On a clear autumn day, when the sun was beating down warmly, a boy went into the bush to pick mushrooms. He wandered for ages between the trees, searching the clearings for mushrooms, and filled his basket to the brim. But he didn't notice how far he'd strayed from the bush track.
Cooee! Cooee!
The boy called out at the top of his lungs, but no one heard him.
Only the echo answered back:
Ooee! Ooee!
The boy sat down on a tree stump, cried bitterly, and thought about how he didn't know how he'd find his way home or get out of this unfamiliar part of the bush. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a little bloke appeared before him. Short in stature, wearing a white shirt, tied with a bark belt and a wide straw hat, he looked with interest at the crying boy. This was a real bush spirit, who guards the forest, looks after the trees and shrubs.
Don't cry, mate. I'm a forest dweller, and I'll help you find your way back to the track. But you've got to do one thing for me first.
Tell me what to do, I'm ready!
Said the boy.
You need to do three good deeds. As soon as you've done what I've asked, give me a shout.
Replied the bush spirit.
The boy was surprised:
Is that all? No worries! Just don't go too far, I'll be back in a tick.
Before the boy could look around, the bush spirit vanished, just as suddenly as he'd appeared. The boy jumped up and quickly set off down the path to fulfil the unexpected visitor's condition.
Along the way, he came across a young joey deer who was tangled up in the branches of a thick shrub.
Please help me, mate! I'm stuck tight and can't get out on my own.
I haven't got time to muck about with you, I'm in a hurry. I need to do a good deed as quickly as possible. See ya, little deer!
Said the boy.
The boy continued along the path and saw a baby bird that had fallen from its nest, chirping pitifully, whilst its parents circled overhead, not knowing what to do.
Please help us, dear boy! Put the chick back in the nest…
I can't, I'm in a rush to do good deeds.
The boy didn't want to help the birds.
Winding along the bush track, the boy met a hedgehog who, on his way home, had dropped all his mushrooms and berries.
Mate, help me gather up the mushrooms and berries onto my spines. I've been walking for ages and I'm knackered, so my spines couldn't hold everything I'd collected.
He asked.
Sorry, hedgehog, I can't help you, I'm in a real hurry! I'm looking for good deeds to do. You'll have to manage on your own somehow…
And he walked on, not wanting to help the hedgehog.
After walking a few metres, the boy saw the bush spirit sitting on an old stump. The guardian of nature asked him:
What's all this then? Couldn't you manage to do even one good deed? Didn't anyone need your help or your smarts?
And the boy replied:
You see, bush spirit, here's the thing… I was in such a hurry to meet your condition, but I kept getting distracted, and I just couldn't manage to do any good deeds. Turns out they're not so easy to find. And where would I find them? There's nothing but bush and trees all around.
Where to find them, you ask? Well, why didn't you help the birds, pull the little deer out of the thicket, or help the hedgehog gather his mushrooms and berries? Isn't that helping? Good deeds aren't heroic acts, they're helping those who really need it.
The boy fell silent, thought for a moment, turned around, and ran back the way he'd come. On the path, he found the hedgehog and helped him stick his harvest back onto his spines, placed the little bird back in its nest, to the relief of its worried parents, and helped the young deer untangle itself from the thick bushes.
After that, the forest dweller appeared before the boy again, handed him his basket of collected mushrooms, and helped him find his way out of the bush.
The boy returned home and didn't tell anyone what had happened, but he never again went looking for good deeds. Instead, he tried to help everyone who needed his help.
