The Once | Fantasy Drama I Full Movie | Sci Fi

(upbeat music) (dramatic music) (gentle music) (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] In "The Once" there was a forest. (vocalizing) And the forest had trees. For a forest was made by its trees. The trees were what gave the forest its shape, its purpose. It was a plantation of plants. Vines turned wood to branches, collecting them together until they became a mass, a thing, a grand spire that created a canopy of branches and leaves as well as a shaded space underneath. This served as an almost room, a

grand cathedral. Light came in at times, but still shaded, shadowed, till even half past noon. It was never quite bright per se, but it was never entirely dark either. It was a mass of a space, small bushes and brambles growing all around, twisted roots and spines. The sculpture assemblies dotted the space, working to grow tall in those few bits where the light poked in, where the flowers could grow and dart through to see the light for below this was dirt was life was many tiny mushrooms growi

ng to eat the old wood, little grasses emerging where they could, heath and hollow dustings of life. Green scum and moss likens that would find a spot of wood and stick there through centuries, willing with all their might to grow just an inch. This story primarily deals with the animals, those that walk and slither and fly, those from the lowest to the highest. But let us not out of respect, forget the plants, the fungus, the molds, for this too is their story here in "The Once". This forest wa

s both a new forest and an old one for both can be true. A piece of earth can become a forest. It can be a field for man or nature where beings plant wheat or sunflowers or some ancient coal field long played out in this case one day by a bird scattering seed, some scheming feud, children in the arbors or simply by chance, a forest could start growing. It would begin from the ground and if no one was there to stop it, it would form. Now it would take time, longer than years, but sooner than you

may believe. Far sooner in the grand space of the world, a forest would come up and for us, after the last stream of monsters crawled over it, a forest of old growth stood in place of what had been before. Without anyone much noticing or caring, it was there. It was the wood, lo you now of days long past, of the time when the world was young, when sorcery thrived and wild adventure was forever in the offing. It was once. It is now and it is yet to come. It has always and will always contain 'The

Once". Now of this epoch, little is known, save that which is veiled in the mists of legendary. It is within these mists that our tale truly begins. We come to the city, a new and an old city also, as these things tend to go collected into a thousand buildings over a thousand years. Each person who came through leaving a little more behind, none alive or for that matter, dead could tell who had lay each brick, but they had all touched it and as each told a different song, the triumphs often spo

ke loudly along the boulevards. The dirge is softly in the alleys and tenements. A cacophony, this city. The local government acts and mayors and rich businessmen had tried for centuries to reign things in to make it a nice city, a respectable city. They had not entirely succeeded. Their attempts over these centuries, one after another, after another, had become even more noise. For that is all one would notice. The noise and the smell and the wondrous heights of tall buildings, actual cathedral

s and businesses, temples to others and God. And then the noise. The noise of it. That is what our protagonist most noticed about the city after all, at last, we should get to him. His name was Pip and he was a young boy who lived with an uncle at the edge of the city, in the edge of the woods. For the city and the wood brother and sister, as they were, were next to each other, which was which, was hard to say. Separating them was an old stonewall so short that it could scarcely be called one, a

long the edge of the garden. Now the uncle is a man of some renowned and rank in this tale. The exact details are complex and written in long books of banks and heralds. In fact, the details matter little. Save this. His land was large and his house quite grand. Pip stood to inherit little of it. Pip could perhaps find some position in the organizations there, but there was no real promise, no direct path and Pip , it must be said, had just about reached the age where thoughts of the future were

coming together. Thoughts of what kind of life one would lead once, ah, that word again, once adulthood would be found. Sometimes this would be a pleasant thought and sometimes a nightmare. More often that for Pip , for Pip was prone to such melancholy, it would weigh him with a dread, a fear on his back, a dread that would shake his boots and cause him to quiver. In fact, his cousin William was set to inherit, was set to get the proverbial or was it literal crown and he knew it. Boy did he kno

w it. Now it is the nature of things to presume that William is the villain. That though he was in many ways a boy, he was actually an evil man. This is not the case. He was capable of great generosity, kindness, and some chivalry when the mood struck him. Larger even he was capable of learning, learning even from his mistakes. He possessed a great knowledge not of readings of books and scholars, not of languages, mathematics, not of theology or the sciences. (suspenseful music) No, he knew of h

is greatness, his position in the universe and someone aware of this, someone whose life had not humbled him was naturally quite arrogant. He was tall, handsome, and strong. All things that Pip was not. He was well born and wealthy, even though he may not have called it that, he was a God upon earth, oh like God he was like the almighty father, He had a tendency to look at the world as something he could change, something he could make to his liking, the world and all the people of it. Pip was a

bout a year younger and William possessed with some kindness as he tended to be, treated him as his assistant, not brother or friend, no, but as his assistant, the squire to his night, the person who would bottle and fetch for him. However, this job was not rigid, so it did have some of the features of brother and friend, anyway. They after all were close to his greatness. If he went on adventures, so did Pip . Occasionally he would ask him to stay home and do some chores instead, but this was c

omparatively quite rare. Instead, he would take him to town so that he would have company. As he drank, goked and listened to the sweet songs of the lashes on the street. When Pip went on these adventures, it was not with joy. The city was dirty, mean, full of smoke and full of its painted shops and promises of wealth, mirrors of the usual kind. But still it was full of life. People of all sorts bustled about from the lowest to the highest in shops and stalls in businesses and on buses. It was a

lot. Pip by temperament was not someone to enjoy a lot, but that was the life of Pip as he saw it. Toil and panic. He didn't live in a closet under the stairs, a basement or an attic stall. His uncle's family, which also included his wife and daughter though he spent little time with them, was kind enough and they gave him food, shelter, and clothing. It was a better life than most had. In fact, if such could be measured, which it can't, not really. All life is horrible and all life is wonderfu

l, but Pip did not know that. Not yet. It came one morning in Middle Spring when Pip was sent out to gather wood from a pile at the edge of the estate. It was an easy enough task, but Pip's mind was on melancholy and loss. He did not want to go back into the house. He did not. And so it was perhaps this, perhaps something else that responded when he heard the voice. "Come into the woods, my friend, come into the woods", said a voice, "Come in. We have such wonders to show you, much beauty and na

ture you've scarcely known. Come into the forest. I shall share with you all the wonders of the world. All your cares and fears shall leave, of no concern to you any longer." Pip paused. "Who is this? Who's talking? Who are you? Who is speaking? Who is this? Who is this?" "It's beautiful here." The voice continued, "Just beyond the garden wall. It is quite beautiful. Look past the heath of stone into my greenwood. See the sights? It may look a bunch of ash and oak, but it is much more. I intrigu

e you so much more." "Who's talking?" "You are." "Who are you? You who is speaking?" "I am not a man, a woman, a French or a Greek. I am not any singular thing. I am Pip." "I am someone". "Who knows my name." "It is known", Pip paused and turned ready to go back to the house. "I will not match weights with you." "Good because I don't want to dool an unarmed opponent." "I'll tell my uncle of your trick, be warned." "If you wish, but all of his men and horses, dogs and cameras shall never reach me

