A Life Before Shrek
Chapter Two: A Life Before Donkey
By Running Out of Ink
It was another sunny day in the swamp and Shrek loved it. He would run around and jump in mud puddles all day long and when he was bored he would walk down the road and visit the Witch. She had the coolest house! It was made of candy! She would always have cookies made for Shrek and his siblings to eat. They always enjoyed this treat since Shrek's mother was very poor. She had seven mouths to feed: Moby, Klaus, Chimeriquay, Measel, Breese, Milton and, of course, Shrek.
One day she sat Shrek down and had a short talk with him.
"Shrek," She began, "I believe it is time for you to seek your fortune. I don't have enough money to support everyone and since you are the oldest it is you who must leave first."
"Why?" Shrek asked, staring blankly at his mother.
"I already told you, you're the oldest," She said, handing him a sack of food and spare clothes. She bid him farewell, and Shrek walked out the door, determined to find his fortune.
He passed by all the spots which had been familiar to him as a young ogre. He walked by the Witch's house and smiled as he saw her chasing around a small Gingerbread Man. The Gingerbread Man stopped running for a moment and taunted her. "Run! Run! As fast as you can! You can't catch me! I'm the- OOF!"
The witch, who had taken advantage of the moment and snuck up on the Gingerbread Man, cackled. Shrek waved at them, and they both stopped to wave back.
"Where are you going Shrek?" The Witch called.
"I'm going to seek my fortune!" He exclaimed.
"Oh, good luck," she replied and the proceeded to punish the Gingerbread Man.
Shrek continued on his way. He walked for days, stopping occasionally to eat or sleep. Until one day he stumbled upon a swamp. It looked cozy enough. It was surrounded by grass and there was an onion patch to the side. And there was a particularly nice looking boulder nearby. He decided that this was as good a place to live as any and he set up house.
Shrek lived there for a few months before the Ogre-hunting parties started. At first they were terrifying, he didn't know what to do. These people didn't know him at all, yet they wanted to prod him with pitchforks and light him with torches. When the ogre-hunting parties started growing more frequent Shrek started making signs to ward people off. He was in the act of putting up a fresh batch of posters when a small talking donkey ran into him.