A Non-fictional Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there was a little girl called „Goodmute“. Everyday Goodmute went into a nearby forest and played with all the animals in the woods. And she helped the animals in finding the right food or the right home tree or cave for the winter or with other problems a forest animal may have.

She liked it in the forest with all those animals around, although some of them preferred to stay in their coves or nests, or hidden under the fallen leaves. They only come out of their privacy to show run through the forest and present themselves in all their self-pleasing. But these were only a few but evident.

When the year went by, Goodmute had the idea of giving a big party a week long for all the animals in the forest. Because it should have to get a big party for the whole forest Goodmute needed the help of some of the animals and so she asked around. She wanted to set up a nice little area, where the birds could sing. Where beavers, ants and spiders could show their art. And squirrels, mice, hedgehogs, weasels and martens could show their makings. Because Goodmute knew her wooden friends and having best in mind, she asked the makers to be honest and to state that the makings they show belongs to them.

With the latter she did not know what turmoil she started.

A frog muttered mindless: “This sounds to me, like you do not want to make it. This does not sound appealing. You better think it over”

A hedgehog digs out his foliage and shouts throughout the woods:” This is most embarrassing and so I will not take part in it, neither as a maker nor as a music entertainer. I will make my own during this time” And with this words he digs back under the leaves.

An old crow spoke up: “Why does it have to be at all, and if why has it to be a week, and why do we have to say that the makings are all ours and why anyway, absolutely and generally”

Just a few more opened up their mind in a negative way, but Goodmute wanted the party for all the others and continued on her planning, when a Bear came along and told her to help her in all the preparation of the event. He had a few connections with other forest and he would find participants there, if none of the animals in this forest might help. Goodmute was happy and showed him the area, where she planned the party.

It was a swampy land and did not look very inviting for a party and the Bear told Goodmute:

“This all has to be arranged in a better way and we need to set up planks over the swamp so nobody sinks in. I do know a clever beaver in another forest, who makes excellent planks, we should use those to make sure the event goes smooth.”

Goodmute, who had heard about the clever beaver, nodded and agreed on the idea.

“And we should decorate the place nice and shiny but we can do that in the time we have left.”continued the Bear. But Goodmute had her doubts that only the Bear and herself could make it in time and she was searching for help.

The next day, Goodmute went back in the forest and told the Bear that she had asked the old crow to help and that she had changed her mind and would like to help. In addition her best friends the jackdaw will come along and a sparrow. Astonished the Bear raised one of his eyebrows, but did not say a word. A squad was build.

The first weeks went by and the crow and the sparrow made a good work in the decoration, while the Bear organized all the birds for the music from all over, invited animals to show their goods from this and other forests and found artistic species all over, who were happy to show there arts. It should become a great party for everybody in and out of this forest.

Unfortunately the jacksaw had a bad wing during the building phase and could not be of a good help but her friend the crow realized the ideas of her. Unfortunately the crow was so busy that she forget to tell the others what was going on. And often it happens that Goodmute and the Bear wondered of what was happening, as for example a non functional attraction was set up with the remark that it will be fixed before the party starts.

The Bear was pretty busy in organizing the birds singing schedule, handling the setup for the marketplace and negotiating with the spiders about their artwork and the setup. So everything seemed to work smooth and everybody seemed to know what the work had to be.

And along went the days as suddenly a thick white fog wells from underneath the planks and causes moving on the planks to get slower and slower and the works were getting more and more impossible.

The crow, the sparrow and the healed jacksaw argued about it and the Bear and Goodmute started to investigate where the fog came from. Because Goodmute had to be out of the forest over the day and only came in when the dusk began, it was the Bear who turned each plank and searched in each corner of the forest but he could not find the reason.

A few days later and together with Goodmute they found out that there must have been exactly 29 mysteries underneath the planks, causing the fog. But still they could not to be found. Two days later Goodmute came back in the forest and proudly told the Bear that she has found the mysteries and throw them away. They had been invisible and so tiny you could not see them with the naked eye. She needed a trick and the help of the clever beaver to find them. And for sure somebody must have placed them intentional, because each and everything in the forest could be identified by its owner, in the case of the mysteries they kept their secrets. Talking with the clever beaver he told that those items could be placed from outside with no need to stand on the planks, like throwing them from away of the planks.

But they were found, the fog away and the works were back to normal.

By the time the platform was very much filled with fixed and moving objects, Goodmute and the bear began to worry and told the sparrow, the crow and the jacksaw to keep an eye on their builds knowing that the spiders and merchants will set up their boothes and artwork. But somehow it looks that the sparrow and the crow were so much involved in their works that they did not listen. And the jackspaw starts to argue with the Bear that he should not play the leader of the squad and to take care of his business. Again the Bear raised his eyebrow in astonishment.

