The town of Little Town, whose people were never considered very creative when it came to coming up with names, lay close to a large enchanted forest. The forest had never seen fit to tell the townspeople its name, so they simply called it “the Forest”. As I said, they weren’t considered very creative.
Little Town was a quiet place, where the people worked hard, and children played, and everyone seemed more or less content with life.
Little Town and the Forest coexisted rather well. That is, they lived as good neighbors.
The townspeople took what they needed from the forest, in the way of wood to build their houses, and plants to spice their food. But as, all in all, the Townspeople took no more than they needed, which was not very much, the Forest didn’t mind and never gave the people of Little Town any trouble about it.
The trees of the Forest, and particularly the Fairies who lived in the trees and tended them, found the people of Little Town very entertaining, with their working and playing. And they especially loved the town’s children.
Many of the children would play their games in the Forest. Running among the trees, they would pretend to be bandits or bears or sprites of the forest. They would hide and seek in the tall ferns and build forts of dead wood to be their playhouses.
The Fairies even befriended some of the children from time to time, perhaps once every hundred years or so. But only the cleverest and most imaginative of the town’s children became Fairy Friends. One of these was named William.
William was very clever. And William’s imagination was so big, that he sometimes would lose himself in his games and come to believe he really was on a ship far off at sea or that he was a Fairy of the Forest. William loved the Forest very much and was one of the few people of Little Town that could see and talk to the Fairies.
The Fairies taught William the secrets of how to talk to the trees, and how to make medicines from the plants of the Forest, how to track animals, and even how to predict the weather and see the future in deep pools of water.
And they all lived very happily together for a time, William, the Fairies, the Forest and the people of Little Town.
Then one day, the Mayor of Little Town declared that the town was too small. He had been on a journey to visit his cousin and had discovered that another town, only a two day’s walk down the road, had twice as many houses, and a large wooden wall that encircled the entire town. This other town, called Big Town, whose people were just as generally uncreative as those of Little Town, had a tall wooden tower overlooking the road where the people could keep watch for the Bad Men. And the people of Big Town kept large watch fires burning all through the night in the case of an attack.
“We must build more houses,” declared the Mayor, “and a wall and a tower, and keep watch fires burning. For if we do not, the Bad Men will see we are a small town and attack us!”
Now the people of Little Town had never been attacked that they knew of. And they certainly did not know of any Bad Men. But the Mayor’s words made them so afraid that they instantly agreed to his plan.
They began to work immediately. They worked to build twice as many houses as they needed. They worked to build a large wall that encircled the entire town. And they worked to build a tower where they could keep watch for the Bad Men. And they burnt large watch fires all night in case of an attack.
And as they built and built and burned and burned, they cut down more and more trees of the Forest. Far more trees than they needed. And the Forest was wounded. The Forest bled. And the fairies that lived in and cared for the trees, who were their dearest friends, wept for their dead and were driven homeless further and further away from the town.
William was the only one in the town who saw what was happening to the Forest and the Fairies of the forest. He cried and begged the adults of the town to stop. He told them that they were killing his friends, that the forest was wounded. He told the townspeople that he knew that if the forest died that something horrible would happen.
The townspeople laughed and replied that he was too young to know any better, and what they were doing was for the good of the town. And they ignored William and continued to cut down the forest to build and burn more and more. And the edge of the Forest became further and further away. And the Forest became smaller and smaller. And where trees and flowers once surrounded the town there was nothing but a wasteland of flat dirt and cold stones.
The wall around Little Town was nearly complete, the tower was high, and the people had built nearly twice as many houses as they could live in, when Sickness visited the town.
Sickness, a crafty shape-shifter, can take any form and can find his way around any wall. This time he disguised himself as a cat and made his way through the town so quietly that no one realized he was there... until the first man took to his bed with a heavy chest and a fever that burned hot to the touch.
It was not long before another man became ill, and then a woman, and then a child. And before long more than half the people of Little Town, including the Mayor, were moaning with pain in their beds.
The town Doctor was called, but he could do nothing, no matter how hard he tried. All of his medicines failed. All of his potions failed. Even leeching did not help.
“What shall we do?” the townspeople wept. For they knew that if a cure could not be found soon that many of them would die from Sickness.
