The growling beast

In the far North, hidden deep in the mysterious forest lies the village of Nokken. The beautiful village has a deep secret. Every now and then there is a fearful atmosphere, which has everyone in their grip. That is because there is a hideous beast deep in the woods. The inhabitants call him Beast. His menacing presence leaves the residents trapped in the grip of his terrifying power. That fear has been around for years, and no one in the village can remember when and how it originated. Those feelings have taken their way over the years. As soon as his shadow and growl are observed, everyone flees into his house. That is also the reason that no one in the village knows what Beast looks like.

Rik and Lies have been friends for a long time and often talk about him. They do not understand why everyone can be so anxious about something you do not even know what they look like. They think there must be a lot more behind that terrifying appearance of Beast.

Together they decide to sneak out of the village on a chilly morning, just before the sun casts its first rays of sunshine over the snowy peaks. Determined, but with tension in their hearts, they follow the ancient path that leads them through the dense forest. They suspect that they know where the Beast is hiding and as they walk deeper into the forest, they notice a change in the sky.

It seems as if the trees are sadder and the wind whispers ghostly melodies.

Or are they just imagining it? Bravely, Rik and Lies walk on, determined to unravel Beast’s secret.

They are on the road for hours and finally, they reach a clearing surrounded by huge pine trees. In the middle of that clearing there is a cave and there they see Beast.

He is gigantic and his eyes glow like coals in the night. He looks at them tightly.

Rik and Lies continue to look at him in fascination. Neither of them dares to move and wonders if they did the right thing to look for that beast.

Eventually, Rik walks to Beast and in a trembling voice, he asks: ‘Why are you threatening our village? What do you want from us?’

Beast slowly opens his mouth and in fright, Rik takes a few steps back. The beast’s teeth are gigantic, and the smell that comes out of his mouth makes them stagger. Lies pinches her nose and carefully walks over to Beast. She understands that he can crush her with those giant teeth in one bite. As she gets closer to him, she sees that there is a red object stuck between one of his teeth. Beast growls violently but Lies knows she cannot go back.

Hesitantly, she climbs up his paw and speaks to him calmingly. She manages to get to the tip of the tooth where the red object protrudes.

Now Rik and Lies understand that the Beast did not want to harm the village all along, but he just sought help because he was in such pain.

Carefully, they look at the tooth and try to pull the object free. They pull but they cannot get him loose.

‘Maybe we should turn on it,’ Lies suggests.

“We can try,” Rik replies.

Together they spin it around and after a while, it comes loose. They show it to Beast. He is glad that the thing, which has tormented him for so long has been removed.

Rik and Lies look at the red object. ‘It’s a rock crystal,’ says Rik. ‘Look how beautiful it glistens in the sun.’

They carefully look at the beautiful object that caused Beast so much trouble.

Suddenly the glare falls on Beast and then a bright flash of light arises from the crystal.

Rik and Lies look at the beast with admiration. His menacing appearance has turned into a friendly expression. He looks at them gratefully and radiantly. Gratefully, he bows his head a few times. Rik and Lies grab his paw and escort him to the village.

In the village, the residents greet them. Rik and Lies tell them that Beast never wanted to harm them, but that he needed help.

“Ah, if only we had known, we would certainly have helped you,” the residents apologized.

“Fortunately, these brave children managed to find me, and I got rid of the pain,” Beast replies. “It’s already good now.”

The end

There you have it. Sometimes things are different than we think, and fear is a bad counsellor. Especially if we do not know what or on what it is based on.