“How dare you!” the Dragon exhaled after overcoming her initial shock. The twins looked quizzically at her. They did not understand the insult within the question.
But Uniqua did. “No, Cassandra. This is not the time. He is only trying to make you angry so you will fight him and lose the game.”
Cassandra was not quite listening, however. “What do you know of the egg?”
The twins wanted to ask the question, too, but Uniqua shook her head violently. “Later, children. Not now.”
“You lose again!” the Ogre laughed. To the Giant he asked. “Are you ready?”
Bleakly, Tiny stepped forward. This time, he took a deep breath and tried to make his stomach muscles tight and strong. But the Ogre was stronger, and Tiny literally flew off his feet and landed flat on his back a couple of yards away.
The twins rushed towards him. “Are you okay?” they asked almost in unison.
Tiny would not answer. Tears formed in his eyes from the pain.
“Question number four,” the Ogre announced.
Uniqua saw out of the corner of her right eye a signal she had been waiting for. “Tell me, Ogre: what do you eat around here?”
The Ogre’s eye lit up. “Do you have any Rabbit Stew?” Then quickly, he answered his own question. “No, you don’t! And, you lose again!”
“But we do!” the Bunnies exclaimed. This time, it was the Group that felt triumphant, and the Bunnies brought forth a bowl of their famous stew.
“What?” the Ogre exclaimed in surprise. “You cheated! That question was not part of the game!” he protested. “Cheating is not allowed! You all lose! Now go and never come back here again!”
“Uh-uh,” Uniqua disagreed pleasantly. “You made it a question, and you assumed that we had no Rabbit Stew.”
The Bunnies held the bowl of stew close to the Ogre so he could smell its delicious aroma.
“You would give me a bowl of Rabbit Stew?” he asked hopefully, although he really doubted that they would. After all, he had been very mean to them all.
“Of course,” Uniqua said.
“After I was mean to you and hurt your friend?”
“Ah,” Tiny said as he painfully sat up. “That was nothin’. When I play with my brothers, you should see the bruises.”
“I bet you hate your brothers.”
“Hate my brothers? No way. They are my family. We all love each other. Hey, I may be small, but you should see the bruises I give them!” He laughed good-naturedly.
If Ogres could cry, there might have been tears in his eyes. “I have never lost before. Well, except once, and that was against the Lord of Power.” He looked a little shy. “He cheated, too, by the way.”
“You saw the Lord of Power?” Carl blurted.
“Once,” the Ogre shuddered. “And I never want to see him again. I am surprised you want to see him at all.” He sniffed at the Rabbit Stew. “You really are going to give that to me?”
“Play and pay,” Uniqua laughed.
The Ogre quickly took the bowl from the Bunnies and began quaffing the stew down.
“Well,” he finished the meal and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, “I have been beaten. Fairly, I grudgingly admit. You have played and paid. You may pass through my tunnel.
“But, I give you this warning: you might enter the tunnel, but you probably will never come out. I don’t know anyone who has—except maybe the Lord of Power. No one has ever come back this way again.”
“How long is the tunnel?” Uniqua asked.
“Forever. I don’t know. I’ve never been through it myself. There are strange things in there: scary things.”
The Ogre’s words forbade no good news. (Forbade is often used in literature. It kind of means that the writer is telling you in advance that something bad is going to happen soon. When you have a foreboding feeling, like when the teacher is going to give you a pop quiz on Monday, you have a terrible feeling of doom.)
“We have no other choice,” Uniqua said, mostly for the benefit of the Group. “We will pass through the tunnel and brave any dangers inside. We have already faced many challenges, and we have succeeded. Let us not fail in our quest now.”
A dark tunnel without any lighting is probably scary enough. You cannot see even the hand in front of your face, and you have to creep along—go very slowly—using your hands against the tunnel wall for your eyes. Then, you have to step very carefully, because you do not know if there is a hole in the floor or not. One misstep and down you go, never to return.
