The Secret Shack
One winter two woodcutters traveled to the towering forests of the North to cut the trees like so many woodcutters before them. They traveled deep into the forest and lived among the native people. They traveled their foot trails in the day, and they sat by their fires at night. And they listened to the native stories. One of the stories they heard was The Legend of Refuge From Danger and Adversity. The legend said this: For those who truly believe, the spirit of the great pine forest will always provide safe refuge from the howling beasts called danger and adversity. If you don't believe in the forest's power to provide safe refuge from danger and adversity, you will perish.
One of the men listened carefully when he heard the legend. He was the wiser of the two. The other laughed and pretended he thought the refuge from danger and adversity was an actual place and not a state of mind, a shack out in the woods where you could hide if you were scared. He laughed and called it the secret shack. From then on, all the while they were cutting trees in the the forest, he made jokes about the scared natives and their secret shacks.
One day the two woodcutters traveled deeper into the forest than they ever had before, and they had a long day of wood cutting. Snow started to fall, but they kept on cutting until the day grew dim. It was then, in the gray twilight before night, that they realized they did not know the way home. They set out walking in the direction they thought was the way back, but the snow had obscured their footprints, and the snow was still falling out of the dark sky. They were lost. And as they walked along they noticed eyes watching from the darkness, glowing eyes following their movements. The two woodcutters were being followed by wolves. They walked more quickly. But every time they looked out into the night the glowing eyes were there. They kept moving, and the wolves followed, getting closer and more aggressive. The two men could hear low growling, gnashing teeth and clattering claws in the ice and snow. The men ran, not turning to look behind, for they knew the wolves were closing in.
Both men were weakening. They felt the danger all around them. One man, the man who mocked the native legend and called it a secret shack, panicked and cried in terror as he ran. The other man stayed silent, determined to last as long as he could. They ran on through the night and up a long sloping hill. The wolves were closing in. Both men were exhausted. The man who was panicking gave up. He cried in fear and fell to the ground. The wolves descended upon him. And, with the sounds of terror and chaos in his ears, the other man continued on until he topped the hill. And there on the other side of the slope was a small shelter made of logs looking out over the next valley. Near collapse, he ducked inside to safety and escaped the marauding wolves. In that frozen night under the tall trees, the refuge of legend had been provided to the one who believed in not giving up---this time in the form of a secret shack.
