quotes to use:
The cat-faced purr’d, The rat-faced spoke a word Of welcome, and the snail-paced even was heard
Beside the brook, along the glen, She heard the tramp of goblin men,
Use for Away with the Goblins ending: Took their gifts both choice and many, Ate their fruits and wore their flowers Pluck’d from bowers Where summer ripens at all hours?
Would talk about the haunted glen, The wicked, quaint fruit-merchant men, Their fruits like honey to the throat But poison in the blood;
Goblin's Song: Morning and evening Maids heard the goblins cry: “Come buy our orchard fruits, Come buy, come buy: Apples and quinces, Our grapes fresh from the vine, Pomegranates full and fine, Wild free-born cranberries, Pine-apples, blackberries, Apricots, strawberries;— All ripe together In summer weather,— Morns that pass by, Sweet to tongue and sound to eye; Come buy, come buy.”
Page One (firstPage): Every evening, while walking alongside the brook, PlayerOne would tilt her head to better hear the strange song echoing out of the wooded glen. PlayerTwo would try, unsuccessfully, to hide the embarrassment that the sound always made her feel, cheeks flushing hot in the cooling evening air. The two would huddle close as the light faded, locking arms and whispering to each other to be brave. "Stay close," said PlayerOne, lifting up her head to peer into the dark, "We must not look at goblin men, We must not buy their fruits: Who knows upon what soil they fed Their hungry thirsty roots?"
As if in answer, the song echoed down, encircling the girls. "Come buy, come buy," heralding the weird parade of creatures that hobbled towards them in the dying light. go to page 2
Page Two (secondPage): "Don't look" cried PlayerTwo, taking care to cover her eyes to lest she give in to her own curiosity. PlayerOne ignored PlayerTwo's caution and, in an excited whisper, described to her companion each odd and fantastic creature as it came into view. They were men, of a sort; most were quite small and had animal features rarely seen in those who walked on two legs. Some had tails and others pointed noses, some were plumed in feathers, others covered in quills. In their paws and hands, they carried baskets and shiny plates weighed down with brightly colored and unfamiliar fruit.
Choice for PlayerTwo What do you do: Run go to page 3 or Stay go to page 30
Alternative Choice: Stay Page Thirty (Alternate): Topping Quote: "Their offers should not charm us, Their evil gifts would harm us."
Frightened almost past bearing, but loathe to leave her less stalwart sister, PlayerOne, in the path of the eerie procession, PlayerTwo marshaled her fear. Tightly entwining her fingers with those of PlayerOne's, she dropped her eyes to the mossy path and half-walked, half-dragged them both toward the safe harbor of home. Curious, but unwilling to vex her sister, PlayerTwo allowed herself to be stolen away, but not without much craning of her neck to spy the assembled crew. PlayerTwo, resolutely pledged that she would take care to turn home from fetching water at an earlier hour in days to come. END/Loop
Default Choice: Run
Page Three (Default): Topping Quote: "Their offers should not charm us, Their evil gifts would harm us."
Horrified, PlayerTwo broke and, sticking her fingers in her ears, closed her eyes and ran homeward. PlayerOne, too curious to heed the fear of PlayerTwo, stretched up onto her toes to better see the troop of merchantmen. One had a animalInput1's face, One animalInput5 whisked a tail, One tramp'd at a animalInput2's pace, One crawl'd like a snail, One like a animalInput3 prowl'd obtuse and furry, One like a animalInput4 tumbled hurry skurry. The noisy assemblage slowed to a stop directly before PlayerOne, throwing glances between themselves and smiling at unknown brotherly pranks. As one, they revealed their wares, placing their baskets on the green moss or hoisting heavy golden plates dripping with brightly colored fruits. Cajoling, each offered PlayerOne their wares.
Choice for PlayerOne: Speak to the Goblins go to page 4 / Stay Silent go to page 31
Default Choice: Speak to the Goblins
Page Four: Topping Quote: "Clearer than water flow'd that juice; She never tasted such before,"
Politely, PlayerOne explained that she did not have any money and would not be able to purchase any of the beautiful fruit. With the luck of the sweet-toothed, the goblins suggested a different price: "You have much wealth upon your head, Buy from us with a hairInput curl." She clipped a lock and paid in full, after which she, shyly at first, accepted a beautiful fruitInput. Before long, she was gorging herself on fruit globes beyond description. They were unlike anything she'd ever tasted, fruits from that unknown orchard were sweeter than honey and stronger than any wine. PlayerOne ate until her lips were sore and face sticky from the juices, never feeling the slightest sickness despite the king's portion she consumed. Finally, not knowing if it was day or night, PlayerOne tossed aside the empty rinds and, on an impulse, gathered up one of the seed kernels before turning for home. to to page 5
Page ThirtyOne:
Alternative Choice: Stay Silent
Topping Quote: PlayerOne stared but did not stir, Long’d but had no money: The whisk-tail’d merchant bade her taste In tones as smooth as honey,
Whether her shyness grew from her lack of money, or was awe of the strange coterie who addressed her, PlayerOne did not reply. Smiling politely with eyes cast to the edge of the moss at her feet she gave a brief shake of her head. Denying their pretty words and obsequious manners, PlayerOne would not look raise her head nor speak. Rebuffed, the merchantmen hoisted up their baskets and plates and Backwards up the mossy glen Turn'd and troop'd the goblin men, With their shrill repeated cry, "Come buy, come buy." As they filed away into the deep forest, the last of their number, a small inputAnimal5-faced goblin, scrabbled upon the uneven bank. One perfect inputFruit escaped from the basket balanced on his head and rolled down the hill where it came to a stop at PlayerOne's foot.
