On a clear autumn day, when the sun was shining warmly, a boy went into the forest to pick mushrooms. He wandered amongst the trees for a long time, searching the clearings for mushrooms, and collected a full basket. But he didn't notice how far he had strayed from the forest path.
Halloo! Halloo!
The boy shouted at the top of his voice, but no one heard him.
Only the echo answered back:
Loo! Loo!
The boy sat down on a tree stump and began to cry bitterly, thinking that he didn't know how he would find his way home or get out of this unfamiliar part of the forest. Suddenly, as if from beneath the ground, a little man appeared before him. Short in stature, wearing a white shirt, tied with a birch-bark belt and a wide straw hat, he regarded the crying boy with interest. This was a real forest spirit, who guards the forest and tends to the trees and shrubs.
Don't cry, lad. I'm a forest dweller, and I'll help you and show you how to find the path. But you must fulfil one condition.
Tell me what I must do, I'm ready!
Said the boy.
You need to do three good deeds. As soon as you've fulfilled my condition, call for me at once.
Replied the forest spirit.
The boy was surprised:
Is that all? Right! Just don't go far, I'll be back in a jiffy.
Before the boy could look around, the forest spirit vanished as suddenly as he had appeared. He jumped up and quickly set off along the path to fulfil the unexpected visitor's condition.
Along the way, he met a young deer who had become tangled in the branches of a thick bush.
Please help me, boy! I'm stuck fast and can't get out by myself.
I haven't got time to mess about with you, I'm in a hurry. I need to do a good deed as quickly as possible. Goodbye, little deer!
Said the boy.
The boy continued along the path and saw a chick 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 hurry to do good deeds.
The boy didn't want to help the birds.
Winding along the forest path, the boy met a hedgehog who, on his way home, had dropped all his mushrooms and berries.
Boy, help me gather the mushrooms and berries onto my spines. I've been walking for ages and I'm tired, so my spines couldn't hold everything I'd collected.
He asked.
Sorry, hedgehog, I can't help you, I'm in a terrible hurry! I'm looking for good deeds to do. You'll just have to manage on your own somehow…
And he walked on, unwilling to help the hedgehog.
After walking a few metres, the boy saw the forest spirit sitting on an old stump. The guardian of nature asked him:
What's all this then? Haven't you managed to do a single good deed? Didn't anyone need your help or cleverness?
And the boy replied:
You see, forest spirit, the thing is… I was in such a hurry to fulfil your condition, but I kept getting distracted, and I just couldn't manage to do any good deeds. It turns out they're not so easy to find. And where would I find them? There's nothing but forest and trees all around.
Where to find them, you ask? But why didn't you help the birds, pull the young deer from the thicket, or help the hedgehog gather his mushrooms and berries? Isn't that helping? Good deeds aren't heroic acts, they're simply helping those who truly need it.
The boy fell silent, thought for a moment, turned round, and ran back the way he had come. On the path, he found the hedgehog and helped him stick his harvest onto his spines, placed the little chick back in its nest, to the relief of its anxious parents, and helped the young deer untangle itself from the thick bushes.
After this, the forest dweller appeared before the boy again, handed him his basket of collected mushrooms, and helped him find his way out of the forest thicket.
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.
