The Mysteries

By Bill Watterson

Long ago, the forest was dark and deep.

There, shrouded in mists, lived the Mysteries.

Nobody had ever seen them, but they seemed to be everywhere. And the people lived in suspicion and fear.

To protect themselves, the people built enormous walls. And within those walls, storytellers told of the Mysteries' bizarre and terrifying powers. Artists depicted the people's many sufferings.

“If only we could be rid of these horrible Mysteries,” people whispered, glancing over their shoulders and hurrying on.

But every day, things happened for which there were no explanations.

These were frightful times.

Finally, the desperate King summoned his Knights and ordered them to capture a Mystery.

Perhaps the Mysteries’ secrets could be learned, and their powers could be thwarted.

So the Knights set off into the misty forest.

Year after year they searched.

Many Knights were never seen again.

But eventually, one dazed and exhausted Knight staggered back to the King.

A Mystery had been captured!

The public thronged to the great unveiling.

But the Mystery was nothing like what the ancient stories had led the people to expect.

The people were stunned.

The Mystery looked surprisingly ordinary.

Once understood, its powers were not all that remarkable.

And over time, each new Mystery they discovered was even less impressive.

Gradually the people stopped fearing the Mysteries.

They laughed at the old paintings.

Soon, the great wall was dismantled and the forest was cut down.

The people spread across the once-fearsome land.

The Mysteries vanished, and the people lived luxuriously.

They were finally in control of everything.

By and by, however, the sky turned a slightly weird color.

People wondered about it, but the King assured everyone that this was a perfectly normal variation.

Nevertheless, the wizards watched the horizon uneasily and made note of the strange creaks and shudders occurring far below in the ground.

Acrid smells drifted in from across the seas.

Sometimes flaming objects fell from the sky.

Animals started migrating to remote corners of the earth.

The scouring winds became more persistent.

And more and more often, things disappeared.

Rather late, the people grew alarmed.

Time moved on.

Centuries passed.

Eons passed.

The universe continued as usual.

And the Mysteries lived happily ever after.

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Disclaimer: I didn't write this. It was written by Bill Watterson, the guy who created Calvin & Hobbes. I liked it so much that I typed it and put it here so I could share it with you. I hope Bill doesn't sue me.

Buy the book if you can. It has nice pictures.