Tall Tales of the Mountain Man

By John J. Law

"The mountain man lives near here, right?" he said.
Wilbur looked at him, and his eyes were wide with terror.
"Hey! Why did you mention him! They say that he's a demon from hell! An angry spirit that can curse you if you mention his name! Ma always said that he's lurking around the forest ready to..."
"To eat bad boys or girls yeah, I heard about the stories of course!"
Jacob sounded very sarcastic. Jacob was not as easy to believe stories as his younger brother was. Jacob always fancied himself as a young critical thinker of sorts.
"Yeah! Yeah! That mountain man, he's a big bad..."
Wilbur's voice was trembling now, and he could barely hold on to his fishing rod. There was clearly fear and panic coursing through the young boy's body.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.C. Hulsey Books
• Release date: Dec 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223886426

Book preview

Chapter One: Just a Man

Many would consider fishing as one of the most boring activities one could spend their time doing. After all, it's nothing more than just casting your line out into the water and patiently waiting for a bite. It's quite a simple proposition that doesn't entail much of anything other than waiting. It's that waiting that invites so much boredom. Enlightened minds would welcome the boredom and look within themselves to see things they never could see with more active pursuits. They would not mind the quiet and welcome the stillness. For them, it would be a chance to look deeper and gain insight. Other less enlightened minds would simply try to pass the time waiting for a bite with something more, distracting. One good way to pass the time would be through idle chatter or storytelling, especially if you were fishing with a companion.

Such was the case with Jacob Stanley and his brother Wilbert. Jacob and Wilbert were two young boys a little over eleven summers old. The two boys were not very patient, and they found the activity of fishing to be rather challenging. If they had their way, they would rather be doing other activities than waiting for a bite on their fishing rods.

Got anything on your line? Jacob asked Wilbur.

Wilbur shook his head. He yawned and struggled to keep his eyes open. Time seemed to crawl for the two boys and they were starting to ache and get sore from sitting down all this time, waiting for a bite.

Nah. If I got a bite you would know.

The conversation stopped abruptly there. The silence hung over the two boys for a while, before Jacob spoke again.

The mountain man lives near here, right? he said.

Wilbur looked at him, and his eyes were wide with terror.

Hey! Why did you mention him! They say that he's a demon from hell! An angry spirit that can curse you if you mention his name! Ma always said that he's lurking around the forest ready to...

To eat bad boys or girls yeah, I heard about the stories of course!

Jacob sounded very sarcastic. Jacob was not as easy to believe stories as his younger brother was. Jacob always fancied himself as a young critical thinker of sorts.

Yeah! Yeah! That mountain man, he's a big bad...

Wilbur's voice was trembling now, and he could barely hold on to his fishing rod. There was clearly fear and panic coursing through the young boy's body.

Sheesh! You're really a sucker for tall tales, you know that? I love Ma, an' all, but there ain't no truth to what she's saying about the mountain man. All them other tales are just that too. Tall tales!

How do you know they're tall tales, Jacob? They say that he's a spirit that inhabits the land of the living an' the land of the dead! They say he can speak to ghosts an' he can fly!