PlayerOne Choice: Give PlayerTwo the fruit go to page 33/ eat the fruit go to page 32
Page ThirtyTwo:
Default: Eat the Fruit
Topping Quote: How fair the vine must grow Whose fruitInput are so luscious; How warm the wind must blow Through those fruit bushes.”
The goblin's song was still echoing in her ears as PlayerOne snatched up the fruitInput and ran homewards. She reached the end of the woods, where her home, lit by lantern and candle, was visible in the deepening twilight. PlayerOne pulled out the fruit and ate it. It was beyond description, this fruit from an unknown orchard; sweeter than honey in the rock and stronger than any wine brewed by man. She savored each bite and then sucked the juices from her fingers. Pocketing the kernel-stone, she brushed back her hair and walked up the garden path to where her sister, PlayerTwo awaited her at the gate.
PlayerOne Choice: Go home go to page 5 or Go away with the Goblins go to page 13
Page ThirtyThree:
Alternative: Give Fruit to PlayerTwo
Topping Quote: To-morrow night I will Buy more;” and kiss’d her: “Have done with sorrow; I’ll bring you plums to-morrow"
PlayerTwo met PlayerOne at the gate, concern making her words harsh. "Where have you been? It's much to late for anyone to be in the woods alone."
"Nevermind that," said PlayerOne, "PlayerTwo, you will not believe what I have seen!" PlayerOne told PlayerTwo of the weirdling men and the lovely fruit she had seen. Pitying PlayerTwo for missing the rare treat, PlayerOne offered her the fruitInput that had rolled from the goblin merchant's pack only to be rescued from the ministrations of the cold hard ground. She felt magnanimous in gifting the fruitInput to PlayerTwo as she would visit the goblin market promised the next day and bring back more of the fruit to share. go to page 35
Page ThirtyFive: PlayerTwo eats the fruit and dies.
Topping Quote: Sought them by night and day, Found them no more, but dwindled and grew grey; While to this day no grass will grow Where she lies low:
PlayerTwo unaware of from where the inputFruit came, and unwilling to refuse the gift of a beloved sister, ate the inputFruit PlayerOne gave her. The fruit was unparalleled in sweetness, unlike any PlayerTwo had ever tasted. She never tasted such before, ,,, She suck’d and suck’d and suck’d the more Fruits which that unknown orchard bore; She suck’d until her lips were sore; As time passed, PlayerTwo became as if sick, no longer lighthearted nor taking joy in simple work. Her eyes dulled, her hair greyed, and food no longer held an interest. As PlayerOne watched, her sister faded in front of her. Fretting that the cause was none other than her gift of the goblins' fruitInput, she returned each night to the glen at twilight, straining to hear the goblin's cry, "Come buy, come buy!" but it never came.
As the first snow fell, so did PlayerTwo, leaving her sister, PlayerOne bereft. On the twilight of that day, PlayerOne wept by the brook long past twilight and, over the rattle of her sobs, she one again caught the familiar tune. Faintly, she could hear the market-call blowing on the new winter breeze. END
Page Five: PlayerTwo met PlayerOne at the gate, concern making her words harsh. "Where have you been? It's much to late for anyone to be in the woods alone." PlayerTwo reminded PlayerOne of the neighbor, Jeanie/possible name3, who had dallied with the goblin men one day. Engaged to be married, she died a maid obsessed with finding the goblin men ever after. "Sought them by night and day, Found them no more, but dwindled and grew grey; Then fell with the first snow, While to this day no grass will grow Where she lies low:"
"Nevermind that," said PlayerOne, "PlayerTwo, you will not believe what I have seen!" PlayerOne told PlayerTwo of the lovely fruit she had eaten. Even now, in the retelling, PlayerOne hungered for the fruit which only just now left her feeling uncomfortably full. Pitying PlayerTwo for missing the rare treat, PlayerOne promised to go the next day and bring back some of the fruit to share. go to page 6
Page Six: Rising early the next morning, PlayerOne and PlayerTwo set to their daily chores. PlayerTwo was bright and cheerful in her work, but PlayerOne was distracted, worn, and longing for nightfall. Finally, the day began to wind down just as the two went to fetch water from the reedy brook. The sunset threw shadows on the distant mountain crags, signaling the time for return to home and safety, but PlayerOne loitered and delayed. She was looking for some hint of the customary herd of figures to come racing, whisking, tumbling, hobbling out of the glen, but not a single paw or whisker was to be seen.
