Whenever it came time for Anatoly and his son, Alexander, to go to the city market--situated far north of the small village where they lived--Anatoly would warn, "My dear son, remember, never, never take the road that goes through the forest to go to the city market. Always take the road that goes around the outside of the forest. It is much farther, but it is much safer. Not one man who has ignored this advice has ever been seen, or heard from again. It is a HAUNTED FOREST!" However, every time Anatoly repeated the warning, it raised Alexander's curiosity only more.

One day Anatoly fell ill, and he asked his son to go to the city market alone. "My dear Alexander, you are seventeen years old, and you are quite capable of making this journey by yourself. Just remember what I have told you about the haunted forest."

Alexander headed for the city market. When he arrived where the road split, he stopped. "If no one has ever seen or talked to someone who has traveled through the forest, then how does anyone know that it is haunted?" Alexander had been puzzled by this warning long enough. He would now find out the answer for himself. "Taking the shorter route will get me to the market faster and I'll be able to return home sooner," was the excuse Alexander gave himself for making the decision to go against his father's warning.

Shortly upon entering the forest, Alexander spotted a young woman with long, shiny, reddish-colored hair. She was busy picking wild berries. Alexander hurried to hide himself behind a tree. There he carefully kept a close eye on her. The young woman did not seem to have noticed Alexander's presence. She went on with her berry picking, then she started to walk toward the berry bushes that were next to the tree where Alexander was hiding. Alexander could now see the young woman more clearly. He was instantly enchanted by her beauty.

"Aieee!" the young woman cried out and dropped her basket the instant she saw Alexander.

Just then a man with a deep voice shouted from far behind Alexander, "Shame on you for scaring Natasha like that!"

As soon as the young woman heard the man, she called out, "Igor!"

Alexander quickly turned to look at the man who the young woman, Natasha, called Igor. Igor was a very large and strong man. It appeared that he had been out hunting, for there were several dead rabbits swung over his wide shoulders. "Who are you?" Igor asked.

"My name is Alexander. I was just on my way to the city market when . . . oh, I'm terribly sorry," (he turned to look at Natasha) "to have frightened you like that."

Natasha smiled. "That is quite all right. Are you alone?" she questioned.

"Yes, I'm traveling by myself," Alexander replied.

"That is very brave of you," Natasha praised, looking directly into Alexander's eyes, smiling, as if to give him her approval.

The instant Alexander's eyes met those of Natasha's, they were drawn to hers completely. He froze in position and stared intensely into her beautiful brown eyes. Alexander was totally taken by Natasha's charm, her magical, unexplainable, irresistible charm. He fell deeply and hopelessly in love with her.

"What's the matter? Why are you staring at me?" Natasha wondered.

"Oh, I'm . . . I'm . . . sorry. I was . . . just thinking . . ." Alexander spoke nervously.

Before Alexander could finish, Igor cut in and suggested, "Come! Ahead is where my wife and I live; you must stop in for a rest and something to eat."

Alexander accepted the invitation, and he was soon greeted at the door by Igor's wife, Krasnaya, who also had the very same reddish-colored hair as Natasha.

Alexander was treated to a feast. "Come, Alexander, drink up! My wife makes the finest wine," offered Igor. At first Alexander did not think that it was a good idea for him to have wine as he still had a long journey ahead, then he decided that he would only sip a little . . . just to be polite. As he accepted the wine from Igor, he noticed a large, uniquely-carved ruby ring on Igor's right index finger.

"It would appear that our friend could not take much wine," commented Igor, chuckling, when he saw that Alexander had fallen fast asleep in his chair, after taking only a few sips of wine.

That night Alexander slept like a baby. When he woke up the next morning, he found that he could not remember anything about his past. The only thing he still seemed to remember was that he loved Natasha.

"My dear Alexander, you have just had an unfortunate accident, and you have developed amnesia. Other than that, you are still very healthy in every way, and our wedding will still take place tomorrow," comforted Natasha.

"I'm sorry, Alexander. My wife tells me that the accident had occurred while you and I were out hunting. But, I, too, cannot recall the incident. I must have suffered some damage from the incident as well, only not as severe as yours. Well, my friend, you'd best rest. You'll want to look your best at your own wedding," Igor, who was standing behind Natasha, added.

Even though Alexander could not quite recall who Igor was, he recognized the large, unique ruby ring. Since there was nothing he could do until his memory returned, Alexander had to accept everything as it appeared to be. He was glad to be alive, to have such nice friends, and to soon be married to the young woman he loved.

