An Unexpected Encounter by the River
Emily and her husband, along with their daughter, made the bold decision to leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind and start anew in a quiet village. They bought a cottage, took up farming, and planted a garden. A brand-new chapter unfolded. In the evenings, Emily would take their goats down to the river, watching the sunsets and relishing the peace.
“Mum, it’s getting dark—where are you going with the goats again?” called her daughter, Charlotte, surprised.
“Just down to the river—the grass is fresher there,” Emily replied. “I’ll be back in an hour, don’t worry.”
But an hour passed, then two, and still no sign of her. Charlotte grew uneasy and convinced her father to go searching. It took them a while to find Emily. When they did, they froze—she was sitting on the bench by the house, pale and trembling, laughing one moment and crying the next.
“Mum, what happened?” Charlotte asked.
“I saw something,” Emily breathed. “Not a ghost… worse.”
Just an hour earlier, she strolled down the path to the river as usual. The goats grazed while she sat to rest and dozed off. She woke at dusk, startled, and jumped up to gather them. Of course, they’d wandered into the thicket. Emily chased after them—then noticed something long and dark rustling behind the last goat in the grass.
At first, she thought it might be a stoat. Fear gripped her—what if it was rabid? The creature wouldn’t back away. The goat, Daisy, began bleating, and Emily raised a stick, ready to defend her… when suddenly, the thing leaped up as if about to attack.
But when it was all over and she dared to step closer, she saw… a pair of enormous men’s underpants, tangled in fishing line and snagged on the goat. Likely left to dry on the bushes by some angler, only for Daisy to drag them away.
Emily collapsed onto the grass, laughing. All the tension, fear, and adrenaline burst out at once. That was the moment her husband and daughter found her. And at home, they strictly forbade her from taking the goats to the riverbank ever again—who knows what else might “come to life” out there…
