The Tale of Little Aelo

The walls are there for our safety, little one. The safety of the adults, and the safety of the children.
Little Aelo lived with her parents in the town of Boddily-boo. She didn't understand about the walls. Every morning the farmers and the guards would leave the town through its big gates and every evening they would come back. Every morning Litte Aelo would stand in the road and look at the bright green grass and the dark green woods. Every evening, as the last of the light went away, she would be stood in the same place to watch them come home. More than anything she wanted to go with them, to run in the grass and see what the woods looked like close to.
One morning she told her mother she was fetching water from the well, but instead she hid inside an empty barrel, while it was waiting on a cart to be taken outside. It was stuffy and uncomfortable inside the barrel and it smelled of mouldy millet. Yuck! The cart bumped on the cobbles and bumped on the road, but mostly it bumped the barrel until Little Aelo was sore all over. Once the cart had stopped, she peeped out and when she was sure no-one was watching, she popped off the lid and ran.
The bright grass felt so good against her legs, and she rolled around in it, giggling. She'd never seen grass so tall and green, nor so much of it. Before the farmers and guards came back, she ran towards the woods. It took longer than she thought, as the woods were as far away as three times the size of Boddily-boo. She was out of breath by the time she reached them. The trunks were brown and straight, just like in her picture books. The leaves were the same dark green she dreamed of, and she could pull them off the branches however she chose.
She played by herself the entire morning, running between the trees and turning over stones. She took off her bast-shoes and paddled in a stream she found. By the time the morning was over, she was exhausted.Before long, she had to lie down. So tired she was, that she fell asleep.
When she woke up, the afternoon had gone. It was starting to get dark. Somewhere, the town gates were being closed without her. She was scared. She couldn't find her way back to the town. The trees that had seemed so delightful earlier now clawed at her and slowed her down when she tried to run. Eventually she found the grass, and could see the town in the distance. Its lights, in the dark, seemed so very, very far away.
As she ran towards Boddily-boo, she could see the grass moving around her. There were monsters in the grass! They were chasing her! Before she was even halfway to the gates, they caught up to her. Horrible orcs grabbed her legs and held her down. Snarling beastkin bit at her hands with their sharp teeth.
She shouted for help, and the people in Boddily-boo heard her. Her father threw open the gates and her mother rushed out into the dark with a lantern. The guards picked up their spears and marched towards her. The monsters saw their chance. The town gates were open, and every monster for miles around came at once. The guards could do nothing. Little Aelo's mother never reaches her. Her father could only watch as the monsters ransacked the town.
The guards were killed. The farmers were slaughtered in their beds. The whole town was lost. Little Aelo was torn to pieces, as were her parents. Everyone died, and all because Little Aelo didn't listen to her mother.
Stay inside the walls.

Historical Basis

The descriptions of towns as the only places safe from monsters places this as a very old tale. It is certain to predate the establishment of safe zones, and seems to have declined in popularity as they have grown. Towns outside those safe zones seem to have held onto the cautionary tale for longer, as one might expect.
The historicity of the tale is doubtful. There are records of missing children in circumstances similar to those in this tale, but no accounts of guards leaving the safety of the town at night to find them. There are two extant chronicles that describe missing persons being heard screaming when the monsters found them, but in neither case did anyone leave the town walls. In the period this tale was conceived, few if any guards would have jeopardised the town to save one person, even a child.
Of course, if such an incident had occurred that matches this tale, the town itself would leave no records behind, so there is a chance that the tale is a folk memory based on real events. Although, on reflection, if event had played out exactly the way the tale describes it would be impossible for anyone to know the true cause of the fall of the town. The legend might have grown out of guesswork in the aftermath of an over-run town.

Variations & Mutation

There are great many different versions of this tale. The names change frequently. Little Aelo becomes a similarly prevalent local name. The town is either a collection of nonsense syllables, to appeal to children (as here), or the name of a real town that fell to monsters. In some tellings, the town walls are not breached and Little Aelo is the only casualty. In some others, her parents throw themselves from the wall in an attempt to reach her and are killed. Most versions, however, make the consequences of Little Aelo's poor judgement as terrible as possible, for the purposes of education.

Related Locations

• Coastal Safe Zone