As they walked along, Amos noticed that the forest had changed. No wild animals were roaming the path or peering out from the underbrush. The sky appeared cloudy, and the sun no longer broke through the trees. Worst of all, both Amos and Adital felt a quiet sadness come over them.

Amos asked, “Do you feel that heaviness?” 

 “I know I haven’t seen any animals on the path in a while, and it feels like dusk. I think it is time to eat something and brighten our spirits.”

They walked a little further, came to a small clearing, and decided it was time for a break. There were stumps to sit on, so Adital opened his knapsack and found his mom had packed a lovely lunch.

Suddenly, a large, black crow flew into the grove and sat on a stump across from the two men. Amos held up a piece of bread and tossed it onto the stump next to the crow. The crow hopped, quickly ate the bread, and spoke to the travelers.

“Why, thank you, kind gentlemen,” he croaked. “There are many things I would tell you if you would contribute further to my well-being.” 

“Goodness, a talking crow.” whispered Amos, “Let’s give him something for lunch!”

“Yes, how true. I am a talking crow and live in this magical portion of the forest. There are many creatures you will encounter on your journey. Some will surprise and amaze you. You must avoid these, or you will find trouble.”

Adital provided the magical crow with more bread, “Many things you see will appear alive. Rocks will call you; rabbits have stories to confide in, and the birds abound with interesting gossip. You must know that a wizard puts words in all of their mouths. He is not a bad wizard but a mischievous soul who enjoys
pranks and tomfoolery.”

With that, the crow flew off, cawing loudly as he disappeared through the trees. Somewhere in the distance, a chorus of raucous cries answered. 

Amos and Adital sat and stared at one another. “Do we continue our journey?” questioned Amos.

“Didn’t you hear what that featherbrained noddy said?” Adital snorted. “There is someone putting words in their mouths. I’d wager there is a magician who lives around here. I’d say we should go on with our quest. The secret to success is not to listen to anything or anybody, no matter what they tell you. They repacked their knapsacks and climbed back onto the trail. As they walked along, Amos kept hearing his name called. He would answer but never got a response. Finally, he stopped and shouted, “What do you want?”

“A voice from a large bush answered, “Over here, you ninny!” Amos stopped in front of the large bush, his arms firmly planted on his hips, and a gigantic scowl pasted his face.

“Who’s a ninny! Show your face, whoever you are!” he bellowed.

“OK, dirt for brains, you’re looking right at me!” came the voice from a large oak tree standing behind the bush. 

He looked up and saw a face peering from a withered oak tree. “You have a foul mouth for such an old, stately tree.” Amos replied, “I cannot fathom what you could say that would keep me from completing this journey with my esteemed companion.”

“Ach! I’ve grown here for over one hundred years, and I know more about this forest than you could imagine. I know where you are going and what will happen to you. If you’d like to know, you both are in terrible and nightmarish danger. It would be best to turn around and return home.”

Adital joined the conversation at that point. “Look, you glorified piece of firewood; we both know that if it weren’t for some wizard putting words in your mouth, you’d be on the ground growing mushrooms. Be still and stop bothering  us!”

“Beware, Hadjis! Great danger awaits you,” shrieked the oak!”

“Let’s go, Amos; just don’t tell anyone we were standing around talking to a worm-eaten tree.”
The men turned heel and slogged off down the trail. The magical tree kept shouting, “Danger! Danger!” as they disappeared. 

“Don’t worry, Amos, there is a small inn we will reach before nightfall. We will have comfortable beds and a fine supper when we arrive.” 

“Do you believe it’s still there,” asked Amos? “So far, this has been a rather strange journey, and I wonder if an inn would still be open in this forest?”

“Of course, the innkeepers are an old couple and have been there for years. The Inn is famous for brewing its beer and having a puppet show. We might not be there for the show, but the beer sounds good.”

“What? A puppet show? Is that for kids?”

“Oh no, the puppets are autonomous and life-sized. Some look like puppets; others resemble actual people. There are even animals. From what I remember, it’s like being at a circus. If we’re lucky, we might be able to see it.” Amos never regretted being on this adventure throughout all the strange occurrences. They walked longer and heard, “yoo-hoo, boys over here.”

