The Forest Princess

The Cabin in the Woods

By the end of the hunt, Princess Larimar had learned to take the lead of the hunting party. The master hunter encouraged her to go for one last round, and he didn't need to ask her twice.

The Crown Princess had been riding even before she could walk. She was the most confident and competent rider of the whole group. Moreover, she also had the best and fastest horse of them all. When she took the lead that last time, Onyx flew into the forest before the others even had time to get ready.

The master hunter followed the princess as best as he could, the others galloped behind. When they got to a fork on the track they had no idea which one the princess had taken. So they split into two smaller groups.

They blew their hunting horns to let the princess know where they were, but she didn't come back. The hunters searched for her until late into the night. It was as if the forest had swallowed her.

Larimar's horse had taken her deeper and deeper into the woods. For the first time in her life, she was free to do what she wanted, to follow the call of her heart. She felt no fear. The world in which she had grown knew no dangers. When the hunters blew their horns she was already too far away to hear them.

Late that night the princess got to a small cabin in the woods. A light was shining behind the windows, and as she came nearer she could hear voices from inside. It sounded like a crying baby.

Larimar knocked on the door, and a man opened. He was holding a small child in his arms. The baby was crying its heart out, and he was desperately trying to calm it down.

The man was a woodcutter. His wife had recently died and now he was on his own with the baby in this cabin in the middle of the woods.

"I don't know how to stop her," said the woodcutter.

The princess offered to hold the baby and gave him the reins of her horse. In Larimar's arms, the child stopped crying immediately. Then she told the woodcutter that she got lost in the forest and asked whether she could stay the night in his cabin.