Spell of the Wild Yard Shrews
This is the second fairy tale I had written in the series of one word inspiration tales. My friend, Daniel, told me to write about this creature he had been obsessing over call the Wild Yard Shrew. Anyway, here it is. It's not very good, but it still holds a soft spot in my heart.


This story starts out quite different in that the character in the story has nothing to do with being a prince or princess and in fact, he was not even related to royalty. He was just a boy who lived in a closet surrounded by darkness. Now why did he live in a closet? No one exactly knew why, but he stayed in there all day and all night and when his mother gave him food, she slipped it through a small spot under the door. She wasn't a bad mother and hadn't punished him there, but had actually encouraged him to come out and get fresh air and play with the other boys in the town. However, he would not come out of the closet for anyone or anything. Most had guessed it was from some trauma he had when he was younger that caused him to be afraid to be outside anywhere, but he didn't talk to anyone so there was no way anyone would ever know.

This affected his parents greatly because he was their only son, but they never saw him at all. They never got to watch him grow or got to talk to him, so his parents became quite depressed over this. It was then that one night they became so upset over trying to get the boy (his name was Daniel) out of the closet and when he still kept it locked from the inside, they both went and killed their selves.

Then, it was when Daniel heard their bodies slump on the floor that he finally got out of the closet and looked around sighing a sigh of relief. Now he was free to roam around the house, but what about going outside in the village. He quietly crept over to the window and looked out, only his forehead and eyes showing over the top of the windowsill, when he saw that the whole village was in fact wild yard shrews.

Now, wild yard shrews are quite dangerous beings, but nothing quite explains their actions or how they look. The one thing we can say is that Daniel was terrified of the wild yard shrews and didn't want anything to do with them. This all started one day when Daniel was outside for once in his life before he decided to hide in the closets. He accidentally crossed the path of an angry wizard at the time that put a spell on him that from that day fourth, all people to him would be seen as wild yard shrews. Every person he saw became a wild yard shrew so he hid in the closet.

Now that his parents were dead, he did not know what to do so he walked around the house for a couple days since it was safe in there. Then there was a knock on the door and he quickly dashed back into his closet and hide as usual. The door to their house opened and a couple villagers (what Daniel sees are a couple wild yard shrews keep in mind) walked into the house. Daniel looked out the peep hole in the closet and watched as they took his parents away to be properly buried.

He knew the villagers would send people in who would want to buy and live in his house now, so there was nothing else for Daniel to do except leave his house in secret at night. And so he did, terrified, but freed from the village at least. Daniel had no idea about the spell that was put upon him by the wizard. He had just thought the wild yard shrews had eaten all the people and that they took over. He had no idea if there would ever be any other humans he would see around, but now he knew he had to do things on his own. He was in heavy despair trying to figure out what to do when he got lost in a very thick forest. He tried to stay to anything that looked like a path but nothing seemed like a way out of here and he dreaded running into a dragon, demon, or worse, a wild yard shrew.

It was days on end as he wandered the forest helplessly alone and hungry, for he hadn't eaten in a good week and at least his wild yard shrew parents had fed him, although he dreaded that they might poison him one day. He often hugged himself around the sides, trying to tame the hunger or squeeze it away perhaps, but nothing seemed to work and exhaustion was getting to him. He wondered, as he finally fell, why did this forest seem longer then it should have?

It seemed like a very dark dream of blackness he was having and then suddenly he felt cool water upon his lips, swallowed some of the refreshing liquid, and opened his eyes and sat up to see a girl watching him. And yes, strangely for some reason, this was a girl and not a wild yard shrew. He couldn't believe his eyes and blinked them a couple times and then rubbed them, but it was still a girl. Then as she watched him, she tiled her head slightly to the side and then laughed a bit and said," Do you have something in your eyes?"

"No, I thought you would be a wild yard shrew," he said almost a gasp.

"A wild yard shrew? What are those?" she giggled.

"You haven't ever seen a wild yard shrew!? Are you mad?? They're all over the place watching us!" he exclaimed waving his hands around for a moment to try and show her. She still laughed at him and then held her hand out to help him up, which he took and stood.

