As Long As You're Here (A Hansel and Gretel Story)

The Hunt (2)

Carlyle awoke early that crisp spring morning. The sun was just peeking out over the horizon, and the daylight hit the small icicles hanging from the porch, making them shine beautifully. He walked out a few steps, and admired his home. He had built it himself. From the hand-carved porch, to the kitchen, family room, and three bedrooms, it was a house you would rarely find a poor family living in. But since they lived an hour’s walk from another living person, no one cared. Their family was like the dirt swept under the carpet. But it didn’t matter to Carlyle. As long as his family was happy, and safe, he was happy.

Carlyle walked over to the shed, and got out his hunting gear. His bow and arrows, his daggers, and the long, sharp knife he used to put the animals out of their misery once they were caught. He looked over the weapons, and decided to take them all. He strung the arrow shaft over his shoulder, stuck the knife into a specially made pouch, and picked two daggers to carry. He also grabbed a shoulder bag to gather berries and greens.

Hansel walked out of the house and over to Carlyle, who gave him a dagger and the bag. They walked together into the woods. It was a beautiful forest, un-touched by man. The trees grew taller than the eye could see, and moss covering the trunks and forest floor. Light slowly filtered in, and there was the occasional leave fluttering down. It was filled with the chirps, and tweets, and roars, and thumps of the birds, rabbits and even the occasional bear.

Carlyle walked into a small clearing, then turned and stopped his son.

‘Shhh, hear that? That’s the sounds of the forest. It’s alive, and all things that are alive can be dangerous. But if you respect it, it will respect you, and we will return home with enough food for the month.’

“Uh, father? What’s that noise?’ Hansel asked, looking a bit frightened.

‘That son, is a bear. And by the end of the day, it will be ours. Now, what do you want to try first, the bow and arrows, or the daggers?’ Carlyle asked, setting his gear on the forest floor.

‘Hmmm, I want the bow and arrows!’ Hansel said excitedly.

“Alright, calm down, your going to scare everything away! Now, you see that tree there?’ Carlyle said, pointing to a tree about five meters away. ‘I want you to hit that.’

‘But father! That’s too easy!’ Hansel whined.

‘Just give it a try!’

‘Alright,’ Hansel said, stringing the arrow. He took aim, and released the arrow, which landed two meters short of the tree.

‘See, its not that easy, is it?’ Carlyle teased.

‘Shut up, that was my first try!’ Hansel said, and ran over to get the arrow. But he slid over the moss, causing Carlyle to erupt with laughter.

‘HAHAHAHAHA, YOU, Y-YOU, FELL OVER THE F-FLOOR!!!’ he roared. ‘HEY, HEY SON, BEEN WALKING LONG? HAHAHAHA.’

Hansel was getting more and more angry, which made his aim get worse and worse, until he couldn’t even release the arrow. After twenty minutes of this, Carlyle took pity on his son, and showed him how to properly fire the arrows.

‘You need to calm down, and take your time. Yes, that’s it. Now, breathe in, and release.’

Hansel released, and hit the tree directly in the middle.

‘Atta boy! You’ll make a fine hunter!’ Carlyle praised. ‘Now try with daggers.’

Hansel took a dagger, used the same technique Carlyle showed him, and threw. Once again, he hit the tree dead in the middle.

‘Very good! No-‘ Carlyle stopped, and his head swung in the other direction.

‘What’s wro-‘

‘SHHH!!’ Carlyle whisper-yelled. He leaned down and picked up a dagger, took aim, and threw it into the forest.

‘What was the point of that?’ A confused Hansel asked.

‘Come and have a look.’

They walked in the direction of the dagger, and found a rabbit, dead, with a dagger in its stomach.

‘How did you do that?’ Hansel asked, amazed.

‘Years and years of practice. Also, I don’t talk as much as you.’

‘Yeah yeah.’

‘Now, seeing as you show so much promise, we will split up. I will get some berries, and greens, and you will get some meat. The rabbits are the easiest to catch. If you see a bird on the forest floor, use your bow and arrow, and keep very quiet. We will have a little competition. If you kill it, I shall give you a present. If I kill it, you shall be my personal slave for the week.’ Carlyle knew that Hansel hated being controlled by anyone, so he hoped this would egg him on.

‘Bring it on.’

Hansel took the bow and arrows, a dagger, and the knife. Carlyle took the bag and a dagger. It may seem unfair, that Hansel gets so many weapons, but Carlyle has taken down wolves with a single dagger, so he was fairly confident that if he did come across the bear, he would be able to kill it.

Hansel, on the other hand, had a skill Carlyle didn’t know about. He was extremely good at climbing trees, and jumping from that tree to another. He also knew that bears were carnivore, and would be attracted to the smell of blood, so he got the knife, and made a cut on the palm of his hand. He let the blood drip until a small puddle was formed, then he ripped his shirt, and wrapped the material around his hand as a bandage. He smeared the blood around, then climbed a nearby tree, and waited.

Carlyle went to his well-known patch in the forest. There were a few apple trees, which he immediately goes to, to harvest the apples before the birds can attack them.  A little unknown fact, but dandelions are actually edible, and are in plenty in spring. Carlyle picks a few hundred, and looks up at the sky. It would be about ten o’clock. He would leave Hansel alone until noon, and then check up on him.

Hansel was still in his tree, only this time with about twenty rabbits, and seven birds lying at the bottom of the tree, in the shade, of course. He had hoped that if he left them there, the smell would attract the bear. And he was right. After a few minutes, the bear sauntered over, checking out the scene. Its eyes immediately went to the pile of dead animals, and he slowly made his way over. Hansel took aim, and fired an arrow into its head, hoping not to ruin the coat, which could be made into a blanket for winter. It hit, and the bear fell to the ground. Hansel dropped from his tree, and crept over to the bear. It was still breathing, so he slit its throat with the knife. He looked down at his handiwork, quite proud with himself. What he didn’t expect, was another bear to creep up behind him.

Carlyle had cleared a blueberry bush, and was about to pick at the blackberry bushes when he heard a terrible scream. His head swung around to the sound, and he picked up his bag, grabbed out his dagger, and ran in the direction of the scream. It was the same place he left Hansel.

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Cliffhanger, Mwahahahah! ;)