Beware of advice from guides you don’t hire.
The prompt is:
GET OFF MY MOUNTAIN!
The trail up the mountain was one switchback after another, and the summit was nowhere in sight.
“How much further?” Janet asked for the umpteenth time—at least by Barry’s counting.
Janet was as adventurous as he was, and if he hadn’t been the one to suggest this route, he would have been whining even louder.
He didn’t bother answering, especially since he didn’t actually know. He had never hiked this trail before either, and he suspected the “guide” at the café this morning was probably sitting in the hotel bar right now, having a good laugh at their expense.
At least this part of the trail had stones that formed a natural stairway, so he suppressed that thought and was about to offer another “We’ve never been closer” platitude when a deep, rumbling voice stopped them in their tracks.
“Who dares to trespass on my mountain?”
They both looked around but couldn’t see who had spoken.
“Are you deaf?” the voice rumbled again. “Or just stupid?”
“Hey,” Barry protested, certain now that the guide was using a radio or something to play tricks. “That isn’t funny.”
“I’m not trying to be funny. I asked you a simple question.”
Barry’s face flushed, but Janet touched his arm. “I’m Janet, and this is Barry,” she said in the most innocent voice she could muster. “We didn’t know we were trespassing. And we didn’t see you—we still don’t, in fact.”
“Why, I’m down here.” The voice sounded much more reasonable.
“Down where?” Barry was still mad.
“Right at your feet. Are you blind, too?”
Barry and Janet looked down at a large, round boulder on the side of the path. When it blinked and smiled, they nearly fell over themselves running away as bellowing laughter followed them down the mountain.
THE END
Comments