So, Alexander and Natasha got married, and they lived peacefully and happily in their own cozy, little cottage. That is . . . until one day, three months after their wedding. It was a snowy day, the day that Alexander and Igor had planned to go on a hunting trip. While Alexander was on his way to meet Igor, he came upon a red fox. The red fox ran in the opposite direction the moment it saw Alexander, but not before Alexander got a good look at it. The red fox had traces of blood around its mouth and over its body and feet. There in the red fox's mouth was none other than Igor's unique ring.

"You? STOP! You come back here! Where did you get that ring?" Alexander shouted, and he rushed to chase after the red fox. The red fox was too swift for him; it was soon out of sight, leaving only its foot prints behind on the soft snow.

Speedily Alexander followed the red fox's foot prints, and, to his surprise, they led directly to Igor's house. "Igor, Igor, open the door, quickly! Are you in there?" Alexander gasped, knocking, frightfully, on the door. Instead of Igor, his wife came to answer the door. "Is Igor home? Is he all right? Have you seen a . . .?"

Before Alexander had a chance to ask Krasnaya about the red fox, she said, "I'm afraid my husband is not in, but you are welcome to wait." She left the door open for Alexander to enter, walked hastily over to the kitchen cupboard, got out a bottle of wine, and urgently offered, "How about some wine while you wait? This will take the chill off you."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry to have barged in on you like this, Krasnaya, but I have just followed a red . . . oh, yes, please, wine would be nice. Thank you!" Alexander answered, and he sat himself down in a chair near the kitchen. Just then something lying on the kitchen floor caught his eye. It was Igor's large, uniquely-carved ruby ring, and it was covered with blood. Alexander was sure that the very same ring had been in the red fox's mouth just a short while ago. "How . . .?" Alexander was about to point out the ring to Krasnaya when she came over and handed him a glass of wine.

"Why, Alexander, you are shivering terribly. Come, drink it up; it will give you warmth," Krasnaya advised.

Alexander accepted the glass of wine from Krasnaya's hands. Just then he saw traces of blood and snow under Krasnaya's long finger nails. He quickly looked up at her, and, for the first time since he entered her house, noticed that Krasnaya's hair was a mess. She seemed to be short of breath; there was also blood on her lips. "How did you come to hurt your lips?" Alexander asked, puzzled.

This caught Krasnaya by surprise. She immediately looked at herself in the mirror. Then she hesitated for a moment, before responding, "Not again! My lips tend to chap and bleed easily in this dry, cold winter weather. If you'll excuse me, I'll go and wash it off." But before she left to do so, she added, "Please, Alexander, you look so pale and cold, almost freezing. DO DRINK the WINE."

The minute Krasnaya left the room, Alexander threw the wine away and ran straight-away for home. As soon as he got back to his wife, he told her what he suspected had happened. "I'm quite certain that Krasnaya is a witch of some kind. She must have changed herself into a red fox and eaten Igor alive. Then when she, the red fox--I mean Krasnaya--ran home, she changed herself back to a woman. She must have dropped the ring on the kitchen floor in the process of her transformation. I must find out what is going on, BEFORE she HARMS someone else." "My dear husband, I'm sure that there's a perfectly good explanation for . . ." Before Natasha had finished, Krasnaya came charging into the house.

"Why TROUBLE explaining?" Krasnaya shouted as she entered.

"Krasnaya!" Natasha and Alexander called out simultaneously.

"You know the rules, Natasha. KILL HIM NOW!" ordered Krasnaya.

"Kill me? Natasha, whatever does she mean?" Alexander cried out.

"No, Krasnaya! I will not; I cannot!" Natasha refused.

"I knew it; you have fallen in love with a human--a man--our enemy! If you won't, I will!" At that, Krasnaya changed herself into the very same red fox that Alexander had chased in the woods. Next . . . she came, fiercely, charging at Alexander.

The very instant Krasnaya--the red fox--came at Alexander, Natasha turned herself, also, into a red fox. Then Natasha--the second red fox--leaped, at once, into position to protect Alexander, her husband. Instead of Alexander's, it was Natasha's neck that was caught between Krasnaya's jaws and sharp teeth.

"Natasha, you fool! What has come over you? I have no quarrel with you; we FOX-DEVILS are related--sisters! Now, get out of the way!" Krasnaya scolded, after letting go of Natasha. Although Natasha knew that Krasnaya's threat was real, she firmly held her ground, insisting on protecting her husband.

