A Brave Boy

A Brave Boy

Once upon a time, there was a brave boy named Alex who did not know what fear was.

One day, while he was walking to the city, he saw a lion swallow a ring. The owner of the ring was terrified. Suddenly, Alex noticed him and ran over.

"Let me help you," Alex said.

The owner asked, "How can you help me? It is a big lion."

Alex replied, "It’s not a big deal to me."

Alex put his hand into the lion’s mouth and took the ring. The lion became angry but couldn't do anything, so it ran away.

The owner asked, "Do you not know what fear is?"

"What is fear? Where do we get fear?" Alex asked.

"You will find it in the Cursed Forest," said the owner.

"Where is that?" asked Alex.

The owner explained, "It is very far. It will take you two days to get there. There is an old witch; if you ask her, you will find fear."

Alex thanked him and left. After a long journey, he became tired and lay down to take a nap. While he was sleeping, he heard the noise of a man crying. He suddenly woke up and asked, "What happened?"

The man said, "A dragon took my family to eat them. Now the dragon is sleeping. Who will help me with this?"

"I will!" said Alex.

Without any discussion, he took his sword and asked, "Where is the dragon? Let me help."

The man showed him the sleeping dragon.

"Oh! This is a big dragon, so we shouldn't wake him up. We must kill this without waking him," said Alex.

He ran very fast, jumped on top of the dragon, and used his sharp blade to powerfully kill it.

The man said, "May God bless you."

Alex then asked, "Do you know where the Cursed Forest and the old witch are?"

The man said, "I know where it is. It is very dangerous. It will take you one day to get there."

Alex left immediately. He didn't rest, even when he got tired. After a long journey, he finally arrived. He asked the people living in the Cursed Forest, "Do you know where the old witch lives?"

They said, "Yes, we know her. She is our leader. She is a good leader, and everyone loves her. That is her house."

Alex thanked the people and went to the witch’s house. He told her about his search for fear.

She said, "There is a big ocean. My people will show you where it is. When you go there, you will see a big ship. You must get a golden necklace from a mermaid. Go there and help them get the necklace from her. She is an evil mermaid, you should keep that in mind."

One of the villagers took Alex to the spot. When Alex reached the ocean, he saw a ship. He removed his shirt, swam out, and dove underwater.

He saw the mermaid and tried to take the golden necklace, but he couldn't. He tried whatever he could, but it was no use. At that moment, he felt great fear. He couldn't do anything. He got a headache and felt like he was going to die.

But he survived. He failed to get the necklace, but he finally understood what fear was. When he reached land, he ran back to the witch.

"I know now what fear is! Thank you," Alex said.

When he was about to leave, the witch asked, "Don't you recognize me?"

Alex said, "No."

The witch smiled and said, "I was the owner of the ring you helped retrieve from the lion's mouth, and I was the man with the dragon. I was checking if you were a good man or not."

Alex thanked her, left, and lived happily ever after.