If you climb high enough, into the mountains, into the trees, you can almost see past the Night Forest. Just barely. The Night Forest is not only night, just as the bright forest is not only the daytime, and the man forest is not only wartime.

Long ago, there were wars, between high and low, huge and tiny, middle and all. 

The sparking people were the first to be afraid that they would not have enough. They learned to make tricks and cast spells. The hairy people became good at concealing themselves and learned to be immune to illusion. And the middlemen, who felt beset by nature on all sides, vulnerable to forces they did not understand, learned to make fire.

Understandably, the wars were ugly and drove all living things from their safe places, their homes. And when the creators of worlds looked out and saw the hungry chaos, they separated the worlds into three component homes: The Night Forest for the big people, The light meadows for the little people, and the middlemen were allowed fire because they had no pelts to keep them warm. 

The worlds were drawn apart, shielded from each other by many veils, each safe inside their own territory.

Once in a very great while, a creature would be born into the wrong world, and a rescue party was gathered to bring them home. 

Mighty Nizz was such a foundling. No one really knew which world she belonged to, but it was decided that the night forest would be the safest place for her.

Nizz was very small, it was difficult to tell what age she was. She was smart and strong, so Da, the tallest and strongest of the big people, was chosen as the best guardian of the night forest.

Nizz clung to his fur like a baby possum at first. Gradually he set her down in the safe spaces in the night forest floor. It was not long until Nizz could outpace him with her short chubby legs which pumped her along like pistons. She learned to jump, climb, and ambush the animals who tried to frighten her, or meant her harm.

However fast she might be, she was always under Da’s protective eye.

The large oak was probably her favorite climb. 

And if you happen to be hiking, and you don’t wish a shower of leaves to obscure your vision, if you don’t want to wake up accidentally in the night forest, remember to look up for a “harmless” little girl in a red wolf’s cape.

Mostly harmless.