Cow in EE's woods: "The old man had lived alone in the woods for nearly thirty y…"

The old man had lived alone in the woods for nearly thirty years. One cold evening, while gathering firewood, he noticed something strange. The forest was silent. No birds. No insects. No wind. Then he heard footsteps in the darkness beyond the trees. Slow. Heavy. Following him. The old man hurried back to his cabin and locked the door. The footsteps stopped outside. For hours, nothing happened. Just after midnight, three knocks echoed from the front door. Knock. Knock. Knock. The old man peered through the window. No one was there. Relieved, he turned away. A deep voice spoke from behind him. "Found you." The neighbors discovered the cabin the next morning. The door was still locked from the inside. The old man was gone. Only a trail of muddy footprints led into the darkness of the forest. None led back out.