. Even if they were to search for a thousand years. I have no flesh, no bone to find." So Pip went into the house there he greeted his aunt with fresh timber for the hearth. His cousins were both off doing business and he did not see his uncle at all that morning. He considered telling the story of the voice he'd heard, but somehow the time never came. It must be said that while he was in the house all day long, he talked with no one of any substance, not family or neighbors, friends or enemies.

He was silent though he was surrounded by humanity. Thousands within a mile. This was by no means unusual and even more so when he found himself that night in his bedroom, which had of course a window looking onto the forest. He lay in bed thinking of the morning till he found himself in the place between reality and dreams. That mystical place where all stories live but must pick which they happen. Then he heard the wind and when he heard the wind, the wind spoke. "Come into the woods, my frie

nd, into the woods. Come in. We have such wonders to show you, beauty and nature you scarcely know. You'll miss it without us to guide you. Come into the forest so that I may share with you all the wonders of the world. All your cares and fears shall go away. No more of your concern." And then Pip went to sleep. He dreamt of the woods. Watch this story. Watch this tale. What he dreamt is not this story but something far, far different. And the next morning Pip went out again. This time with no c

hores in his mind, nothing to distract him. His relatives hardly noticed him at all. He thought he would hear the voice again as he journeyed, he did not. However, he went to the edge of the garden wall anyway, And suddenly he was in the woods and he started to walk forward into it. Now, Pip of course, had seen the wood before. At least he'd seen the lands near his house. This was common enough, but as he scanned his surroundings, he realized that he was nearing the place where the familiar meet

s the uncommon, where the steps he was taking through meadows around rocks, past bushes and brambles were things he knew but knew only from distant memories, shrouded him in strangeness. He knew where the main road was, where the city was, where various landmarks were around him. He knew these things by knowledge but not by thought, and there was a difference in that. In having to remember. The forest became the setting of this Fantasia, a glade of vague memories. No voices. It wasn't quiet, pre

cisely. Though the woods are often thought to be quiet. No, too many birds, too much wind and no voices at all. How far he walked into it, how far he traveled, all of these things he thought he knew, but he could not be sure. He came into the dark trees, the empty spaces, the quiet morning land. Pip realized then that he was no longer a boy. Now in stories like this one, we can imagine pixie dust and sparkles, CGI conjuring lightning and smoke. There was none of that here. The chain was so subtl

e he did not realize it. At first, it was the smell, which is a shame as this cannot be told in words or pictures. Nothing can do justice to a smell. It smelled of the wood. But what does that mean? This smell was not a candle one could purchase at the store. It was the wood, this wood, then the vision. Then there was the sound, the touch. All was different. All was gone. For Pip was now an animal that had already been true, but now he was a squirrel. Pip was on the forest floor and his body was

now about a foot long on four paws weighing two pounds with a long bushy tail. He was presently in a scamper. Pip paused. Now the word panic might arise, and this was not the wrong word for Pip. He had a tale, a feeling he'd previously been unaware of, but really the first thing he thought was unusual in that all of this felt usual. He knew what it was and how it worked. He could lift his tail up and do that thing rapidly, moving it back and forth easily without prompting. He could name the spe

cific plants he smelled, the animals, dung of specific creatures and growing things. It made sense. And sense is an odd place to be when one is quite panicked. He heard a chitter. He turned to see that he was being chased by another squirrel. At first, a note of fear struck him. Then he realized, yes, it was a squirrel. The animal chirped at him again, trying desperately to push him forward. And so Pip wanting to go with the flow, went forward. It was the least he could do. Pip started to run or

scamper. The squirrel, the good sports came after him. Ha. Pip didn't know the source of the sound. It took him a moment to puzzle it out. He had talked with the wood before, he could recognize that voice, but this wasn't that. It was someone new, a new sound, feminine. Sweet. "You think you'll get away like that?" It was he realized, the other squirrel talking to him and that it was a she, "Ha", said Pip logically surmising that he could talk as well what the little laughs meant in this contex

t. He still wasn't really sure. When he turned his head, he saw the squirrel jump to a tree and after another second saw it jump off again right in front of him, proportional to his new size. This looked like someone was jumping 30 feet up and 40 across. That was something one could see in stories of superheroes, but was a hell of a more impressive thing in real life. Pip had now also realized that his little squirrel toes wouldn't be cold in a dream, so this wasn't a dream. Also, he had little

squirrel toes, lot going on for young Pip . He turned pivoting away from his fellow and off in a different direction. He ran towards a tree across a path and saw it, whoa, a squirrel can leap up to 20 feet, which is the equivalent of 20 feet, but much bigger as squirrels are small. He jumped up until he was four feet off the ground on the side of the tree with his little squirrel paws finding purchase in the oak. "Ha", said the female squirrel. And that he understood because this was the most fa

ntastic feeling he had ever felt in his life. He started to climb the tree moving up the side of it like a spider, but faster the blood racing towards his tail, which it should be revisited, he now had. He was climbing and he was free and he was alive and he was a squirrel. But the pause was a mistake. As the other squirrel jumped onto his back, digging her claws lightly into his skin. This was pain. Pip had paid some attention to when squirrels chased each other in the past and what happened wh

en one caught the other. Now there was no way he could forget. This was pain, but pain he could bear. "You're too slow", said the girl. Then she laughed as they stood on the crest of the tree. Pip did not know what he was hearing. Whatever magic he had translated the sounds for him, telepathic thoughts, some clicking noise and the sound of the squirrel's voice. That voice was the most enchanting he had ever heard. "Well I let you catch me." Pip didn't understand it at the time, but thinking back

this moment proved to Pip something very important. Whatever happened to him, there was some part of himself, some deep core that was still Pip and that piece of him was in fact pretty dumb and didn't know how to talk. (chuckles) "Of course. Hey. I don't think I've seen you around these trees before. Did you come from the west of the forest?" "Yes." This was a totally honest response. The squirrel nodded or Pip's knowledge of squirrel mannerisms came to him when appropriate and interpreted it a

