The Mysterious Wheelchair

Chapter 3: The Adventures of Zuphixy and Purpleten

In the land of Silla-Tierra, Zuphixy and Purpleten were wandering through the woods, which Purpleten called the Woods of Despair, trying very hard to find their way out.

As Zuphixy and Purpleten were thinking that it was time to stop for a rest, Purpleten’s wheel went over a sharp twig. The twig poked a hole in her air-filled tire. Purpleten, who was starting to feel hopeless about ever getting out of the woods again, stopped.

Zuphixy, who had fixed a lot of flat tires, took his repair kit out and fixed Purpleten’s wheel. She was really impressed with Zuphixy’s great skill! They decided to stay there for a rest.

Zuphixy’s stomach growled and he realized that he had had no breakfast, but had no food with him. He asked Purpleten, “Do you have any food that I may have or know where I can find some?”

Purpleten gave him a look that meant, “What do you think?” and then said out loud, “No. I don’t have any food. I have been living off the food I can find in the woods, so go find some for yourself!”

Zuphixy went off by himself, and found a tree full of apples. He ate until he couldn’t eat any more. Purpleten found some leaves that would be poisonous to Zuphixy, but to her they were like candy. She also ate until she couldn’t eat any more and fell fast asleep.

When Zuphixy returned to Purpleten, he found her sleeping so he lied down beside her and also fell asleep.

The next morning Zuphixy and Purpleten were awakened by the sound of a tree falling. They saw that a tree only a few feet away had fallen across their path. At first it seemed like there was no way past the tree. But finally, after Purpleten was almost knocked off her wheels trying to wheel over the bumpy ground, they managed to get past the tree and continued on their journey.

For a long ways, the path zigzagged through the woods. If they had not used the compass and made a map of where they had been, they would have crossed the same places and even gone on the path back to where they had started. They continued on until they came to a very steep hill with a sharp curve at the bottom.

If not for Zuphixy’s skillful maneuvering, Purpleten would not have been able to turn and would have wound up crashing into a tree. She was relieved that Zuphixy could be there with her. After they were safely around the curve Purpleten said, “This must be the Hill of Death!”

Zuphixy inquired, “Can you tell me how this hill got the name Hill of Death?”

Purpleten replied, “Well, as you just found out, it is very steep and then it turns sharply. Until you helped me around the turn no living wheelchair has made it down and around the turn without getting badly hurt or dying. That is why everyone calls it the Hill of Death.”

While Purpleten was explaining, Zuphixy saw a deer run across the path in front of him. Purpleten was so busy explaining she did not see it. Then Zuphixy heard an owl hoot and a wolf howl which scared him. When Purpleten noticed his pale face she comforted him by saying, “They are far away and can’t hurt us.”

At one point, Zuphixy and Purpleten suddenly stopped because they saw a mother bear and its cub cross the path. Thankfully, luck was on their side because the bear seemed not to notice them. Zuphixy and Purpleten slowly kept going once the bear was out of view.

Zuphixy said to Purpleten who was so scared she was shaking, “That was a close call. We could have been attacked by that bear, but maybe because you are a wheelchair he thought you weren’t edible!”