And then the day came the old crow yelled to the Bear, why he has changed ownership of some of the items within the forest. The Bear who came back from a tour, to ask more spiders and birds to participate in the big thing, looked pretty perplexed, didn't he know anything about it. So he asked what had happened and the crow screamed to him that a helper has noticed that his construction had changed the ownership to the Bear. Checking on the item the Bear saw that this was the truth but did not have a clue how this could happen. He tried to explain his inexperience but the helper did not say a word to him and the old crow screamed and shouted at him. The only explanation for the Bear was, that it might had happen during the search for those 29 mysteries. Or might it be that the mysteries and the change of the ownership has the same strange source ? Might there be some animals in the forest who did not like the idea of the party, or did not like the Bear, or Goodmute or maybe the clever beaver with his perfect planks?

Because of this incident a meeting of the squad was called in. While the sparrow stayed pretty neutral, the jacksaw and the crow yelled and shouted against the Bear, that he was a theft and a betrayer. All arguments from the Bear vanished as never been spoken. If he, the Bear, would have been a theft why would he left the objects carrying his name in the forest ? To provoke this conflict? What sense would it make? He got no answers on his questions but the birds left the meeting and the squad, and before they left they did not forget to say, that the Bear should not think he would be the leader of the party and the most would have been their work. Pretty confused Goodmute and the Bear stayed back and looked to each other.

As it was pretty close to the day of the party, the merchants already started to set up there places and were almost finished, the artistic spiders, ants and other species has set up their works and the schedule for the birds were set, the works continued, in the perception that the birds had stopped their engagement. But far from it.

Now they started to work in the background.

Still things of enormous sizes were build, well knowing that the weight was already high on the planks. Friends would be invited to participate in the party. And all that without telling Goodmute or the Bear about. So it came that the ones who had denied to help or to participate, suddenly had changed their mind and talked opposite, as that Goodmute or the Bear did not want them to participate from the beginning.

Somehow it seemed the world turned upside down.

With all that the first day of the party started and the first bird likes to sing. That everybody could hear the fine tunes it needs a magical babblefish of the forest or the bird has its own to set out. This babblefish translates the songs to the ears of all animals so everybody can enjoy the things heard.

The Bear had booked the babblefish of the forest with confirmation for the whole period of the party, but when the bird attempt to use it, it did not work.

Allegedly the old babblefish was broken and had to be exchanged to a new one. And unfortunately nobody had thought about to inform the Bear about it. Sure he had booked it for a whole week and not only for an hour, there things like that can happen

It took an hour to get it alive again. Knowing that this particular bird is using his own babblefish, when singing in other forests, the Bear asks himself, why the bird did not change to its own in case of such an emergency? Well with all the mysteries happened so far his babblefish might have been out of order, too.

Then it happened that the planks broke in and the whole party had to move. Due to the babblefish disaster the next bird scheduled, did not even have the chance to set up its babblefish and the next bird just had only a bit left to show his talent. Unfortunately the Bear was in a doctors surgery and could not help, but on the other hand what could he help other then comfort a dissapointed Goodmute.

An investigation on the broken planks showed, that a few other mysteries causing the planks to break.

But the planks could be repaired and the next day started with the continuing of the party. A talented Owl started the evening by telling a story for the whole of an hour. Many animals listened and others walked the market and the arts. And the planks hold all the weight without any crack. It was real fun to listen to the owl and look to the well doing planks.

After the owl had finished another bird started to sing. A few animals had already left the forest and the number of listeners had reduced when suddenly the planks broke again. But no, they did not break they disappeared without any warning as they would not have any connection to the forest anymore. Another mystery ?! Is the party cursed, or the forest ?

What never happened before in this place, now was possible. In no time there was a babblefish ready, and the party could go on, although the blanks had been repaired quick and the party could continue there. No information was given to Goodmute or the Bear about the change as they had nothing to do with the change and the party anymore

Another mystery appeared by that time. Although the planks had been repaired and could be walked and therefor been seen, they stayed invisible from the place the party continued and there were no way to get directly from the new place to the old. Only via a detour to other places one could get back to the planks ? And odd that the planks got visible again at the end of the singing birds performance.

And neither the clever beaver, nor Goodmute, nor the Bear could explain all those mysteries happened in such a short time. With all the experience they had in technical sight and in organizing big events all over the virtual worlds, they never experienced such a clustering of mysteries. None of them. It looks like a big curse had lain over this party.

And for the safety reason to all the inhabitants, the singing birds and reading owls of this forest the decision was made to cancel this part of the party. Goodmute and the Bear and others felt very sorry about it. Unfortunately it came out that this forest is cursed, and what both have learned is to check very closely on who may help in future and where the party will take place.