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Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived an old, grumpy witch. She lived in a secluded forest on her own, keeping herself away from others as much as possible. The people in her town all believed that she was evil, thus, no one really bothered get close to her or visit the forest where she lived.
For years, the townsmen have not seen the witch, and they assumed that she was dead, -- probably due to animal attack or of hunger. So they started sweeping the woods to confirm their doubts. For months they took turns in searching the grounds, until they were convinced that the witch was indeed gone.
Since then, the townsmen had started coming to the forest on a daily basis. They felt safe and peaceful whenever they went to gather some firewood or flowers or fruits. Even children were allowed to go, too, whenever their parents would send them to do some tasks.
One day, a girl named Linda was asked by her mother to gather some berries for her aunt who recently gave birth. The little girl happily did as she was told, for she so loved coming to the forest. The whole afternoon, she did her task, until she noticed that it was already dark and she needed to go home.
On her way home, she realized that the path that she had taken was unfamiliar, she felt unsure and scared as it was getting darker with every step she took.
"Are you lost, young one?," a gentle voice from behind her asked. Linda turned to see an old woman smiling at her. She had never seen a warmer smile, and the little girl felt suddenly safe.
"Yes, I think so. This was not the trail that I took when I came here. I must have strayed too far," she sighed.
"I see. Come, I'm going to take you to the trail." Linda nodded in awe and followed the woman. As they talked, she learned that the woman was living on her own and that she had no family. But despite it all, she remained happy and strong. Linda admired her more for being so brave.
Not long after, they reached the road, and the old woman bade her a safe journey. Linda thanked her and asked if she could visit sometime. The old woman's face lightened up in agreement. That night, both souls had slept with a smile on their faces, knowing they found a new friend. And surely, the next day, Linda went to find the woman's house in the middle of the forest.
This went on for months until one day, one of the residents of the town went to the forest and happened to see the little girl heading to a small cottage on her own. He instinctively followed the girl, but when she entered the house, he wasn't able to see or hear anything. So he stayed and waited.
When it was almost dark, the door flew open, and as he had expected, the girl was about to go home. He hid himself behind a bush, and was ready to dismiss the incident when a second person appeared behind the girl. It was the evil witch!
He jumped and ran back to the town and told everyone what he just saw. The townspeople immediately marched towards the said house with weapons and torches.
"No! Stop! She's my friend!," Linda cried as she begged them not to hurt the old woman. But the townspeople were enraged.
"She is an evil witch!"
"You don't know her!"
"Stay away from her!"
"Alright," the old woman finally said, quieting everyone. "It's okay, Linda. I can find another home."
"That's unfair!," Linda protested, "They don't know how kind you are." She turned to her neighbors, "Mr.Harrison, do you remember when you were chased by a bear, and it disappeared all of a sudden? Mrs.Thomas, do you remember when you desperately needed herbs for your son's illness, and there was none. But on your way home you found a thick bush of the plant that you needed?" Everyone fell quiet. They couldn't believe that the old woman had been protecting them all those time.
"The list goes on," Linda continued, "but you were all blinded by your judgement. She is a good person! The gentlest you could ever meet. And she is my friend. So don't you dare touch her."
The townspeople muttered their apologies and quietly went home. Linda and the old woman stayed until there was only one person left in front of them -- Linda's mother. The little girl ran to embrace her mother. "I am so proud of you," her mother whispered to her.
That night, the trio had a tea party at the small cottage in the middle of the forest. They talked about many things, they laughed, and hoped that no one else would suffer from other people's false judgements.
The old woman stayed in the forest, and the people of their town had sincerely apologized to her. Linda was glad that she did the right thing when no one else tried.