"If that's how you wish it, then let it be!" screamed Krasnaya, and she challenged Natasha to a fight to the death.

"Be careful, Natasha! She is evil; she has already killed Igor!" Alexander warned, then he hurried to the kitchen to get a knife, hoping to return to help his wife. Meanwhile, the two red foxes viciously fought their way into and out of the bed room, sitting room, kitchen, then back to the living room, knocking everything down and over along the way. They ended up outside the house.

"They are fighting so closely and moving so fast. I just might kill my own wife by mistake." As much as Alexander wanted to help, he could not. He could only stand by and watch, helplessly.

Finally, the fight ended, and it ended with both foxes falling onto the ground. Their blood had splashed all over, covering the fresh, soft snow around and beneath them. One of the foxes ceased to breathe, completely; the other . . . was barely alive.

"Natasha!" Alexander rushed over to where the foxes were lying. He stopped, looked at the red fox that was still alive, wondering if she was his wife.

Just then Natasha, the red fox that was still breathing, said, weakly, "Alexander, my dear husband, quickly, do as I say. Bury Krasnaya's and my body deep in the snow. Kill a couple of chickens and leave them out here to account for the blood. Then . . ."

Alexander did not wait for Natasha to finish. He picked her up and raced back into the house where he promptly dressed her wound to stop the bleeding.

"Alexander, you must listen to me. I'm not likely to live through the night. Oh . . . if only I had the strength to transform myself back into a woman, then you'd see how badly I am hurt."

"Do not talk, my dear wife. Save your strength; rest now," Alexander insisted.

"Alexander, it is very important that you go and get the bottle of wine that I have hidden behind the dresser right away. Drinking it will help you remember your past. You also will know the way out of the forest." Then, Natasha, seeing that Alexander still would not take her advice seriously, went on to explain everything to him.

As it turned out, Natasha's ancestors were, once, nothing more than ordinary red foxes. Then, when the hunters came to realize how people, especially the rich, were willing to pay high prices for items that were made with red foxes' skins, they began to trap and hunt red foxes by the thousands. Before long, the female red foxes were told to remain behind as the males went out hunting for food, while they, themselves, were being hunted by hunters, humans--men, to be exact. As thousands of male red foxes were killed, nearly to extinction, the female red foxes decided to have their revenge. They went to see the evil forest witch.

The mere mention of the word "revenge" delighted the witch; she gladly agreed to help. The witch made up a magic potion. One drop of it was enough to give a female red fox the ability to transform herself into a beautiful woman, a woman with irresistible, powerful beauty . . . enough to charm any man. These female red foxes were called FOX DEVILS. The FOX DEVILS lived for one purpose--to avenge their ancestor's lives. After a man fell DEEPLY in LOVE with a FOX DEVIL, she would kill him and offer his heart to the witch. This was how the witch wanted the FOX DEVILS to show their "heartfelt thanks" to her. Usually a FOX DEVIL would not kill a man until he had given her a child. Unless . . . he represented a treat to the FOX DEVILS, as in the case of Alexander discovering Krasnaya's secret. If the child was a boy, then the man and the child would both be killed. If, however, it was a girl, then the man's life would be spared until he could no longer produce girls. Meanwhile, the baby girl would be brought up to follow in the FOX DEVILS' footsteps. "For now, my dear husband, you must understand that Krasnaya and I are not the only FOX DEVILS in this forest. The minute one of the others discovers Krasnaya's body, every FOX DEVIL will be after you. They will not stop until one of them has taken your heart to the witch," warned Natasha.

"I will not leave you; I cannot leave you! If I do, I'll never forgive myself," replied Alexander.

"You will . . . and soon. Your memory of this forest and what happened while you were here will cease to exist once you leave the forest. The witch has seen to it that the FOX DEVILS are well-protected. You will not feel any pain from having lost me."

"I cannot leave you here to suffer and die. I'll take you with me," insisted Alexander.

Natasha smiled, as tears made their way out of her eyes, and said, "Die, yes, but suffer? No, my dear husband. For me, I will die in peace. Instead of anger, hatred, and revenge, which has gone on far too long, I will take to my grave the memory of having been loved by you . . . and having learned to love and accept my love for you."

"You will not die here; I won't let you! I know just how you and I can get out of here safely, but I'll need your help. So, you must get well," Alexander comforted his wife, then he covered her with a warm blanket, before he dashed outdoors to bury the dead fox, Krasnaya.

