly liked this piece from the off - goblins living in a forest - very mystical indeed. The forest itself was very well described. I felt that i was taken into another world when I read this piece - it was such a refreshing read. Your dialogue sentence structure are good and made it even more of a pleasure to read as the whole thing just flowed so well.

Mark.

[Nirupama.H]

Thanks a lot for reading and commenting. I'm glad you liked it!

[NinjaShadowWolf]

I loved the mystical feeling it gave off. I really liked the description of everything especially,"The pebbles glowed so well that they could be mistaken for fallen stars and the oaks were so red with nuts, that they resembled blood rubies." That really made it seem more magical.

[Nirupama.H]

Thanks a lot. I'm glad you liked it.

[Deepa Ragunathan]

so beautifully written!!
A really deep concept hidden in a fantasy of goblins, magic and trees. It is true, that sometimes the helpful people get drained of their nature by those who take advantage of their giving.
The depiction of the scene is mystical, whimsical and just wow.
So glad I got to read this!

Deepa

[Nirupama.H]

Thank you :)

[Devanshu Rajput]

I liked the poetic touch that you have given to poem, it adds more darkness to story. I am also a story fanatic. I think by reading your works I will be gaining knowledge.

I look forward to read your other works. Thanks for sharing.

D

[Nirupama.H]

Thanks a lot :)

[matpat]

Very good imagery, I like it!

[Nirupama.H]

Thank you :)

[Solar]

/swiftly but steadily , the forest and its life consumed the maidens' beauty . First song by song .. then limb by limb until only silence prevailed upon the same old routine-some nights once again./

I liked the folk-talesy cadence of this story, moving from a dimming of life [the goblins etc], to a 'shining' [the singing beauties] and the dark, entropic ending in the above verses.

[Nirupama.H]

Thanks a lot !!

[GeekyGamer128]

This was a really great short story. I enjoyed it because it had kind of a poetic feel to it that I love in short stories. Great job. It would be much appreciated if you check out my new story. I'm trying to make a darker twist to Alice and Wonderland. Anyways, great job I'll check out some more stuff from you as well! Have a great day! :D

[Nirupama.H]

Thanks a lot !
I will surely read yours too :)