The Good Demoness
Once upon a time, in a village, there lived a doctor named Handers, with his wife and son. Handers would wake up in the morning, gather clay, and spend his morning making all sorts of toys.
Lions, horses, carts, kings, angels, princesses. He would leave them in his workshop for painting and drying, and take the finished ones to nearby villages to sell. His wife made sure he had his breakfast and lunch.
Handers was very fond of food, and his wife cooked deliciously. He would go to four different villages daily to sell toys.
— Your lunch is ready. — Hmm, it smells so good I want to eat it all right now. Indeed, you must be the best cook in the world. — Leave now or you'll be late. — Yes, I really must go now. See you tonight. — Bye, Dad! — Bye, have a good day at school!
The Forest Encounter
To travel to some of the nearby villages, Handers often had to cross a forest. Handers loved to sit in the forest, under the shade of a tree, and eat his lunch amidst the sounds of birds and the river.
It was his daily little picnic. One day, as he was about to eat, a demoness passed by.
— Hmm, what a delicious smell! Is that the aroma of food? It smells so good! How tasty it must be! I must taste it!
Dona, the New Employee
So, the next day, the demoness waited for Handers to arrive, and as soon as she saw him coming in the distance, she transformed into a young girl, sat under a tree, as if sleeping. Handers came there and saw her.
— What is a woman doing here in the middle of the forest? — Good day, sir! — Who are you and what are you doing in the middle of the forest like this? — My name is Dona. I'm from a neighboring village. I'm traveling in search of work, but I got lost. Do you know where Riverdale village is? — Well, this is my village. Are you planning to work with anyone specific? — No, I just need work. I can take care of cattle, help in the fields, clean the house. The only thing I can't do is cook. — My wife could use someone to help around the house. Would you mind working in our home? — Sure! Why not? — So, come with me.
Dona's Secret
Thus, Handers brought the demoness into his own home. His wife was delighted to have someone to help her. The demoness proved to be an excellent worker.
She cleaned the house, looked after the animals, maintained the garden beautifully, and soon became like a member of the Handers family. She loved the food cooked by Handers' wife.
— Mrs. Handers, you must be the best cook in the world! — Ha, I tell him that too. — I've never eaten anything like this in all my thousand years in the forest! — A thousand years in the forest? — I'm sorry, it was a joke. — Ha ha ha!
Dona's Powers
One day...
— What's the matter, Harry? — Dona, look at this. My bat is broken. If Dad were here, he would fix it. — Give it to me, I'll fix it. — How did you do that? — Magic. — Witchcraft! — What? — Just kidding, Harry.
Handers' wife saw and heard everything, and something inside her was scared. That night, she spoke with Handers.
— There's something strange about Dona. — Why? Isn't she very efficient? — A little too efficient, I think. — You're thinking too much about it.
The Saving Demoness
— Dona, can you get me the ball? — Sure! — Did you see that? — She's not an ordinary human! — She's a witch! — Could she be dangerous to the village? — Handers! Handers! Come out! — What's the matter, friend? — Handers, you must get rid of her. Now! — But Dad, she's part of the family now. She's our friend. She brought the ball back for me and does so much for us. She's always helped us, Mom! — She's a witch and can never be a friend, Harry! — We must get rid of her! We must get rid of her!
The villagers brought torches to scare the demoness, but suddenly the flame from one of the torches ignited a man's hut, and his son was trapped inside.
— Dad, help! — My son! Quick, get water! — Wait! — You saved my child! — John, my son, are you alright? — She saved me, Mom! — You brought my son out of the fire safely! Thank you very much! — See? I told you. Dona is not an enemy. She's part of the family. She's our friend.
Dona's Departure and the Moral of the Story
— We're sorry, Dona. — We're sorry. We saw you using your powers and thought you would harm us. — No, it's not your fault. I'm the one who lied to you and came here. The truth is, when I saw your husband enjoying your delicious food, I was consumed by the desire to eat it too. That's why I took this form and came here. I shouldn't have lied to you. I'm sorry. You are a wonderful cook, Mrs. Handerson. But now, I think it's time for me to leave. — Don't go, Dona! — My place is in the forest, Harry. But you can come visit me anytime you want, okay?
Don't forget: if you want people to trust you, you must be honest too. And always judge people by what they do and not by how they look. If they are kind, it doesn't matter what race of creatures they belong to, whether they are humans or demonesses.
