Jonathan Willows

            by Theo Wilson

 

Jonathan Willows lived in a very ordinary house on the edge of a very ordinary town.

 He went to an ordinary school and ate lunch with very ordinary friends.  He had ordinary brown hair, and was the ordinary height for a boy his age.

 In fact the only thing that wasn’t ordinary about Jonathan Willows was that he also lived very close to a very old forest.  The forest had been there longer than any person could remember.  It was old even when the first people had come to build the town, and ever since then there had been stories about the forest.  There were stories about fairies, and talking animals, and living trees, and all other sorts of odd and bizarre occurrences.  Most people tried to stay out of the forest at all cost, but not Jonathan.  Jonathan was a very happy boy, but he also felt that his life was too ordinary.  The forest, if anything, was the opposite of ordinary. 

Jonathan would tell his mother about the forest, about how if you listen very carefully, you can almost hear the trees and the grasses whispering to each other; or about how if you look very closely, you can almost see fairies and gnomes and other forest creatures running and playing at the edge of his vision.  Every time Jonathan would tell his mother these things, she would just smile and laugh.  “Childish things,” she calls them.

One day Jonathan got fed up with everything his mother was telling him.  Although he himself had never seen a fairy or a goblin or even a talking animal, he believed the stories people told about the forest.  Quickly and quietly, he emptied all of his school supplies out of his blue backpack and hid it all under his bed.  Then he went down to the kitchen and made himself two peanut butter sandwiches and put them, along with a thermos of milk, into his backpack. 

Loaded with supplies for the journey, Jonathan set off alone into the forest.  He followed an old worn out path into a part of the forest he had never been into before.  The trees here were older and broader, and the dense canopy above let in only glimpses of sunlight.  It was getting darker and colder, but still Jonathan went on. 

The path that he was walking on was disappearing, becoming increasingly covered by vegetation and foliage.  Before long, Jonathan was walking over sticks and leaves without any path in sight, but still he went on.  At last he came to a small clearing where the trees grew sparse and the sky could be seen above the tops.  No sooner had he stepped into the clearing than he had heard a shrill voice shout out to him.

“You’re an odd one aren’t you…”  The creature said, hovering close to Jonathan’s face. “Too pale to be a goblin.”  He said, eyeing him up from head to toe.  “Too big to be a gnome.  A dwarf then?  A female dwarf I suppose.  Though your beard is a little thin…”

            “Me?  I’m not a goblin, I’m not a gnome, I’m not a dwarf, and I am most certainly not a she!”  replied Jonathan, still in shock.

            “No?”  The creature appeared taken aback.  “I was most certain…  So then, what manner of creature are you?”

            “Why I’m no creature at all!  I’m a boy?”

            “A boy?!”  the flying sprite suddenly lit up, and a puff of sparkling dust fell from his wings.  “Surely, you are mistaken.”

            “No, I am quite sure.”

            “I see.  Well this is certainly extraordinary!  I had heard stories, but I’ve never seen a real boy!  But tell me, what are you doing here?”

            “Well I’m looking for you, of course.”  The creature looked shocked.  “Well not you, in particular, but things—err people like you!”

            “Is that so?”

            “Yes,” replied Jonathan.  “You see, my life is so dreadfully ordinary.  I only wanted to come into the forest so that I could have an adventure and meet some extraordinary creatures.”

            “I see.  Well I could certainly introduce you to some very interesting characters, and you need a guide, I assure you.  These parts can be confusing and dangerous.  I could show you the way and provide protection.  For a price.”

            “A price?” asked Jonathan.  “All I have in my bag is a thermos and a couple of peanut butter sandwiches.”

            “Peanutbutter, did you say?” the creature’s eyes lit up.

            Jonathan, who had heard stories about tricky fairies, said “I’ll give you half of the sandwich now, and half when I get back.”

            The sprite seemed to consider the offer for a moment, but then extended his hand to Jonathan.  “The name’s Wilbur.”

            “Jonathan,” Jonathan said, and he shook the little hand.  He then took one half of a peanut butter sandwich and handed it to Wilbur.

            Wilbur took the sandwich and greedily swallowed it.  Satisfied, he signaled to Jonathan and headed off into the forest.

And so, with Wilbur in the lead Jonathan headed off deeper and deeper into the forest.  Soon, the two came upon a green goblin, sitting on top of a mound of gold.

“Who goes there?!” the goblin shouted, as soon as he heard Jonathan’s footsteps.

“Hush down, Kibo,” Wilbur said.  “This is Jonathan.  He’s a boy.”

Kibo leaned forward on his mound of gold, send a few coins sliding down the side.  “A boy?  My my, I never thought I’d see one!  How extraordinary!  Tell me, Jonathan, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I’d love to see some extraordinary things!” replied Jonathan.