She then stepped back and added, "Well, my name is Adria. We should get out of this forest, don't you think?"

"Well, I guess... but I hope there aren't any more wild yard shrews around."

"I don't think there will be," she smiled with a nod.

So, then they both left the forest finally, him following her, since she seemed to know her way pretty much around the forest some how. When they finally got out, they headed down a path to a village full of people, but Daniel, he saw wild yard shrews again and left running, screaming in the other direction. Adria only blinked wondering what was wrong with him then went to look for him and soon found him hiding up in a tree. She looked up at him who was shivering so hard at the sight of the yard shrews that leaves were falling from the branches.

"Will ya come down?" she asked. "I don't know why you are so afraid..."

"You were trying to lead me into a village of wild yard shrews!" he hissed down at her.

"But that's a village of people," she said. "At least I see people anyway..."

"No, it's yard shrews!" he replied shouting back at her.

Adria stood and thought for a moment about this and why he was seeing wild yard shrews when she saw only people and the people also saw her as a person, so it couldn't be just her. It had to be him, she thought. Some one must have put a spell on him and in this day and age, there were lots of temper mental wizards, witches, warlocks, sorcerers, and sorceress'. She knew that for a fact, but she knew one that wasn't.

"You must have a spell on you," she said. "That makes you see all people as wild yard shrews. Do you remember having a spell cast on you?"

"Well, no of course I didn't," he said nodding his head. "It wouldn't make sense, because I don't see you as a yard shrew. So maybe you're the crazy one who is not seeing the yard shrews that are taking over!"

"Well, maybe so," she nodded. "We should get it checked out. Well, my grand father is a wizard. He could help us!"

"I suppose... As long as he isn't a wild yard shrew. If he is, I can't trust him," Daniel added with a sigh as he climbed down finally from the tree.

"Well, you have too because if you don't then you'll never know the truth," she said nodding.

"Alright, alright..." he said shaking his head. "The first wrong move the wild yard shrew makes though, I'm out of there."

It was then that Daniel realized that the wild yard shrews had never tired to hurt him, as he did have them for parents when they just could have broken the door of the closet down. Wild yard shrews were very strong in fact, so why didn't they? Better yet, why wasn't he a wild yard shrew, since both his parents where? Maybe those wild yard shrews were posing as his parents? He didn't really know but he just kept on following Adria into a hidden secluded place in the woods where they would meet her grand father, the wizard.

Finally, they got to his house and when Adria knocked on the door, the wizard, to Daniel, did not actually appear a wild yard shrew. However, there was something very familiar about him. He recoiled back some as they wizard greeted his grand daughter then looked over at him and glared down upon him. It was then that it all came back to him suddenly. This was the wizard who had put a spell on him to make him see wild yard shrews! The spell he had forgotten! But the wizard remembered Daniel very well and was in no mood as usual for a troublesome boy.

"You... you're the one who put a spell on me!" Daniel shouted pointing a finger at the wizard.

Adria gasped lightly and looked at her grand father, "Did you put a spell on him, grand father???"

"Well," he said pointing a finger in the air, " I most certainly did and for a good cause. Little rascal was wondering on my property!"

"That's not very nice," Adria said scoldingly narrowing her eyes at her grand father. "Now... take it off!"

"No!" The old wizard bellowed back.

"I'll tell everyone about your secret organization you have!" Adria threatened.

"You wouldn't?!" he snarled back at her.

Now Daniel was a bit confused.

"I would so," she nodded matter of factly.

"Well fine then! Let's see you two tell everyone when you're both locked in a cage!!" he said picking them both up by their collars and throwing them in cages big enough for children.

Adria groaned knowing very well she had made her grandfather mad again and that he would not let them out for a long time. So they both waited patiently but her grandfather seemed to not want to let them out at all and kept them in there for day and says on end. He didn't even feed them and Adria was starting to get mad.

