In the Forest

One

Once Upon a Time there lived in the forest a Bingert. 
He was big and strong and he was green like the leaves of the forest. He had big eyes that could see in the dark and a big nose, and although he looked quite fierce with his big bushy eyebrows, he was in fact very friendly.  He ate nuts and acorns and fruit and the roots of some delicious plants, and he slept a lot during the day. He was always looking for someone to play with, but very few people came into the forest because they had heard about a big green monster that was said to eat people. So they were afraid to venture in too far. 

One day, the lonely Bingert was wandering along when he heard laughter coming from a clearing up ahead. He did not want to frighten them, so he crept up and looked through the leaves. There were two strange creatures who were playing soccer and having a wonderful time. One was tall and red like a beetroot and he ran around quickly after the ball, which was really a cabbage. The other was blue and had a very bushy tail and scampered about like a squirrel.

They were having so much fun when Mr Red kicked the ball right to where the Bingert was hiding. He sheepishly picked it up and walked out to the clearing with it.  Mr Red and Mr Blue became really scared and were about to run away, but the Bingert shouted “Please stay. I would really like to play too.  I don’t have any friends and I would like to be your friend – if you will have me. Please.” 

Mr Red and Mr Blue looked at each other and decided that they would stay and play some more. They introduced themselves, which was the polite thing to do. “I am a Rami” said Mr Red; “And I am a Mauish” said Mr Blue. “Pleased to meet you both.  I am a Bingert.”  
“We were told to be afraid of you, but you seem very nice” they both said.  So they played all together that afternoon and had a really great time.  When it was time to go, the Rami and the Mauish promised that they would come back again, and they did.  The three of them went on to have many wonderful adventures together.



Two

A week later and the two friends came back into the forest to see their friend Bingert. They arrived at the same clearing and called out. Soon he came and he said to them “Would you like to see my home and then we could have some tea?” They were pleased to go with Bingert.  They arrived at this beautiful big wooden house with a sign outside that read   
WELCOME
BINGERT’S COTTAGE

It was a very simple design and the furniture was sturdy, because Bingert was a very large chap and would have broken an ordinary chair.  The chairs were a bit too roomy for Rami and Mauish – the latter even had to jump up onto his chair because he only had small legs but a long body. Afterwards, Bingert took them around his garden and it was absolutely marvellous. 

Bingert loved to grow orchids (which always grow very well in the forest) and they saw ones that took the most amazing shapes and colours. 

There was one that looked like an exquisite ballerina en pointe.  There were those that looked like brilliant golden spiders and others that looked like flying ducks. Then there were blooms with monkey faces staring at them and others that appeared to be alien creatures, and even one that looked like Darth Vader. Rami and Mauish were fascinated – it was the best garden they had ever seen. They helped Bingert to water them using sprinklings of water.

 Afterwards, they walked through the forest and Bingert pointed out more orchids growing in the trees, as well as giant stags whose ‘antlers’ hung down from the canopy and looked so graceful and elks with their many fronds poking out right around the trunk of the tree.  There were also vines which climbed up the trees with their beautiful heart-shaped leaves and some with white, pink and purple flowers that decorated the trunk. 

No wonder that Bingert loved to live here because it was so very peaceful, though it wasn’t quiet, because there were squirrels dashing about and stirring up the dry fallen leaves looking for nuts. The birds flying through the trees gave wonderful flashes of green and blue, red and crimson, yellow and orange, and they called to each other and just seemed happy to be alive. Rami and Mauish sensed that there was so much more life in the forest than even these creatures they had seen, and the humming of cicadas seemed to be everywhere. “I think you are very fortunate, living here” said Mauish. “Why don’t you both come and live here in the forest too” said Bingert. They both thought that seemed like a good idea.

 

Three

Rami and Mauish decided that they WOULD go to live in the forest near Bingert.  They would build their own place because Bingert’s home was just too big for them and the furniture would not suit them at all. So they found some space nearby and Bingert helped them to build a nice little cottage where they would be comfortable.  They visited each other quite a bit and slowly came to know some of the other creatures that made their home in the forest. The squirrels were shy at first, and would scamper away whenever they were approached, but they were inquisitive too, and often came to the windowsill to look in. Rami started putting out some food for them and they became more friendly and they learnt how to communicate with each other. 

Then the birds came around, because Bingert had shown them how to erect a bird bath and a bird feeder and many started to come down and hover about, picking at the grains in the bird feeder. Soon their place was a riot of colour and noise every morning, but Mauish liked to sleep in and the racket disturbed him. He complained to Rami, but Rami just got him some earplugs.

One day, they went for a walk together down to the small stream that wended its way through the forest. It was very cool and they sat down to enjoy the scene. They noticed the fish swimming about in the stream looking for any food brought down by the flow of water and there was a big wading bird that was getting its own breakfast from among the fish. The boys guessed that was just the way of nature. Then the most stunningly attractive frogs hopped into view, even under the beak of the wading bird but he seemed to take no notice of them. 

Mauish was fascinated and went over to have a better look at the brightly coloured frogs. He was about to pick one up for a better look when he heard Bingert’s sharp voice “Don’t touch that!”  Mauish was surprised and offended that Bingert would talk to him that way, until it was explained that all such frogs were highly poisonous, and even touching one would cause Mauish to have an awfully painful death. Then Mauish was very glad of Bingert’s warning. 

The three of them walked along together and Bingert pointed out some valuable food sources on the ground and in various bushes that most people would not know about, but which were really delicious when you prepared them properly. Later, Bingert showed them just exactly how that was done.   

As they went along, there were large Ulysses butterflies high up in the canopies of the tall trees, but when they saw Bingert, they flew down and one landed on each of his ears, and they opened and closed their wings as he walked along and it presented the funniest sight and had Rami and Mauish laughing themselves silly.  Bingert just smiled.  He was a welcoming sight to all that lived in the forest – all except one.


First published 2020
© 2020 by Harry Louis Gauvin 1944 -
The moral right of Harry Louis Gauvin to be identified as the sole author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Australian Copyright Act 1968
ISBN 978-0-6487900-4-4

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Harry in his own Forest Walk, the inspiration for the setting for his playful stories about the Ace, Wonderful, Fantastic and Extraordinary CREATURES that live
In the Forest