“Oh, well I would love to go with you, but I must sit here on my gold.”

“Why is that?”

“Why do I sit on my gold?  Well, what good is gold if it can’t be sat on?  No, I must stay, but do have a wonderful time.”

Jonathan waved good bye to Kibo, and continued on his way, following shortly behind Wilbur.  “What an unusual character!”  Jonathan exclaimed.

“Unusual, perhaps, but hardly interesting.  All he does is sit on that pile of gold, day in, day out.”

The two kept walking, until they reached a place where the trees began to grow dark.  Finally, they came to another clearing.  In the middle of the clearing stood a single tree, barren and sinister.

“Watch out for this one,” warned Wilbur.  “He can be a real grouch.”

As soon as he said those words, two glowing yellow eyes appeared in the middle of the trunk .  “Who dares disturb me?!” the tree growled.  “Is that you Wilbur?!  You little devil you!  Why, I should snatch you up and tear you limb from limb!”

Jonathan appeared very concerned, but Wilbur appeared calm.  It soon dawned on Jonathan that, for all his talk, the evil tree had no legs to walk on, nor hands to snatch with.  So Jonathan and Wilbur stood there, watching the tree yell insults and gnash its teeth.  After a while, the two grew bored with the sight, and continued on their way.

“Well that was interesting, but he really wasn’t very nice.” Commented Jonathan.

“Every tree needs a good hug now and then,” replied Wilbur.  If a tree goes too long with out being loved, that’s what happens.”

So the two continued on their way.  The trees gave way to a field, with a lazy stream running down the middle of it.  Sitting by the stream was a large pink mound.  Upon closer inspection, the fuzzy mound turned out to be a bear. 

Jonathan, who had never met a bear before, was very excited to have finally met one, and a pink one at that!  “Hello there!”  Jonathan shouted as he came close.

The bear grunted and mumbled, but said nothing Jonathan could understand.  “I thought the animals could talk here!”  Jonathan complained.  But then he saw the half-empty jar of honey in the bear’s paws and had an idea.  He dug around for the thermos of milk and then opened it and handed it to the bear.

            The bear grabbed the thermos with one massive paw and emptied its contents into his mouth.  He swallowed the milk and handed the container back to Jonathan.  “Thank you,” the bear growled. 

“You’re welcome!”  replied Jonathan.  “And if you don’t mind answering my question, why are you pink?”

“Why am I pink?”  The bear looked puzzled.  “Why are you white?  What color should I be?”

“Well I thought all bears were brown!”

“And I thought all little boys were blue.  Looks like we’re both wrong.”

“Well that’s silly, little boys aren’t blue.”

“Never assume anything,” the bear said, and with that he dug his paw into the jar and pulled it out, sticky with honey.  Jonathan tried to get him to talk some more, but his mouth was already sticky with honey and only growls and mumbles came out of the bear’s mouth.

Jonathan and Wilbur continued on their way, deeper and deeper into the forest.  The forest gradually gave way to a swamp, and before he knew it Jonathan was ankle deep in swamp muck. Suddenly, Jonathan heard a growl behind him.  Wilbur shrieked and disappeared in a puff of fairy dust.  Jonathan turned around and was faced with a terrific troll.  The beast  was at lest four heads taller than Jonathan, and had arms like tree trunks.

“Are you going to eat me?!”  Jonathan said, terrified.

The troll barked a laugh.  “Don’t be absurd!”

“Then what was that growl I just heard?”

“That was my stomach.  I’ve been lost in this dreadful swamp for days, and there really isn’t much to eat besides swamp grass.”

Jonathan rummaged through his bag and pulled out one of the peanut butter sandwiches.  “I don’t know if trolls lie peanut butter, but you can have this sandwich if you like?”

The troll threw the sandwich up into the air and devoured it with one bite.  “Delicious!” he exclaimed.  “And I’m sorry to have scared you like that.  I don’t know where your guide went.”

Just then Wilbur popped out from behind a hanging vine.  “Jonathan!   I’ve been looking all over for you…” he said, nervously eyeing the troll. 

“Where did you go?!  You said you would protect me!”  Jonathan yelled.

“And here you are, perfectly safe and protected.”

“Some guide you are,” Jonathan mumbled.  “Well, Mr. Troll, it was wonderful to meet you.  And thanks for not eating me.”  And he shook the troll’s hand.

“So what now?”  Wilbur asked.

“Now I think I’m ready to go home.  I’ve had enough excitement for one afternoon.”

Jonathan handed the second half of the remaining peanut butter sandwich to Wilbur.  After the sprite ate it, he snapped his fingers, and in a puff of smoke Jonathan was back on the path leading into the forest.  Jonathan headed back home, happy for once to be an ordinary boy, living in an ordinary home, on the edge of an ordinary town.