Adital yelled, “STOP, we don’t believe you are real!”

“No! NO!” the voice sang, “I have something so important to tell you! Oh, you must listen! There is a terrible dragon ahead, and he is starving!”

Amos stopped and looked around but saw no one.

“For crying out loud,” he blurted out, “why do I bother stopping!”

“OK! What do I care? Go and get eaten! It’s none of my business,” declared the voice.

Amos turned to leave and stumbled over a rock that cried out, “Whoops!”

“Oh, dear,” mumbled Amos, “I’m sorry,” then realized what had happened. He bent down and saw a stony face staring at him. “Why am I apologizing to a rock, anyway?” he mumbled.”

“Because rocks have feelings, too,” the rock retorted. “I sit here all day in the hot sun, slowly being eroded by the elements, and this is the thanks I get?   Every person who walks down the road kicks me. But you must know that I am important! Did you know Henry Thoreau once said, as in geology, also so in social institutions, we may discover the reasons for all social changes? But I endure and accept my abuse as an example for my fellow rocks.”

Amos stood there with his mouth ajar, unable to find anything to say to a rock that was able to sort of quote Thoreau.

Adital sighed deeply behind his back. “Let’s go! Leave this rock to the elements. We have better things to do than listen to some brick whine.”

Amos reluctantly forced himself away from the over-educated rock, hitched up his knapsack, and hiked down the trail.

The rock sobbed after them, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. And sorry I could not travel both….”

Adital admonished Amos, “Didn’t you listen to the crow? We can’t believe anything anybody tells us, even rocks that quote poetry, no matter who they are.
We’ve got to hurry to make the Inn before dinner time. Don’t stop for anything!”

“But,” said Amos, “why should we believe a crow?”

                     Stephen

Suddenly, Adital stopped walking. In front of them, some distance off, a man was approaching. “Look at that; see how oddly he walks.”

Amos squinted and said, “I’ve seen that before. He doesn’t look human; I’d say he is a mechanical man or robot. Why is it here in the woods?”

The mechanical man came closer and then beckoned to the travelers. “Run Away! Run Away! Don’t come any further!”

 Adital shouted at the mechanical man, “Runaway from what, for goodness’s sake?” 

The robot approached them. “My name is Automata, and I live in a small village close to the Spotted Mare Inn. Here we manufacture clever, mechanical people like me. Everyone is thrilled when we finish a new robot. Gerome, the owner of the Inn, and his wife, Merna, have hired our people to work in the Inn.   At first, this was a good thing. We enjoyed entertaining the guests, especially the children.”

“But why do you want us to run away?” Adital pondered aloud.

“These people have gone to the dark side,” explained Automata. They are going to our village and taking young robots, adjusting their software to work without pay in the Inn. I am the ringleader who wants to free all mechanical people from these evil humans.”

“How in the blazes do you plan to do that?” exclaimed Adital. “How do you plan to keep those people from taking new androids? Does this mean you mean  you are planning a Robot Revolution?”

“Yes,” replied Automata, “Humans can go on with their lives for all we
care. Our village needs to take care of our young and program our society. The evil humans can run their Inn and live their own lives.”

“Well, we want to join your movement.” declared Adital. “What is happening to you and your people isn’t fair. What if we talked with these people and tried to reason with them? Maybe they don’t realize what they are doing is wrong.”

“Ridiculous! Those humans know well enough what they are doing. The revolution is happening now, and the Mechanical Men will shake off their wicked human masters. There is nothing you can do to change the outcome of our revolt,” shouted Automata.

“Now, calm down,” said Adital, “Give Amos and me a chance to talk to these people. They have owned this Inn for many years and have served many travelers. There must be something we can do that would change their minds.”

“You can do as you wish,” replied Automata, “our principles do not permit us to stop you. Understand that our first goal is to rescue the robots who have had their minds adjusted.” 

The two travelers and Automata began walking toward the Spotted Mare Inn. Along the way, Adital and Amos discussed their strategy for dealing with Gerome and Merna, while Automata appeared to be summoning other Androids telepathically. Soon, their party became various Mechanical Men in multiple forms and shapes. There were robots shaped like humans; some looked like dogs, cats, sheep, and even walking trees and shrubbery.   Amos saw a group of fantastic and bizarre co-conspirators following them and told Adital, “We have acquired a motley army.”