s a nod. This he thought was how thinking worked. That too was confusing, but the important part was the squirrel nodded. "Thought so. You have it spur.", said the squirrel. "Anyway, welcome. There are nuts of plenty. A good stream to drink from and trees, let us go off to live till the foe makes us." And from the crest of the tree, the squirrel jumped into the distance. Pip paused and Pip paused no more, jumping after her into the distance and when he did, he was free. He was in the air and he

was alive. That was till gravity took him and he fell to the ground in a heap. For a second Pip thought he'd died. He figured he'd broken every bone in his body, which he would've been surprised to learn was the same number of bones in his human form. But no, he lifted his head to realize, "Careful the other squirrel scampered down the tree face first." Now watching a creature's scale a tree is impressive of course, but Pip had never quite realized what a feet it was to go the other way, to clim

b down the tree. She nuzzled him for a second. Despite his uncertainty, Pip left from his spot, climbed the tree, and then just a second later, scampered down at face first. His head getting closer to the ground with each new step. But somehow he was in control. He had the power. Just before he hit the ground, he turned around the tree instead circling it as he took in the great forest. "You're a silly squirrel", said the other. "Huh? There's an oak about a hundred feet away and it's fruity. Wou

ld you wanna go with me?" "Do I?" Pip realized that he'd phrased it as a question, but his tone came out as if it were an answer. Acorns were delicious. It was a no-brainer. They raced through the canopy of the forest, the wind in their hair, which again covered their entire bodies. The leaves beneath them, sometimes cold, sometimes warm. The branches bent slightly under their mighty weight. They raced through the canopy rapid and free and Pip ran headfirst into the back of an owl. It's furry, t

awny body was soft. Owls he realized were mainly feathers, but the weight hit him. He fell backwards almost, but not quite falling off the branch. The owl was asleep. He was safe, until the owls head turned towards him. It looked at him only about a foot away. "Mokey kids", said the owl and turned its head. Pip ran off as fast as he could until he saw the other squirrel. "You were lucky", said the squirrel. "Though I suppose sitting on the branch there wasn't too much the monster could do to you

, especially in the middle of the day." "What?" "Oh, it can fly. Yes, but there are many steps to it. It has to extend its swing and lift off. By the time it's moved to foot, you can be halfway across the tree. Remember the old mantra for what we are, we are good, for what we are the best." Pip had never heard that before. They kept moving. He saw below him a deer, a mighty stag with huge antlers. He paused to grasp its Majesty, a thousand times bigger than him. It was majesty of a herald, a mas

sive beast. "Good morning, Mr. Squirrel", said the deer. "I haven't seen you around these parts, shucks, but it's a great day for it innit?". "Yes", "What a pleasant morning to be a morning. How just darn swell it is to be alive." And the illusion was somehow shattered. "Mokey kids, some of us are trying to sleep." Pip, the squirrel turned his head. The girl squirrel came up to them. "Sorry to bother you Mr. Deer, but we're on the way somewhere." "Sure, glad to meet ya. I sure do love new faces

in the forest. Ha ha." "Let's go." And they turned. ♪ Seeing a sounds about the grass goes green and tasty ♪ "He's sort of like that", said the other squirrel, "but he's the Lord of the forest and all". (gentle music) They kept going and Pip could see the acorn tree, the oak, the mass ahead of him, a giant wonder. More beautiful than any Christmas. And when he saw it and felt the squirrel next to him, he realized love, the world. It was all a beautiful wonder and a giant leap. Pip fell to the gr

ound. When she looked up cold and soft, she wore the same clothes, a face, arms, legs, distinct four from aft. If she paid any attention, she might have seen a squirrel that looked confused near to her and darted around before racing away. Pip was now a human, alone in the forest and she sat there confused. She turned and saw in the distance, a stag looking at her before turning and wandering off. She was alone in the morning sun and she realized something though she had never given it much conj

ecture, she had thought that squirrels were inherently unhappy animals, always running away, hiding from larger animals, cowering and fleeing, desperately suffering, afraid. They were quite happy with their lot in life and as she felt her body touching it up and down, standing on two feet again, arms and legs that could not jump 20 feet, even proportionally, as she tried to run home, cross all the distance of the forest, she became winded. Her heart and lungs could not move like they had before

and she was forced to stop to catch her breath. She, while much bigger was not their equal, not their better. How long had it all lasted? Maybe 20 minutes. It is worth noting that the time she sat and thought more than equaled all the time she'd spent as a squirrel, which is a detail often left out of these tales. She looked up at the trees, the branches that had once been her own, the leaves, her friends, had it all been real? She looked around some more. "Did you do that?" She said to no one i

n particular, but no one was who she really wanted to speak to and no one answered her, which in this case meant nothing was said. She picked up an acorn on the ground and tasted it. It was bitter and unpleasant. No longer her most coveted treat. The pathways hazy in her head now led her towards home. As she found the first small road near her house, she recognized everything she needed to walk towards her boat. (gentle music) Over the next few days, Pip wanted to tell people about what had happ

ened, wanted to express what had happened to her. There are those that you may think of who would want to do so. Parents, counselors, friends, but she realized she had none of that which set melancholy over her when she comprehended it. Many people over the years have offered a definition of what a friend is. Someone you depend on, love, who can help you bury a body. A valid one was someone you can tell of a mystical experience in a forest where you turned into an animal without worrying about t

hem believing you. And of course, telling that to oneself is also difficult. Had she changed? Was it some psychotic break in her consciousness? For the next several days, Pip spent her time in her room. There was the window looking over the forest. On the third day, she shuttered it. She found books. There were stories easily found of people who had changing experiences such as hers, however these stories were, but words on the page and images in her mind, ways to relive it. Through this, it bec

ame easy enough to simply turn off light and do so in the dark without the books. She waited for the voice, the voice of whatever spirit had done it. The books contained stories about ghosts and ferries, but she didn't know if that was what was out there or if it was some poor half description. However, waiting in a dark room for something to happen is a poor way to get things done. Pip knew a course of action she could take to see outside, but she was too scared. Life as it is observed, finds a

way. And one morning a few weeks after her adventure, life bestowed upon her a new quest. "Pip", her aunt said one morning, "Can you help me get some groceries? I can't carry them home by myself." And Pip nodded at the command and went forth to do so. The market was in the city and her aunt had a vast list. It was full of hustle and bustle. They went to two bakers for one was not enough and a grocer and took them to a monger of fish. This man had multiple dead haddock and Roe lined up for sale.

