Beyond the Hedge

If you really don’t want your children going somewhere – if you are honestly and legitimately afeared for their life, the last thing you should do is forbid it. I wonder sometimes whether the people of this village know that. They are good people. Kind people. Competent people, even, though on the whole not what I would call wise. I suspect they see wisdom as outside their purview. When I am out foraging I come across them often, the children forbidden to play beyond the hedge. The first few times they will gasp and hide, hoping I did not see. Hoping I will not scold them, or tell their parents. After three or four times, when it becomes clear that I will not, the gasps will turn to giggles. I have no reason to tell their parents. I am not afraid of the forest; we are the most dangerous things here.

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