Once upon a time, there was a mole who was walking along the side of the road when he heard someone talking. When he went to investigate, he saw a young man trying to get the attention of the pretty girl in front of him.
"Come on, Sarah, you know I'm right," said the boy, walking quickly to keep up with her pace. She said nothing, as she called upon a horse and carriage to take her home. The young man looked on in sadness as she drove away.
"What's the matter, young fellow?". asked the mole. "She didn't seem too happy you were talking to her."
The boy sighed. "That lady, my friend, is the love of my life."
"How is she the love of your life if she won't even speak to you?", asked the confused mole.
"She loves me too, but she's married to an arrogant jerk will not allow her to leave him. He threatened to have me killed if I ever came near the house, so she could not run away with me. She's basically a prisoner in her own marriage," sighed the boy. He looked back at the path longingly. "The first time I saw her, she was walking to the market. She wore a blue dress and her soft blonde hair fell around her shoulders like a veil. The first time she looked at me, it was like all time had frozen, and she and I were the only two people in the world. I could feel every beat of my heart pounding in my ears as I looked into her sapphire blue eyes, and I just knew she was the one."
The mole couldn't help but feel sorry for the young man.
"I'll help you!", he exclaimed. "Maybe you can talk to him, see if he'll listen to reason."
"I don't think you can", said the boy. "I appreciate the thought, but her husband is a stubborn mule. Reasoning with him does nothing. If anything, it simply fuels his anger."
"Well, we'll have to come up with another plan then. If I can distract him, maybe she can sneak out, and you two could run away before he notices", said the mole, as the wheels in his head turned. "I can make some sort of scene where he has to leave the house, and then, you go inside, get the girl, and move as fast as you can."
The boy contemplated this idea. "I think it may work. Thank you, mole. I appreciate you helping me."
"Anything for love", said the mole, smiling at his new friend.
The next day, they went to the girl's house, quietly observing everyone from the safety of the nearby bushes. Her husband was sitting on the front porch, reading a paper.
The mole and the boy said their final goodbyes, with the boy thanking the mole for helping him.
The mole crept up to the porch and, in a quick leap, stole the man's newspaper.
"Hey! You come back here, you filthy animal!", said the man, running to chase after the mole. The mole weaved in and out of the trees until he saw the boy and girl get into a carriage. He hid still behind a tree, and waved to the boy who would forever be grateful. As he listened, he did not hear anything, so he thought the man may have gone home. When he heard yelling coming from the house, he knew he was right. Unfortunately, the man realized the mole was an accomplice, so he came back out of the house with a gun.
The mole, having nowhere else to go, dove into the ground, barely missing the first bullet.
"You better stay down there, you rascal. I'll be waiting. The second you decide to come back out, you're a goner." said the man, infuriated.
Alas, the mole succeeded in his mission, but he could not go back into the outside world again, so he was sentenced to a lifetime of being underground. Every time he wished he could go up into the world, he would think of the family he helped and come to the same conclusion every time: he wouldn't change a thing.
Author's Note: So, there are definitely several changes from the original story, which had the mole help by taking the heart of the girl and having the boy swallow it so she would return his feelings. I didn't quite agree with the bordering-on-cannabalism act, so I wanted to go more classic, with a story of forbidden love. One of the biggest differences was that in my story, the girl did return the boy's feelings. In the original, she actually disliked him, so when he swallowed her heart, she was actually surprised to feel so attracted to him. I also wanted it to be slightly more realistic, so I decided not have any magic. In the original story, the boy had first gone to some magicians to see if they could help, but they could not. When they found out that the mole succeeded, they were angry because they always thought the mole was too insignificant. They became jealous and threatened to kill him, so he hid in the ground. I kept that last part similar, but I wanted the mole to have some joy over the fact that he helped bring other people joy, even if it meant him having to stay underground forever. I'm a little sad that this is my last story to be honest, but if you're reading it, I hope you enjoyed it!
Image: Pixabay