“Good luck to you, and I mean that,” the Ogre told them. It was probably the first time he had ever been nice to anyone. “If you do come back this way, maybe you can introduce me to your Ogre friend.”
“We’ll try,” Karen told him. “But we can’t promise.”
“Your word is good enough for me. Now go, while there’s still sunlight. At night, I’ll build a fire. Hopefully, if you’re still in the tunnel and lost, you’ll be able to see the fire and come back out.”
Trepidation is a good descriptive word here. It means to have a lot of fear. For example, if you even tried jumping off a high board at a swimming pool, you might have felt your heart pounding in your throat before you jumped. That kind of feeling was shared by everyone in the Group. They did not want to enter the tunnel now that they knew there was danger. Yet, they had to or give up and turn back, which they did not want to do either.
The Bunnies took the lead, holding onto each other’s hand. Honey grabbed Cassandra’s ear. Karen put her hand on the Dragon’s back and took Carl’s hand. Carl reached out and grabbed Tiny’s little finger. With his other hand, Tiny placed it on Uniqua’s neck. Only Prince Bot did not touch any member of the Group but followed in the rear.
As I wrote above, a dark cave can be scary enough. The entrance behind them disappeared: they would not have been able to see any fire the Ogre would build later. It felt like a ball of inky darkness had swallowed them up. There was no time. If they had not been able to feel the ground under their feet, they might have felt there was no space either.
Soon after, they began to hear things, like whisperings. Later, when the twins described their ordeal to me, they realized that they were all hallucinating. But at the time, these hallucinations felt very real. It was like all of their fears had come to life and began tormenting them.
The Bunnies were afraid of bodies of water, and they suddenly cried out and stopped their forward movement. They claimed that a great underground lake barred their path.
Cassandra started wailing and flapping her tiny wings. She insisted that they were all standing on a high precipice and were all going to fall off. There was no way to get down except to fly. And, since she was afraid of heights and knew she could not fly, she refused to take another step.
The children were, alas, very afraid. Carl claimed that huge eyes were glowing in the darkness, eyes of huge cats ready to pounce on him. Meanwhile, Karen was in hysterics, as she believed vile monsters were slowly scraping their hideous forms towards her, their arms stretched out ready to grab her.
Even Uniqua was affected. She kept asking what happened to her horn. It was gone! She had lost her magic!
Tiny was whimpering. “I’m shrinkin’!” he called out. “Help me! Help me! I’m going to disappear into nothin’! No one step on me! Please!”
This might have been the end of the quest. Our dear friends were immobilized, paralyzed by their own personal fears. But Prince Bot saved the day. Being a machine—and, therefore, being incapable of experiencing fear—suddenly rushed forward. He pushed Uniqua forward, who pushed Tiny forward, who pushed the twins forward, who pushed Cassandra forward, who pushed the Bunnies forward. In the blink of an eye, the Group tumbled out of the tunnel and into broad daylight.
“That was weird!” Carl exclaimed, expressing the same thought as every one.
“How long was that tunnel, anyway?” Karen wondered.
“Forever,” Uniqua replied somberly, using the
Ogre’s description. “Or, it would have been if it hadn’t been for our friend, Prince Bot.”
And individually, the members of the Group thanked their Robot companion.
“It was the logical thing to do,” Prince Bot said simply.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
WISH RIVER
It would be nice to write that the Quest was nearing the end and that the most dangerous challenges were past. Alas, I cannot. It was like the Quest had only begun. With each hurdle surpassed, a new hurdle faced the Group. There were several more challenges that lay ahead.
The Group found themselves in a wooded area. The trees did not grow close together, but the woods was still a wild place. They neither saw nor heard any living creatures in these woods. Nor were there any insects buzzing around. The only sound they did hear, by the way, was the roaring water from a river not too far away. A path led from the tunnel’s exit in the direction of the sound, and for some strange reason, it appeared well marked and well worn.