One day, the wizard left to go out and left the key to the cages with in reach of them. Adria gleefully sighed and reached up taking the key and unlocked the cages and the helped Daniel out. She looked around for a moment hoping her grand father wouldn't come out for a while.

"Now what?" Daniel asked.

"Well, we have to go ask a witch or wizard who knows how to get the spell off of you, or else you will still see wild yard shrews all the time. I think the reason you don't see me as one, is because I was related to the wizard who put the spell on you," she nodded. "But anyway, we have to hurry."

And with that, she led him out of her grand father's hut and back around it to a tree stump. She tapped on the lid of the tree stump about three times and the top of it flew open like a small door and a witch popped out of it.

"Oh well hello there Adria! Come to see us all?" she cackled.

"Yes, but we have a problem," Adria said with a frown and began to tell the witch all of their problems.

"Ahhh, I know just the person who can help you," she smiled. "And your grand father has been extremely cranky as of late. Working us very hard and even punishing us! Well, anyway, come on down and I'll lead ya to him."

She waved her hand for Daniel to follow as they went into the tree stump and climbed down a ladder that led them underground. The ladder led into a tunnel and they followed the witch, who didn't appear as a wild yard shrew to Daniel, which was starting to perplex him. He wondered why, but he thought maybe it was because the witch knew about the yard shrew spell. He didn't care though, because it was one less yard shrew he had to see.

They followed the witch to a door and when she opened it, Daniel couldn't believe his eyes. There was an underground casino! Full of witches and wizard of course. He walked up to Adria and said, "What is all this?"

"Oh this is my grand father's casino for witches and wizards. They come work and play here, because well you can't just make money off of doing spells and brewing potions," Adria nodded. "It's a secret though."

"But he hasn't been paying us either!" the other witch said.

"Some one needs to punish my grand father for what he's doing!" Adria said.

And the witch nodded in agreement and then led them into the casino trying to look for the wizard who could help them. She finally led them to a wizard with amber yellow eyes and a floor length black beard and strangely enough, he had black cat ears poking out of his wizard hat. He looked at them and greeted the fellow witch as she began to tell them the story. The wizard's name they found out was Rufus a long time companion of Adria's grandfather.

"He's been a real trouble and disgrace to us lately!" Rufus bellowed. "You know I started this place and he stole all my ideas!! Well, we'll show him... But first to take the spell off of you, young man."

And so Rufus laid a finger on the tip of Daniel's nose and concentrated for a while and Daniel didn't know what he was doing, but he had the urge to sneeze. Right before he sneezed, Rufus took his hand off and smiled down at him. Then Daniel sneezed and Rufus said, "It is done!"

Daniel was a bit skeptical of it, but he guess it had worked after all. They then waited and planned a secret attack on Adria's grandfather for when he came back. Rufus waited at the right moment to sneak up on him when he returned and turned him right into a hermaphrodite frog! The wizard was angry but there was nothing he could do about it, because you cannot use your powers when come one turns you into a hermaphrodite frog and well, no one wanted to kiss Adria's grand father.

So, they stayed underground for a while and had a good time. Adria's grandfather became an attraction, for how often do you get to see a talking hermaphrodite frog? All the witches and wizard were living happily now in the under ground casinos, going on about their lives as how they wanted to, since Rufus was the new owner. However, Daniel still did not know if the spell Rufus had done on him had freed him.

Rufus had explained that they way the spell was set up was made that everyone would be seen as wild yard shrews except a few people. These people where any witch or wizard who knew the basics of the spell, or anybody with the blood of a witch or wizard in them, which meant Adria. But only masters of the spells go decipher it, which meant either Rufus or Adria's grandfather. And, well, we all knew Adria's grandfather would have never taken it off.

The next day then, Daniel and Adria left the underground casinos and went back to the village, Daniel a bit still fearing he would see the wild yard shrews. However, when they got to the village, all the people were people! He couldn't believe his eyes as he sat rubbing them trying to get his vision to stop tricking him, but they still stayed as people and for the first time in his life that he had came out of the closet, he felt so happy and relieved.

Adria just turned at him and said with a soft grin, "Told you they were people."