Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

The wooden cabin where Lake had lived was already a charred ruin after the fire.

All the furnishings and belongings were buried under dust and ashes.

In the center of the forest, ravaged as if by a storm and fire, the cold forest wind seemed even more piercing!

"Still no luck?"

Poro stepped on the charred ground. In the distance, the girl was trying to stuff the Heart of the Forest into a hole in a dead old tree.

That special old tree was dozens of meters tall.

From the old face on the trunk, Poro could roughly guess that this was probably the former Forest Witch.

The trunk, dozens of meters high, was scorched black, and the leaves had withered.

It was already showing signs of necrosis!

"Wh-…why?"

A layer of mist appeared in Lake's湛 blue eyes.

Her words were already tinged with sobs. Since arriving here, she had been trying to put the Heart of the Forest into the hole cut into the tree trunk.

But… there was no reaction.

No matter how much Lake watered it, called out to it… or even cut open ordinary living trees and put the Heart of the Forest inside… it didn't seem to work!

Lake pressed her head against the tree trunk, her body slowly sliding down as she knelt on the charred grass, holding the Heart of the Forest in her arms, her voice trembling:

"Grandma, please tell me… what… what should I do?"

But the Heart of the Forest did not change in the slightest. It just shone with a misty green light, as it always did.

"Lake, cheer up, like you did yesterday."

Poro walked to Lake's side, reached out a paw, and patted the girl's shoulder.

"Thank you, Poro… and thank you for comforting me…"

The girl said in a low voice.

But her trembling, pale lips revealed the turmoil in her heart.

"No, Lake, do you remember what you told me yesterday?"

Poro reached out a paw and moved the girl's gaze away from the charred earth in front of her, directing it towards the still lush forest in the distance.

"Everything about the Forest Witch relies on plants… as long as there is still a forest in the world, the Heart of the Forest will revive."

Poro said, wiping away the tears from the corner of the girl's eyes.

"Be careful, Lake, now, I am even more certain that your grandmother is still alive!"

Hearing Poro's words, a glimmer of hope suddenly flashed in Lake's sad eyes.

Poro's expression didn't seem like forced comfort.

"Why?"

"Take a closer look at your feet, Lake."

Poro smiled and used his paw to push aside a patch of gray-black dust in front of where Lake was kneeling.

After that, Lake saw more clearly that a tiny, tender green sprout was growing on the ground!

Observing more carefully, Lake discovered even more differences!

The closer she was, the better the sprouts grew!

"This is…"

"This is the influence of the Heart of the Forest. Under the light of the Heart of the Forest, the forest is reviving."

"So, my grandmother is indeed still alive! She is still using magic to make the forest grow!"

A trace of joy surged in Lake's eyes again.

"Yes, Lake."

Poro smiled.

"But why… why doesn't Grandma come back?"

Lake looked again at the dead towering tree on the side.

"Maybe her old body is already dead, and ordinary trees may not be enough to support the Forest Witch's magic."

Poro thought for a while and explained.

Although Poro hadn't learned any magic, with his two lifetimes of imagination, he could come up with many logical guesses.

"We might need to find some more special trees."

"Special trees?"

Lake's eyes revealed a hint of confusion. "What kind of trees?"

Like the Forest Witch, who could turn into a human and had a face…

Poro thought, countless fairy tales flashing through his mind.

"I know that there are trees in this world that can grow golden apples every day, and vines that can grow to the clouds overnight—those should be what we are looking for!"

Poro said with certainty.

The disappointment on the girl's face had begun to be replaced by contemplation. She thought for a moment, and finally smiled:

"You're right, Poro, Grandma told me those kinds of stories too!

I will definitely find them!"

Saying that, Lake carefully wrapped the Heart of the Forest in a silk scarf and put it in a jade-white pouch, hanging it around her neck.

Then, she glanced at the forest, a trace of reluctance suddenly appearing in her eyes:

"Poro, there probably aren't any trees like that in our forest anymore. Now that my home has been destroyed… I might need to leave here and go somewhere else to find such magical trees."

"Isn't that obvious?"

Poro nodded in response, "All miracles cannot be waited for by daydreaming; you must actively seek them—"

"But Poro, you are a wolf, you definitely… don't want to leave this forest, right…"

Seeing the reluctance in the girl's eyes, Poro realized why Lake was saying these things.

"You're talking about this…"

Poro grinned, "Of course I'll go with you!"

"Really?"

The girl's bright eyes lit up.

"Of course it's true. Think about it, a little girl like you who has lived in the forest for half her life, clumsy and doesn't know anything, going on an adventure alone—

Isn't that courting death?"

"Hey, Poro, I don't call you big dumb wolf anymore… but you're calling me clumsy…"

The girl pouted, then suddenly opened her arms, hugged Poro, and gently kissed the white fur on the wolf's forehead.

"Thank you, Poro."

……

"Little girl, you're leaving again?"

At the entrance of the town, the plump laundress waved her hand, "Is it too dangerous for you to go alone? Where are you going?"

"It's okay, Auntie, Poro is protecting me, I'll be fine!"

Lake was still wearing a bright red cloak, the hood covering her delicate face in shadow. She tightened the bag on her back and waved goodbye to the laundress.

After that, she and Poro, who was beside her, smiled at each other, and then stepped towards the road in the distance.

The dawn light rose at the end of the road, dazzling.

"Poro, where is our first destination?"

Lake held a map bought from the town, carefully understanding the various symbols and words on it.

"I don't know where those magical plants are, so the first destination will be the Kingdom of Sno."

Poro said as he walked, the map was not large and not very detailed.

He had already memorized most of its contents.

"The Kingdom of Sno? Is that where the witch hunter came from? He was hunting a princess there?"

"Yes, that's the place."

Poro thought of what the witch hunter had recorded in his hunting notes.

The Mirror Witch, and… Snow White.

Of course, there was also the reward "an answer" in the hunter's intelligence sheet.

That was what Poro was really interested in.

If the way to get that answer was the same as he thought…

Then helping Lake find the plants, or even more directly finding a way to revive the Forest Witch, would be very simple.

The all-knowing magic mirror.

Perhaps, there would also be a chance to know the truth of this world?

In any case, if you don't know the direction, going to the Kingdom of Sno is the best choice!

……

After Lake and Poro left, in the town.

Next to the pulpit in front of the church door, many townspeople gathered again.

This was the time for the weekly sermon.

"What? The Bishop is missing?"

"Oh my god! Is God abandoning us believers?"

People discussed intensely, and many people showed sad expressions in their eyes.

"Could it be that the Bishop thinks our town is too poor, and he looks down on us…"

The laundress said with some disappointment in the crowd.

After her husband disappeared, she had a lot of knots in her heart, and coupled with Lake's departure today, the honest woman had a bit of world-weariness.

But at the moment her voice fell, several townspeople next to her began to refute:

"Shut up! The Bishop is God's agent, how could he have such a psychology?!"

"That's right, the Bishop has done so much for us…"

But the townspeople who said this suddenly became a little unnatural.

Yes, what had the Bishop done?

Lies without realistic support will eventually vanish like bubbles.

Of course, the dissipation of the dark clouds will still take some time.