The Girl and the Monster

This is the tale of a kid that lived alone in a house in the forest.

She was always happy, always cheerful. Even though no other humans were with her, all her animal friends were around her, helping her and making her company.

She had never once felt the need for anything more than what she had.

But among all the things she had been taught by the animals, there was one bit that had always troubled her.

Beware the monster of the forest, who’s always lurking in search of a prey. If it sees you, it will try to trick you and lie to you, only for you to suffer because of it.

She had no reason to doubt this.

All her animal friends agreed on this one point.

The monster of the forest was the only thing to fear in her little world.

So she wouldn’t go out at night, she wouldn’t go too far away from her home, she wouldn’t go beyond the limits the animals imposed her.

This kept her safe for years. She grew into a beautiful and healthy young lady, and her animal friends were proud of what she had become.

But one day, one ordinary day like any other – the girl accidentally stepped outside of the zone the animals had allowed her to be in.

She didn’t notice, for the sun had not yet risen that morning – so she kept walking around, with no more worries than usual.

She kept walking and walking, with no destination in mind – until it dawned on her.

She was lost.

She had gone too far, and now she didn’t know how to go back.

But as she thought this, she saw something moving in the distance.

Something that was far too big to be one of her cute little animal friends.

Something that – suddenly – started walking towards her.

She stood paralyzed.

She knew what that was.

It was the monster of the forest, the one all the animals had warned her about.

She stood there petrified, not knowing what to do.

She knew she had to run, but her legs wouldn’t move.

And when the monster came into sight, she was beyond shocked.

It didn’t look scary at all. Even when the animals had said so many horrible things about it – it didn’t look scary at all.

It had a happy smile on its face as it slowly approached her.

Even so – the moment the girl stepped back, the monster’s expression turned into one of worry.

It started running towards the girl, and she didn’t have time to flee. She tripped, and fell to the floor.

The monster caught her.

‘This is it’, thought the girl. ‘This is the end. I should have been more careful and paid more attention to where I was going-’

But to her surprise, the monster didn’t do any bad to her.

It didn’t hit her or harm her.

She felt no pain, only the gentle touch of the monster’s hands as it made sure she wasn’t hurt.

It helped her get up on her feet, and asked her why she was there.

‘I am lost’, she said. ‘I went for a walk before dawn, and now I can’t go back’.

The monster looked sad and worried.

But then it told her that it would help her go back home.

She was overjoyed. The monster of the forest had turned out to be good and kind! She decided she must tell the animals about this when she arrived home.

The monster guided her through the forest, using her descriptions of her home to find the right path.

While they walked through the deep forest, they talked.

The monster was impressed to hear of the girl’s home and her animal friends, and looked happy that she had such a pleasant life.

The girl, on the other hand, felt sad when she heard about the monster.

It was alone. It had also lived all its life within the forest, but it never had animal friends to rely on. Still, it wasn’t sad. It didn’t pity itself. It enjoyed its life to the fullest – though it wished it had someone else besides it.

The girl didn’t know why someone as kind-hearted as this monster would be alone all of its life. She told it that there was nothing to worry about, and that it could live with her in her home, with the animals as its friends.

The girl and the monster were now very close friends, even though so little time had passed since their meeting.

They kept walking as they heard each other’s stories.

And when the sun was beginning to set again, they finally arrived at the girl’s home.

All the animals had gathered in front of the house, and when they saw the girl, they all sighed in relief and ran up to her.

But they all froze midway.

The moment they saw the monster appearing behind the girl – they froze midway.

Their expressions turned into ones of pure rage, ones that scared even the girl who had known them for all her life.

‘What have you done to our girl?’, they shouted.

Nothing, replied the monster, fear taking control of him.

‘Liar! We know what you are! You only helped our girl so you could earn her trust and betray her!’

They all said this.

The girl was shocked.

She had no reason to doubt what the animals were saying, but the monster had never once tried to hurt her-

‘Don’t let yourself be fooled! That monster only wants you for his twisted pleasures! It will only cause you pain!’

This convinced the girl.

She mustn’t believe in strangers she had just met over those who had raised her.

Reluctantly but without looking back, she hid behind the animals, disgust now on her face as she stared at the monster she had once believed her friend.

And then she finally decided.

She picked up a small rock close to her, and she threw it at the twisted monster, who had lied to her to get her sympathy and harm her.

The monster didn’t protect itself from the rock, fake tears flowing from its eyes in a futile last attempt to get the girl on its side.

But seeing as it didn’t work, and no compassion came from the girl or the animals, it turned back and left with its head hanging low.

And then suddenly, as the monster disappeared from view, the animals exploded in cheers, congratulating the girl for not letting herself be fooled.

The girl had now learnt her lesson, and throughout the remainder of her happy life, she would never again be fooled by monsters trying to disguise themselves as people she could trust.

THE END.

Author's Note: This short piece is meant to be open to interpretation, but the author does not make himself responsible for any of said interpretations of this work. Thank you for reading until the end.