Folksburywoods Story Blog

Toka lived with his grandfather near the Musu River in a land long forgotten by man but not by the Trolls. One Spring morning, while Toka and his grandfather went fishing, the Trolls came to their village and killed his entire family. Toka managed to escape because of his grandfather’s quick thinking. He hid himself and the boy in the reeds along the river while their boat floated downstream, drawing the Trolls after it. 

Since that day, life has been a struggle, and with Winter approaching, Toka worried he and his grandfather might not make it through until the spring thaw. “If we can escape from those monsters, then surely we can avoid Father Frost,” said his grandfather. Toka knew his grandfather’s words rang hollow and were meant to cheer him up.

One warm Summer morning, the boy was at the lake’s edge, tossing pebbles into the water, when suddenly he heard a voice calling him. “Son of Jawell, grandson of Tamak, I need your assistance,” came the words.

“Who calls me and knows my lineage?” asked the boy.

“It is I, Chu-Jen, king of the underworld,” came the reply, and then a head donned with a golden crown appeared out of the lake right before him.

“Oh, my, I must be dreaming. This can’t be real,” said Toka.

“You are not dreaming, young one. Time is short, and I request your assistance to save my daughter from the poisonous bite of a hagfish,” spoke the King.

“How can I help you, my lord?” asked Toka.

“One day’s walk from here is a forest where a tree with silver nuts grows. Go to the East and bring me these nuts so I can make a cure to save my child,” pleaded the fish.

“I know what it is like to lose someone precious. I will help you,” said Toka. The boy rushed into his hut, packed a sack with his hunting knife and three rice cakes, and dashed out the door without telling his grandfather. There wasn’t time to explain.

Nightfall found the boy near the forest. Not wanting to spend the night among unfamiliar beasts and demons, Tonka found a hollow tree and curled up, hoping to get some rest before morning. During the night, terrifying noises emanated from the forest, making sleep almost impossible. Exhausted, the boy drifted into a fitful sleep until morning.

When Toka arose at dawn, he ate a rice cake and headed straight into the forest, where he found an overgrown path leading in the desired direction. Around noon, the boy came across a small brook where he stopped to drink and face his face.

“You are rude to put your filth in my home,” said a small voice. 

“Please forgive me. I saw no one, so I felt using the water for washing was safe. May I offer you one of my rice cakes to soothe your discomfort?” said Toka

“My, my, it has been long since I tasted human food. I accept your proposal,” the voice replied. Moments later, a tiny snail rose from the water and approached Toka.

The boy gently placed the cake before the creature, who ravenously devoured the food. “You seek the silver nuts, do you not?” asked the snail.

“Yes, the King of the Underworld’s daughter who is..”

“Dying from the bite of a hagfish, yes, we of the water know this. If I may, I would like to join you on your quest. I may be of some help,” the snail said.

“Please, I am not certain I can do this alone,” the boy answered. Toka gently picked up the snail, placed it on his shoulder, and continued down the path.

As they approached the grove of silver nut trees, nightfall fell. “We should stop here and wait until the moon is high. If we go now, I am afraid the guardian will spot us and try to stop us from taking the nuts,” the snail suggested.

“Guardian, the King said nothing of this to me. Is he dangerous?” asked Toka.

“Only if he can see us and his eyesight is very poor. The moonlight will hide our presence,” said the snail. The companions crept into the grove’s center when the moon reached its zenith and approached the scared tree.

“Take what you need. More will cause the tree to fight back,” cautioned the snail. Toka picked the first nut and carefully placed it into his sack. His footing slipped when he reached for the second, causing it to drop from his hand into a crevice in the ground.

“Now, what shall I do? The King needs two for the cure?” said the boy.

“Place me on the branch. I will stay here and talk to the tree while you gently pull another nut,” the snail said.

“But you will be left behind and could die,” said Toka.

“If that is my fate, so be it,” said the snail. 

Then, it crawled up into the tree and whispered into its trunk. Toka picked the nut, waved goodbye to the snail, and crept back out of the grove into the forest clearing.

His body ached, but time was running out for the King’s daughter, so the boy ate his last rice cake and carefully moved through the forest until he found snail’s brook. There, he rested until he regained his strength. By dawn, he was leaving the forest and going home. Toka walked the remaining journey without stopping, reaching the lake as the sunset.

“You have come at last. I feared you failed, and my child would part this world on the moon’s silvery beams,” said the King. Taka handed the nuts to the fish, who vanished below the surface without a trace.

“Toka, Toka is that you? Where have you been, child? I have searched for you everywhere. I feared the Trolls had also taken you,” said his grandfather.

“No, Papa, I had business with a fish that needed to be finished,” said the boy with a grin. Later, he explained everything to his grandfather while the two ate reed root soup and dried rice soaked in water.

Winter set in quickly, and the lake froze over, taking away the only food the two would have until Spring. “I am afraid we shall not see the sakura, my boy,” said Grandfather as they wrapped themselves in rice paper to stay warm. During the night, the moonlight awoke Toka. Feeling strange, the boy walked outside and gazed at the moon’s silvery glow.

“Hello, Son of Jawell, grandson of Tamak. I am sorry I have been away for so long, but the war between light and dark in the underworld took longer than expected,” said a familiar face protruding from a hole in the ice.

“Greetings, King Chu-Jen. How is your daughter feeling?” asked Toka.

“Thanks to your sacrifice, she has made a complete recovery. I wish to honor you with this pot and cloth so you and your grandfather may never go hungry again,” said the King. Chu-Jen explained that if you placed water in the pot and heated it, rice porridge would always fill it to the brim, and when the cloth was placed on a table, a meal fit for an emperor would appear. 

“My deepest thanks to you, oh great King, you have given us more than we could imagine. May your reign be long and your family large,” said the boy. He then turned and returned to the hut to prepare a surprise feast for his grandfather. The King slipped back into the water and returned home, where he lived a long and fruitful life.