MYSTERIOUS FOREST

by Ken Luo Jingsheng

Prologue
A long time ago, a hunter named Andrew was living in a small town. He was tall,
handsome, resourceful, and had a huge pair of blue eyes and short brown hair. His
beard was around his face which made him look even more powerful. Certainly, he was
very strong. He had a big strong body with a six pack because he really liked climbing
trees outside and swimming in the river in front of his house.
However, Andrew didn't have much money for living, so he had to go hunting in
the forest with his gun, an All-purpose All Star (Weatherby Vanguard series). The forest
was beside his house and at the edge of the small town, and it was a big forest with a lot
of big, tall camphor trees.
He knew the forest very well, so he could hunt animals easily in the forest.
Andrew loved this forest and his life. At night, plenty of "bell-ringing" crickets appeared
there. Their sound was loud and clear. Lots of fireflies lived peacefully there too, and
they brightened the grass and low plants. They looked like fairies. The crickets and
fireflies made the forest more mysterious. People could hear the birds singing loudly in
the silent morning, and the grass and mud scent was very strong, particularly after a
rain.
Though Andrew lived close to poverty, he was satisfied with his life because he
liked hunting, and he had a lot of time to do what he wanted in nature. Andrews house
was not big, but it was large enough for him to live. He liked collecting kerosene lamps.
There were different shapes of kerosene lamps in his house. His house had only one big
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window. When the night came, he would light all the kerosene lamps in order to see
clearly in the house. Andrew was like a chef: brilliant in the kitchen. The kitchen was on
the left side of the house, next to the old armchair which was in the middle. He loved
this small corner very much.
Every night, he cooked in the kitchen, and sometimes he made his favourite food,
roasted chicken. He had a dog named Louie which was a clever dog, and he liked playing
with Andrew. Andrew usually had dinners with Louie at night. When roasted chicken
was prepared and already on the table, Louie would come under the table to sit next to
Andrew and look at him with his long tongue sticking out. He seemed to ask for a piece
of chicken. Andrew looked after Louie well, as he would do to his own brother. After
dinner, Andrew would cradle Louie in his arms, and they would go to his bedroom
together.

Chapter 1
3rd June - Louie Doesnt Like What Andrew Cooked
Today, Andrew got up early as usual. He went to his garden in front of his house
and picked some vegetables. In his garden, there were many kinds of vegetables such as
carrot, spinach, cabbage, lettuce and so on. Sometimes he saw wild rabbits in his garden
eating lettuce. Andrew loved these wild rabbits so he let them eat the vegetables he
planted.
After picking vegetables, he went back home and started to cook his lunch with
Louie. The other day, Andrew picked some edible mushrooms at the forest. At this
moment, he thought of using these mushrooms for the lunch with his dog. First, he put
vegetables and mushrooms into the frying pan together and sprinkled them with some
salt and black pepper. He took some firewood from outside of the house in order to light
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a fire. He struck a match and threw it into the firewood under the frying pan. The
firewood burned and the flames were going higher and higher. Andrew was sweating
because the house had just one window which was closed. It was very hot inside and it
seemed like a sauna.
Ten minutes later, Andrew put out the fire and removed the frying pan cover.
Boiled vegetables were ready. Andrew said to Louie, What a delicious meal! How fresh
they are! Louie wagged his tail and replied, Bow wow. He seemed to understand and
agree with what Andrew said. Andrew was so hungry that he finished his meal quickly,
but Louie did not seem to like these boiled vegetables at all. He left a lot in its bowl.
Andrew come to Louie and asked him, Why dont you eat them? Louie looked like a
child who did something wrong in front of the parents and did not say anything. Andrew
got angry and started shouting at him. Louie still kept silent. Andrew went outside and
slammed the door. Andrew could not understand why Louie did not like the meal he
cooked today. He thought it over and over again.
He came to his garden and found wild rabbits eating the lettuces he planted. At
that moment, he understood why Louie did not like the meal he cooked today. Its not
that Louie was wilful, but Louie was a dog. Louie isnt a rabbit, I completely
misunderstood him! I should go back home and make apologies to him right now! he
said to himself. When he opened the door, Andrew noticed Louie was sitting at the same
place and didnt wag his tail like before. Louie was looking at Andrew with sad eyes.
Andrew approached Louie and said, Sorry, boy! I misunderstood you, will you forgive
me?
Louie waggled his tail and replied, Wow!
You mean yes? Tomorrow I will go to the forest and hunt pheasants for you,
Andrew said while holding Louie.
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Bow wow! Louie replied to Andrew and licked his face with his long tongue.

