I was wondering when something would crop up that would be a suitable use for this lovely painting. Sacha’s prompt just fitted the bill.
Once upon a time there was a forest, deep and dark, that no one ever entered, not even the king, because it was said to be haunted. One day, the royal hunt chased a deer into the forest. The prince cursed the hounds and had the kennel master thrashed, and turned his horse for home, for he didnβt dare venture beneath the threatening eaves.
In the dark green shadows, the deer slowed to a trot, then a walk, and then she stopped to drink from a stream. She listened to the fading sounds of the hunt, of the prince shouting his anger, the horses whinnying, whips cracking and hounds whining in pain. When she was satisfied the hunt would not follow her, the deer turned back into a girl.
The girl picked a handful of berries and remembered. She remembered her cradle in the castle where her brotherβs voice gave her baby nightmares and nobody cared about an unnecessary third princess. She remembered the breath of forest air that lifted her from the cradle, carried her to the forest and brought her up in the ways of the wild things until she was half wild herself.
The deer girl ate her red berries and listened to the murmuring of the trees. Soon, they said, the forest would roll like a slow, green ocean over the castle to drown the cruelty it harboured, and she would run with the trees. Soon, her brother the prince, their parents and all the court would learn the meaning of the stories of the haunted forest.
What a great imagination π
Thank you!
One more tale for my kids…who love this kind of interpretation…thanks Jane…great job
Thanks Sri π I’ll let you write an ending to the story that your kids would enjoy.
Thanks Jane
Deliciously spooky.
I like it when people get what’s coming to them π
I love the painting and the story, Jane – just lovely.
The painting is beautiful, isn’t it? I meant to write a story to go with it anyway, so this one will do.
It certainly will. Feels as though it might have legs, too – I can see a longer story hidden there among the trees π
I was trying to keep it short, but you’re right, a fairy story should have a more satisfying conclusion π
Oh, I thought it ended very well – I was more intrigued by the story of the unwanted third princess disappearing into the woods, then becoming a shape shifter π it’s quite haunting
That bit did get rather condensed π
π
Oh lovely! Very reminiscent of original Grimm tellings.
Thank you! The Grimm brothers did like to add a touch of cataclysm to their stories, didn’t they?
this is FANTFOOKINTASTIC I reckon there’s a whole story in here defo one to extend and explore. The photo is beautiful.
Glad you like it Sacha! It could turn into a longer story. I’ll have to find the time π