Pip stood looking upon the animals that had once been alive, bass as they may be with revulsion, seeing them frozen in block. The fish monger chatted noisily and happily, "oh, it's good salmon. Why, yes, I have a sword fish just fought it myself in a duel. Dogfish. Woof woof. I don't carry it, but I can get it on back order. Catfish, American love. It's a delicacy there." Pip watched this for a moment as her aunt gathered her food smiling. "You want anything son?", said the monger, "The taste o

f looks I can give you", "No", she said, "I don't think so." "Eat it raw like they do in Japan", said the monger. At last, her aunt gave her a pack and made her walk home. "Let us go this way. A more secluded path around it. Longer but flatter." There was a good road past their house that they had taken to the market, but it included a small hill up and down. Perhaps this Pip speculated had caused her aunt to choose a different route. Pip thought little of it until she realized she was entering

the outskirts of the forest for the first time since her change. Behind their yard, it was a solid line, a hard line. There is a house, here is a wood, a strong stone fence separating. Here, there were a bunch of, to be honest, untidy estates where the trees pushed forward into the spaces they wanted and the space between the domains of men and earth were muddy. As they walked, the muddiness grew still. Her aunt, of course paid it no mind humming a song with no words or with words that Pip did n

ot know. And somewhat at the base of the hill where the path wove was a large pond, not quite a lake, but a body of good size, on the other side, Pip noticed perhaps for the first time the forest. It was not by magic that the forest had appeared overnight. It's fascinating how one can live and miss such details. Pip paused a moment to take it in, to gawk even, which her companion failed to notice. Her aunt was perhaps like the forest something one saw and forgot was there just as quickly. But Pi

p paused, seeing it, listening, listening. Half expecting. In her periphery she thought she saw a hand waving in the water. Yet when Pip paused to look down, she saw nothing. Nothing at all. This caused her to look down further, to look down into the water, and she saw on the floor of the water that there was something silver, A coin, Pip put down her bag and leaned down, reached into the water to grasp it and as she did, she slipped. She fell forward into the water. She was shocked until she re

alized in a moment that she was a fish. Her first instinct was to go up to the surface to try to breathe, but when she did, nothing. For Walla, human breathes by putting her face into the air and drowns with her face in the water, a fish drowns, trying to breathe that way, accomplishing nothing with just her head in the air. She looked up to see her aunt turned around and to see a bag. Pip wanted to tell her aunt not to panic, but she was a fish, so A, she could no longer talk and B, that would

likely cause her to panic more. She paused. The aunt looked towards the water and seemed to see nothing. For a second, her eyes found the fish, but moved on. Did she think Pip odd? Something occurred to Pip as she was in the water. Where were her clothes? She leaned down and searched knowing her shoes would be ruined at the very least, but there was no sign of them. She looked about the waters. They were blue and crisp and surprisingly full of feces, plants and little animals, rocks and dirty th

ings that she realized inside of her that were literally poop. At least some of it was. And the shrimp and little crabs were making a meal of it. Also scum, dead leaves and other debris, but they seemed to be enjoying it all. Pip realized then that her meal was the self-same shrimp in a circle of as they say, life. This was really strange. A human, for example, can feel themself breathing, can control it. A fish she discovered could not. Her gills moved a touch whether she wished it or not. She

was in freshwater, which meant on some level she had to swim constantly or sink. That too was odd. So much was happening out of her control. She was dimly aware that the other side of the lake was the forest and if there was an answer there it was. So she swam or she knew how to swim and awkwardly went that way. The other fish for there was another fish by her, paid her no mind. She saw a mosquito larva that looked tasty, but decided against that. She kept going forward. "Oh, I've been working o

n the grass fields all the live long day. Oh, I've been chewing up the good now just to pass the time away." And she recognized that voice. It was the deer, the elk, the Lord of the forest. "Oh gosh, darn it. Some water is going to be good right about now." Yeah, that was it. She saw its head come into the water and happily, lazily drink it in not considering the various particles of debris that it was consuming along with it, huh? For a minute it did so enjoying, the water and she looked up to

see its eyes. Then the elk smiled at her. It got up for a breath and the thought came to her. Pip swam to the surface to see if she could talk to it. "Hello?" Pip said. "Why, hello Mrs. Fish", said the deer. "I hope you are doing well today and I hope your corner of the pond is swimming." "Kind of", said the fish. "Do you remember me?" "Should I", said the elk? "I apologize. There are a lot of fish in the sea. (chuckles) Wait a second. This is a lake. Sorry." "It's quite all right." "Now that yo

u mention it. You do sound like a hedgehog. I saw the other day." "No, I wasn't a hedgehog." "Good because that would be silly", he interrupted. Pip paused. Somehow she was genuinely fond of the creature, but that was their only connection. She wasn't sure it could offer much help. "If however, I can be of any help know that I am the Lord of the forest and want to help my friends, even the ones I just made." "Help, you are", said new voice, "Lord of the forest that one." Pip turned and saw on a

branch, the owl. "I recognize you fish. I can see it. Oh, I can see it", said the owl. "You can?", said Pip. "Will you help me?" "No", said the owl and flew away "but wanted to tell you", Pip's sighed. Of course sighing implied taking in breath, which we established that she couldn't do. This caused Pip to sigh some more. "Owls can be so rude", said the elk. "Anyway, nice to see you again." And with that, the stag smiled and handled off into the woods. Well, he tried. Again, she was alone and sw

imming. As she put her head under and started to move through the water, she tried to process that alien sensation to swim like a fish was not merely to not need to focus on breathing or to move faster than some dogs paddle or crawl. It was to be different, a completely different shape, a different scale to have a different motive. She had no legs and she couldn't see her body at all. Her eyes didn't work the same way. She could see on left and right and they approximated forward together. But i

t wasn't the same. Though she was in the mirroring water, she couldn't see behind her body at all. A mystery space. Her arms were paddles, great for the job at hand, but useless for anything else. But what else would they be? A fish did not have to carry groceries or fight wars. Her world was her world and it was what it was. She swam and she was the swimming in front and behind, all was this and there was a peace until she saw coming from the side, something big, black and sharp. It lunged and

she darted away, possessed by an instinct to move. At last, she could see its face ugly and stained as it moved towards her. She darted out of the way in a flash and to reed at the bottom hoping this obscured her but it didn't. This did no good. "You are quick lunge", said the barracuda. She flew downward moving at an angle towards the rocky bottom into the narrow space between two rocks and the barracuda swam right through them behind her. That should have worked, but the barracuda had the same

