Prompts: Strangely, consequences, greedy
Henrik the Red
Henrik the Red, the woodcutter wandered into the woods and began to cut down trees he took new and old, any and all trees for the money . He finished and loaded his
wagon with kindling and logs. As he finished a beautiful woman appeared before
him and asked, “Can you help me find them? My children are missing.”
He was about to tell her he’d seen no children when
she stared at his wagon and asked, “Woodcutter, did you replenish the woods of
which you took?”
Wanting to please such a beautiful creature he
nodded. She then smiled and offered him seeds and water. He promptly fell
asleep. When he awoke he tried to stretch his arms and felt the air move
through them strangely. He looked at his feet and found them strangely rooted.
Seeing the woman again he asked, “What have you done to me you witch?”
“My name is Kaileith and I’m a wood sprite. You
greedy evil human, you took my children.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You took the wood and did not replace them with
saplings.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s too late for that, now you must face the
consequences of your actions.”
Henrik felt his body quicken and become wooden. Henrik was trapped forever in the Red Douglas fir. He hoped and prayed that no woodcutter would tear him down. For two hundred years he stood tall and proud
until a windstorm brought him down. As he felt his life force bleed put of him
Kaileith appeared and said, “You’ve learned your lesson. Live again.”
Henrik was reborn into a baby boy. As Henrik grew up he guarded trees nearby watched them grow and read everything he could about them. When he became an adult he became an arborist protecting the trees he once harmed. when Henrik became a father his children too were taught to value trees.
©Sheilagh Lee February 27, 2018
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