The Gubazah Monster

Chapter Seven

In a short time, most of the animals in the Blackberry Forest knew about the footprints. Many were frightened. They remained close to their homes and did not go out at night. Others were doubtful that the monster even existed. They said that somebody made the footprints as a practical joke. Some, like Chips, Charley, Rocky, and Rhonda, were extremely curious and they spent all their time looking for the Gubazah Monster.

After the first few footprints, though, there was no sign of the monster. Carl, the squirrel, said her heard some funny noises one night, but that could have been a number of things. The friends were not discouraged though. Everyday they set out to search for more footprints or any other signs of the mysterious visitor. Because he might be dangerous, Rocky and Rhonda armed themselves with stones.

Charley did not think that it was necessary to carry stones. Since the Gubazah Monster was never known to attack anyone, Charley thought he probably was not really a bad monster.

He explained, "He probably wouldn't hurt us unless we were really mean to him. Maybe he just wants to be left alone."

Chips disagreed,"You never know with monsters, especially big, ugly ones. We better be able to protect ourselves just in case."

Rocky and Rhonda agreed. They had heard of of some horrible monsters. Some of them had three heads, some had big brown horns, and others had ten arms. They were all said to like to eat small animals. Of course, they had never seen any of them, but they were sure they existed.

It was getting late, so they decided to give up the search for the day. Chips and Charley went home, and Rocky and Rhonda went to their shelter.

The moon was gone and it was a very dark night, and Rocky and Rhonda were feeling a little nervous. They built a small fire and sat close together under their shelter.

In the darkness past the fire, they could see shadows. Something seemed to be moving. They could not tell what it was. They could also hear some snapping noises.

"What is out there?" Rocky asked.

Rhonda whispered, "I don't know. I wish it would go away."

All of a sudden, they heard a big crash. They grabbed their stones and jumped from the shelter. A large shadow appeared on the other side of the fire. As the light of the fire shone on his face, Rocky and Rhonda realized who it was: the Gubazah Monster!

They began to throw their stones. The Gubazah Monster let out a cry a fell to the ground. Then he was silent.

Rocky and Rhonda slowly crept toward him to see what had happened. They found him lying on the ground and he was moaning softly in pain.

"Are you okay?" asked Ronnie

"No," said the monster. "You hit me in my head with your stone."

"I am sorry," said Rocky. "I only threw it because I though you might hurt us."

"Leave me alone," the Gubazah Monster shouted.

"Let us help you," said Rhonda. "We really are sorry."

Rocky explained, "We heard about you and thought you would be mean. We were only protecting ourselves."

"I have never hurt anyone"

Rocky crept closer to the monster and said, "We did not know who were and what you were like. We were just scared. Here, you're bleeding. Let me wipe your forehead."

"Go away!"

Rhonda stated, "You are hurt and it was our fault. We will help you. Come into our shelter. Are you hungry? Do you need some food?"

"I can find my own food and I don't need your help," the Gubazah Monster said. He stood up and held his head with his hands. He started walking away.

"Please don't go away," begged Rocky. "We feel so bad."

But the Gubazah Monster kept walking into the darkness. Rocky and Rhonda were left standing alone by the fire. They felt very sad when they returned to their shelter.

"What a sad and lonely monster," Rhonda sighed. "I just feel awful about hurting him."

"I wish he would have let us help him."

"We will have to tell the other animals that he is not a bad monster. He did not try to hurt us at all." declared Rhonda.

Rocky sighed, "Yes, and we will definitely have to tell Chips and Charley. Maybe Charley will have some ideas about how we can help the Gubazah Monster."

The two friends went to bed. They both felt upset by their encounter with the monster and were thinking of what they could do to make up for what they did.