grace and did not struggle. "You think Little love me prey." She kept darting forward and forward trying to avoid it, swimming in utter terror, the monster behind her. She could not see behind her, but she just kept going until she realized that it was no longer following her. The effort to catch a morso like her was more trouble than it was worth. Better to swim and eat something unaware where there was no great fight, no struggle, just thieves. (soft growling), said the barracuda distantly. I

t was both victorious and disappointed. Survival was the reward when your opponent gave up. And Pip found himself once more a boy in the middle of the water. This was very obvious for he was surrounded by water. He tried to breathe in, which was a hell of a mistake. His lungs have filled with water and his eyes not used to the water stung. He panicked and tried to swim, in this case down. He hit the bottom and when his feet hit the ground, he pushed upwards. His head flew up to the surface and h

e coughed trying to orient himself. He was in the center of the lake. That moments before had been his refuge. And then he realized that the pond was only about five feet deep and his clothes and shoes were still on his body though quite wet. (gentle music) It took Pip a few minutes to find his way to the shore, half swimming and half walking across. As he did, he felt something against his leg moving and he looked down to see that it was the barracuda. For a moment he was frightened, but the fi

sh who was in fact about his size just swam away. Hmm. He wondered if he just didn't taste any good or if the barracuda simply wasn't designed to eat him in his current form that it had happened again meant that the phrase his current form was entering his lexicon. He didn't like it. However, there was something to form. Being a fish wasn't precisely enjoyable, but it was to be something. It was formed. He had just been at a fish monger about how long? An hour ago. And now he couldn't say what k

ind of fish he had been. It may not have been possible for this all to have happened. This felt similar to his life in general. However, when he got to shore and climbed out, he knew his shoes were ruined. And where was his aunt? He didn't see her, but he did see the bag. He picked it up and raced home. But halfway there, he ran into her. "Arthur." She said, "You are safe." She hugged him. "I didn't know where you went. What? You are wet. You are wet, but you are alive. And my beautiful Arthur."

Pip felt embarrassed. "Did you fall in the water? I looked, but I didn't see you. I thought of you. I did. I thought you might have drowned. But the bag, my God, I had no idea. No idea. But you are alive." "I was in the water, my shoes. I was so worried." Pip had feared he would be punished. He was not. His reward was this embarrassment, the knowledge that she cared for him and was worried for him. At one level this was reward. But at the other, it was a far worse punishment or he did not think

he deserved it at the moment. They made it home and exclamations were made and his uncle chuckled. A story came together of him falling into the water and her not being able to find him. Then supposedly half an hour later, he'd found her while going back. "You should have stayed looking there", his uncle said. This didn't really make sense, but it all made sense. And she went to bed and he went to bed. And Pip knew that by morning it would be more or less the same. He felt terrible for keeping

his silence about what had really happened. For how much they cared. (gentle music) The next morning after uneasy dreams, Pip woke to discover he had been turned into a monstrous vermin. But crucially, he was not turned to a giant vermin. He was small, though it's hard to gauge size when one is so tiny that he feels like nothing buried under blankets. At first he thought he had just awoken in the dark of night. But it turned out he'd realized that his blanket was just above him covering his body

by a thousand score or more. He was minuscule to the universe, he knew. Located in some kind of air pocket the folds of his blanket had formed. This was a good thing for if they did not, he would've been crushed by the equivalent weight of a hundred tons. Trapped for a second, he looked up at his blanket trying to perceive it in senses he knew not. He had eyes, how many he did not know. A nose that could smell and feel and ears, sound was limited, but maybe that was the blanket. The blanket was

a problem. Time must be taken for the awe of it all. There are stadiums and cathedrals that are not as large and impressive or with so much light as his bed. He had little feelers on his body. So he moved around to figure out how to get out of the position he was in and he moved. If he had one advantage in an empty space in time, it was that the hole in the blanket was small and dark. His sense was keen for these spaces. For he possessed feeling things to touch the side. So he made his way out

of the folds here and there to the edge of the blanket and the edge of the bed. In the early morning light for it was quite early by the time of men, but not that of bugs. He found himself in his large bedroom. He had never seen it so large. There was no room ever constructed by man as large as this, a standard child's bedroom. However, he could barely be said to see it. For his eyes were vague, at best. The knowledge of years and time bit him realize that was where he was. He knew or thought he

knew the source of his problem. Something in the forest. If an answer was to be determined, it was there. In proportion to his body, the distance to the forest was about 10 miles away. Pip did not know this, but he could have supposed it. However, he was not in immediate trouble and discovered the secret of the bug. Thanks to surface tension, he could walk on walls or on the side of his bed towards the vague thing he thought to be a window, hoping there was a space small enough for him to squee

ze through. This took some time, but he did find such a space, a small crack at the side of the awning. With that, he made a quick journey to the outside of the house along the stucco walls. Stucco felt weird. Even though it was starting to become dawn, the world was still dark. Whatever eyes he possessed, let in little light. And while other senses could determine things better, this was little to him. There are a million things that will eat a bug. He remembered from his journey to the water.

But now there were none present. None along the house walls of the dawn. So he made his way down towards the lawn without much adventure, to be honest. He remembered climbing down trees as exhilarating. And this was similar. However, he had too many feet enough to give anyone pause. The lawn wasn't that large. To a bug, it was. And the stonewall the same. He sensed some insects, snails, brambles, worms, pills. But they seemed to have no interest in his misadventure. And so he found himself crawl

ing in the forest. "Okay, creature", said the bug. "You have had your fun." The woods again answered, not or did they? For a second later as it gathered its senses, the bug heard a voice. It turned. "Greetings fellow ant," said a voice. "What are you doing here? You are loved." "I was trying to find something." "Search fellow ant, you are loved", said the creature. "Or join us for we have a trail to food and we shall feast for you are loved." He realized though, as his senses coalesced, that he

could vaguely process the being next to him as an ant. It was hard as his eyes were not designed for that process. And Pip realized by process that he was an ant as well. He realized there were hundreds of them. One of the others it was impossible to tell, which spoke, "Wow, we have made a friend. You are loved. Come with us as we have heard tale of fruit. You are loved." Pip realized they were going somewhere, following a fruit of some kind. So they walked into the forest. He expected a song, b

ut instead there was an occasional comment, "A rock. You are loved. Let us move to the left to avoid this stick. You are loved. Let us go underneath. You are loved." "Gosh." Said another different voice. "Ants", "Good morning, large fellow", said an ant. "You are loved." "Thank you, ant. I won't step on you." "Thank you", said the ants. "You are loved.' And they marched until they came upon the fruit, which they walked around then climbed over, then started to eat. "Join us, sister", said an ant

