Information
This story is part of the Easter Event 2025. You can read it or listen to it. An MP3 file with the spoken story is available like an audiobook in the attachments as a zip file or you can listen to it as a YouTube video at the end of this article.
"No Images??? WTH?". Yes, that's right, at the moment this is just the story without images. The images are being created by the amazing Easter event egg hunters. Check out the link above to learn more.
The Legend of the Black Eggs
Long ago, in a quiet village beside an ancient forest, a terrible presence emerged from the shadows. It was a creature neither beast nor man, cloaked in black fur, with glowing eyes and a mouth full of sharp, bone-crushing teeth. Some said it looked like a monstrous hare, though no one knew what it truly was. No name was ever given to it. It was simply called the Beast.
What made this creature truly horrifying was not only its hunger but its cruelty. It laid smooth, black eggs that shone like polished stone. These eggs appeared in the woods and sometimes at the very edge of the village. They were beautiful, silent and deadly.
Children who wandered too far or hungry travelers who strayed from the road, would find these eggs. As soon as one was touched, the Beast would appear. It was swift, silent and merciless. It devoured its victims completely. No blood, no screams, no bodies. The black egg would disappear, only to be placed elsewhere, waiting for the next soul.
The villagers had no idea. They only knew that more and more children were vanishing. Hunters and adventurers entered the forest and never returned. Even the king's guard was sent, but none came back.
As the years passed, the village grew quiet. No children played in the fields. Only the old remained, their hearts heavy with fear. In desperation, they sought help from a being older than the forest itself — a dryad who lived deep within the woods, surrounded by deer, squirrels, rabbits and tall, ancient trees.
The dryad listened and nodded slowly. She told them of the black eggs and their dark purpose. The eggs were traps. Once touched, they summoned the Beast. But, she said, there was something the creature feared. Something it hated.
Painted eggs and sweet things.
"Color and sweetness", the dryad explained, "disrupted the magic of the black eggs. Their joy was stronger than the hunger that lured the Beast. If sweets and painted eggs were placed near the black ones, the creature would be repelled."
The villagers shook their heads. "We cannot protect what we cannot find," they said. "We never see the black eggs until it's too late."
The dryad was silent for a while. Then she stepped forward and picked up a small, white rabbit from the mossy ground. She whispered ancient words, words the forest had not heard in centuries. The rabbit grew large, as big as a hound and a woven basket appeared on its back, filled with painted eggs and sweet treats wrapped in bright cloth.
"This rabbit," said the dryad, "will search for the black eggs. Wherever one is hidden, he will place a colorful egg and sweet things beside it. The Beast will no longer feed. It will leave."
The villagers were filled with hope. The rabbit set off and in only a few months, no more children disappeared. The village was safe. But soon, word came from another village, three days’ travel away. Children were missing there now. The Beast had moved on. So the dryad sent another rabbit. Then another. And another.
Years passed. The black eggs became rare. The Beast was forgotten.
But the rabbits remained.
The dryad, seeing their dedication, allowed them to continue their task, though she gave them one rule. They were only to hide their colorful eggs and sweets once each year, at the beginning of spring, unless the black eggs returned.
And so it was. Every spring, rabbits appeared across the land, hiding painted eggs and sweet delights. Children laughed, never knowing the dark truth behind the tradition.
The Beast may be dead or it may still be out there, somewhere in the deep woods, waiting for a careless hand to reach for the wrong egg.
So remember, dear child.
Take only the colorful eggs. Enjoy the sweets.
If you ever find a black egg — smooth, silent, shining like glass — do not touch it.
Run. Run as fast as you can.
Story Video
— Moonbear 🐾🐻