The Girl Who Cried "Quicksand!"
Fractured Fairy Tales #1
Not so very long ago but in a land far, far away there was a small village where the people lived by raising frogs. The frogs were hatched and grown in a series of large, shallow ponds that had been built around the edge of a vast swamp.

Now at that time frogs did not fetch a very high price at market and the people had to do more than sit around watching the frogs grow, so nearly everyone had second and third jobs they had to do. Still, someone had to guard the frogs from snakes and crocodiles and other creatures. Every year the job of guarding the frogs was given to a young person from the village, often someone too small for other jobs. All the frog guardian had to do if a snake or crocodile came was shout for help and the whole village would come to drive it away.

One year the job of frog guardian was given to a young woman named Melia. Melia was nearly twenty years old, much older than most frog guardians but she had only recently returned to the village after going away to school for several years. Melia knew how to read and write and she could do figures that completely baffled the village leaders, but she had no skills that were of use in this particular village.

The leaders of the village took Melia out to the frog ponds just before dark.

"Just keep your eyes open and pay attention. If you see a snake or a crocodile or anything dangerous happens, just yell. We will hear you and come running. Then they left.

Melia guarded the frogs for a few hours but nothing unusual happened. Melia began to get bored. Then Melia began to wonder if the villagers would really come running if anything happened.

"Are they really listening or did they just tell her that when they were really just sleeping or playing games," Melia thought.

Melia remembered the fire drills they had at her old school and decided to run a test. She took a deep breath and yelled.

"Help!....Help!..... Help me!.... I'm caught in mud.... I'm in quicksand!" she shouted.

Within minutes she could hear shouting and many footsteps coming toward her. The whole village soon arrived and everyone was very relieved to see she was not sinking in quicksand. They were also somewhat upset that she had shouted for help when it was not needed, however.

"Why did you shout for help?" they asked.

"I had to see how quickly you would respond," Melia answered. "We had practice emergencies at school so I decided to have one here too."

"Well, okay," they answered. "But please don't do this again."

A few nights later Melia was guarding her frogs again. No snake or crocodile had stolen a frog in all the time she had guarded them, nor had one even been seen. Melia began to wonder if there really was any danger at all.

"Do they really need me to guard the frogs or are they just getting me out of the way while they play every night," she asked herself.

Melia walked over to a very muddy spot near the edge of the swamp and put her foot in all the way to her knee, then pulled it out. Then she began to shout.

"Help....Help....Help me!....It's quicksand!.... Help!....Help!" she shouted over and over.

Very quickly everyone in the village was on the scene. Once again they were relieved to find she was alright, but very perplexed why she had shouted for help.

"I stepped in some mud," Melia explained. "I guess it wasn't quicksand, but I got frightened and shouted."

"Okay," the village leaders said. "Try to keep your head next time. Do not shout for help unless you need it."

Two weeks went by and there was no trouble with snakes or crocodiles. Melia began to wonder what was going on in the village while she guarded the frogs. It seemed to her that the voices of the villagers talking and singing seemed further away than usual. She wondered if they were still close enough to respond if a crocodile appeared. Then she wondered if perhaps some of the villagers had gone away somewhere.

"Help!.... Quicksand!" shouted Melia. "Help me....Help me!....I'm sinking."

Within minutes the whole village arrived, and they were not particularly happy with her.

"I'm sorry," said Melia. "But I noticed you seemed to be too far away and I became worried."

"Okay," the villagers said. "But you must promise not to make false alarms any more."

"I promise," she answered contritely.

A few nights later Melia was near the back of one of the larger frog ponds when she thought she heard a noise coming from the swamp. She walked in its direction to investigate. Suddenly Melia found herself knee deep in soft mud. She struggled to pull her legs out but only sand deeper. When she was almost waist deep she realized she really was in quicksand.

"Help!....Help!.... Quicksand!....Help me!" she cried. "Somebody....Please!....Please help me!"

Back in the village the villagers immediately heard Melia's cries and started to respond. Then they stopped.

"Oh, its another false alarm. She's crying "Quicksand" again." everyone said to everyone else. "Let her shout for a while. We told her three times not to do this and she did not listen."

Melia continued to shout for help as she sank deeper and deeper into the quicksand. No one came. She sank to her chest. She sank to her shoulders, then her neck. By that point she could not longer shout. She just no longer had the strength. Eventually the villagers decided to come out to see what her excuse would be this time. By the time they arrived, however, it was too late. Melia had gone completely under in the quicksand.