Berry Thief

It was midafternoon when Reslester came upon the berry patch. He had been walking since dawn, so he was tired and quite hungry. He was carrying provisions with him, but a wise traveller always takes advantage of food found along the way. It did seem a little strange to him to come upon this large clearing filled with berry bushes, since until now the forest had grown thick on either side of the road he was following. There was no fence around the patch, no buildings or structures of any kind here, so he assumed the berries must be growing wild.1

Reslester had only eaten a few berries when he was startled by a shout behind him.2

"Berry thief!"3

He had not heard anyone approach, but when he turned around, he saw a short, plump woman standing not more than three steps behind him, frowning at him with her fists on her hips. Reslester considered her a woman, since she was wearing a blouse and skirt like peasant women wore, but she obviously was not human. She had a long muzzle and pointed ears high on her head, like some kind of beast, and a tail that stuck behind her through an opening in her skirt.4

"Who said you could eat those berries?"5

"No one. I...uh...thought they were wild berries."6

"Sure, you think all these berry bushes decided to gather together here on their own to make it easier for you to eat them. I'll have you know it took a lot of work to clear the forest away for these berries."7

"Sorry, I didn't know they were yours. I didn't eat very many."8

"But you did eat some, so it'd only be right that you work to earn them." She picked up a basket that was sitting on the ground beside her. "Here, thief, fill this up for me and I'll consider your debt paid."9

The beast-woman smiled at Reslester, revealing a mouth filled with long, sharp teeth. He noticed she also had large claws on her hands and feet. It was not a very large basket, so he decided it would be better to fill it for her then to find out what would happen if he refused.10

"Very well, I'll pick the berries for you, but I'm not a thief."11

"Of course, you wouldn't admit it, but I know a berry thief when I see one. Now, that's enough talking. Start filling that basket."12

Reslester took the basket and began picking berries. The beast-woman walked to the edge of the berry patch, where she climbed up into a tree. She sat with her legs stretched out on a large branch and her back against the trunk, watching him from the cool shade of the tree, while Reslester worked out in the hot sun.13

After a while, Reslester was certain he must have picked enough berries to fill the basket, but when he checked, it was only half full. This seemed odd to him, but he continued putting berries into it. He picked for a long time, but when he looked at the basket, it was still just half full. It seemed the basket was getting bigger. As he looked at it closer, he realized the basket was getting bigger. It was woven in a way that allowed it to expand as more weight was placed in it.14

Reslester was about to complain to the beast-woman about this, but when he looked up into her tree, he saw she was asleep. We watched a while to be certain, but she definitely was sleeping.15

He set the basket down on the ground, but the beast-woman did not react to that.16

He walked slowly away, checking every few steps to see that she was still asleep. In a few moments, he reached the road and hurried down it, continuing his journey.17

"Where do you think you're going, thief?"18

He turned around to see the beast-woman right behind him.19

"I picked the berries you asked for, so I'm leaving."20

"The basket doesn't look full to me."21

"That's a trick basket. The more I put in, the bigger it gets."22

The beast-woman laughed. "You're right. It is does get bigger, but that's the basket you said you'd fill. Get back to work, or I might decide to have you for supper instead of the berries."23

Reslester went back to the basket and the beast-woman went back to her tree, but this time she sat with her legs dangling down.24

"Tell me, thief, did you come here just to steal berries?"25

"I already told you I didn't mean to steal anything. And don't call me thief. My name's Reslester."26

"So it is. Mine's Mergelle. Then you must be headed somewhere else, Reslester?"27

"Yes, I am."28

"Ah, and where would that be?"29

"I don't know."30

"You mean you're lost?"31

"No, I mean, I haven't decided where I'm going yet."32

Mergelle laughed. "That sounds very much like being lost to me."33

"Maybe it does, but I had to leave, so I set out to see where the road would take me."34

"Now, this is getting exciting. Are you in trouble? Maybe you stole something valuable?"35

Reslester shook his head. "Why do you keep thinking I'm a thief. No, it's nothing like that."36

The beast-woman rocked back and forth on her branch. "I know what it is. You got in a fight over a beautiful lady and now her jealous husband is chasing you for revenge."37

"I wasn't in any kind of fight and nobody's coming after me."38

"Alright, I give up. Why did you have to leave?"39

Reslester paused and thought a moment before he answered. "Because I knew what was going to happen."40

"You mean something bad was going to happen to you?"41

"No, not really bad at all. I'd keep working on my father's farm. I'd marry Verna Mae and we'd have children. One day the farm would be mine and I'd care for my parents as they now care for my grandparents, as my children would one day care for me. Some years the farm would do well, some years not, but we'd store up food from the good years to take us through the ones that weren't. Finally, I'd grow old and die and be buried in the churchyard." Reslester signed. "Not a bad life, just a very predictable one."42

"Indeed, it is. I can see how you'd prefer the adventurous life of a berry thief to that."43

"I guess adventure is what I'm looking for, but not as a berry thief."44

Mergelle jumped down from the branch and walked over to look at the basket.45

"Not quite full, but I suppose it'll have to do. We want to be out of here before Old Griswold gets back."46

Reslester picked up the basket, which was now very large, and followed the beast-woman.47

"Who's Old Griswold?"48

Mergelle stopped to sniff the air, then hurried on faster than before.49

"He's the fellow who made this berry patch."50

"I thought you did. You said you worked so hard to clear it."51

"I said it was a lot of work, but I never said I did it."52

"Then these berries don't belong to you?"53

"Nope. And you didn't believe me when I said you were a berry thief."54

"You tricked me into taking them. I'd say you're the thief."55

"Oh, I'm one, too. No use denying that. At least, not to you. But you're the one with the berry scent on you, so we've got to get you somewhere safe before Old Griswold catches wind of you."56

Mergelle stopped beside a very large, old tree with gnarly roots. Reslester did not see what she did, but suddenly there was an opening under the roots where he was sure there had not been one before.57

"You better give me the basket, Reslester. I don't want you spilling any berries when you crawl in here."58

He handed the basket to the beast-woman, who did not seem to have any trouble lifting it, although it was quite heavy.59

"You want me to go in that hole."60

"Yep, unless you want to stay out here and let Old Griswold eat you."61

"How do I know you aren't planning to eat me yourself once you get me in there."62

Mergelle chuckled. "You don't."63

"What?"64

"You don't know. I'm not going to eat you, but if I was, I'd still say I wasn't. So, do you believe me or not?"65

"Well, if you were lying, you wouldn't tell me you might be lying."66

"Unless, I figured you'd think that and tell you I might be lying just so you'd believe me."67

They heard a distant roar echo through the forest, a deep, hungry roar that was frightening even though it was still far away.68

Reslester's voice quivered a little. "No, you wouldn't. You wouldn't have thought I was that smart."69

"You're right about that. Do what you want, but if you're coming in, be quick about it."70

Mergelle disappeared into the hole with her basket. Reslester decided to follow her. He was not sure why, but for some reason he trusted the strange, little beast-woman. Besides, he knew there would be danger when he left the farm. An unpredictable life is never a safe one, and sometimes not a long one. So if he was destined to end up in somebody's belly, he would rather it was in hers than in Old Griswold's.71