Fawntine, Yeti and the Three Mooses
Once upon a time there was a brave girl called Fawntine. She was on the way to see her friend Yeti, when she decided to take a short cut through Thor's Forest.
It wasn't long before Fawntine got lost. She looked around, but all she could see were trees. Nervously, she felt into her bag for her favorite toy, a bunny, but Pink was nowhere to be found! Fawntine began to panic. She felt sure she had packed the bunny. To make matters worse, she was starting to feel hungry.
Unexpectedly, she saw a moose dressed in a green pants disappearing into the trees.
"How odd!" thought Fawntine.
For the want of anything better to do, she decided to follow the peculiarly dressed moose. Perhaps it could tell him the way out of the forest.
Eventually, Fawntine reached a clearing. She found herself surrounded by houses made from different sorts of food. There was a house made from apples, a house made from chocolate, a house made from hamburgers and a house made from pizza.
Fawntine could feel her tummy rumbling. Looking at the houses did nothing to ease her hunger.
"Hello!" she called. "Is anybody there?"
Nobody replied.
Fawntine looked at the roof on the closest house and wondered if it would be rude to eat somebody else's chimney. Obviously it would be impolite to eat a whole house, but perhaps it would be considered acceptable to nibble the odd fixture or lick the odd fitting, in a time of need.
A cackle broke through the air, giving Fawntine a fright. A witch jumped into the space in front of the houses. She was carrying a cage. In that cage was Pink!
"Pink!" shouted Fawntine. She turned to the witch. "That's my toy!"
The witch just shrugged.
"Give Pink back!" cried Fawntine.
"Not on your nelly!" said the witch.
"At least let Pink out of that cage!"
Before she could reply, three loving moose rushed in from a footpath on the other side of the clearing. Fawntine recognized the one in the green pants that she had seen earlier. The witch seemed to recognize him too.
"Hello Big Moose," said the witch.
"Good morning." The moose noticed Pink. "Who is this?"
"That's Pink," explained the witch.
"Ooh! Pink would look lovely in my house. Give it to me!" demanded the moose.
The witch shook her head. "Pink is staying with me."
"Um... Excuse me..." Fawntine interrupted. "Pink lives with me! And not in a cage!"
Big Moose ignored her. "Is there nothing you'll trade?" he asked the witch.
The witch thought for a moment, then said, "I do like to be entertained. I'll release him to anybody who can eat a whole front door."
Big Moose looked at the house made from pizza and said, "No problem, I could eat an entire house made from pizza if I wanted to."
"That's nothing," said the next moose. "I could eat two houses."
"There's no need to show off," said the witch. Just eat one front door and I'll let you have Pink."
Fawntine watched, feeling very worried. She didn't want the witch to give Pink to Big Moose. She didn't think Pink would like living with a moose, away from her house and all her other toys.
The other two moose watched while Big Moose put on his bib and withdrew a knife and fork from his pocket.
"I'll eat this whole house," said Big Moose. "Just you watch!"
Big Moose pulled off a corner of the front door of the house made from chocolate. He gulped it down smiling, and went back for more.
And more.
And more.
Eventually, Big Moose started to get bigger - just a little bit bigger at first. But after a few more fork-fulls of chocolate, he grew to the size of a large snowball - and he was every bit as round.
"Erm... I don't feel too good," said Big Moose.
Suddenly, he started to roll. He'd grown so round that he could no longer balance!
"Help!" he cried, as he rolled off down a slope into the forest.
Big Moose never finished eating the front door made from chocolate and Pink remained trapped in the witch's cage.
Average Moose stepped up, and approached the house made from hamburgers.
"I'll eat this whole house," said Average Moose. "Just you watch!"
Average Moose pulled off a corner of the front door of the house made from hamburgers. She gulped it down smiling, and went back for more.
And more.
And more.
After a while, Average Moose started to look a little queasy. She grew greener...
...and greener.
A woodcutter walked into the clearing. "What's this bush doing here?" he asked.
"I'm not a bush, I'm a moose!" said Average Moose.
"It talks!" exclaimed the woodcutter. "Those talking bushes are the worst kind. I'd better take it away before somebody gets hurt."
"No! Wait!" cried Average Moose, as the woodcutter picked her up. But the woodcutter ignored her cries and carried the moose away under his arm.
Average Moose never finished eating the front door made from hamburgers and Pink remained trapped in the witch's cage.
Little Moose stepped up, and approached the house made from pizza.
"I'll eat this whole house," said Little Moose. "Just you watch!"
Little Moose pulled off a corner of the front door of the house made from pizza. He gulped it down smiling, and went back for more.
And more.
And more.
After five or six platefuls, Little Moose started to fidget uncomfortably on the spot.
He stopped eating pizza for a moment, then grabbed another forkful.
But before he could eat it, there came an almighty roar. A bottom burp louder than a rocket taking off, propelled Little Moose into the sky.
"Aggghhhhhh!" cried Little Moose. "I'm scared of heights..."
Little Moose was never seen again.
Little Moose never finished eating the front door made from pizza and pink bunny remained trapped in the witch's cage.
"That's it," said the witch. "I win. I get to keep Pink."
"Not so fast," said Fawntine. "There is still one front door to go. The front door of the house made from apples. And I haven't had a turn yet.
"I don't have to give you a turn!" laughed the witch. "My game. My rules."
The woodcutter's voice carried through the forest. "I think you should give her a chance. It's only fair."
"Fine," said the witch. "But you saw what happened to the moose. She won't last long."
"I'll be right back," said Fawntine.
"What?" said the witch. "Where's your sense of impatience? I thought you wanted Pink back."
Fawntine ignored the witch and gathered a hefty pile of sticks. She came back to the clearing and started a small camp fire. Carefully, she broke off a piece of the door of the house made from apples and toasted it over the fire. Once it had cooked and cooled just a little, she took a bite. She quickly devoured the whole piece.
Fawntine sat down on a nearby log.
"You fail!" cackled the witch. "You were supposed to eat the whole door."
"I haven't finished," explained Fawntine. "I am just waiting for my food to go down."
When Fawntine's food had digested, she broke off another piece of the door made from apples. Once more, she toasted her food over the fire and waited for it to cool just a little. She ate it at a leisurely pace then waited for it to digest.
Eventually, after several sittings, Fawntine was down to the final piece of the door made from apples. Carefully, she toasted it and allowed it to cool just a little. She finished her final course. Fawntine had eaten the entire front door of the house made from apples.
The witch stamped her foot angrily. "You must have tricked me!" she said. "I don't reward cheating!"
"I don't think so!" said a voice. It was the woodcutter. He walked back into the clearing, carrying his axe. "This little fawn won fair and square. Now hand over Pink or I will chop your broomstick in half."
The witch looked horrified. She grabbed her broomstick and placed it behind her. Then, huffing, she opened the door of the cage.
Fawntine hurried over and grabbed Pink, checking that her favorite toy was all right. Fortunately, Pink was unharmed.
Fawntine thanked the woodcutter, grabbed a quick souvenir, and hurried on to meet Yeti. It was starting to get dark.
When Fawntine got to Yeti's house, her friend threw her antlers around her.
"I was so worried!" cried Yeti. "You are very late."
As Fawntine described her day, she could tell that Yeti didn't believe her. So she grabbed a napkin from her pocket.
"What's that?" asked Yeti.
Fawntine unwrapped a doorknob made from chocolate. "Pudding!" she said.
Yeti almost fell on her butt.
