Chapter 53: In the Forest 1.

— Mmm—said a voice beneath them.

When they looked down at the ground, they saw a gnome one meter twenty tall looking at them from a hole with the face of few friends.

His skin was wrinkled and brown, he wore a green coat with a belt, and he wore a pointed orange hat.

— Bad group—he murmured.

Grumbling loudly, Yuba, the gnome, came out of his burrow, opened the gate with a small white cane, and led his students to the Blue Forest.

For a moment, everyone forgot the grudges and watched in wonder at the blue paradise around them.

Each tree, each flower, and each blade of grass shone with a different tone.

The fine rays of the sun filtered through the cerulean treetops, painting the trunks turquoise and the flowers navy blue.

Deer grazed on blue lilacs, crows, and hummingbirds mumbled among sapphire-colored nettles, squirrels, and rabbits ran among cobalt blue heather to meet storks that watered in an ultramarine pond.

None of the animals seemed to be frightened or upset in the least by the presence of the students.

Near them, Sophie caught a glimpse of bony stymphals sleeping in a blue nest.

Sophie recognized the one who had brought them to school.

Aric and Japeth seemed to recognize the one who transported them because they drew their knives and were ready to turn it into bone broth.

— Remind, if you kill one of those birds, you will most likely replace it—Sophie casually commented.

The boys thought better of it and lowered the knives.

Sophie placed a hand on each boy's back and guided them away from the helpless birds.

As students followed, Yuba told the story of the Blue Forest in a breathy, soporific voice.

Long ago, there were no shared classes between the students of the School of Good and those of the School of Evil.

Instead, students graduated directly from their school and went to the Infinite Forest.

But before they could engage in battle, Good and Evil inevitably fell prey to hungry wild boars, thieving imps, exotic spiders, and sometimes anthropophagous tulips.

— We had forgotten something obvious - Yuba observed—It is not possible to survive in a fairy tale if you cannot survive in the forest.

Thus, the school created the Blue Forest as a training ground.

The characteristic blue foliage was born from protective spells that prevented the passage of intruders, and at the same time reminded the students that it was just an imitation of other treacherous forests.

The students saw firsthand how treacherous the royal forest could be when Yuba took them across the north portico.

Although the sun was still shining on that summer afternoon, the dark, dense forest repelled it like a shield.

It was a forest of eternal night; The shadows darkened every inch of green foliage.

As their eyes became accustomed to the deep darkness, the students could see a tiny path that opened between the trees, like the line of life in the palm of an old man.

On both sides of the path, vines strangled the trees into a compact mass, and there was hardly any undergrowth among the vegetation.

What prevailed from the ground had been buried under shattered thorns, sharp twigs, and a mitten of cobwebs.

But none of this frightened the students as much as the sounds coming from the darkness beyond the path.

Moans and snorts echoed in the bowels of the forest, while harsh noises and growls added a macabre harmony.

Then the students began to see what caused these noises.

From the depths of dark, eyes in pairs watched them:

Diabolical red and yellow eyes, blinking, disappeared and reappeared closer than before.

The terrible noises grew louder, the demonic eyes multiplied, the forest creaked with life, and just as the students saw lurking silhouettes advancing from the fog…

— Over here - Yuba told them.

The students ran out of the fence and followed the gnome towards the Blue Clearing without looking back.

How to survive the Fairy Tales was like other classes, Yuba explained, standing on a turquoise stump, and for each challenge, students were ranked from 1 to 16.

Only now there was something else at stake:

Twice a year, each of the fifteen groups would send their best Ever and their best Never to compete in the school's Grand Test.

Yuba gave no further explanation about this mysterious competition, except that the winners received five first-place ratings.

The students in his group looked at each other; Everyone thought the same thing:

The winner of the Grand Test would undoubtedly be Class Captain.

— Now, there are five rules that separate Good from Evil—continued the gnome, and wrote them in the air with his smoking staff.

1. Evil attacks. Good defends.

2. Evil punishes. Good forgives.

3. Evil hurts. Good helps.

4. Evil takes away. Good offers.

5. Evil hates. Good loves.

— As long as they obey the rules that correspond to them, they will have the best chance of surviving their fairy tale - Yuba explained to the group gathered on the navy blue lawn—It should be easy for them to comply with these rules, of course.

— They have been elected to their schools precisely because they represent them at their highest level! But first, you must learn to recognize Good and Evil - Yuba said—In the forest, appearances sometimes deceive:

Snow White almost died because she thought an old woman was kind.

Little Red Riding Hood found herself in the stomach of a wolf because she did not recognize the difference between family and demon.

Even Belle had a hard time distinguishing between a horrible beast and a noble prince.

They had unnecessary suffering.

No matter how much Good and Evil masquerade themselves, they can always be differentiated.

They must pay close attention, and they must remember the rules.

For the challenge of the class, the teacher announced, each student had to distinguish between an Ever and a Never in disguise, by observing their behavior.

The one who correctly identified the student of Good and the student of Evil the quickest would receive the first place.

Hort volunteered to get started.

As soon as the tattered blindfold was tied over her eyes, Yuba pointed her cane at Millicent and Ravan, who magically withered into their pink and black outfits and grew smaller and smaller, until only two identical cobras remained.

Hort took off his blindfold.

— Well? — Yuba asked.

— For me, they are the same - Hort replied.

— Test them! —Yuba scolded— Use the rules!

— I don't even remember them - Hort replied.

— Next! —grumbled the gnome.

For Dot, he transformed Beatrix and Hort into unicorns.

But one of the unicorns began to imitate the other and vice versa, until both jumped back and forth as in mimicry.

— Rule one! Evil attacks! Good defends! — Yuba shouted—Who started, Dot?

— Alas! Can we start again?

— Not just bad - Yuba mumbled—appalling!

He narrowed his eyes to read his scroll with names.

— Who wants to help Tedros?

All the girls Always raised their hands.

— You haven't participated yet - Yuba said, pointing to Sophie—And neither have you—he told Agatha.