The forest that began behind the village was large and relatively dark due to the dense treetops. It seemed a little creepy, but this was not the first time Clara had been here and she knew where to go and where not. She also had a dagger with her, should she be attacked, she already knew how to defend herself. Nevertheless, rumors have spread recently that the dragons had a secret hiding place here in the forest. Farmers have seen the queen disappear into the forest and come back after a long time with a strained mine while she was still trying to mediate between dragons and humans. Often there was also an eerie rumble to be heard from the forest that could not be assigned to a wolf or any other forest animal. Clara didn't know what to make of the rumor. But she knew that should she encounter a dragon, her dagger would not be able to help her. She tried to walk carefully and unnoticed through the forest. She went into a clearing where many mushrooms grew. When she started to pick the mushrooms, a dark voice said to her: "I wouldn't take them with me if I were you."
Clara looked around confused, but saw no one: "Who are you?"
She heard a throat clearing: "I live here in the forest and know my way around."
Hmm ... is he a ranger? An outlaw? Clara wondered. "Aha and why, do you think I shouldn't eat these mushrooms?" The voice asked.
"These mushrooms are poisonous for you humans. Unless ... you want to poison someone.", The voice explained.
Clara looked startled at the mushroom she was holding. Indeed. She almost poisoned your father. She made a startled sound and dropped the mushroom.
"Oh dear! That can only happen to me.", Clara said and hung her head.
"Well, well, there is no reason for you to hang your head. Go over to the oak tree there. There are some edible mushrooms for you.", The voice said gently. Her father had warned her not to trust a stranger. She put out her dagger and then carefully walked over to the oak. There, at the root of the tree, a few mushrooms grew. She picked one and looked at it carefully. Yes, it wasn't poisonous, the voice was right.
After packing some of the mushrooms, the voice said, "If you follow this path, you will find some bushes with berries."
"I thank you, how can I show my appreciation?" Said Clara and bowed. The owner of the voice obviously wanted to remain hidden, because he made no move to show himself.
"Well ... maybe you would be so kind as to bring me a large piece of meat on your next visit," said the voice.
Clara looked a little puzzled in the direction from which the voice came: "I can't promise anything, unfortunately we don't have much meat for ourselves at the moment. The king takes most of it from us for too little money. And some of it falls too." sacrifice the dragon. But ... I'll see what I can do. ", Clara said and bowed again:" Thank you and goodbye. "
Clara was very irritated by her encounter with this "voice" but she couldn't think about it much anymore, she had to hurry. When she left the forest it was already getting dark. She had to get home quickly and get her father to eat. She made a mushroom omelette, it was straightforward and she did a great job. Her father was quite irritated when his daughter actually served him something edible. There was a couple of blackberries for dessert. The food tasted surprisingly good, he would probably be able to go to bed today without a stomach ache, he thought with relief.
The next morning her father went back to work early while Clara cleaned the house. Despite her successful dinner yesterday, the kitchen was pure chaos, which she had to clean up first. Then she had to think about what to put in front of her father today. She could pluck a chicken and cook it. But what if you failed? She didn't want to ruin valuable meat. She sighed deeply and decided to go to the baker first. She wanted to serve some bread tonight. For an extra charge, she didn't even have to prepare the dough herself, as most people in the village did. But what about that? Then an idea occurred to her. She wanted to go into the woods and see if she could find a deer to cook. Or a rabbit. Yes, she knew that the farmers were forbidden to hunt, but they had to make a living from something. She grabbed a bow and arrow, which she hid under a coat on her back, and took the money for the baker with her. Then it occurred to her that the voice had asked her for a large piece of meat. If it killed a deer, the voice could have some of the prey. Clara left and ordered the bread from the baker, then hurried into the forest. As soon as she got deeper into the forest, she took out her bow and kept her eyes and ears open for potential prey. Finally she discovered a deer that was quietly eating the leaves on a bush. She obviously hadn't noticed it yet. Clara aimed and fired the arrow at the deer's chest. Surprisingly, she hit immediately and the deer fell on its side.
"Well, someday I have to do something the first time!", She said happily. It was quite a young deer, but despite everything, it was heavy enough for Clara to have to drag it through the forest on her back. She gasped and groaned with every step. That in turn called unwanted opponents on the scene. Clara heard a howl in the distance and she was aware that wolves were coming towards her. In no time she saw herself surrounded by a pack of wolves who probably wanted to steal their prey from her. Now she was faced with the question, should she leave the deer behind and run or face the wolves? Which was totally insane. Before she could decide, she heard a loud growl. The wolves listened, drew their tails and fled. Clara looked around, frightened. Whatever a pack of wolves chased away with only its growling would make short work of her too. She dropped the deer and decided to run away. When she was about to withdraw, the mysterious voice of the forest said: "I see you wanted to pay your debt."