He was warned against taking the fire road over the mountain at night. Especially, if fresh snow had fallen. A piercing wind cut through human clothes. Only fur kept blood warmly pumping. Shadows swept across his way pushed by a pulsating moonlight. Noises scratched frostily from the darkness. Down below he could see the village twinkling like a human milky way. For now, his lantern cast a small circle of light. It impossibly pushed back against the enveloping darkness of the wood. Rushing now, his feet pushed snow up above his boots. The fire road came to an end. He stepped onto the village lane. Warmth and safety, friendship and cheer were so close. The smell of wood fires burning seeped comfortably into his consciousness. A shadow stepped before him. A creature crossed the arc of his lantern light and screamed into his face. Hot breath not his own flushed his cheeks. Too late to react. Upside down, he was carried away. The lantern fell from his hand. Only a frightened fox would tell the tale of his demise .