Alternate Ending To Build A Fire

Once upon a time, there was a young huntsman roaming the forests. He was happy, enjoyed being free, and frolicking about. As he was enjoying the smell of nature he caught a whiff of something foul. He followed the putrid aroma to a clearing where he discovered the rotting corpse of an old crone. She was in the rigor mortis stage of death,this he could tell by the stiffness of her body. The huntsman was overwhelmed by the stench so much that his eyes burned from the odor .He was covering his nose when he spotted her hands clutching a box to her chest. The box was imprisoned in her stonelike grasp, the rigor mortis had left her hand immovable. The hunter had wedged his skinning knife in between her fingers and pried open her hands to reveal the
The cloak didn't look special and had no appeal to it. The hunter was confused as to why this old woman would have died to protect this old worn piece of clothing. He couldn't focus on much else because the smell continued to overwhelm his senses. The hunter thought to himself “I wish this smell would go away”. With a flash of light the cloak began to glow and the smell lifted. Its power became apparent to the hunter in that moment he realized it to be a wishing cloak from the stories of his childhood. The hunter understood that if this was the wishing cloak he heard about as a child then it must be in possession of a witch which meant this old woman upon the ground must be said witch. In this instance the hunter had a million thoughts but a single one stood out the most he wished to know more about what happened. All of a sudden the witch sprang back to life and let out cackle that sent chills down the hunters spine. He saw that she held a small piece of the cloak that retained the power of the the entire cloak which lent its power to the witches
The witches plan had came to fruition in just a matter of days. The witch pulled the girl aside and said “We must get the bird heart before it's too late.” The witch handed over a special brewed drink to the girl and told her to give it to the huntsman. The girl gave the drink to the man and the huntsman passed out and she took his necklace with the bird heart. The witch was very pleased with the girls work and the witch gasped “Now we must get the wishing cloak” and the maiden responded “Leave him the cloak he has already lost enough.”The witch scolded the maid by smacking her cheek and snatched the cloak from the hand of the unconscious hunter.”He must have nothing otherwise he would just wish himself back here”. The Witch called for the servant and together they loaded the unconscious boy into a cart and hauled him into the forest. The two found a clearing to leave the hunter and quickly left him in the forest alone. Several hours passed and the frightened young hunter awoke from his seemingly endless slumber,the hunter had been left no food or water for they thought he would not last long. Night was upon the hunter and he had no time to grieve over his lovers betrayal for he knew the forest became dangerous after dark. In an instance, the ground shook with thundering footsteps and the hunter was surrounded by giant, hulking figures.The largest of the