William saw what Sickness had done. His own mother and brother had become very ill. He recognized the disease and he knew of a cure. The Fairies had shown him which plant could be used to make the medicine to cure the horrible disease. But though the plant had once grown, with the Forest, right up to the houses on the edge of Little Town, the townspeople had so destroyed the Forest that William could not find the plant anywhere near the town.
He went to the Doctor and told him what he knew. The Doctor, even though he was an adult, was a rather smart man. He knew that his medicines were failing. And he knew that William was a clever boy and had learned many things in the Forest. And so he listened to him.
The Doctor called the few townspeople who were not sick together. He told them of the plant they must find. He told them that the lives of their families depended on it. And they all set off across the wasteland that now surrounded Little Town, to find the plant in the Forest, while the Doctor staid alone to tend the sick people.
The Forest saw the townspeople coming in the distance and the Fairies cried out in horror. And the Forest decided to flee so that the last of its trees would not be cut down for no good.
So, as the townspeople came closer, the Forest would suddenly appear further away. The longer and faster they walked toward the forest, the further away it seemed. Until some of the townspeople began to grow too tired to walk any further. Others sat down and wept with despair. Still others became angry and ran towards the Forest. But the Forest only retreated further away.
William stopped the running townspeople with a cry and said to them, “Let me go on alone. I can bring back the medicine we need.”
The townspeople sneered and looked at William as if he were a fool. For how could one boy succeed where the adults were failing? But they at last agreed to let him try, with many a mirthless laugh, for they could not see how to solve the problem.
William walked toward the Forest. The Fairies saw him and recognized him as a friend and the Forest did not flee.
When he reached the forest he saw how small it had become and felt horribly sad. But he explained to the Fairies about the sickness in the town and what plant he needed to cure the sick and dying townspeople.
The forest Fairies, though far from unkind, were not so ready to help the people of Little Town as they once were. “Why should we help people who have made war on us without cause?” they asked William.
William had no answer. He could only weep and say that while he loved the Forest, he also loved his family. And though they had done wrong he hoped that Sickness would help them learn from their horrible mistake if he could only heal them.
The wisest of the Fairies, the keeper of an ancient oak tree, heard his simple words and took pity on him. The Oak Fairy gave the healing plant to William on the condition that the people of Little Town would never again take from the Forest more than they needed.
William thanked the Oak Fairy again and again, and took the healing plant back to the waiting townspeople.
The townspeople were shocked that he had returned with the plant. But they quickly agreed to the conditions that the Oak Fairy set down and hurried back to Little Town, only afraid that they might be too late to save their loved ones from Sickness.
They returned to Little Town quickly and took the healing plant to the Doctor.
“I am not the one who can make the medicine,” the Doctor told them, “William must do it.”
Again the townspeople were shocked as William took the plant into the Doctor’s house to use his cauldron and fire.
“It will never work!” one man exclaimed, “How can this boy succeed where the Doctor has failed? We have been tricked!”
“Let the boy try!” cried another man, “The Doctor cannot cure them!”
Another man sat down in the street and wept, sure that his daughter would die from Sickness.
The Doctor tried to calm the people, but it was all he could do to send them each home to their sick families in anger and despair.
Meanwhile, William used what the Fairies had taught him and made enough medicine for all the sick people in town.
He brought the medicine to each house, and though many were angry and sad, he gave the medicine to the sick people of each family and they immediately began to feel better. Their fevers lessened. Their pain seemed to melt away. And they and their families began to feel hope and thanked William again and again.
Every person in the town was soon cured.
And when they all came to understand what the Forest had given them despite the horrible things they had done, they agreed that they would never again take more than they needed. And they all crossed the wasteland to the Forest and each thanked the Forest in his or her own way and swore their friendship to it.
The Forest and the Fairies were so touched by their words that they moved once again close to Little Town, though not so very close as they had lived before. For they knew the memories of humans are short, and the townspeople might yet have to learn the same lesson again... in a thousand years or so.
In the meantime, the people of Little Town and the Forest grew to be good neighbors once again. The people gave up on their wall and their watch fires, since more than half of them were convinced that the Bad Men didn’t exist anyway. And the Mayor resigned and was replaced by another man, who was considered much wiser... that is, until he could also find the chance to prove himself just as shortsighted as the last Mayor.
