a wiley tale

So once there was a little wood and in the wood was a little house and in the house lived a little family.  They were a special family, blessed and cursed, to guard the gold of the great wizard.  While they did their duty, they would be young and healthy and want for nothing.  But, if they forsook this task or failed in it, their lives and all they knew would be lost.

It all began when the two children were in the deep woods, gathering leaves for supper tea.  They came across an old man sleeping under a tree with his sack beside him, unguarded.  They were only children and they couldn't help themselves, they had to look inside.  This they did, and it was gold, gold, gold beyond their wildest dreams.  Especially because children in the woods dream of soft beds more than gold.  They were enchanted and raced home with the sack, forgetting all about the old man.  They told their parents that they found the gold in the woods, not really a lie, and the sack was stuffed into the rafters while the parents figured out what to do with such a windfall.

The first night one raven landed on the roof and started to call, "Gold, gold!"  The second night, two ravens came to call.  The third night there came three.  After several weeks, the roof was covered in ravens, all calling for gold.  The family was beside itself.

"Who can rid us of these blasted birds?" shouted the father.

"They are clear about what they want, family," came the dark voice from the trees.  And then the bright little eyes were there, and the icy teeth.  And then the bladed paws came out.  "You have a thing that is not yours," said the wolf calmly, "And the birds always know."  The ravens looked down, tense and angry.  They were no longer calling.

"It was a mistake," began the father.

"I mind that not," cut in the wolf, "I will help you out of generosity.  That is something I am known for.  Ask the birds."  He grinned at them and feathers ruffled.  "The gold you have was held by a wizard.  It is now full of his power and you cannot control it.  The birds know all this and have brought me to help you."  He nodded.  Ravens hopped.  "Now, I will give you power over the gold, and the wizard will take no vengeance upon you."  Wink and smile.  The family looked at each other in confusion and doubt.  Darkness returned as the wolf rumbled, "He is a powerful wizard, jealous of his possessions, he punishes thieves ferociously.  Let me offer you protection!"

The ravens started screaming all together with no words.  The family clapped their hands over their ears in terror.  "Yes, yes, help us!" shouted the father, and the ravens stopped immediately.  Then they flew off in all directions.

The wolf sat before them and smiled.  "You are safe from the wizard now, my dears, as long as you keep this gold.  Stay with it and you will want for nothing.  I will see to that.  Think of me as your uncle."  And he smiled and stood and smiled and turned and smiled and walked away.

And the family was calm at first, when no bad things happened for many days.  But after many days and many years, they realized that they were stuck.  The children grew no older, and neither did their parents.  Finally, the mother had enough and she took the gold to the river, thinking that the wizard must be dead by now, and if he wasn't, who would hold a grudge for so long?  But she found no place to hide the sack, so she returned home.  Instead of her family, she found three ravens waiting.  She looked at them and they looked at her.  She put the sack of gold back where it was, intending to deal with the intruders directly after, but when she turned around the ravens were gone and her family was standing there.  They all were filled with sadness, remembering the other ravens.

And that is the story of the gold of the wizard, the cursed gold, the gold that gives its holder all the time, until there can be no more.