As she trudged through the thick foliage alone, she wondered what could it be, that was so important, that she held in her basket. Her grandmother needed it desperately, and it was quite heavy...but what was it? It didn't have the warm, familiar scent of the bread her mother usually sent her with. In fact, it had no scent...at least none that she could figure out.
"Wait..." she uttered aloud, "That tree...with the mushrooms on it..."
Her eyes widened with realization. "I've been here before! But..."
She looked around. Her surroundings were completely different than the first time she saw this tree. Actually...it looked larger, and more.. alive.
"I'm just imagining things." She said hopefully.
She kept on, but this time, when she saw the tree, one of the branches had moved, and the knots looked like-
"No. It-it's not what I think it is," She tried to convince herself. "Besides," she shifted the basket to her other arm, "Treants have been extinct for years."
Wrong. A voice rumbled. The voice wasn't human at all. It sounded like gravel and bark scraping against each other.
We've been here for years... Hiding from you humans. The treant rose to it's full height.
"O-oh" She stammered, "I- I didn't mean anything- I just," She showed him the basket "I have to get this to my grandmother. Do you know the way out of this forest?"
Garden, you mean The treant grumbled. Why does everyone assume this is a forest?
The little girl blushed. "I uh... I mean it is super big... and-"
Never mind that. I know the way, follow child.
He led her to a clearing with a little cottage.
Beware, child. He said. The owner of this cottage has not been the same as of late. You might need what is in that basket.
"Oh, not to worry, great one. The owner is my grandmother!" she turned around, but the treant was gone.
"Hmm... I wonder.."
She gingerly lifted the linen from the basket's top.
She gasped and dropped the basket when she saw what was inside.
A small whetstone and dagger rolled out, but the little girl had run far, far away by the time her grandmother came out of the cottage.
"I wonder where she went. Ah, I see she sharpened my paring knife for me! Too bad she left so quickly, I was looking forward to sharing apple pie."