It was Boris who calling them out while grinning. The donkey that was pulling the cart let out a strange bray—"buh-heh-hehh"—as if laughing at how long they'd been sleeping.
Boris was a man around fifty years old with brown fox ears. A few times each year, he traveled between villages and towns, delivering goods from one place and bringing back tools like hoes and sickles, clothes, and other things people needed.
Although the church village was poor, the forest near it had special tree bark used for dyes, which made trade possible.
"We'll be passing into a wooded area with a water spring soon," Boris said, looking back at the children. "We'll take a short break there."
The narrow path was rough and full of ruts from wheels that had passed before. It was surrounded by open fields scattered with rocks and clumps of dirt. Far beyond the grasslands stood the forest, and even farther, the mountains loomed.
Even so, Judy and Bao Bei, seeing the world outside the village for the first time, looked around with shining eyes full of wonder.
"Look, flowers!"
"There's a dragonfly!"
"I saw a bird flying over there!"
They pointed and called out in turn, each new discovery making their hearts beat a little faster.
The donkey let out a strange, snorting sound—"bufyoh-hihh"—as if laughing at the two children getting all excited over their little discoveries.
The trees in the forest had just begun to change color. Boris stopped the cart near a small spring, where a clear stream trickled gently through the woods. The donkey who is now unhitched from the wagon, walked over and began drinking the cool water with real pleasure.
Boris pulled out some hard bread from his shoulder bag and handed a slice to each of them, saying it was lunch.
He sat down on a tree stump nearby and drank water he had scooped from the spring.
As a traveling merchant from a poor village, Boris didn't have much to spare. What he had just given the children was really his own lunch.
"This road is safe since people use it and it's open. But go a little deeper into the forest and you'll run into wild beasts, maybe even monsters. So don't wander off, you hear?"
"Aye!"
"Yes, sir!"
Bao Bei and Judy's eyes widened as they turned to look toward the darker part of the woods. It was peaceful and beautiful, but now they realized for the first time that danger could also exist outside their village.
"Well, don't worry too much. The monsters around here aren't that scary. But once you get closer to the mountains, that's where the big ones and wild animals are."
"Are the monsters really scary?" Bao Bei asked, his voice small.
"For a little guy like you? They could swallow you in one bite!" Boris said with a grin.
"Bwah!" Bao Bei squeaked, trembling slightly, his blue eyes eyes starting to fill with tears.