THE END
Little Town was a quiet place, where the people worked hard, and children played, and everyone seemed more or less content with life.
Little Town and the Forest coexisted rather well. That is, they lived as good neighbors.
The townspeople took what they needed from the forest, in the way of wood to build their houses, and plants to spice their food. But as, all in all, the Townspeople took no more than they needed, which was not very much, the Forest didn’t mind and never gave the people of Little Town any trouble about it.
The trees of the Forest, and particularly the Fairies who lived in the trees and tended them, found the people of Little Town very entertaining, with their working and playing. And they especially loved the town’s children.
Many of the children would play their games in the Forest. Running among the trees, they would pretend to be bandits or bears or sprites of the forest. They would hide and seek in the tall ferns and build forts of dead wood to be their playhouses.
The Fairies even befriended some of the children from time to time, perhaps once every hundred years or so. But only the cleverest and most imaginative of the town’s children became Fairy Friends. One of these was named William.
William was very clever. And William’s imagination was so big, that he sometimes would lose himself in his games and come to believe he really was on a ship far off at sea or that he was a Fairy of the Forest. William loved the Forest very much and was one of the few people of Little Town that could see and talk to the Fairies.
The Fairies taught William the secrets of how to talk to the trees, and how to make medicines from the plants of the Forest, how to track animals, and even how to predict the weather and see the future in deep pools of water.
And they all lived very happily together for a time, William, the Fairies, the Forest and the people of Little Town.
Then one day, the Mayor of Little Town declared that the town was too small. He had been on a journey to visit his cousin and had discovered that another town, only a two day’s walk down the road, had twice as many houses, and a large wooden wall that encircled the entire town. This other town, called Big Town, whose people were just as generally uncreative as those of Little Town, had a tall wooden tower overlooking the road where the people could keep watch for the Bad Men. And the people of Big Town kept large watch fires burning all through the night in the case of an attack.
“We must build more houses,” declared the Mayor, “and a wall and a tower, and keep watch fires burning. For if we do not, the Bad Men will see we are a small town and attack us!”
Now the people of Little Town had never been attacked that they knew of. And they certainly did not know of any Bad Men. But the Mayor’s words made them so afraid that they instantly agreed to his plan.
They began to work immediately. They worked to build twice as many houses as they needed. They worked to build a large wall that encircled the entire town. And they worked to build a tower where they could keep watch for the Bad Men. And they burnt large watch fires all night in case of an attack.
And as they built and built and burned and burned, they cut down more and more trees of the Forest. Far more trees than they needed. And the Forest was wounded. The Forest bled. And the fairies that lived in and cared for the trees, who were their dearest friends, wept for their dead and were driven homeless further and further away from the town.
William was the only one in the town who saw what was happening to the Forest and the Fairies of the forest. He cried and begged the adults of the town to stop. He told them that they were killing his friends, that the forest was wounded. He told the townspeople that he knew that if the forest died that something horrible would happen.
The townspeople laughed and replied that he was too young to know any better, and what they were doing was for the good of the town. And they ignored William and continued to cut down the forest to build and burn more and more. And the edge of the Forest became further and further away. And the Forest became smaller and smaller. And where trees and flowers once surrounded the town there was nothing but a wasteland of flat dirt and cold stones.
The wall around Little Town was nearly complete, the tower was high, and the people had built nearly twice as many houses as they could live in, when Sickness visited the town.
Sickness, a crafty shape-shifter, can take any form and can find his way around any wall. This time he disguised himself as a cat and made his way through the town so quietly that no one realized he was there... until the first man took to his bed with a heavy chest and a fever that burned hot to the touch.
It was not long before another man became ill, and then a woman, and then a child. And before long more than half the people of Little Town, including the Mayor, were moaning with pain in their beds.
The town Doctor was called, but he could do nothing, no matter how hard he tried. All of his medicines failed. All of his potions failed. Even leeching did not help.
“What shall we do?” the townspeople wept. For they knew that if a cure could not be found soon that many of them would die from Sickness.
