The Walking Talking Stick

One sunny summer day two friends were hiking along a path in the woods.  Beth and Sarah; they worked in the city and liked to get into the woods to escape the noise and fast pace of city life.  As they walked along the trail, they heard someone calling for help.  They were wearing backpacks, sun hats, hiking boots, and of course carried water bottles.

 Suddenly the two hikers stopped.

Stop a minute. I heard something,” the Beth said.

“Help, Help!” a voice called.

 The two hikers looked around but couldn’t see anyone. 

 “We don’t see you,” Sarah called.

 “Over here, by the path,” the voice called.

 The two hikers walked closer to the sound of the voice, but still couldn’t see anyone. 

 “I’m right beside your right foot,” the voice called.

 The Beth looked down to see an ornate looking carved walking stick.  She picked it up.

 “Oh thanks, the stick said, you don’t know how long I’ve been lying here waiting for someone to come along and pick me up.” 

The stick had a small set of eyes and a larger mouth, just before the handle.  It faced the direction of the walk away from the handle, but its eyes were set back and it could rotate them to see the walker. 

“If you don’t mind me saying it, what took you so long?   And did you know that your blouse and your shorts don’t go together?  Blue is really not your colour.”

The two hikers looked at the stick.

“But anyway, that’s for saving me, Are you heading back to the city?  If you are, I’d really appreciate a lift.  I’ve been out here for over two weeks lying on this path.  Can you believe it?  They dropped me and left me lying right there for two weeks. The nerve!” “

The two hikers were a little unsure of how to deal with a talking stick.

“We’d be happy to take you back to the city,” one of them said. 

The two hikers continued on taking turns holding the walking talking stick.  The stick didn’t stop talking the whole way.  It commented on everything and anything.  The two hikers walked without talking and finally got back to their car.  All the way back to town the stick talked non stop, offering its opinions about everything it saw along the way.  Not only did it comment on everything around, but it also commented on how the hiker drove the car, how fast she drove, where she was going, how she was getting there.

“I’m the one who’s driving, do you mind!” Beth exclaimed.

“Look out!” the stick yelled, “It’s a red light, stop, stop!”

 Beth stopped at the light; the two hikers looked at each other. 

“I’ll do it,” Sarah said. 

She rolled down her window, picked up the stick and tossed it out onto the street, just as the light turned green.  Beth sped away leaving the stick lying on the side of the road.