The Shy Ogre That Wasn't.







In a stony outcrop in The Wood, there once lived an Ogre.



It was a very shy Ogre.



When it slept, it slept under a great big pile of rocks. It kept it warm and safe.



When it woke in the late mornings, the great big pile would shiver and a few loose rocks at the top of the pile would roll down, and you would have been able to see the top of the shy Ogre's head. She had frizzy black hair, and it shone under the late morning sun. And she would peek out over the pile to see if anyone was around before she came out.



If there happened to be a passer-by, she would timidly speak in a small voice,"Would you turn around please? I am about to come out of my pile and I am quite the shy Ogre."



If there was not anyone around, she would slowly ease herself out of the pile, and when she was sure she was alone, she would give herself a thorough shake to shake off any pebbles and bugs that were caught in her shiny, frizzy black hair.



Everyone in The Wood did not know what the Ogre looked like. Because she was so very shy.



"We do not know what she looks like. Sometimes we are not even sure whoooo she is." said Old Ollie the Owl as he sat in his branch high up a birch tree.



"Yes! We do not know! We do not know sometimes!" cried the litter of light brown bunnies, hopping excitedly around the place. "Hush, little ones. We must not be rude. Sometimes people are too shy to be as noticeable as we would like them to be." cooed Ma Rabbit, patiently trying to gather all her little bunnies into their hole in the ground.





The Shy Ogre trundled by one evening and all the little bunnies were excited to see her, even though they could not quite see her face.



"Ogre! Ogre! Do turn around and show us your face! Do not be shy! We want to know what you look like! Let us be friends so that we can play together in the meadow!" cried the little light brown bunnies.



The Ogre blushed deeply and shook her head.



"Please Ogre! At least look at us!" cried the little light brown bunnies, giggling to themselves when they saw that the Ogre was blushing.



The Ogre gathered up its courage, and it slowly turned to face the little light brown bunnies. But they could not see its face. It was covered by all her shiny, frizzy black hair.



"Oh Ogre! We cannot see your face! It is covered by all your shiny, frizzy black hair!" the little light brown bunnies cried.



But the Ogre was shy again and it turned away and trundled off to its home in the stony outcrop of The Wood.



"Come to the end-of-season picnic tomorrow! It will be held at the meadows! There will much to eat and drink Ogre! Do come!" the little light brown bunnies cried out as their very shy friend walked off.







The next day, the little light brown bunnies were hopping around merrily in the meadow as Ma Rabbit prepared little dishes of carrots and lettuce. Almost all the animals of the wood were there. Grandpa Mole was there, Big Beatrice the Bear was there, Monterey the Field Mouse was there, even Lopez the Lemur was there.



Everyone was happy and eating and drinking. Old Ollie the Owl sat in a tree looking down at the merry proceedings.



Suddenly the Ogre arrived, but no one saw her at first, for she was standing shyly behind some ixora bushes as it looked at the crowd. Soon she emerged from the bushes and walked to the merry little crowd of animals.



"Look, it's the Ogre! And she's got her shiny, frizzy black hair tied up and tucked behind her ears! And she is...!" the excited little light brown bunnies cried out but were stopped mid-sentence by the sight that was presented to them.



"Why, yes, she does have her hair..." Ma Rabbit started, but could not find her voice to finish what she had to say when she turned to look at the Ogre.



"Oh my." said Big Beatrice the Bear.



"Sweet Jesus." said Grandpa Mole.



"Holy fucking crap." said Monterey the Field Mouse.



"I'll be fucked" said Lopez the Lemur, "that is one ugly son of a bitch of an Ogre."



The Ogre stood unmovingly before them.



She smiled.



She looked around coyly and she smiled some more.



Her smile got so big and wide that it almost covered her face.



"Ma! Tell her to go away!" cried the little light brown bunnies, all of them close to tears.



"...Oh my..." was all Ma Rabbit could force herself to say.



The Coy Ogre beamed. And she turned around and walked away.



Now everyone knew, the Shy Ogre was not Shy at all. The Shy Ogre was just being Coy.



The Coy Ogre reached her home in the stony outcrop in The Wood in the night. She gathered up a pile of rocks and crept inside the pile and settled down to sleep, with a big smile on her face.



The Coy Ogre was happy that everyone knew she was not the Shy Ogre they thought she was.



The Coy Ogre slept like a baby.



"Jesus, that is one ugly bitch." muttered Old Ollie the Owl to himself, sitting on his branch high up a tree as he saw the Coy Ogre go to sleep.



No one bothered the Coy Ogre anymore from then on.