A man who was a Forest!

_{Have you heard of the story "A man who was a hospital". I think I read it in 12th standard. This humorous essay, written by Jerome K. Jerome, recounts the writer's comical misadventure with self-diagnosis. It all starts when he reads a liver pill circular and becomes convinced his liver is out of order. At the British Museum, he studies various diseases and is shocked to believe he suffers from nearly all of them. Humorous exaggeration leads him to conclude he has every disease except housemaid's knee.}

_{Instead of panicking, he imagines himself as a valuable resource for medical students, considering himself a walking hospital where students could earn their diplomas by studying his ailments.}

When I saw @bambuka's Story-by-photo contest #15 - surprise me and saw this particular photo, the only line that came into my mind was : THE MAN WHO WAS A FOREST.

_{bambuka's property}

So, you have an idea by now that I am going to try my hand at a funny story. Both stories are totally unrelated, or maybe there are glimpses of some similarity... Only you can tell!"

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There was a man, let's say, Bali. He lived near a forest, but he seldom visited it. However, whenever his friends came to visit, he boasted about his unmatched familiarity with every tree, trail, and creature in the forest. He would say that he could navigate the woods blindfolded. He claimed to know the chirps and calls of every bird by heart. Yes, he would go to any length to prove his familiarity with the woods.

One day, his friends decided to test his confidence. They blindfolded him, spun him around a few times, and set him loose in the forest. Putting on a confident face, he started walking, praying in his heart that he would find his way out by some luck. He didn't want to be embarrassed in front of his friends, whom he had been trying to convince for years that he was a man who lived, ate, breathed, and even wore the forest.

After several minutes, he confidently declared, "Ah, I recognize this smell. This is old fig tree, my dearest companion!" He proceeded to hug a tree, only to realize it was actually a very agile deer. The deer was quite unhappy with the gesture. He snorted and jumped away, leaving him hugging empty air.

Unperturbed, he continued with his folly. "No problem," he said out loud. "Just a minor miscalculation." The friends could not help but repress a laugh.

Meanwhile, he continued to tell them tales of his encounters with the king of the jungle—the lion! While enjoying his predicament, his friends continued to praise his bravery and knowledge.

Still convinced he could redeem himself, he listened carefully for the sounds. Hearing a rustle, he proclaimed, "Ah, that's definitely the rustling of the famous Squirrel Oak!" He followed the sound and ended up face-to-face with a rather annoyed raccoon rummaging through some leaves. He was lucky that it didn't bit him.

The man was still not ready to give up, quite determined to prove his own made-up story. "I know this particular path like the back of my hand. We are just near the stream. There are no big hurdles, just the plains of... Ouch!" He stumbled over a rock and landed face-first into a bush. A flock of rather angry flinches who were sitting in the shade of the bush flew away, but not before showing their wrath and giving him a peck or two.

No big deal, he said. And When he tried to get up, he found himself entangled in what he thought was a particularly clingy vine. "These bloody vines" He struggled and wrestled with it until he finally ripped off his blindfold and realized he was caught in his own shoelaces.

His friends, who had been following and watching all this with barely suppressed laughter, finally came to his rescue. They helped him up, soaking wet and covered in mud. And then they released all those suppressed howls of laughter that they couldn't keep in anymore. The whole forest echoed with their roaring chuckles!

"Maybe the forest changed its layout," he mumbled sheepishly.

From that day on, he stopped boasting about his knowledge of the forest. However, his friends still called him "the man who was a forest."

_{"Sorry about today, but we would never leave you alone in your very own forest ever again. We love you, Bali, no matter what!" said the friends before having a group hug with the legendary Bali.}