Chapter 2
4th June - Mysterious Forest
That day Andrew got up earlier than usual. He came to the river to wash his body
and to catch some fish because he didnt want Louie get hungry again when he went to
the forest. He grilled the fish he caught for lunch with Louie and they ate a lot. After the
meal, Andrew kissed Louie and went to the forest alone for hunting with his gun. Louie
would wait for Andrew at home.
Before Andrew entered the forest, he saw a lot of trees that got entangled
together.They looked like the guards who prevent people from getting into this
mysterious place. It was not the first time for Andrew to enter the forest so he entered
the forest without any hesitations. He walked toward the heart of the forest with his
whistle. Where can I easily hunt pheasants? he asked himself. He look around the
place he was standing and walked on again. Finally, he chose a place that was covered
by a lot of reeds. He used his gun to threaten all the animals in the reeds first. Two
pheasants flew up into the sky. Andrew deftly shot his gun and hit one of the pheasants
down. Because he often went hunting, shooting pheasants was not at all difficult for him.
Within just one hour, he got eight pheasants.
When he was ready to leave, a grizzly bear attacked him suddenly. He shouted
for help and ran and slid down into a cave. Fortunately, he escaped from the bear but he
got injured badly. He was in tremendous amount of pain and he couldnt move. He tried
to shout but no one replied. He lay there for a long time, oblivious to the nearing night .

Chapter 3
5th June - Fairies
The blue sky turned to black. Andrew was injured and he didnt get any help in
the forest. He shouted out but nobody could hear. After a long time shouting, he felt
desperate and he thought he would die in this forest. Meanwhile, some memories came
to his mind: his parents pictures, the kerosene lamps in his house, and his dog Louie. I
cant die! Who would take care of my dog if I died? I should survive and go back home to
take care of Louie! Andrew responded to himself. He continued shouting. Finally, he got
tired and fell asleep.
After he woke up, he found that everything around him had changed. The cave
was no longer dark. There were thousands of fireflies. The cave looked like the night sky
because fireflies emitted their lights like stars. Andrew was surprised and his fear all
went away because he had never seen such a mysterious scene before.
He implored the sky in a loud voice, Where am I? Some fireflies became
frightened by his loud voice and flew away. Strangely, Andrew could hear In our
forest! said by three different voices in the same time. He couldnt believe what he
heard so he tried to ask the sky once again. Three different voices replying In our
forest! reached his ears again. He was happy because he thought there were three
people outside of cave and he certainly would be rescued soon.
Can you help me? I slid down into a cave and got injured badly. I cant move and
I need your help! Andrew asked the people outside. But they didnt reply . Andrew
made his voice louder and said again, I really need your help, I dont wanna die
because my dog is waiting for me at home. I cant die!. Andrew was almost crying when
he said those words. He didnt want to die and he wanted to see Louie.
Okay, we will help you! At that moment, something unbelievable appeared at
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the mouth of the cave.

Andrew saw three big, differently colored fireflies coming to him: one was blue,
one was red and one was yellow. He saw clearly as they stopped in the corner. There
were three little girls with wings. They were holding magic sticks in their hands. Each of
them was no taller than a mans thumb. Andrew didnt believe his eyes and he rubbed
his eyes again and again.
Are you fairies? Andrew asked.
Yes, we are! We are Luna, Ruby and Dizzy! Luna is a fairy who belongs to water
system, Ruby is a fairy who belongs to fire system and Dizzy is a fairy who belongs to
solar system. They introduced themselves to Andrew one by one. Andrew remembered
their names and asked, Would you take me out of the cave?
We wish we can take you out of the cave, actually, but we cannot! the fairies
said.
Why not? Andrew asked seriously.
Because you are too heavy, and we dont have enough power to take you out of
the cave! three fairies said. Andrew felt disappointed.
But we can bring some food to you every day. After you got recovered, we
believe you can climb out of the cave. Luna said to Andrew. Andrew smiled and
thanked them for help. Three fairies brought food to Andrew from that day on.

Chapter 4
25th June - Humans Get into the Forest
After three weeks, Andrew almost recovered. Every day, the three fairies
encouraged him when he practiced climbing outside the cave. Due to his efforts and
previous experience of climbing, he finally succeeded. He was happy he survived after
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he slid down there three weeks ago. He thanked Luna, Ruby and Dizzy. He thought that
the three fairies really helped him a lot. They had become great friends.
However, Andrew was still worried about Louie so he hurried home. On his way
to home, he found that a group of people was cutting a lot of trees in the forest and
some big animals were caught in cages. Andrew overheard what they were saying and
got the news that they were discussing about burning the whole forest down and
finding the fairies who could grant any wish.
While the group of people was thinking about their wishes, Andrew hurried back
to the heart of forest and shouted to the three fairies. When Luna and Dizzy appeared,
they told Andrew that humans had come already. Humans were burning the whole
forest and killing animals. Ruby look upon every animal as a friend, so Ruby started to
use her magic to resist first. However, Ruby was a fairy belonging to the fire system. She
couldnt use more fire because the forest was burning with fire. The only thing she could
do was use her other magic to throw many stones on humans, but it seemed to have no
effect on them.
Ruby is fighting against the group of people and she need our rescue now, Luna
and Dizzy said.
When they came to the place where Ruby was fighting, they saw that the group
of humans was there. Luna and Dizzy used their magic to stop the people from burning
the forest. However, soon Luna and Dizzy were hit by arrows, and Ruby became too
tired to continue using magic. They went back to the heart of the forest and hid
themselves into the cave which Andrew slid down into before. Because Luna and Dizzy
were hit by arrows, Andrew and Ruby needed to find food in the forest and take care of
them.