. Was it the same one he'd first talked to? It was hard to say, "For you to serve our love." "I am a man", said Pip. "All ants are sisters", said the ant. "But if you are a man, fine. You are loved." And Pip started to eat and think about it. Was he a girl? It's hard to tell with ants for a human. And he realized ants themselves couldn't easily figure that out. Regardless, the fruits seem to be some kind of apple. "Yum, yum, yum", said an ant. "Our tums are full. Let us take the rest of the colo

ny for they are loved and our children, for they are the most loved." And so the ants with their mouths started to rip and tear the fruit. Pip realized more ants were behind them, still ready to eat and then rip. A procession came to carry the pieces back. Pip himself carried a giant slice of apple larger than him, but the weight somehow did not bother him in the least. Just the slightly awkward carry. "You're doing a great job and you are loved", said an ant. The journey took them forward. How

far? He did not know. To a hole in the ground where Pip was to crawl down the hole they went through a weird series of chambers to where the ants in turns, put the pieces of apple. "Good work", said a guard. "You are loved. We have a newcomer, I think", said a soldier ant, "Who we love." The ants dispersed and Pip crawled around the chamber until he saw a large group of puppey moving about. "Here, have some fruit", said a nurse. "For you are loved and you will grow to be strong ants who are love

d." Pip watched in revelry until he felt a tap, he turned to see, to feel something much larger than himself. Pip's eyes went past magic to see in the shadows the creature. It was hideous. A monstrous thing of arms and mandibles, gesturing obscenely. "Are you the stranger? I am the queen of the ants in this colony." "Yes", said Pip . "You are loved. Yes, we are but small creatures and we are all searching in the darkness", said the queen. "All we have is the path. And knowing that we are loved.

That is what we have. You are loved." "Thank you", said Pip, "for your hospitality." "You are welcome to stay with us", said the queen. "It is, but a humble colony, but we can offer you love." Pip paused and nodded. "I'm afraid I have family of my own to attend to." "That is the case. Go and tell them that they are loved." "Thank you", said Pip. "You are loved." And Pip wandered up the chamber wall and out the door to the surface. As Pip wandered a few feet away, she found herself in her bed clo

thes about 10 feet from the wall of the house. Now ants cannot cry. They have no tears as their eyes were not designed to work like that. They clean their eyes with their arms. But Pip did. And she cried for a moment. For even the ants were loved. Then she heard something she thought was laughter, hooting. As she turned, she saw it was an owl. "Hoot hoot", said the owl in a mocking tone. "Hoot. Hoot. Hey." But the owl turned away and flew into the morning light. "Arthur, what are you doing there

?" Pip turned to see her uncle. "Saw an owl", said Pip. "Wanted to go outside and look at them." "Well, you could have put on clothes", said her uncle. "Foolish." "I suppose." Pip expected a lecture or something, but her uncle paid it no mind and went off to his business. Pip found herself cold something ants apparently didn't feel and went back inside to get dressed. (gentle music) Pip went on with her life. Endeavoring to spend more time with her family and their life there. Contend that if th

e magic would find her again, it would be easy enough. Still, the question. There were stories of course, of people changing into animals, werewolves and others, but that didn't explain it to her. She had missed her chance to parlay with it. No longer fearful, Pip went on many walks in the woods. She founded a pleasant place to contemplate the shadows and the light. The only oddity was the occasional hooting of an owl. It would've sounded ominous if it had dark music behind it, but it did not, s

o it did not. Oh well. Time passed. And the funny thing about time is that a second, a week, a month, a year can affect us in many different ways. You may think that what happened to Pip after a month would be one thing, but it was maddeningly distinct. So when I say it was two weeks or 16 days, what does that difference tell you? But 16 days later, Pip found herself in a group of children, about 20 strong as they often gather. This made perfect sense in the logic of children. To Pip, it did not

entirely, but she went with it as well she could. They were in the woods, but on the slightly more civilized side of it, along a path that was actually quite wide, likely a road at some point to somewhere that was not important enough to pave or continue on to. A game was contrived where one child became Robinhood with a band of merry men. Who would we lay a group of King John's soldiers. Pip found herself somewhat against her will as one of the merry men. She was ordered to wait behind trees f

or the soldiers to come forward. She was not littlejohn or fryer tuck or made Marian, though she had asked for the latter, but a simple generic one. And she spent a moment thinking of her character trying to transform herself. She was a former soldier from the south who after the crusades, had taken to Robin. But after a bad incident, she'd heard of Robin's legend and had contrived away to join him. Where she could wait, lay with the best and with some cause, be married. Pip tried to change her

nature to be married. Robinhood came and patted her back. "Good job. Let's get the bastards." She felt this and this transformation of her character was in some ways a transformation of her nature as before. She intended to get herself truly into this, to truly become something, not by magic, but by her own will. "Yes, let's get him", then she laughed. Robin smiled and once more Pip wished she was made Marian. Oh, well Robin walked away and Pip watched. He'd left her a moment alone. She felt her

self tingle. It was the first time her transformation had truly become a sensation, but it was a noticeable one. She wondered if she simply hadn't felt it before or if she simply didn't remember. And now he found himself a bird, a J of sorts on the ground. Pip paused and flapped his wings, flying up without much consideration to a small branch. One would think flying would be a big momentous thing, but Pip's first flight was unconscious. Pip considered fear was not quite present anymore. And wit

hout fear to cloud his mind, Pip thought clearly what would happen to the game. Hmm. Then he saw on another branch the owl smiling. "Are you behind this?" He said without preamble or pleasantries. "No," said the owl. "I am not behind this. It's not my job in life to help humans in their path to inter discovery. Be glad that you're a little too big a bird for me to hunt. One, two less pounds and you would be my lunch." "That's rude." "Yes, but it's the truth. Truth is wisdom. And I as an owl am k

nown to be wise." "Do you know of this then?" "Yes." "But you're not going to tell me?" And the owl laughed a wise laugh, but a subtly cruel one. "I am going to tell you the fundamental lesson of all this, fly with me." And the owl took off into the midday light of the sun. Pip followed. Pip had raced through the trees, climbed through tunnels and swam with the fish. And of all of these, flying was perhaps the least impressive of them in the end. It had a view. But a bird maybe 50 feet up only g

