Chapter Two
Kyle
and Kara found the inside of the tree to be very cramped. “Well, he’s not in
here,” said the girl. “Let’s get out of here before we get lost, too.”
“Are
you out of your mind?” Kyle asked. “This is an adventure! Look, here’s a
tunnel!” The two children crawled through the tunnel, with Kyle leading the
way. They slipped down the slide and landed with a THUD! when they reached the
end.
er, who was brushing the dust off
of her pants, and said excitedly, “Let’s go in!”
“Not
without something to light the way,” Kara said cautiously.
Behind
their backs the golden butterfly flew, and her wings made such a flutter that
the children turned around to look. And behold, in a spot where at first there
was nothing, a lighted torch stood. Kyle and Kara looked at one another as if
to say, “Was that there before?” Kara shrugged her shoulders, picked up the
torch, and led the way into the cave.
It
was a long walk. When the children reached the last chamber of the cave, they
saw two dwarves dancing by candlelight. There was also a dwarf playing the
harmonica, a dwarf playing the accordion, and
a dwarf playing some sort of stringed instrument. Other dwarves were singing a
song that went something like this:
Ho, ho! Ha, ha, ha!
As far as I can see,
Gold
lying everywhere,
Enough for you and me!
The
dwarves who were not playing instruments or singing were clapping their hands
to the lively rhythm. As the children observed this scene, they noticed that
Levi was sitting in the corner, clapping his hands. Kyle and Kara stepped into
the light. As soon as the dwarves noticed them, the music stopped. Everyone was
silent, staring at the two children.
Levi
broke the silence by announcing, “Everyone, this is my brother Kyle and my
sister Kara.”
“Nice
to meet you both,” said a dwarf. “Come, join us in our merriment!”
The
musicians began playing again and the singers resumed their singing. Kara and
Kyle sat beside Levi and clapped to the music. This continued for what seemed
like hours, until one of the dwarves said, “It is time for bed.”
“Then
I guess we’d better go home,” said Kara, as she scrambled back onto her feet.
She looked down at her one sneaker. “Mom must be worried about us by now.”
“I
don’t think you can do that,” a dwarf said soberly. “How did you get into our
land?”
“By
following a golden butterfly into a tree,” Kara answered.
The dwarf shook
his head. “No, it is not at all possible to get back to your world again. The
butterfly’s magic only works coming in,
not going out.”
Levi
began to cry.
“Don’t
cry, child,” said another dwarf. “I do believe there is one way out. But I must warn you, it will be difficult.”
Immediately,
Levi stopped crying. “Which way is that?” he asked.
The
dwarf lowered his voice so that it was a barely audible whisper. “You must
posses a dragon scale.”
“Where
would we find this dragon scale?” Kara asked.
“You
will find it,” the dwarf said, “in the deepest, darkest cave, on the other side
of Fairyland. But it is not in the land of the dwarf, for every dwarf fears the
owner of that cave. The cave belongs to a red dragon named Quasbed. His tail is
made of a glowing flame. His eyes, too, are fiery. His cave is located at the
heart of a dormant volcano. You will have to defeat the monster and swipe a
scale from his foot. Then you may say the magic words, which at any other time
are too powerful to speak, and you will find yourself once again at your home.”
The
dwarf’s words somehow gave the children hope, and they smiled at one another
tearfully. “You may spend the night,” another dwarf offered. “We do not mind.”
So the little men led the three siblings to the room where they were to pass
the night.
Early
the next morning, the children ate a big breakfast, then they emerged from the
cave. All fifty dwarves stood at the mouth of the cave to bid them good-bye.
One of them handed a tiny package, wrapped neatly in brown paper and tied with
a string, to Levi. Another man handed a shiny
tin pail to Kyle. “This pail contains enough food for all three of you,” said
the dwarf.
The
oldest dwarf was five hundred and fifty years old, and he had to walk with a
little walking stick. He walked over to Kara, handed her the stick, and said,
“This stick that you hold in your hand will be of use to you. Keep it in your
pocket, and use it only when absolutely necessary.”
“How
will I know when to use it?” asked the girl.
“You
will know,” the old dwarf said with a smile. “You will know.” Then he added in
a hoarse whisper, “I will tell you a secret. I am the only dwarf who has ever
been to Quasbed’s cave and lived to tell about it. And I can tell you that
music tames the savage beast. If you sing, or make music of any kind, the old
monster will fall asleep. It is then that you may sneak a scale from him.”
“But
another dwarf said that we have to defeat the dragon to get the scale.”
“There
I cannot help you, child,” said the old dwarf with a sigh. “I fear that you
will have to figure that out on your own.”
And
with that, all fifty dwarves waved good-bye and told the children to be very
careful on their journey, and of course the children said that they would. So
without knowing anything about the land they had found themselves in, or what
lay ahead, they took the only road leading from the dwarf cave to the rest of
Fairyland. When they were almost out of sight, Levi stopped and bid a final
wave to the friendly little men with the long, grey beards.
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