When the world was young, there lived twins named Robert and Olivia. Robert, with blonde hair and blue eyes, was a tall and slim boy with a calm demeanour; his sister, Olivia, with brown hair and hazel grey eyes, was an anxious soul. They lived in a town with their father, a woodcutter by profession. With his profession, he also looked after his lovely children because their mother passed away in their childhood. One day, their father decided to spend quality time with his children. So, he arranged a family picnic for hiking in Interlaken. Interlaken was surrounded by the Alps and Lakes, and it had an easy hiking trail to Schilthorn Mountain.
“Whoa! We are going out camping,” said Olivia zealously after listening to her father’s plan. It was a cold winter night, snowing outside. They packed their stuff for the picnic, and the next morning, they left for camping in the Interlaken. During travelling, they captured rolling hills, sparkling lakes, lush forests, and cloudy horizons in their camera.
At night, they decided to stay in a forest for camping, and they started to pitch their tent on the safe side. While Robert was busy setting up a tent, his father went out to collect wood for the fire. After completing their tasks, the siblings sat outside the tent, waiting eagerly for their father and hoping that he would come back soon, but he did not. When the night got darker, the horrible sounds of hooting owls, chirping crickets, and howling of wolves were echoing in their ears. Hearing horrible sounds, Olivia, with widened eyes, raised eyebrows, and paled skin, started to shed tears. Her brother, however, had high hopes and began consoling her by saying,
“Please, calm down, Olivia; we will go out and look for Dad.”
With an empty stomach, the kids were wandering in the forest, looking for their father from dusk till dawn. As light filtered through leafy canopies, a new ray of hope sparked in their minds. While roaming here and there, they found a hut at some distance. A rustic wooden hut with rough-hewn wood and a cosy thatched roof is located on the western side of the forest. They hurriedly ran towards it and banged on the door vigorously. Immediately, a woman’s voice rose inside the hut,
The woman asked,” Who is at the door?”
Robert replied hastily, “Please, we needed help.
Suddenly, the door was unlocked, and a wrinkled face, with a kind and sweet smile, of an old lady appeared. The innocent kids shared their problems. She felt sorry for the kids and let them into her wooden hut. She showed them motherly affection and fed them delicious soup, consoling them that her son had gone out in the forest and that she would have him look for the kids’ father when he was back.
The kids felt at ease and relaxed and fell asleep on the living room sofa.
When they woke up in the evening, they saw their father standing in front of them in the room. “Father!” both yelped and hugged their father.
“Where were you?” said Olivia. “We looked for you the whole night”.
Looking at his kids, the father’s eyes filled with tears of joy and affection.
He replied politely, “A mishap happened with me last night, which is why I could not come back”, and he started to explain the whole story to his kids.
“There was a giant trench hollowed by a hunter to catch and trap the wild animals, and I accidentally fell into it. It was a bottomless trench, and its edges were shrouded in darkness. I gave it my all to come out of it, but I could not do it. As a result, I decided to spend the whole night there. In the early morning, the hunter came and helped me get out of that trench. I made my way back promptly and reached the campsite. I saw that there was nobody inside the camp, which frightened me, after which the hunter insisted that I come with him. Luckily, I came here, and finally, I found both of you.”
Olivia and Robert heard all this with eyes filled with tears and asked their father,
“Dad! Let us go home. There is no energy left for camping”, said Olivia.
“Alright!” said her father, with a little chuckle.
Thus, the family thanked the old lady and her son, the hunter, and left the hut; they reached their tent, picked up the luggage, and started their journey back home.