ets so much. But something was something. "Look down." And Pip did to see the top of the forest trees, the giant lush wood we have described, dotted with roads, meadows, an occasional house, a hill. "What do you see?", said the owl. "The world", said Pip. Thinking it deep. The owl turned slightly and flew further towards the city, the town, the world of men. "Are we in danger?", said Pip. "Funny a human would say that, but no, they really don't care." Pip paused. Seeing groups of humans. "So muc

h destruction in the macro. So little care in the micro. And what do you see?" He saw tall buildings, roads, and roofs that from the top were not that impressive. "The world." This still sounded deep, (growls), said the owl. Pip thought they were flying to someplace in particular. But instead the owl simply turned around and flew back to the forest landing on a branch. "So what are you going to tell me?", said Pip. "What was the point?" Pip heard a voice. "I had a friend for a moment", said the

female squirrel. "I'm your friend", said the elk. "I'm everyone's friend." "Yes", she said, "I will confess. I thought of him perhaps as a mate, but such as the nature of the forest, perhaps the owl got to him." Pip saw that the squirrel was now maybe five feet from the owl. The owl turned and smiled as if contemplating. Pip did not know what to do. But the squirrel by some magic half turned and saw Pip. "Hello", said the squirrel. "Are you new?" But by the act of turning her head, she also saw

the owl. She ran off jumping on the elk's back. "Sorry", said the female squirrel, "can't be helped, it is our nature." The squirrel looked at Pip. "It's nice to see you." Pip smiled sadly, but turned. He was seeking the aid of the owl and did not want to anger it. But he had seen the owl smile. "That elk. It's just mind boggling how dumb he is. I've often wondered how nature would create something with so little brains." "He's good", said Pip . "And you're a kid", said the owl. "I can see that,

my magic isn't spells or lay lines, it just tells me that you're a kid and I can see that. I know the truth of that." "So what's happening to me?", said Pip, "You are a child", said the owl. "And that sounds glib, but you're living like children do. Now go off and play games with your friends. Me telling you this is not gonna transform you back, by the way." And the owl flew off. "Who goes there in the king's wood?" And Pip saw the soldiers below him as he perched on the higher tree branch. He

looked around, saw pine cone and picked it. A group of merry men came around, took it and threw it at the lead guard's head. It hit somewhat hard. "Oh", said the guard. "How did you get up there? I didn't think you could climb that." (frog croaks) (birds chirping) Pip thought quite a bit about the owl's words, if they were words at all. And as Pip came home, they were brought low by them. For Pip was a child. And like all children, hated being reminded of it. But Mr. Owl was a wise man. And Pip

coming home went to their uncle who was working with wood, building a birdhouse of all things in his shed. "What do you think of me?" The uncle paused, "Pip, you are odd as of late, going on walks, disappearing, asking weird questions. You are changing." Pip apologized though they talked a little more and he seemed in good humor. Pip got no answers, but that was enough. And as Pip walked through the gardens, the simple truth was coming to them. They had changed, a simplicity to it all. Now they

would become a man. And as darkness came, Pip went outside and wondered what would they become. The night was cold, dark, no moon in sight. And as their eyes turned towards the house with light in its windows, they looked back at the forest. "Come into the woods my friend. Come into the woods", said a voice. "Come in. We have such wonders to show you. Beauty and nature you scarcely know. Come into the forest. I shall share with you all the wonders of the world, all your cares and fears shall go

away, of no more concern to you." (suspenseful music) Pip stood up and without hesitation followed forward into it. And as Pip walked forward, it took them time to see and feel what was going on during such a dark night where there was no moonlight to see by. There was nothing here. The air and the trees had no discernible difference. No discernible space, but discern Pip could. And as they traveled forward, Pip realized something. They were not alone. Was it the spirit of the woods that was tal

king to them? Was it the creature, the witch or Faye Monster or Merlin? It took Pip a second longer. No, it was wolves. The pack surrounded them. How many there were was hard to say and to wolves, this number was of no consequence. They were wolves. They hunted the forest and that was enough. "Yo bro, what you doing here?", said a voice in the pack. "Enjoying the night", replied Pip. Now of course, one of them trying to be neutral, "Enjoying the night? That's dumb bro," said the wolf, "real beta

stuff. Enjoying smelling the flowers out on a lavender for bullshit except you're bullshit now." Pip didn't quite know how to respond. "We are the alpha and the omega", said the wolf, "the beginning and the end. I am the alpha of this pack and I am half tempted to rip you to shreds. Well that would be you're weak, bro." Said the alpha. "You're not fit to join us. But I am curious, man, curious if you can, if you can swing with us, watching you die out there running and catching your breath like

a woman. Now that is some hilarious shit." The alpha looked at the other wolf as they went to formation. "Come or get eaten yourself." Pip found their spot among them. "What's your name dog?", said the wolf. "Pip." "What's your real non-bullshit name?" "Arthur." "That's so hard?", said the wolf. "I got an nose for bullshit as I said. I can tell that pussy ass shit from a mile away. I'm guessing you're not from around here, escaped? Ah, well this is my wood. Yeah, I've got a pack full of followe

rs. Beta cooks nice and all. Some of them I've known forever so I can't get rid of 'em. And besides, it's nice to have someone to kiss your ass, but sometimes, bro, you want real friends, real members of the pack. And I'm curious if that's you." (wolves howling) The night was cold, but Pip didn't notice it because wolves aren't bothered much by that. The night was dark, but wolves aren't much bothered by that either. They wandered off and Pip wandered where they were going to, but they shouldn't

have had to because they knew. "Tonight", said the wolf. "Big game. Big game." That was on the menu because that's what wolves did. They hunted. It took time to hunt and it felt exhilarating, strange, powerful, and all other good things. Wolves live for this. And Pip found they could run. They could do it all while feeling the slobber in their teeth, they felt- "Good bro", said the wolf, "after that sitting around this is the real stuff, looking at flowers? Gimme big dick energy." Pip nodded. A

nd the wolf paused and started into half verse. "Now this is the law of the jungle as old and as true as the sky. And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As a creeper, that girdles the tree trunk, the law, run it forward and back for the strength of the pack is the wolf. And the strength of the wolf is the pack. Wash daily from nose, tip to tail. Tip, drink deeply but never too deep. And remember, the night is for hunting. And forget not the day is

