Vovka went round the shed and followed the path that was running now away from the yellow house and the forest he had already walked through. At first the path was as playful as it had been before, but then it grew quiet. Vovka noticed that it wasn’t bouncing under his feet and wasn’t joyful any more.
“Do you think we could have done something wrong to the path?” he asked Cheese-eater who was sitting on his shoulder. “It’s so quiet. Can it be that it’s got tired?”
“Did you say ‘tired’? No, the path is quiet because it’s frightened. Now, Vova, keep your eyes open,” said Cheese-eater.
“What for? What’s going to happen?” Vovka was not easily frightened and never felt afraid beforehand. His Mama would always say, ‘Look straight into the Fear’s eyes and the Fear will close its own tight.’ The boy wasn’t scared; he just wanted to know what was waiting for him and what he had to be ready for.
“It’s only worse when you have fear, so you’ve got to be brave, my dear,” whispered Cheese-eater in his ear. “Go and don’t mind what you’ve got behind. Courage can help a fellow most, and without it he will be lost.”
“Can you explain to me what is going to happen?” Vovka was getting impatient.
“Don’t shout and quietly move, for not far from here is the Wolf.”
“How do you know that?” Vovka was surprised.
“I can guess. The birds stopped singing and squirrels stopped playing; mother-hares caught their young ones and ran to their burrows. Even hedgehogs rolled themselves up into a ball, as if they had never been here before.”
“But why is it the Wolf? It can be a fox, a bear or some forest spirit!”
“I can see that you’re too young, so listen to my words here, son. Surely, you’ll be as good as dead without me. Nobody in the woods is afraid of the forest spirit. It’s the best friend to all the animals and also their protector. The fox is cunning, but it won’t play such mean tricks. The bear is already berry-picking or destroying beehives; it loves berries and has a sweet tooth. No, all this exactly suits the Wolf. He’s got great strength, little brains. And no friends, either.”
“In what way do friends relay to the Wolf?”
“Well, if someone has no friends, but wants to be respected and loved, he starts doing mean things to make everybody love him.”
“Can you make anybody love you?” asked Vovka doubtfully.
“No, of course not, but then you’ll make everybody fear you,” said Cheese-eater. She understood that it was easier for Vovka to fight his fears if they talked, so she continued in a whisper. Looking for the robber and the Cheese Fairy in a thick forest was scary enough even for a brave fellow. But courage is not being fearless; it often means conquering your fears.