William saw what Sickness had done. His own mother and brother had become very ill. He recognized the disease and he knew of a cure. The Fairies had shown him which plant could be used to make the medicine to cure the horrible disease. But though the plant had once grown, with the Forest, right up to the houses on the edge of Little Town, the townspeople had so destroyed the Forest that William could not find the plant anywhere near the town.
He went to the Doctor and told him what he knew. The Doctor, even though he was an adult, was a rather smart man. He knew that his medicines were failing. And he knew that William was a clever boy and had learned many things in the Forest. And so he listened to him.
The Doctor called the few townspeople who were not sick together. He told them of the plant they must find. He told them that the lives of their families depended on it. And they all set off across the wasteland that now surrounded Little Town, to find the plant in the Forest, while the Doctor staid alone to tend the sick people.
The Forest saw the townspeople coming in the distance and the Fairies cried out in horror. And the Forest decided to flee so that the last of its trees would not be cut down for no good.
So, as the townspeople came closer, the Forest would suddenly appear further away. The longer and faster they walked toward the forest, the further away it seemed. Until some of the townspeople began to grow too tired to walk any further. Others sat down and wept with despair. Still others became angry and ran towards the Forest. But the Forest only retreated further away.
William stopped the running townspeople with a cry and said to them, “Let me go on alone. I can bring back the medicine we need.”
The townspeople sneered and looked at William as if he were a fool. For how could one boy succeed where the adults were failing? But they at last agreed to let him try, with many a mirthless laugh, for they could not see how to solve the problem.
William walked toward the Forest. The Fairies saw him and recognized him as a friend and the Forest did not flee.
When he reached the forest he saw how small it had become and felt horribly sad. But he explained to the Fairies about the sickness in the town and what plant he needed to cure the sick and dying townspeople.
The forest Fairies, though far from unkind, were not so ready to help the people of Little Town as they once were. “Why should we help people who have made war on us without cause?” they asked William.
William had no answer. He could only weep and say that while he loved the Forest, he also loved his family. And though they had done wrong he hoped that Sickness would help them learn from their horrible mistake if he could only heal them.
The wisest of the Fairies, the keeper of an ancient oak tree, heard his simple words and took pity on him. The Oak Fairy gave the healing plant to William on the condition that the people of Little Town would never again take from the Forest more than they needed.
William thanked the Oak Fairy again and again, and took the healing plant back to the waiting townspeople.
The townspeople were shocked that he had returned with the plant. But they quickly agreed to the conditions that the Oak Fairy set down and hurried back to Little Town, only afraid that they might be too late to save their loved ones from Sickness.
They returned to Little Town quickly and took the healing plant to the Doctor.
“I am not the one who can make the medicine,” the Doctor told them, “William must do it.”
Again the townspeople were shocked as William took the plant into the Doctor’s house to use his cauldron and fire.
“It will never work!” one man exclaimed, “How can this boy succeed where the Doctor has failed? We have been tricked!”
“Let the boy try!” cried another man, “The Doctor cannot cure them!”
Another man sat down in the street and wept, sure that his daughter would die from Sickness.
The Doctor tried to calm the people, but it was all he could do to send them each home to their sick families in anger and despair.
Meanwhile, William used what the Fairies had taught him and made enough medicine for all the sick people in town.
He brought the medicine to each house, and though many were angry and sad, he gave the medicine to the sick people of each family and they immediately began to feel better. Their fevers lessened. Their pain seemed to melt away. And they and their families began to feel hope and thanked William again and again.
Every person in the town was soon cured.
And when they all came to understand what the Forest had given them despite the horrible things they had done, they agreed that they would never again take more than they needed. And they all crossed the wasteland to the Forest and each thanked the Forest in his or her own way and swore their friendship to it.
The Forest and the Fairies were so touched by their words that they moved once again close to Little Town, though not so very close as they had lived before. For they knew the memories of humans are short, and the townspeople might yet have to learn the same lesson again... in a thousand years or so.
In the meantime, the people of Little Town and the Forest grew to be good neighbors once again. The people gave up on their wall and their watch fires, since more than half of them were convinced that the Bad Men didn’t exist anyway. And the Mayor resigned and was replaced by another man, who was considered much wiser... that is, until he could also find the chance to prove himself just as shortsighted as the last Mayor.
THE END