for sleep. The jackal may follow the tiger, but cub, when the whiskers are grown, remember the wolf is a hunter. Go forth and get food of thyn own. When you fight with the war for the pack, you must fight em alone, in afar, lest others take part in the quarrel and the pack be diminished by war. You may kill for yourselves and your mates and your cubs as they need. And as you can. If you kill before midnight, be silent, awake not the woods with your bay, lest you frighten the deer from the crop

and your brothers go empty away. The lair of the wolf is his refuge and where he has made him his home, not even the head wolf may enter, not even the council may come. The lair of the wolf is his refuge. But where he has digged it, too plain. Cave rad is the ride of the father, to hunt by himself or his own. He's free of all calls to the pack. He's judged by the council alone because of his age and his conning, because of his grip and his pull. In all that the law, leave it open. The word of yo

ur head, wolf is law. Now these are the laws of the jungle and many and mighty are they. But the head of the wolf of the law and the hunch and the hump is obey." The wolf smiled as they traveled and Pip listened. But somewhere he smelled something. He turned, "Meat, good meat, a lot of it from the smell." And he turned forward to see what their prey was. (mumbling), said the elk. "Goodnight my friends, the snails. You go after your little hide holes and dream of flowers." Of course Pip turned to

the creature and as they did, so did the alpha. (indistinct), said the wolf. "I hear that's the Lord of the forest." "Oh no. I appear to whip myself," said the elk. "But no matter 'cause I'm in the forest." Of course, of course. "Perfect first catch. Now let me show 'em the real outflow of the woods. The real master." Pip heard a hooting noise, a laugh from behind him. "Well, child, you're getting it", said the owl. An owl eats squirrels. A J eats worms. He's not, just then the alpha wolf jumpe

d up with surprising dexterity and grasped the owl in its mall. And chewed. Within a second it had killed him and spit him out. "Annoying pussy", said the alpha wolf with blood on his mouth. "Shame is mostly feathers and bone though. Let's get some real meat." "I thought I heard something." Said the deer and paused. (dramatic music) "Be quiet a minute", said the wolf trying to find stealth. "Must be nothing." And Pip watched him, watched the woods, watched the limping body of the dead owl, watch

ed the gentle beast in front of him. (dramatic music continues) (wolf barks) And they yelped jumping forward. It was a pathetic noise really. And Pip could hear beyond the magic for what it really was. A pathetic and sad little cry of something pretending to be a wolf. The elk was startled. Pip watched as the creature ran away into the night brush. "You idiot", said the wolf. "You joed, you let it go, bro. That's good eaten and good cred, bro, to all the chicks. How else you gonna establish your

dominance look man, for coming out here that's weak as beta cock shit, you're never gonna mate, you're never gonna out to anything. That's why I am alpha of this pack, bro. That's why I-" (loud growling) (dramatic music) "I'm the Lord of the forest. I may let grass and sun and friends and joy. But I am strong. I am strong." "I was just playing. I am the Lord of the forest." "Bro. You're the Lord of the forest. Okay bro, well, you made your point. You're the Lord of the forest." (gentle music) T

he other wolves turned and left. The deer looked at Pip. And for a second they thought it recognized them. But perhaps the great tragedy of this story was that it did not. So Pip walked away with the other wolves as the deer watched them sternly. They heard the alpha wolf cry in pain, but also loss, a true cry when one of the other wolves came up to him. "Don't mind him. He's harmless.", said the wolf. "He makes up all that awful wolf stuff that's silly. We're wolves and wolves are good. We just

humor him as he is our cousin and wolves are good to other wolves. But that is the law of the jungle, I think." Pip nodded. "Also, don't go messing with deer", said the wolf wisely. "They do that freaking moose." Pip nodded. And after a quarter of mile walk, some instinct caused them to stop and watch the others go. They stayed there for a second and listened to the forest. Really listened to the birds, the wind, the grass, the insects, the leaves. (bright music) "I told you there was wonder",

said the forest, "if you came into the woods." The voice in the end wasn't a ghost or monster or man, the voice Pip realized was the forest itself talking over the wind. And Pip, now human, laid down and felt the forest surround them covering their senses. They smelled life itself in the trees, the fungus, the molds. But they were part of the story too. And as they did eventually, by and by, the dawns started to shine in filling the woods with half remembered, half dreamt light that felt magical

. "All your cares and worries will go away." Pip got up and made their way forward, smiling, considering it. A loud snap as a bear trap on the ground grabbed their leg going through their flesh in a sudden jolt of pain. They were frozen in shock as they felt its razor sharp blades go nearly to the bone. They yelled and they knew they needed to get free without tearing off their leg or bleeding out or worse how to. Was there some kind of trick? "Trick", said the owl. The owl was dead. Pip knew th

at, they turned to see something, anything, but there was nothing. "A trick", said the owl. "Know and see for that is truth." And Pip looked down and saw a button, a lever towards its edge, doubtless to free them for a hunter. Pip felt their body quake as they looked at the blood flowing and felt the shock entering. "Don't thresh about like an animal", said the barracuda. "Master your surroundings." Now that was impossible, but it stilled them. Pip reached towards it, but the angle was awkward a

nd difficult and Pip felt lost for a second. Lost in desperation. If they had gone a different way, this would be easy. But they had come into the trap backwards. "For what we are. We are good." Said the squirrel, "For what we are, the best." Pip paused. They reached forward, but their fingers couldn't reach. They cried in despair. They were locked in. "Your sword is in the stone, King Arthur", said the owl. "You are loved", said the ants, "even in the darkness you are loved." "Yo bro, you can d

o this", said the alpha dog, "you got this bro." For he was there too. Pip reached, reached forward, (murmuring), said the elk. And Pip realized they were saying their fingers crossed over the lever and suddenly its strength wasn't there. The trap wasn't locked. They'd opened it and they delicately pulled themselves out, Pip breathed and found a stick to use as a makeshift cane. When their aunt saw this, she would be terrified. When their uncle saw this, he'd be concerned. But that was part of l

ife, wasn't it? And they were loved. This would be dealt with and listened to and learned, for all this had in a way, in a foolish jaunt, in some ways, something else. The shock left Pip and they felt incredible pain. But what could be done other than heal? And so Pip left, leaving the forest behind, the city was out there. And somewhere out there was the world. And it was bigger than the ancient city, the ancient forest. But it also was the city and the forest for it was the world's entire. And

they had a life to lead in it. Beyond the mists behind them. Where they went, where they go. It is all a tale for some other time. But once they were in a forest and the forest was in them. (soft music) (gentle music) (soft vocalizing)