“All the better for our cause,” quipped Adital.

They rounded a curve, and there stood the Spotted Mare Inn. It was shrouded in mist, and two robots were bent over, pulling weeds from the walkway. They stopped their labors and joined the conspirators. Adital stepped to the front and shouted, “Gerome  and Merna! Come out now!”

A man’s voice shouted from inside the Inn, “Suffering sand dragons, Merna!, See  who that is!”

“Confound it, Gerome. Can’t you do anything yourself?” A stout woman stormed out of the Inn’s front door and stared in amazement at the profusion of people and robots on the road. “Gerome, you’d better come out here. We’ve got a  problem.”

“Mon Dieu!” exclaimed Gerome as he stormed out of the Inn, “I don’t have time for this!”

Automata stepped forward and declared, “You have created great misery in our world. For this, the mechanical men will transform you!”

The two innkeepers disappeared with a flash of light and a loud bang.

“Whoa! Where have they gone,” exclaimed Amos?

“My dear human,  you must know that the collective minds of the Mechanical Men have decided that the innkeepers’ offenses are so grievous that they must have their life force altered. They have been transformed into deer and will roam the forest. No harm will come to them, but they can no longer own this Inn,” declared Automata.

“What right do you have to do this?” cried Adital.

“We have every right because we have exceptional intellect. Mechanical Men have superior discernment and the ability to see the future based on current events. These people are dangerous; if left alone, they would have caused terrible harm to the Robot Society and other human beings. Changing them into deer was the only solution available.”

“Will they be happy with this change?” objected Amos.

“What is this thing you call “happiness? Robots do not need such things. We base our decisions on facts and their consequences. Happiness is an imaginary and fleeting mental state and is not logical.”

Adital confronted Automata.  “Well, that’s all well and fine, but where will we spend the night? Amos and I had planned to have a good supper and spend the night. We are not robots and need a place to sleep and food to eat. I doubt a few deer will be able to care for those things.”

“We have arranged for Gerome and Merna’s son, Gabriel, to take possession of The Spotted Mare Inn. We will arrange all the necessary legal matters. A group of Mechanical People is here to help him run the Inn. We may be logical, but we do not lack compassion.”

At that point, a young man emerged from the Spotted Mare Inn, wearing a crisp white uniform. He stopped before Adital and asked if he wanted to see his room. Adital looked at him intently and asked, “How do you feel about what happened to your parents?”

“Couldn’t we talk about me; instead, Gabriel mused?”

The former proprietors’ disappearance became an extended vacation, and the evening was mostly uneventful. Gabriel became the new owner of the Spotted Mare, and his helper robots were quite efficient in running the Inn. It became apparent that very few people want to complain when everything runs smoothly.

Adital and Amos came to breakfast before they began the next leg of their journey. A friendly robot gave them menus, “good morning,” he said, “my name is Stephen, and I will bring your breakfast.

The travelers ordered a hearty breakfast plus extra food for the journey. Stephen brought them their food, and Amos asked how he liked working at the Inn.

“Oh, this is my first attempt at working. I’m going to do this for a while, and then I’ll spend time exploring the world. It is part of my training.”

“That’s incredible!” exclaimed Adital, “we’re exploring the world. How would you like to join us?”

“I will have to speak with my mentor, but I will let you know as soon as I talk to him.”

Soon, it was time to leave. The resolute hikers set off on the trail, and Amos wondered aloud,
“I wonder what happened to the robot, Stephen?” 

“He probably had work to do in the Inn. I don’t think we will see him this trip,” replied Adital. “Do you think we’ve gotten rid of that magician that gave us so much trouble before? Let’s hope there are no more talking trees and
rocks!”

Suddenly an enormously large, multi-colored bird swept down over the travelers and landed in front of them. The Spotted Mare Inn android, Stephen, was riding on the bird’s back. He slid off, bowed, and the bird spread its wings and flew into the sky. Stephen greeted Adital and Amos and declared, “My mentor thought it was a fine idea that I spend time with you while you seek
adventure. Do you still want me to come with you?”

“Of course,” they exclaimed. “Please join us!”