“People have gone this way before,” Uniqua observed. “Recently, too, I think.”
“We’re on point,” the Bunnies declared, and they started walking down the path, taking the lead.
“Be careful and keep your eyes open,” Uniqua warned.
“Our ears, too,” they promised.
The trek through the woods and down the path was both easy and short. Soon they came to the sound of roaring water and a great river rushing swiftly by. The source of the river was a huge waterfall that fell from several openings high up the Mountain of Power.
“We need to get to the other side,” Carl shouted above the noise. He remembered the map he had memorized in Who’s cabin. That memory also made him feel like it was years ago since they had started this Quest.
“The path is safe,” the Bunnies reported, “and continues alongside the river.”
“Lead on,” Uniqua told them.
Not only was the river wide and fast, it was also very deep. Even if the Group—and the Bunnies would have been dead set against it—wanted to try and cross the river, they would have instantly been swept away to their deaths.
As the Group walked along the roaring river, Karen was interested in some very intriguing rock formations that “looked out” across the river. A few were shaped like small people. Others appeared like many of the Island’s creatures.
“I wonder who carved these sculptures,” she asked as she reached out to touch the nearest one.
“Look, but don’t touch,” a squeaky voice told her.
Naturally, Karen jumped back and then turned to her left to see who had just spoken to her. Then, she screamed.
Lying on a flat rock, a Salamander creature looked up at her with huge, bulbous eyes. A weird sort of smile formed on its lipless mouth.
The Bunnies instantly appeared at her side, ready to defend against any danger.
“Why, it’s just a salamander,” Carl told her, chiding her like most boys do to girls who act squeamish about snakes, lizards, frogs, and anything else that look scaly or oily. I know a lot of girls who are not afraid of creepy creatures. But I would have to say that Karen was more shocked by its sudden appearance than it being a salamander.
“Not just any Salamander,” the creature spoke. “I’m your lucky Salamander. And, this is your lucky day.”
“We could use a little luck,” Uniqua remarked as she stepped forward. She was both curious and suspicious of the animal. “What do you mean?”
“Make a wish,” the Salamander said quickly—too quickly, I think, “and I will make it come true.”
“But we already have—ouch!” Cassandra stepped on Carl’s foot and looked at him disapprovingly. (You all know that kind of look when your parents and teachers think you are saying something or doing something you should not be doing.) Here, our beloved Dragon was reminding Carl that his and his sister’s gift of wishes were supposed to be secrets.
In the “old days,” there was a popular saying: “Loose lips sink ships.” The meaning, of course, included the idea that one must never tell secrets to anyone. First, the enemy could use those secrets to harm people friendly to us. Even telling a secret to a friend could be dangerous. So, unless you want everyone to know your secrets, it is best to not tell anyone.
Second, the Group did not know if the Salamander was an enemy or a possible friend. While it is a good thing to treat other people as possible friends, it is always prudent (meaning the wisest course) to be very careful about what you say. There are too many people in this world who like to pretend to be your friend, when they really want to hurt you in some way.
So, when Cassandra stepped on Carl’s foot, she was reminding him to be very careful. “Trust no one,” she was saying, “until they prove they are trustworthy.”
“Well, thank you for the offer,” Uniqua told the Salamander, “but we don’t need to use any wishes right now. We can find our way well enough.” She turned to lead the Group down the path.
“Wouldn’t you like to get to the other side?” the Salamander persisted, meaning that he was not going to quiet and be silent. “One wish and I can wish you to the other side just like that.” He snapped his tiny fingers with quite a loud snap.
“No, thank you,” Uniqua said, trotting away from him.
“How about your fondest desire?” the Salamander suggested. “You there, Dragon. Wouldn’t you want to become more than a chicken?”
At this, Cassandra turned and gave the Salamander a withering look, meaning that she was probably thinking that she wished the Salamander would dry up and die.
“I can make you into the biggest and grandest Dragon who ever lived!” the Salamander promised.
