Taisheng's Twisted Tales

It is the beginning of spring and I am strolling through the hills of my home town. The air is crisp with a hint of warmth in it, and the snow has just begun to melt on the ground.

I see a group of men gathered around one of the houses. It’s a small house, made from old logs and mud covered with rotted turf. A fire is burning in their hearth.

“…and then we were stuck! Couldn’t move! What did we do?” One of the men was speaking excitedly as I approached them “we kept our heads together, looked each other in the eyes and told ourselves that we would be fine if we all worked together. And what do you know, next thing you know we are walking out of those woods like nothing happened!”

The others looked at him with admiration in their eyes. “Well done old man Magnus, I never knew you had such stories to tell!”

Magnus laughed “it helps to keep your spirits up when times are tough, doesn’t it?” He said as he slapped his leg and chuckled to himself.

The others nodded in agreement.

I walked over to them. “You all seem like you are having a good time, what have you been talking about?” I asked cheerfully.

They all stopped talking and turned their attention towards me.

“Ah, Taisheng my friend! How can you walk through these hills without hearing the sweet sound of my voice? These gentlemen are listening to the story I told them this morning about how I managed to get myself out of a sticky situation during my journey west into the black forest.” He smiled broadly at me and winked at me knowingly.

I smiled back at him and kissed him on his weathered cheek “that sounds like an interesting story old man Magnus, but I am afraid I must be going now. It was nice seeing you again, here take this coin for your troubles!” I handed him a silver coin before walking away humming to myself.