When he was a young child, Alexander’s mother used to tell him, ‘Watch out when you go into the forest, there are lots of dangerous things in there, wolves and ogres that want to eat you, witches that want to put you in a pot to make a spell, and evil men who want make you a slave for the rest of your life. There are even pixies and elves and nymphs and satyrs who will play tricks on you just for fun. There are many things in the forest beyond our understanding, so take care, and whatever you do, never let the sun go down while you are still in the forest.’

Alexander’s mother was the wife of a woodcutter, so she knew what she was talking about, and Alexander, being an obedient child, took her advice, and was always careful when he was in the forest with his father to look out for the dangerous beasts his mother had warned him about.

One hot and sticky day, Alexander decided to go to one of his favourite places in the forest: the waterfall pool. This was a deep, cool, pool of crystal water into which the local brook flowed over a rock ledge. It was a very pretty place, much frequented by the animals of the forest, and Alexander liked nothing better than to plunge into the pool’s clear depths.

It was a long walk to the pool, which was deep in the forest, so Alexander left at dawn before his parents were awake. He made his way there and dived in, but when he got out, he found that his clothes were missing. This was a mystery, as none of the animals could have taken them, and no one else of his acquaintance knew the pool existed, not even his father.

Looking around, he heard a giggling sound coming from the region of the waterfall, so he ran around the rocks as quickly as he could, and this is what he saw.

Sitting on a low branch of one of the huge oak trees was a slim, petite, elfin girl, wearing nothing but two strips of faded green cloth over her chest and hips. She was sitting with one leg tucked beneath her and the other swinging back and forth, and in her hands were Alexander’s clothes.

She looked at Alexander with an impudent grin, and in a flash she was off the branch and running through the glade towards the forest.

‘Hey! Stop!’ cried Alexander and took off after her.

She reached the edge of the woods and disappeared, leaving Alexander’s clothes in a crumpled heap on the grass. He grabbed them and put them on, then looked about for her, but there was no sign of her. Shaking his head, he turned for home, when he realised that something was missing: the jade bracelet his father had given him on his last birthday had gone.

Just then, he heard someone calling his name. It was a clear, high voice, and it was coming from deeper in the forest. Alexander hesitated, aware of the dangers of going off the paths he knew, but he was fascinated by what he’d seen. What was she? Could she be one of the nymphs his mother had mentioned? Either way, he was determined to find out, and to get his bracelet back, so he stepped into the shadow of the trees and followed the voice.

As he went deeper into the trees, the voice came closer, and he occasionally caught glimpses of her lithe form in the occasional beams of sunlight that shafted through between the trees. Every few minutes she would stand in full view of him, provoking him to try and catch her, and always flitting away at the last minute. After ten minutes he knew he was hopelessly lost, so he kept following her.

The heat was starting to make him desperately thirsty when he stumbled into a small clearing. There she was, sitting at the foot of a huge tree that had a ladder set into its side, rising up around the trunk out of sight into the branches. Alexander was about to speak when she put a finger to her lips, held up a wooden cup and a jug and beckoned him over.

She poured a golden liquid from the jug and handed the cup to him, smiling mischievously over the brim. Alexander was so thirsty, he grabbed it and drained it in one swallow. What a fabulous flavour! Sweet, yet bitter, cold and refreshing, he smiled and held out the cup. She smiled and refilled it, and he drank again. The second draught was even better than the first he thought.

Then she offered him a small wooden bowl filled with mushrooms of a kind he’d never seen before. They too were golden, and looked like they’d been dipped in honey. He ate one, and found it was so delicious he had to have another, and another…

Then the girl took him by the hand and led him up the steps into the branches of the tree, where she had a little tree-house. It was a beautiful little place built between two branches and the inside was lined with thick green moss. She took him inside and lay him down and started stroking his brow, and before too long, Alexander fell asleep.

When he awoke, it was much darker outside and she was nowhere to be seen. Looking outside he saw that the sun was setting, and he realised it would not do to be wandering around the woods at night. He was worried about his poor mother and father though, they would be wondering where he was.

Just then, the pretty little nymph appeared coming up the stairs. She was carrying her jug and the bowl of mushrooms and beckoned to him to sit and eat and drink. ‘Well,’ he thought, ‘Why not? I’ll have to stay the night now.’ So he ate and drank, and the nymph came and sat beside him and fed him mushrooms. When he was finished, she leant over and gave him a kiss on the tip of his nose. Alexander was quite surprised at this, but he thought it might be the local custom, so he kissed her back. on the nose 

Back at the woodcutter’s house, Alexander’s parents were in despair when he didn’t return before nightfall. ‘What can have happened to him George?’ cried his mother, ‘He was always so careful!’

‘Rest little mother’ said her husband, ‘He may return yet, said her husband, but secretly he knew there was little chance he would see his young son again.

When he awoke the next day, Alex could not remember who he was or how he came to be living in the forest. He had a vague recollection of two older people who had cared for him, but as each day passed his memory became less clear, and besides, he was having so much fun with his new playmate that he didn’t have much time to think about it. Every day they would eat mushrooms and drink the golden liquid and run through the forest, talking to the trees and animals and seeing wondrous visions. It was as if every day was brand new dream, and time soon lost all its meaning.

One day he awoke and heard rough deep voices at the foot of the tree. He looked down, and saw to his terror that there were two ogres at the foot of the tree, and they seemed to be having some sort of conversation with the nymph. They were arguing about something in a language he didn’t understand, but as he watched he saw the ogres hand over a large sack. The nymph opened it and looked inside, then nodded. At this, the ogres walked off a sort distance and took out what looked like a net and some poles and ropes.

He noticed the nymph climbing back up the tree and pretended to be asleep. She came in, and as usual, offered him the cup of golden liquid and the bowl of mushrooms. But Alexander was suspicious, why had she been talking to ogres? Everyone knew they were very nasty. He refused the bowl and the cup and stepped outside. She followed him and urged him to eat and drink, but again he refused. Then something strange happened: her face changed colour, her normally pretty features distorted into a hideous grimace and she started screaming at him like a wild animal.

He backed away, and stumbled on the edge of the treehouse. He almost fell, but grasped a branch and swung down to the ground. The two ogres saw him and started towards him, but he was fast, and dashed off into the woods. He ran for hours, until finally he reached the edge of the forest.

He walked in what he thought was the direction of his house, and eventually spied it, off in the distance. Relieved to be home at last he came through the front gate and opened the door. Inside, an old man and woman sat at the table. They must have been at least 80 years old. ‘Alexander!’ cried the woman ‘At last! I knew you would return!’

‘Mother?’ said Alexander ‘But what has happened to you?’

‘Why son, you’ve been missing for 40 years, we thought you were dead! Where have you been all this time?’

‘All this time?’ I’ve only been gone a few days!’

‘Look in this mirror son’, said his father, holding up a shiny plate.

Alexander looked, and saw the bedraggled unshaven face of a 55-year-old man staring back at him.

‘What…? What happened to me?’ asked Alexander, aghast at his reflection.

‘Let me guess,’ said his father, ‘you met the wood nymph and let the sun go down on you?’

‘Yes, that’s right,’ said Alexander, hanging his head.

‘We told you to be careful in the forest,’ said his mother, ‘and never let the sun go down on you. Now you have lost half your life.’

Alexander tried to remember what had been so enticing about the nymph, but his memories were all a blur. He remembered the day he met her, but everything in between was shrouded in mist.

‘Half my life,’ said Alexander with a sigh, ‘From now on I must think a lot harder before I chase off after things that look nice.’