Anxious, PlayerTwo urged: "O PlayerOne, come; I hear the fruit-call but dare not look: You should not loiter longer at this brook: Come with me home."
PlayerOne felt cold fall over her as she realized that PlayerTwo alone could hear the goblin cry, "Come by our fruits, come buy." Never again would she taste the marvelous fruit and her heart seemed to creak like old wood with longing. go to page 7
Page Seven: Topping Quote: She never caught again the goblin cry: "Come buy, come buy;" -- She never spied the goblin men Hawking their fruits along the glen:
Home again, PlayerOne crawled to bed, but sleep would not come. Long after PlayerTwo had fallen into rest, PlayerOne lay awake, tortured with hunger and gnashing her teeth at the memory of need unfulfilled. Each night, PlayerTwo traded sleep for tears and every minute would listen for call that would never come.
One day, PlayerOne recalled the fruitInput kernel-stone, secreted in her pocket following that feverish feast. In desperation, she placed it in a little pot and watered it with her ever-flowing tears. "She dream'd of melons, as a traveller sees False waves in desert drouth With shade of leaf-crown'd trees, And burns the thirstier in the sandful breeze." No longer would PlayerOne tend to her chores or eat, her hairInput locks seemed to grey, and her days passed sitting listlessly in the chimney-nook. go to page 8 or insert seed sidestory
Page Eight:
Topping Quote: At twilight, halted by the brook: And for the first time in her life Began to listen and look.
PlayerTwo's heart ached for PlayerOne; her distress further increased by the now morning and night cry of the goblins' "Come buy our orchard fruits, Come buy, come buy." Finally, the day came when PlayerOne seemed to be leaving this world and PlayerTwo had to act. Pocketing her silver penny, she kissed PlayerOne and set out at twilight to find the market. "Laugh'd every goblin When they spied her peeping: Came towards her hobbling, Flying, running, leaping" The animalInput1-faced and animalInput2-faced, animalInput3- and animalInput4-like, snail-paced in a hurry, and the animalInput5-voiced surrounded her, stretching up panniers and plates of jewel-like fruits and fruitInput unearthly delights. go to page 9
Page Nine:
Topping Quote: Nay, take a seat with us, Honour and eat with us,
"Good folk," said PlayerTwo. Tossing them her silver penny, held out her apron and bid them "Give me much and many, all that my penny will buy." Unlike merchants of the human sort, the goblins did not seem keen to accept PlayerTwo's proposed exchange. Instead, they bade her to sit and eat with them as their honored guest. After all, their wondrous fruits were ripe only fleetingly and would rapidly spoil if not presently enjoyed.
Choice for PlayerTwo: Buy the Fruit go to page 10 / Eat the Fruit go to page 34
Default Choice for PlayerTwo: Buy the Fruit
Page Ten:
Topping quote: Twitch'd her hair out by the roots, Stamp'd upon her tender feet, Held her hands and squeez'd their fruits Against her mouth to make her eat.
"Thank you," said PlayerTwo, "But one waits at home alone for me... If you will not sell me any of your fruits, then give me back my silver penny." The once magnanimous smiles and cajoling voices turned hard and sharp, calling her "proud" and "uncivil". Wagging tails and purring transformed into tail lashing and snarls as they began to jostle and crowd her. Claws raked at her and tore her gown, small paws pinching her black as ink, as the horde attempted to force upon her that which they previously tried to beguile.
Having expected no less, PlayerTwo "utter'd not a word; Would not open lip from lip lest they should cram a mouthful in: But laugh'd in heart to feel the drip Of juice that syrrup'd all her face,
The torment went on and on, until the cock crowed his morning warning and, exhausted by her resistance, the goblins flung back her penny and dispersed. Some sank into the ground like worms, some dived into the brook, others flew away on the gale and the last disappeared into the distance. go to page 11
Page Eleven:
Topping Quote: For your sake I have braved the glen And had to do with with goblin merchant men.
Aching, limbs stinging, and skin tingling, PlayerTwo snatched up her penny and tore through the forest back to PlayerOne. Her heart was so light with joy and hope, as she flew home she laughed inside.
