Jonathan, 14, lived in a small village nestled at the foot of a majestic mountain range. Jonathan was a curious boy, always looking for adventure and excitement. The forest was filled with huge trees, and Lumberjacks and Foresters were working hard every day to keep this wild ecosystem in top condition. When Jonathan cut down this tree, he made a shocking discovery.
Old trees were cut down to make room for new ones to grow, and the gathered wood was used to build new houses in the town where Jonathan lived.
It was a delicate ecosystem, one that Jonathan really wanted to be a part of. That’s why every day, this boy tried to help the Foresters to protect these woods. He learned how to use an axe and grew pretty strong for his size and age. When there was supervision, he sometimes even got to use a small chainsaw.
One day, when he came across a sick tree, he decided to cut it down. Old, sick trees make room for lively new ones; those were the rules. The tree was huge, old, and tired, and it looked like it was about to fall over at any moment. “This tree must have been well over a thousand years old,” guessed Jonathan, the boy who made an extraordinary discovery that day.
When he finally managed to cut down the tree after hours of work, he discovered a large hole in the stump. He had never seen anything like this before. The space was dark and musty, and he had to use his flashlight to see where he was going. The chamber within the tree was filled with strange symbols etched into the wood. Jonathan could see large splinters sticking out of the wall of the tree, pointing right at him, and also a musky smell that clearly did not come from the old wood of the tree itself.
He shone his flashlight over toward and was met with a pair of glowing eyes staring back at him. The eyes had a cold and unforgiving glow to them. Jonathan couldn’t make out what kind of creature they were attached to. All questions that filled his mind, questions that needed answering, he couldn’t figure out on his own. So, that’s when he decided he needed help with this strange mystery, and the young adventurer knew just the person for the job.
Jonathan turned towards the only man he knew would help and believe him. Now, his name was Blake. He was an ex Lumberjack that knew these Woods very well. He had stopped working because his back gave out a couple of years ago, but his love for this place and the trees in it had never faded. Blake was also an old family friend and took Jonathan on plenty of adventures when he was just a little boy. In fact, it was Blake who gave Jonathan his first-ever axe, and he was also the one who had taught Jonathan how to swing it properly.
Jonathan made his way to Blake’s cabin, which was nestled in a clearing deep in the forest. He knocked on the door, and after a few moments, it creaked open. He looked older than Jonathan remembered, but he still had a twinkle in his eye. “What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice gruff but welcoming.
Jonathan explained the situation to Blake, telling him about the strange symbols, the bones, and the glowing eyes he had witnessed inside this old, sick tree. Blake listened intently, nodding his head as Jonathan spoke. The story became hard to believe at the end, but it did pique Blake’s curiosity. “I’ve heard of strange things happening in these Woods,” he said finally, “but I’ve never heard of anything like this. It sounds like we need to take a closer look.”
Jonathan’s heart leaped with excitement. Blake and Jonathan made their way back to the fallen tree, and Jonathan quickly removed the planks from the entrance. Blake shone his flashlight around, examining the strange symbols etched into the wood. “These look like ancient symbols,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like them before.”
Jonathan felt a sense of excitement and awe. Suddenly, they heard a rustling sound. They both froze, their hearts pounding in their chests. Blake himself crept forward into the trunk, his flashlight held high. As he got closer, he saw that the glowing eyes were still there at the end. But unlike Jonathan, he rushed forward. In the end, he came face to face with the creature.
Jonathan was waiting outside of the tree when he did. The boy was nervous and afraid, but then his worried thoughts were broken by words from Blake that sounded from inside the tree. They conveyed the following: “Don’t worry, my dear friend. I’m completely fine and will remain so. There is indeed an animal inside this tree, but it is as dead as it could possibly be.”
When Blake exited the tree, he knew exactly what to do. He picked up his phone and made a call. On the other end of the line, a woman answered. Her name was Christina Kilve. She was a biological anthropologist, which meant she had a huge understanding of everything to do with biomass and natural science, and that was definitely needed here. She and Blake worked together on a project years back where they discovered an endangered mice colony in a lumberjack camp where he worked.
The next day, Christina arrived at the tree. The woman unpacked her gear and began carefully scraping away the sand around the object. “This is miraculous,” she told them as she looked at Jonathan and Blake. Kilve ended up working for more than two months to completely clear the property of tree debris and sand. But now, her diagnosis was finally complete. She appeared on international news outlets to tell her story, telling here once and for all what was found in the tree that day. And believe me, the thing that she found was incredible.
“Christina Kilve says, ‘In a tree in the territory of Georgia Southern Forest, an incredible discovery was made two months ago: the fully preserved body of a more than 700-year-old dog. He was still in excellent condition, and Kilve also happened to know exactly who this dog had once belonged to and how it had ended up in this tree,'” the news outlets reported.
The dog found two months ago is from a time where Columbus did not even reach America. The dog was mummified, and carvings were made inside the tree that functioned as its tomb. There were even human bones found that indicate a ritual of safe passage through the underworld. This dog must have been very important,” she told news outlets, “probably the favorite pet to a great king.”
“In the end, the dog could not have been removed from the tree without damaging the mummified body. That’s why Christine, Jonathan, and Blake decided to preserve the body and tree in its current state,” Christina Kilve said.
The wood and oils inside the tree had provided a perfect habitat for the mummified dog. But what’s next for this famous dog? Opinions are still divided about the dog’s future. Many say he should be buried and receive a final resting place; some say he should be a prime piece in a large museum for Native American culture. But for now, he has a nice place at the Waycross Georgia Southern Forest World Museum
“The museum now gets more than 10 times as many visitors annually, and it’s understandable when you see their new showpiece. The dog is called Stucky by locals. Of course, thils name is attached to the place where this famous dog lived in the woods for many years, and probably nothing will change anytime soon.”
“The boy who found Stucky had remained humble and out of the spotlight. He was just happy that Stucky was found. From time to time, he visits the museum to say hello to his old friend, but mostly he can be found in the woods, enjoying the fresh air and the lovely smell of growing pines, beside this tree.”