As soon as he got done with burying the dead fox and killing a chicken there, he returned to check on his wife. When he found her asleep, he went to get the bottle of wine she had mentioned earlier. Shortly after drinking it, he fell asleep. When he woke up, the memory of his past, indeed, returned just as Natasha had claimed. "I was on my way to the city market when--oh, my poor father! How he must be worrying."

Alexander nurtured Natasha, day and night, for nearly three weeks. Then as soon as she was well enough to transform herself into a woman again, he invited everyone--the FOX DEVILS and their men--to a big party. He told everyone that his wife was carrying twins--baby girls. This good news excited everyone, so, naturally, everyone, including the evil witch, showed up for the celebration.

The guests were entertained with beautiful music and a sumptuous feast. They ate, sang, danced, and laughed. No one dared to ask the whereabouts of Igor and Krasnaya, being concerned that such a question might spoil the happy occasion.

"Alexander, now you must satisfy my curiosity. What are these large kegs sitting high on the platforms?" the witch asked, for she had been puzzled by them the minute she had arrived at the party.

"Yes, Alexander, what's in them?" "Let's hear the secret!" "We want to know!" The rest of the guests shouted.

"These kegs contain very strong homemade wine. I have made them for one purpose--to have a wine drinking contest between the men and the women," replied Alexander.

"A contest?" "What a clever idea." "Oh, I see, that's why they are marked 'men' and 'women'."

"We men can out drink the women any day!"

"Really? We'll see about that!"

The guests began debating among themselves, then they demanded that the contest begin immediately.

"I will allow each group fifteen minutes to consume as much wine as each member possibly can. Then when the contest is over, I will measure what's left in the kegs to determine the difference in the amount each group drank," Alexander instructed.

"Ladies first!" the men suggested, shouting.

"Sure!" "Why not?" "Come on, Alexander, turn the spigots on!" The women called out as they crowded themselves around the five large kegs, filled with wine, labeled "women". Not one of them wanted to be caught doing less than her best, so every woman drank and drank . . . and drank until the allowed time was up. Meanwhile, the men watched, cheered, teased, and laughed.

"All right, ladies, please go and take your seats. It's the men's turn now," Alexander indicated.

As the women were taking their seats, the men crowded themselves around the five, large kegs of wine marked "men". Not one of them wanted to be caught doing less than his best, so every man drank and drank . . . and drank until the allowed time was up. At the same time, the women watched, cheered, teased, and laughed.

When the contest was over, everybody began to feel the effect of the strong wine. Soon the guests, one by one, started to fall fast asleep.

Upon awakening, the next morning, the women--every one of them--found that they had lost the memory of their past. They had no choice but to accept whatever explanations Alexander and Natasha offered.

Upon awakening, the men--every one of them--found that they could now recall their past, the lives that they had lived before they entered the forest. "I'd better hurry home, for I have a wife and many children waiting for me there," many of the men quickly told themselves. Others who had no wives outside the forest continued to accept the women (the FOX DEVILS) they had married in the forest as their wives. So . . . as each couple sorted out their lives, the men and the women went on their separate ways in all directions . . . and OUT of the FOX DEVILS' forest.

The witch had also developed amnesia; she could not remember who she used to be. The only thing she still seemed to recall was that she had always lived in the forest, so she decided to remain in the forest. Natasha followed Alexander, her husband, back to his little village.

Instantly upon seeing his son and daughter-in-law, Anatoly rejoiced in tears and invited the village people over for a celebration. When the village people arrived, they made their own comments about Alexander's wife, Natasha.

"What shiny, reddish-colored hair; it almost looks like a fox."

"No, I'll say she is much, much prettier than a fox!"

From that day on . . . words like "fox" and "foxy", and even "fox devil" and "foxy lady", came to be used or associated with women who had irresistible, unexplainable, almost magical charm.

Thereafter, Alexander, Natasha, and their many children lived happily and peacefully in their own cozy cottage in the little village for the rest of their lives. However, since those who had traveled in and out of the forest were unable to remember ever having been to the forest, no one could claim that he or she had ever seen, or talked to, someone who had traveled safely through the forest. As a result, the MYTH of the HAUNTED FOREST lived on, and it continued to haunt the village people, including Alexander and Natasha's children and their off spring.

"Beware . . . do not take the short cut; it is not wise," the adults went on to caution the children.

© Copyright 1996 wildGear Web Development

last updated: 8.14.96