There was a girl called Joan. Her hair was dark blond and her eyes were as blue as the sky. She didn’t have friends and although she could speak with animals, she was scared to do so. The town she lived in was in the peaceful part of California. Her house was in the farthest part of the city. Behind it was a forest which was as alive as the animals that lived there. The neighbors were always kind, helpful and sympathetic people. On the streets that went between the houses was no traffic.
One day she went to the wood. The weak March sun was down in the clear blue sky when Joan stepped into the dark, mysterious forest. She wasn’t there for the first time, but the adventurous feeling was still there. When she felt lonelier than ever, or when she just wanted to think, she would go and be on her own. With every step she made, the trees were becoming bigger and taller. They surrounded her and covered the sun. The light had to fight with their branches to reach her. Joan was quiet and walked slowly. Her feet in red worn-out trainers were stepping on wet leaves and soil. There was a dense smell of pine in the air. Suddenly the girl saw something sparkling near a tree in front of her. It was a beautiful diamond necklace lying on the ground. Joan was tempted to have it and took it. She put it on her neck and felt very self-assured. On that day she didn’t see any animals on her way and went straight home.
The following day Joan went to school, and after that she didn’t go to the forest as she used to. She was bad-tempered and rude to her classmates. Her teachers were worried. In the evening Joan didn’t study for the first time in her life, and the next day she got an F. When she got home, her parents tried to talk to her and were very upset, but the girl refused to listen to them. She had never behaved like that before, and they were shocked. Joan was feeling sleepy and tired and didn’t have power to do anything. Her parents decided to give her a break from school.
One day, while Joan was relaxing in the backyard, she saw someone coming from the forest. It was a creepy old woman in black with black crow’s feather hair. She came straight to the girl.
“Hello there, pretty girl,” said the woman.
“Oh, hello,” hesitated Joan.
“You have a nice little necklace, don’t you? Where have you found it?” asked the stranger sweetly.
“Well, in the forest…But how do you know that I have found it?” the girl was surprised.
“Oh, I know many things, sweetheart. This magnificent jewel was mine and I cursed it. It is taking your youth and powers, you know?”giggled the woman, who was actually a witch. “But you can’t take it off, no!” she continued laughing as Joan was struggling with the tight necklace. “Don’t worry, you’ll be sacrificed for a good purpose. Thanks to you, I’ll be really powerful and live longer! I’ll be younger and beautiful! Nothing would stop me then!” she was talking with passion; her eyes were with evil flames in them. “Now, come here, girl, and I’ll take the necklace!” the witch demanded.
“No!” cried Joan and jumped on her feet. “Never!”
Although she was very frightened, she refused and ran to the forest. The girl was running, and running, and running…She often tripped, and soon started gasping. The witch was laughing and trying to hit her with magic.
Suddenly a huge grayish wolf appeared in front of the witch from the woods. She startled. It was growling and showing its white, big, sharp fangs. At first Joan thought that the wolf was her enemy too, but it told the girl to run and hide.
“Quickly, go!”
But she didn’t listen to her helper. Joan wanted to stay and fight. She was a brave young girl. There was no time to argue. The witch attacked. She managed to hurt Joan and the girl fell on the ground. The wolf beat off the hag, and from its big fur fell out a shiny sword. The dazzled girl took it, but it was too heavy for her; she had never before held a weapon. At least she had something to defend herself with. They started to fight with the woman, but she was much more powerful. They were going in a circle, and the wolf was jumping and trying to bite her, while the witch was trying to knock it down by magic. Joan was trying to master the sword and use it against the witch. The woman wasn’t scared; she was still smiling madly. The girl was weak because of the necklace she was wearing, but at last she managed to hurt the woman, who was distracted by the wolf. After a while the witch was bleeding; she was badly hurt, but so was the wolf, and its injuries were worse. It was feeling very tired.
At last, the other wild animals came to help them, because they didn’t want the vicious woman to win. There were deer, squirrels, birds, rabbits and a fox. They united their powers against the evil witch. The animals had a plan. They had decided that the squirrels would be first to attack by throwing nuts. Then the rabbits would help them using their carrots sharpened as real knives. The deer would fight with their horns, and the birds would use their beaks and distract the witch by flying around her while the fox was attacking. The plan was fulfilled, and when the wolf made the crucial attack, the witch fell on the ground. Then she was gone forever; with a loud BANG! she disappeared. It was a long intense battle, and at the end everyone was cheerful and celebrated the victory.
Suddenly the gray wolf turned into a human. He was a little older than Joan, tall and handsome. His hair wasn’t dark blond like Joan’s, but golden like the sun. His eyes were not in simple brown, but greenish. He found Joan, who had fallen on the ground and had hit her head hard. He destroyed the necklace and took her home. They sat in the backyard. Joan was staring at him and didn’t know what to say. He smiled and began telling his story.
“Hi. Don’t be afraid. My name is Mike. Many, many years ago I was cursed by the witch, and I turned into a wolf. I had been waiting so long for a chance to destroy her and be human again, and finally I had it, thanks to you.”
“But why was she so evil?” asked Joan.
He sighed. “I know a bit of her story. When Sarah, that was her name, was a child, her parents died and left her without any relatives. She grew up poor and unloved. That’s why she became evil. She hated people and wanted a revenge. Sarah wanted her lost childhood and beauty. It could have been different if someone had taken care of her…”
Suddenly Joan thought of something. She was still holding the sword. “Where did it come from?” she wondered.
The boy looked embarrassed. “I was kind of prince,” he confessed. “The sword was my family’s.”
Joan wasn’t so shocked. “I knew it! In the stories there is always a prince. But what are you going to do now? Where are you going to stay?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
“You can stay here if you want to,” suggested Joan.
“Yeah, that would be great, thanks,” Mike beamed at her.
Everything was back to normal. The next day the girl went to the backyard and saw all the forest animals waiting to greet her and make sure she was in good health. Joan found new friends and understood that they were one of the most important values in the world.
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