The Soft Buck, The Stupid Bass, The Smelly Bear, and The Silly Boy

 

There was once a young boy who had left his town in favor of building a life in the forest that borders the town.

Venturing deep into the forest the boy is eventually overtaken by hunger. Just then, a lone buck appears from the trees.

"Please don't kill me." The deer begs. 

"Why would I kill you?"

"To eat me, of course. Aren't you a hunter?"

The boy shakes his head. "I am not a hunter. I am hungry, but I will not kill you."

Grateful to the boy, the buck leads him to a patch bursting with strawberries. There, the boy helps himself to the seemingly endless supply of vibrant red fruits.

Having eaten his fill, the boy is suddenly thirsty. So, the buck then brings him to a clear river where the air is clean and crisp.

As the boy stoops down to scoop up some water, a bass pops his head out from the river.

"Stop!" The fish cries, "Do not pour any waste into this river."

"Why would I pour waste into the river?"

"Because that is how the town stays clean, of course. Haven't they sent you to dispose of the waste?"

The boy shakes his head. "I no longer live in that town. I am thirsty, and only wish to drink from the river."

Grateful to the boy, the bass welcomes him to drink as much as he'd like.

After satisfying his thirst, the boy notices dark clouds gathering in the sky, and the smell of damp earth clinging to the air.

So, the bass directs him to a nearby cave. 

When the boy reaches the cave, he encounters a bear inside.

The bear roars at the boy. "Do not steal my cubs!"

"Why would I do that?"

"To entertain people with our humiliation, of course. Aren't you from the circus?"

The boy shakes his head. "I've never even been to the circus. There is a storm coming, and I only wish to seek shelter."

Grateful to the boy, the bear allows him to stay in the cave with herself and her cubs.

While living in the forest, the boy feels appreciative towards the buck, the bass, and the bear for diligently taking care of him. But he finds himself beginning to become annoyed by them as well. 

The boy feels that the buck is too soft, the bass too stupid, and the bear too smelly.

Because he no longer likes the three, the boy simply ignores them.

The three can tell right away that the boy dislikes them; but the buck continues to share the strawberry patch with him; the bass continues to welcome him to the river; and the bear continues to shelter him in the cave during bad weather.

One day, hunters from the village wander into that particular part of the forest, searching for deer.

The boy does not stop them from killing the buck.

"He should not have been so soft. He should have saved himself."

Then the next day, villagers wander into that particular part of the forest, searching for another place to dispose of the village's waste.

The boy does not stop them as they pour waste onto the protesting bass and into the river.

"He should not have been so stupid. He should have saved himself."

Then the next day, a group of people from the circus follow bloodhounds into that particular part of the forest, searching for a large animal.

The boy does not stop them as they subdue the bear and her cubs, then lock them up in cages, taking them out of the forest.

"She should not have been so smelly. She should have saved herself."

Initially, the boy is content to have that part of the forest all to himself. 

But when he is once again hungry, he can find no strawberries. The strawberry patch had been taken over by the grasses that the buck would graze on.

When he is thirsty, he cannot even stomach the rotten stench of the river. The water had turned brown and rancid.

When he seeks shelter from a storm, he cannot enter the cave. The cave's entrance is blocked by an iron gate. 

The boy attempts to climb over the gate, when a man suddenly yells at him to stop. The man, a wealthy landlord from the village, threatens to send for the authorities if the boy does not pay him to stay in the cave.

"But I have no money." The boy tries reasoning with him.

"Well then why are you frolicking in a forest instead of working a job in the village? You should not be so silly. You should save yourself."