"PlayerOne!" she cried as she ran up the garden. Calling for her sister to come and kiss her fruit stained cheek:
Squeez'd from goblin fruits for you, Goblin pulp and goblin dew.
Horrified, PlayerOne, startled up from her chair and in fear that PlayerTwo had doomed herself for the sake of her sister, tore at her greying curls. Crying once again, PlayerOne kissed PlayerTwo's cheeks repeatedly, until her lips began to scorch. The second taste of the fruit was a wormwood feast, and a fire flew through her blood as life returned to PlayerOne. Light danced back into her eyes, the grey fled from her hairInput locks, and innocent laughter returned to her voice. go to page 12
Page Twelve:
Final Quote: For there is no friend like a sister To fetch one if one goes astray, To lift one if one totters down, To strengthen whilst one stands.
Long years later, when both had children of their own, they would tell the story of the dangers of the woods and how a sister would stand fast in deadly peril to save the other. One cannot prevent the temptations in life, you can't keep the goblins from crying "Come Buy, come buy," but neither must you heed it. And, if your desire to know, to see, to taste overwhelms you, hopefully you'll have a clever sister nearby.
END
Page ThirtyFour:
Alternative Choice for PlayerTwo: Eat the Fruit
Topping Quote: PlayerOne talked about the haunted glen, The wicked, quaint fruit-merchant men, Their fruits like honey to the throat But poison in the blood;
Driven by her desire to help her sister, playerTwo was afraid to refuse the hospitality of the merchantmen. Reluctance easily mistaken for shyness, she settled carefully onto the soft moss, smoothing her empty apron over her lap. The goblins surrounded her, offering their multitude of wares. Chattering like animalInput1, Fluttering like animalInput3, Gliding like animalInput2,— Stretch’d up their dishes, Panniers, and plates She accepted a fruitInput and, like a swimmer plunges into a chilly lake, bit into the sweet flesh lest she change her mind. That bite led to a second and on and on as her hosts placed their strange harvest before her. Gone were her thoughts of home and PlayerOne, gone was her sense of day and night, stolen away along with her plan to hide a fruitInput in the folds of her apron. Hands sticky and mouth aching, thought and memory returned and playerTwo was alone. Her companions were not long departed as she could hear their song in the woods before her.
PlayerTwo Choice: Go home go to page 14 or Follow the Goblins go to page 15
Page Thirteen:
Alternative Choice for PlayerOne: Eat the Fruit and Stay with the Goblins
Topping Quote: Took their gifts both choice and many, Ate their fruits and wore their flowers Pluck’d from bowers Where summer ripens at all hours?
END
Page Fourteen: Default Choice for PlayerTwo: Go home and die with her sister
Topping Quote: Folks talked about the haunted glen, The wicked, quaint fruit-merchant men, Their fruits like honey to the throat But poison in the blood;
Foggy headed and empty handed, playerTwo turned homeward. Steps heavy with shame and dread she made the long slow walk out of the glen and up the garden path. Seeing her, playerOne, climbed from her chair and clutching her wan face with thin hands,
“playerTwo, playerTwo, have you tasted
For my sake the fruit forbidden?
Must your light like mine be hidden,
Your young life like mine be wasted,
Undone in mine undoing,
And ruin’d in my ruin,
Thirsty, canker’d, goblin-ridden?”—
Reaching her, playerTwo collapsed in her arms, following her sister into tears just as, weeks later, she followed her into the grave. Both were buried at the edge of the woods where, years later a fruitInput grew. Those who remember the tale of the two sisters say the fruit is cursed and all shun the eating of it.
END
Page Fifteen: Alternative Choice for PlayerTwo: Stay with the Goblins
Topping Quote: Took their gifts both choice and many, Ate their fruits and wore their flowers Pluck’d from bowers Where summer ripens at all hours?
Clutching her empty apron between her sticky fruit-stained hands, playerTwo fought back a wave of despair. She had failed to obtain the fruit that would set playerOne free. Unable to return home bereft of that last hope, playerTwo did not know what to do or where to go. Again, the night breeze carried the cry "Come buy, come buy" and, turning slowly on her heel, playerTwo followed it into the dark forest.
END
Moral Assessments: Joyful
You made it through the Goblin Market! It wasn't easy and sometimes the circumstances took you down a dark path, but you strove to find the light: protecting your loved ones and resisting the temptation of Goblin Fruit. Take care that your devotion to steady and safe doesn't keep you from entering the woods in the first place. After all, one needs the dark to appreciate the light.
Tragic Your choices led to a tragic end, whether because of your own curiosity or that of another. While it may have brought you here, you are among the small society who have had a glimpse into the secreted world of the Goblin Market. Few others have tasted the Goblin Fruit. Sometimes the desire for knowledge, to see and experience the world around us, can be harshly rewarded, but no one can say yours is a life un-lived.