The Forest
von
willow
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The forest
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t was a hot and sultry day. The sun burned and it seemed that all living things were in shady places and waited for the thunderstorm. The earth was dry and small clouds of dust grew with every step of my horse. The leaves of the few trees on the wayside were grey with dust. There were no other people on the road except me. My thoughts went over the dusty fields to the dark forest two miles in front of me. It was a dark line on the horizon. The forest was huge and dangerous but I was sure that I would be save because it was my persuasion that bad things always only happen to bad people. Above the forest in the west the sky grew dark with black clouds. I was proud because the confidence the count had shown to me when he had said “I trust in you. And I am sure that you will bring the letter to Lord Fehling in time.” It was a big mark of confidence because the contact between our count and Lord Fehling is very important for the safety of our small country. The clouds grew bigger and darker. I drove my horse in a trot because I hoped to arrive in the inn before the thunderstorm started. The inn stood on the border of the forest. Here rested all who wanted to go into the forest and to travel in the country behind. Because in the forest are no inns. It is too dangerous because there are robbers. I had still one mile to ride when the clouds began to cover the sinking sun. The light grew dim and the silent became unpleasant. It was the waiting silent before a storm. First the wind began to blow only soft in the beginning but it grew to a storm. Then there was the lightening short followed by the thunder. And with the thunder the rain began. It was as if the sky had opened its floodgates. Although I had only 200 yards to ride till I was at the inn. I was wet to the skin when I arrived in the yard. I dismounted and led my horse to the stables. Afterwards I ran across the yard to the cheafhouse. The bar was almost empty. Only a small group of travellers from the other side of the forest and three hunters were there. I sat down near the fire, hung of my wrap to dry. When the landlord came I ordered some food and drinks and asked for a room for the night. When I had eaten I leaned back and relaxed. I listened to the noises around me. The storm howled, the fire crackled and the voices of the other people in the room murmured. I became sleepy. Suddenly I awoke again. The door had opened and a tall man came in. He was dressed in a dark and wet cloak. With him came a bit of rain and a blow of cold wind into the room. His face laid in the shadow of his hood. He greeted the landlord with a nod and sat down by the hunters. There he folded back his hood. His face looked stern and calm. A scare cut his brow and cheek. He looked strange. Most people on this side of the wood are smaller and a bit dark while the people on the other side of the wood are tall, thin and blond. But he was different. He was tall and had black hair. The travellers had already gone to bed and I felt tired and the presents of the stranger made me uneasy. Therefore I paid and went to bed.
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arly the next morning I woke up. I wanted to start soon because it made no sense to wait. Now when it was short before I had to go into the forest. I was a little bit afraid. Some of the old tales came back to my mind, some about robbers, dragons and wild squirrels. But I said to myself what I had said to myself a lot of times before, that bad things only happen to bad people. I took some breakfast in the bar and filled up my proviant. And an hour after sunrise I rode into the huge forest. In the beginning the forest was thin and the path straight but after a mile the forest grew dark and the trees big. The path was narrow and winding now, there wasn’t much light under the roof of leafs. I rode and rode. After some hours I made a rest and then I rode on again till the light grew dark. It began to dawn slowly here in the forest. I first noticed it when I realized that I couldn’t see the branches of the trees about three yards ahead anymore. There were no clearings in the forest and so I stopped and made a fire beside the path. It grew darker and darker. Soon there was nothing to see outside the circle full with firelight. I kept the fire small and ate something. I had thought that there wouldn’t be many noises in a forest but I had been wrong. First I only heard the crackling of the fire but soon I released that there were other things. There was an owl, which flew through the forest and small animals, which ran through the leaves. I felt alone and fear grew in me. The forest seemed so huge and I was so small. The thoughts of the morning came back to me but they were darker and more worrying. I wasn’t so sure anymore that bad things only happen to bad people but I was sure that I was alone in a huge forest and that there was nobody who could project me. I had a sword but I had never fought a real fight and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to save my life with that weapon. In an emergency I would depend on the fastnes of my horse. I realized that my horse was also fidgety. I stood up and tried to calm it. My fear grew more and more and it seemed that my fear went over to the horse. Suddenly I lost my mind. I took my baggage and mounted the horse. I was sure that I mustn’t stay there and that there were dangers all around me. I rode of and almost immediately I lost the control over my horse. It went as fast as it could. Branches hit my face end I bowed deeply over the neck of it. I cried for help but my horse went on and on. After a long while I lost my grip on the neck and fell down. I staid where I was. There was a complete darkness around me. I was scratched and felt washed out. I laid motionless till I fell asleep.
W
hen I woke up at first I didn’t realize where I was. Slowly my memory came back. I sat up and looked around. I was in a clearing and there was no horse. It had gone further. I saw where we had come through in the night and immediately I knew that I couldn’t go back this way because there was a swamp. It was clear that my horse had found the way through only by luck or a sense that have only animals. I was sure that it was impossible for me to go this way. I felled lonely. I didn’t know where I was. I had no horse and not much food. The path had lent straight towards west and as fare as I could see the ride in the night had gone in the northern direction. Because of the swamp I couldn’t go back to the path and the try to go out of the forest would be also useless because the swamp went on in southern and eastern direction. Therefor I went on the way of my horse. The trail went on in northwestern direction. The look of the forest was different here. There were more beeches and less undergrowth and I could see much more than the day before. I went on and on. Soon I became hungry. I hadn’t eaten much in the morning because I had only brought proviant for a week and if I had to go through the
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Kommentare
susi schrieb am 2007-08-07 09:57:48:
Die Geschichte ist echt interessant verfasst. Der sissi muss ich leider zustimmen. Bereits ein einfaches Rechtschreib-Programm würde einen Großteil der (zahlreichen) Fehler erkennen. Auch Marianne hat Recht, jetzt wär ein "Teil 2" fällig!
mfg susi
sissi schrieb am 2007-07-13 17:41:19:
Echt coole Stories!
Nur leider gibt es ein paar Rechtschreibfehler !
Macht aber nichts!
Die Geschichten sind trotzdem SUPER!
Marianne schrieb am 2007-07-13 17:35:14:
Die Geschichte geht nicht weiter!?
sarah schrieb am 2007-05-26 15:16:21:
toll!! Echt super
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