Chapter 5
25th June - Andrew Make Traps to Scare Humans
Andrew knew the forest very well so he could easily find food for the fairies.
However, he didnt know what the fairies usually ate. He took a stroll on the streamside
and a field of flowers across the stream. These small blue flowers were called
nemophila. . They looked like a blue carpet connected to the cloudless sky. Andrew
crossed the stream and stayed there for a while. There was a big fruit tree that was
standing in the middle of the field . He could see two differently colored fruits hanging
on the tree: scarlet and purple. Fairies definitely would like these fruits, Andrew
thought. He ate a lot of them and took a lot to the cave for the fairies.
After he got into the cave and showed the fruits to the fairies, the fairies were all
shocked.
Did you eat these fruits? the fairies asked with scared faces.
Yes, I ate a lot, they are very delicious! Andrew replied. Have you ever tried
them before?
If you eat these fruit, your body will develop a terrible rash soon. When the rash
appear, it will itch all over the body but the symptoms will last only for three days, the
fairies explained to Andrew.
At that moment, a good idea came into Andrews mind. He thought he could
threaten that group of people with these fruits. He told his idea to the fairies and
planned their next actions. A terrible rash appeared his body, but he wasnt afraid of it.

Chapter 6
28th June -Terrible Rash
Andrew already recovered after the rash. Today Andrew went back to the place

where a big fruit tree stood. This time he didnt try any fruit because he didnt
want the rash to appear on his body again.
How big this tree is! How delicious these fruits are! But I dont want to scratch
my body all day again! he whispered to himself. But I need the fruits because they
can help me to prevent humans from killing the fairies and animals in the forest.
He picked a lot of fruits from the big tree and put them into his bag. Then, he
went back to the cave. After he got back, he started to use stones to chop the fruits and
mix them together in a big bowl. The air of the cave was filled with the scent of the
fruits. He hung them out to dry. Then he tried to cut them into small pieces. At that
moment, he wondered how to make it look like those humans meal because at the
moment it was too easy for them to notice the difference. Then, he tried to grind then
to a fine powder. Finally, he succeeded.
At that night, he slipped into the humans camp carefully. Everyone was sleeping
soundly. No one could discover him in the camp. He pried the lid off jars of blueberry
jam and sprinkled the fruits powder over it. He desperately fought the urge to giggle so
he clamped his mouth with his hand and ran away quietly.
In the morning, humans got up in the camp and had breakfast with jam as usual.
However, they didnt find any difference in their jam. They ate a lot as usual and felt
todays bread was more delicious than usual. After breakfast, they went to the river to
wash their bodies. They screamed out when they saw each other after taking off their
clothes. A lot of terrible rashes appeared on their bodies, and they didnt know what to
do in that moment. They just washed and washed their bodies but the terrible rashes
didnt disappear and only became worse. They were all starting to panic . No one

wanted to continue to think about the fairies and the forest. The problem that they
wanted to
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solve at that moment was to cure themselves. They itched all over. They were anxious
about the horrible rashes.
That night, Andrew slipped into the humans camp again and carved the message
into trees: Leave the forest, or youll be dead! This is a punishment.

Chapter 7
30th June - Humans Are Gone
When someone in the camp got up next morning, he noticed the words carved
into the trees: Leave the forest or youll be dead! This is a punishment!. The man
rubbed his eyes and read the words carefully once again. He looked at his rash on his
body and looked at the words written on the trees again. Suddenly, he was trembling
because he felt the death was coming to him. However, this young man didnt want to
die so he went back to the camp where everyone slept and asked his fellows to leave the
forest and explained what would happen if they didnt leave right now.
It was already a week since they came to the forest. They began to miss their
families. There wasnt much food left in their bags. They didnt want to take risks with
their lives, either. On that morning, they voted and made a big decision that they would
go back to their village. They packed their belongings and left.
Andrew was watching them leave the forest until they disappeared. He told this
good news to the three fairies. They were very happy to hear the good news. They flew
out of the cave and helped the animals which were put in cages to get out. The three
fairies thanked Andrew for helping them a lot and gave Andrew an achievable wish.

However, Andrew didnt know what he wanted so he chose to keep it if he was in

trouble. Now he could go back home. He was very happy, but he was very anxious about
Louie.
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When he opened the door, Louie was lying near the door but wasnt breathing
anymore. He had died already. Andrew held him in his arms and cried helplessly with
rage. His tears didnt stop and he was very sad.
Suddenly, he remembered that the fairies had given him a wish. He came back to
the forest and asked the fairies to bring Louie alive again. The fairies thought about it
for a while and promised to help him. They used their magic over Louies body. Louies
tail started to move he as he came back to life again. Andrew thanked them and went
back home with Louie.
On their way home, Andrew found a pheasant resting on the grass. Andrew
walked closer to it and caught it with his hands.
After arriving home, he roasted the pheasant to celebrate with Louie, who didnt
know what had happened. Andrew thought it was an unforgettable journey.

The End

Mysterious Forest
by Ken Luo Jingsheng

July 22, 2016

TIU EPW

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