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what is your favorite story? -b

Once upon a time there was a man who lived near the edge ofthe woods. He had three children. The eldest, a boy, loved to paint the treesand the flowers he could see from his bedroom window. You see, he was ill andcould not go out to play. The middle child, a girl, wished to join the King’sArmy and defend her country and her land. The youngest, another boy, wishedonly to explore the world around him and understand it.

One day the man called to his children and told them that hewould be going to the next town over to buy some food with the money he hadearned that month. He warned them to beware of the woods, and the Grey Folk wholived there.

So the man left. He did not return the next day. Nor thenext. The children were worried for him. They put a lantern at the window everynight, hoping to guide him home. But he did not come. At last, they found thatthe food they had was running out. They would need to find some more, orstarve. So the youngest child volunteered to go the woods and look for some.

He slipped among the dark trees and among the ferns,gathering nuts and berries, when he came upon a woman in white. She had skinthe color of the earth and her hair was black with stars shimmering. She smiledat him but said no word.

“Please Miss,” he said to her. “Our food has run out, and mybrother and sister are hungry. Could you spare anything for us?”

The woman gazed upon him. “And what,” she asked. “Will yougive me in exchange?” The boy thought for a long time, and at last he offeredher his curiosity, for it was all he had to give. She took it, and the boyreturned home with a sack of the most delicious food they had every tasted.

Soon though, winter came. The world grew cold. The eldestbrother became sicker and sicker. He needed medicine, or he would die. Thistime, the Sister volunteered to go and search.

She headed out into the woods, leaving footprints in thesnow. At last she came to a man standing in a clearing. He had hair as red as asunset, and skin pale as the snow that lay on the ground.

“Please,” she said to him. “My brother is ill. If he doesnot get medicine soon he will die. Do you know where I can find some?”

“What will you give me?” asked the man with soft voice.After some thought, the girl offered up her courage, for it was all she had.She returned home with a green crystal bottle filled with medicine. Soonenough, the eldest brother had never felt stronger in his life.

Then, in the deepest part of the winter, on the longestnight of the year, the Eldest brother decided to go into the woods. Theirfather had not returned. And his two siblings had come home greatly changed.The youngest was dull and hardly cared to know or investigate anything,choosing only to sit by the fire and amuse himself by staring at it. The sisterhad become timid, and would jump at the squeaking of a mouse. He knew that hemust try and set things to right, if he could.

So into the woods he went, shivering from the bitter cold.He came upon a clearing where a host stood waiting. The man his sister had metwas there, as was the woman who had greeted his brother. There were others,many others.

“And what, mortal child, is your wish?” asked the eldest ofthese people. His eyes were grey as his long long beard, his cloak was silver,and the crown on his brow was clear like glass.

The eldest boy knelt, for he knew this was the king of theGrey Folk. “Please sir, do you know where my father has gone?”

“Your father,” said the King. “Died upon the mountain. Hewas attacked by bandits. He never even reached his destination.”

The eldest boy wept then, bitter tears crawling down hisface. There was a quiet murmuring among the host. At last the boy held up hishead. “Do you know what has happened to my brother and sister? They are notwhat they once were.”

The King nodded sadly, “We do. They made a trade. Like alltrades, the price had to be fair. They gave up what they held most precious tothem, and they did it willingly.”

“Can they be saved?”

“They can,” said the King. “But it would take a greaterprice from you to return to them what they have given away. Can you bear such aprice?”

The eldest brother thought for a long time. “If I gave youone of my paintings, would that be enough?”

“Enough only for one.”

The boy thought longer, “What if I gave my talent as well?”

“That would save them both.” The King looked unbearably sad,and the boy knew that if he gave it up, he would be just like his siblings,without the thing that brought him joy. Then a thought occurred to him, and hetook out his paints, his brush, and the blank canvas he had brought with him.These he offered to the King.

“These hold one of the most precious things I posses,” saidhe. “They hold the power of possibility. Untouched as the canvas is, the brushand the paints give it endless opportunity to be transformed.”

The King smiled. “A truly precious gift. What would you askfor such a thing? We cannot return your father to you, for the dead are gonebeyond our power.”

The eldest brother smiled up at the king. “I wish first formy brother and sister to be restored to themselves.”

“It is done,” Said the King. “But the exchange is not equal.What else would you ask of us?”

“I wish…I wish that we could be happy again. To be loved andto feel safe. Me, and my brother and sister.”

“It is done,” said the King.

The three children were not seen again. Not for a long longtime. They were said by some to have been stolen by the Grey Folk. Others saidthey had perished during the winter, or been eaten by wild animals. But we knowthis is not so. We have them here, with us. They have been loved, they feelsafe, and they are happy. Here they have grown. In our woods.

We are the Grey Folk.

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