"Be Careful of Those Woods"

Grandpa always said, "Be careful of those woods." We didn't know why. We were pretty much convinced that he was just trying to scare us. He may have also been a little crazy. Why should we have to be careful of those woods?

Well, I guess we should have listened. I can't imagine what we were thinking, but we decided to go against his advice and camp out in those woods. Me, my brother Calvin, and our friend Jerry came out here yesterday and now we can't find our way out. It's stupid, really. We had only walked about a quarter of a mile and then set up camp. We were too afraid to go farther in. Grandpa always said those words in a spooky way, you know.

When we woke this morning we decided to go out into the field and pick some berries to eat, only we couldn't find the field. How we could lose something that was only a quarter of a mile away is beyond me, but we managed to do it. When we got back to camp, we split up and each went one of the other three ways, just in case we were confused about which direction we were supposed to go. We did this to no avail. We went more than a mile in each direction, and there is no field to be found. What have we gotten ourselves into?

" What I don't understand," says Calvin. "Is how we can be lost when we only walked in a quarter of a mile. I mean. How does that happen?" We walk the four angles as well, again to no avail. We are lost.

" So, what are we going to do, Ryan," asks Jerry.

" I don't know. I just don't know where we are, or how we got here, or how to get out. It only took us a few minutes to get here, and now we seem to be lost." I am exasperated. I think we all are. We know we can't have gotten lost, but we are. How can that happen?

We sit for a while, no one saying anything, looking around. Together, we try walking back out a few more times in different directions. Still with no luck, and it is getting dark.

We are hungry, having only brought water because we planned to spend just one night in the woods. The fresh berries were going to be for breakfast. That didn't quite work out, and now here we are at dinner time with no food. We are munching on tea berry leaves, and drinking what little water we have left.

" Grandpa was right," Calvin says. "We should have listened."

" Yeah," Jerry agreed.

It is now dark and there is nothing we can do, so we go to sleep hoping that someone will miss us enough to come and look for us. As we drift off to sleep, we can hear the tree fogs and crickets making their music.

Three Boys Missing:

Did They Enter the Woods?

Should We Tell the Children the Truth?

July 3, 2007

By Carmella Anton

Three boys, Calvin and Ryan McDermitt, ages 16 and 17, and their friend Jerry Myger, age 16, have been missing since July first. Any information leading to their whereabouts would be much appreciated.

They were last seen by Ryan's and Calvin's grandfather, who had told them to "Be careful of those woods." They had been discussing camping out in them, and had asked him where a good place to camp would be. He had told them not to go into the woods, and to be careful of getting to close .

Many people on the mountain believe that it is time that we tell all of the children about the danger of the woods. That is what I am doing with this article. Here is my letter to the children of the mountain:

Dear Children of the Mountain,

It is time that you know the truth. As the three oldest children of the

mountain have already not heeded our warnings, we feel it necessary

tell you the dangers of the woods. There are good reasons why your

elders do not want you out there.

You see, when you go into the woods, it swallows you. If you get too

close, it can even suck you in. We are not sure what the cause of this

is, this phenomenon that has been happening for generations, but if

you go into the woods, you will not be able to find your way out. The

Book tells us about this happening to many people, but it does not

specify why it happens.

So, children of the mountain, please "be careful of those woods."