Ryška Fox and the Rowan-Berry Lanterns

Ryška Fox lived in a den beneath a rocky hill. In autumn the evenings grew dark early, and the forest paths turned gray after sunset. Ryška noticed that some animals were still trying to find their way home when the daylight had gone.

One evening she saw a little badger beside the stream. He wandered among the ferns and could not find the path to his family’s den.

“Come with me,” said Ryška, and she led him home. On the way back she looked at a rowan tree beside the path. It was covered with red berries. Each berry looked like a tiny light.

Ryška had an idea. She would make lanterns from the rowan berries.

The next day she gathered dry grass stems, thin twigs, and several large leaves. She threaded the rowan berries onto strong grass strings and hung them inside little twig circles. Her first lantern fell apart. On the second, the berries looked like a little red rain. On the third try, she made a beautiful round lantern.

She hung it beside the stream. When dusk came, the lantern swung gently, and the red berries shone in the moonlight.

An owl flew over. “That is not a light for owls,” he hooted. “We can see even in darkness.”

“But it can show you where the path begins,” said Ryška.

Then a doe arrived with her fawn. The fawn was afraid to cross the little bridge. Ryška hung two more lanterns along the railing. The red lights made a beaded path.

“I am not afraid anymore,” said the fawn, and carefully crossed.

Ryška made another lantern for the rabbits, one for the mice, and one for the dwarfs living beneath the oak. As she worked, others joined her. Ája the squirrel brought nutshells, the badger held the twigs, and a little frog counted the rowan berries.

When evening came, the whole forest glowed. The lanterns did not burn like fire. They simply shone with their quiet red color, as if each one held a little piece of sunshine.

The animals walked along the lighted paths and greeted one another. No one became lost. Even the old mole came out of his tunnel because he found a lantern hanging low near the entrance.

“Darkness does not feel so large when many little lights shine inside it,” he said.

Ryška sat beneath the rowan tree. A few berries were still left on its branches. “Rowan berries are most beautiful when they help someone find the way home,” she whispered.

As night deepened, the animals settled down to sleep. The lanterns slowly faded because the moon rose higher and took over their watch.

Ryška returned to her den. She hung the smallest lantern on her door. The rowan berries tinkled softly whenever the wind passed by.

The fox closed her eyes. She dreamed that the whole forest was breathing in a gentle red glow, and every path led to a warm and safe home.