"Mommy, tell me a story!" the little boy spoke. It was getting dark outside, but the shine from the fireplace in the main room provided enough light for the room to be lit enough.
"Which one?" The mother asked.
"A scary one!"
"Scary? You hate scary stories"
"Daddy said that's why you should tell me them, to be brave!"
The mother laughed, gently. She sat down by the bed and started to think.
"Well..." She started. " Deep in the forest, past the first meadow, past the first dune, there lives a witch! A witch so evil and terrible, no one dared to even enter the woods!"
"Why was she evil?" The boy asked, shivering.
"She..." The woman paused for a moment, haunted by memories past. "She kidnapped people, even little boys, like you. Little girls, big boys, big girls... She would take them! And then she would put them in a big cauldron..."
The little boy covered himself tighter with the blanket.
"And what then?" He asked.
"Then... She would put the cauldron on fire, and then... She would put those little boys, little girls, big boys, and big girls into the cauldron, and boil them, like for stew... The people were hurt, and burned by the boiling water, but the witch cackled and laughed; "You will make for fine ingredients", she'd say..."
"is... Is that why my big brother never returned?" the boy asked.
The mother froze.
"No... No, the witch didn't find him. He... He just got lost. Goodnight, baby. Sleep well."
The boy clutched his covers and decided to find his brother. If the witch hadn't caught him, he could still be there!
And so, when the family went to sleep, he snuck out of the cabin and wandered deep into the woods.
Determined to find his big brother. After all - his mother only told him a story. And stories... Stories can't hurt you.

Lore by Franek Grabarczyk