The Salamander’s words hit home, and Cassandra kind of tripped in her walk. Deep in her heart, she did wish she were a great Dragon. But to her credit, she ignored the Salamander and kept walking.
“Bunnies!” the slimy creature called out. “Wouldn’t you like Hoppity Meadows to be beautiful again? I can change Dearth Desert back into the wonderful garden it once was. Just say the word, and all that can be yours!”
The Bunnies, taking their Mistress’ lead, also said nothing and continued to stay close to Cassandra.
“Giant friend!” As I wrote above, the Salamander was very persistent. “Aren’t you tired of being the tiniest of your kind? Ask me, and I’ll made you the hugest and greatest Giant that ever lived.”
Tiny rubbed the back of his neck as he thought about this. He had often wished that he were bigger. Sometimes, it did not seem fair that his brothers were all taller than him. But then, he kind of laughed. It was his size that made him what he was: special. He certainly would not have made friends with the others of the Group if he had been larger. And, he would not have made this trek to the Mountain of Power, which, by the way, was rather exciting for him if he had been larger. So, he, too, turned a deaf ear on the Salamander.
“Children, do you not want to go home? Don’t you want to see your father again? Ask me, and I can send you back to your oceanographic home again.”
Sad to say, this offer did cause the twins to stop and consider the Salamander’s words.
“No more challenges or dangers. No more treading up and down hills or running through underground tunnels. Why, you won’t even have to go see the Lord of Power at all! He is a rather disagreeable fellow, if you know what I mean.” Here he winked, underscoring that his words carried a much stronger meaning.
Now, in my mind, I would want to know how this Salamander knew all these things. His knowledge should have raised a “red flag.” By the term “red flag,” we mean a high degree of warning and danger. A ship will stay in a safe harbor when a red flag is waving, for it means that the winds and the waters are too dangerous for sailing. On hot days, a red flag means to limit exercise and to be sure to drink lots of water if one is sweating a lot.
Yes, it can be argued that if the Salamander could actually grant wishes, it must be a magical creature. And, if it were magical, it might ma
gically know things about the adventures of the Group. But it was the eagerness of the Salamander that should have raised the red flag. In the stories we read about genies, they really are not too keen or willing to grant wishes. So, why did this Salamander want to grant wishes so eagerly?
The twins were beginning to think hard about the creature’s words. I mean, I suppose I would, too. It would be so much easier to get something I want without having to work for it. And, the twins were beginning to feel very homesick. With each step, it seemed that they were moving further and further from home, not closer to getting back home. Maybe this is what people mean when they say: “It is always darkest before the dawn.”
Fortunately for us and the children, the Salamander spoke too much. Evil creatures tend to do that when they try to press their point too eagerly.
“I can make it so that you can see your mother again!” The Salamander’s eyes glowed with a strange greenish gleam.
“Oh, that’s too much!” Karen said indignantly. She had been swayed up to this point, but now the Salamander was promising the impossible. “Come on, Carl. We’re falling behind.”
Carl reluctantly turned to follow his sister. “You know—”
“I don’t want to hear it, Carl,” she told him hotly. “He’s just trying to trick us somehow. And, I’m not going to play his stupid ‘game.’”
“Robot! Surely you—” but the Salamander did not have the chance to finish. Prince Bot simply swerved close to the creature and knocked him back into the brush.
The Group would have been lucky if this single Salamander had been the only creature to accost them. Unfortunately, other Salamanders appeared along the trail. Each offered their own sets of wishes. And, each succeeding Salamander tried to out-do the others by promising even bigger and more grandiose wishes.
“This reminds me of that story about Jason and the Argonauts,” Carl grumbled, trying to plug up his ears with his fingers.
“How so?” Karen ventured.
“Well, Jason and his fellow sailors sailed too close to this one island. Sirens lived on the island, and they would sing to the sailors on the ships. One version has it that the sailors went mad. Another version has it that the sailors wanted to go to the island.”
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