The people of the village had always known to stay away from the dark forest. Those who ventured in rarely returned. Nobody knew what was inside. The pure darkness of the wilted branches themselves kept the people away.
A man who had lost his job as the gatekeeper of the village, had quarreled with a man whom he had worked with, and the Village Director did not like it. He had been fired. In this village, when you lose your job, you lose your home.
There was no place in the village where the man can sit and go over his thoughts without people bothering him, and looking down upon him. His mind had been so focused on the misfortunes of his life, that as he trudged through the village with his head down, he had wandered straight into the dark forest without noticing. He leaned against a wilted tree trunk, and slept through his thoughts.
He woke to the sounds of a loud howl. He knew immediately knew where he had ventured. He stood up in panic. Black trees with grey leaves surrounded him. The trees seemed to turn towards him as he walked. He stopped. There in front of him stood a bright yellow frog with red spots all over it. The man was relieved to see something living in the forest. The frog pulled back its lips and showed its tiny black teeth. It smiled at him! The frog leaped away. The man thought that maybe he should follow it. The frog leaped away and the man began to chase after it. The frog jumped onto a path and began to lead the way back. The man followed the frog down the long windy path back into the village.
Dave sat relaxing in his house remembering his great day. He had been promoted to gatekeeper. He had quarreled with Bill and got him fired. Bill had annoyed him and Dave felt happy to be rid of him. He set his coffee down on the table with happiness. He decided to step outside for a relaxing smoke. He opened the door while lighting his cigarette, only to find Bill standing at his doorstep with a bright yellow frog with red spots, sitting on his hand. The frog pulled back its lips to reveal a shiny, black mouth.
Bill grinned as the frog spat a clear venom into Dave’s eyes. His eyes turned all white, and he fell to the floor with a thud. Dave’s body disappeared, and out of his clothes, came a bright yellow frog with red spots.
Great! Another friendly frog, Bill thought. “Take me to my former boss,” Bill ordered the frogs.
The frogs began to leap away, and Bill followed them with pure excitement. The frogs led Bill across places where he had never been before. He had never been aware of his the size of the village. The frogs lead him through hills, and neighborhoods, work buildings, creeks and stations. After a long hike, the frogs finally stopped in a graveyard. Bill walked around the graveyard.
“Why have you taken me here?” Bill asked. He began to get frustrated, and searched the graveyard for his boss.
After searching through the seemingly endless graveyard, he found the clothes of his boss laying flat over a gravestone. A small yellow frog with red spots crawled out of the shirt pocket. Bill picked up the clothes to reveal the grave. The grave read: May he rest in peace, William Jenkins, 1968 - 2012. Bill laughed at his boss’s misfortune. He turned to the grave to the right of William’s grave. This grave said: May he rest in peace, Bill Green, 1979 - 2012. Bill turned to the three frogs in suspicion.
At the exact same time, all three frogs pulled back their lips and revealed 3 shiny black mouths. All at once, they spat a clear venom into Bill’s eyes, and his clothes fell on top of his grave. He crawled out of his shirt pocket. He felt much smaller, and much more flexible. He joined in with the other frogs, and all 4 frogs leaped their way back into the Dark Forest.
Bill snuggled himself up under some leaves, and felt much happier in the life he lived. He waited for the next wandering villager to enter his territory, the Dark Forest.