by Down, Reg
She opened it, scooped out the seeds, and held them in her hands. Kalor breathed on them and made them glow bright red. Vallor shone on them and made them shine like stars. Vive cast the seeds into the sky, and down, down they fell upon the earth, shining like golden rain. Some fell into the oceans and lakes; they hissed and sizzled and sent up clouds. The rest fell on the land and were buried deep under the ground.
Kalor and Vallor sat on the sun and waited. They watched the first clouds cover the world. They watched the rain, the first rain, wet the soil. Then Kalor sent waves of warmth to the earth. The seeds soaked in the warmth. They sprouted and grew, and Vallor sent rays of light to the earth as the leaves unfolded. The plants bathed in the light and soon made flowers. Last of all, when the flowers had faded, Sister Vive sang a song and caused the seeds to scatter over the ground for the coming year.”
“That’s how the first plants began,” said Tiptoes, “and why they love the light and warmth so much.”
“But what about the fire fairies?” asked Tom Nutcracker. “You never told us about them.”
“That’s just the first part of the story,” said Tiptoes. “But the rest will have to wait.”
“Why?” said June Berry, disappointed.
“Because supper’s ready,” said Farmer John, looking in the door. “Time to wash your hands.”
Chapter 8
The first Trees
After supper Tom Nutcracker and June Berry cleared the table while their dad made the beds. They sang as they washed the dishes:
“This is the way we wash the dishes:
Fill the tub and add some fishes,
Let them swish their scaly tails
And clean the cups as big as whales!”
And they sang some more as they put the plates and cutlery away.
“Store the plates upon the floor,
Throw the bowls into the drawer,
Stack the knives upon the shelves
And let the cups go hang themselves!”
When they were finished they went to the living room and found Tiptoes sitting close to the fire.
“Can we finish the story?” asked Tom.
“Let’s wait for your dad,” said Tiptoes.
So they sat and watched the flames flickering over the logs and the smoke rising up the chimney. After a while Farmer John came in and drew the curtains.
“You’re quiet,” he said.
“We’re waiting for you,” said Tom. “Tiptoes is going to finish her story.”
“Oh, I see,” said Farmer John, settling down on the sofa.
He looked around for Tiptoes.
“She just flew up next to me,” said June Berry, patting the armchair.
Farmer John nodded, but still didn’t see her. Tiptoes smoothed her blue dress and continued the tale of the fire fairies—but as soon as she began Farmer John’s head nodded forward and he fell fast asleep.
“All over the earth,” said Tiptoes, “the seeds of Sister Vive sprouted and grew. These were the first plants. Some were tiny, some were tall, and some were so small they were hardly there at all!”
“Just like today,” said Tom.
“Yes, except they didn’t look like plants do today,” said Tiptoes. “Oh no, not at all! They had only three things: warmth from Brother Kalor, light from Brother Vallor and life from Sister Vive. If you saw one today you’d hardly see it at all—maybe just a delicate light hovering over the ground. The trees were especially wonderful. They were like living fountains that sprang from the earth. They were flowing, glowing, shining fountains of light.”
“That sounds beautiful,” said June Berry.
“They were,” said Tiptoes. “But if one of those trees was here today you could walk right through it. You’d be walking along, tum-dee-tum, minding your own business, when all of a sudden you’d be warm. ‘Why am I so warm?’ you’d say, and take off your jacket and scarf. Then you’d see shimmering light all around you. It’d be rising out of the earth and springing high into the air. And if you were sick and feeling bad you’d instantly be better and full of life. Way back then whole forests of these wonderful trees grew on the earth, and Kalor and Vallor were pleased.
‘That’s much better,’ said Kalor.
‘Much, much better,’ agreed Vallor. ‘Now the earth doesn’t look like a bald goose egg any more,’ and the two brothers patted each other on the back and said what a great job they had done.
Their younger Sister Vive was happy too. She gazed down and knew that her seeds would change the earth—and that the earth would change her seeds.”
Tiptoes stopped speaking and looked at Farmer John. Suddenly his head jerked up. He looked around the room with bleary eyes.
“I had such a strange dream,” he said. “I saw trees of light, but the light was flowing and growing like fountains of water.”
“You dreamed the story,” laughed Tom and June.
“I did?” said Farmer John, rubbing his eyes.
Tom and June nodded yes.
Farmer John yawned and looked at his watch.
“Nooooo!” cried Tom, throwing himself onto his dad’s lap and covering his watch. “Don’t send us to bed. Tiptoes hasn’t finished the story. She still hasn’t told us about the fire fairies.”
“But look how late it is,” said Farmer John. “We’ve had a long day and it’s way past bedtime. Tiptoes will have to finish her tale some other night.”
Chapter 9
Tiptoes goes out at Night
That night Tiptoes slipped out of the cottage. She flew into the mist that rolled inland off the sea. Far away she saw the yellow glow of Summer’s Fort, and here and there the lights from other houses gleamed in the darkness. High in the sky the silver half moon was pale and misty.
Tiptoes stopped and listened. She heard the waves breaking on the shore. Their sound went on forever, always shifting, always changing. She flew to the sea and skimmed the waves of the falling tide. The breakers were gleaming white and pearly in the moonlight as they curled and crashed and ran splashing up the beach.
Tiptoes turned north. The long strand ended and the rocks began. She flew over pocket coves and bays and beaches only big enough for one or two people. Seaweed covered the low rocks or swayed back and forth in the swirling sea. She came to the flat rocks where the seals hauled themselves out of the water. Beyond was a wide, sweeping bay with a pebble beach and backed by close mountains. Out to sea, a mile or so from shore, was a lighthouse with its light going round and round. It was telling sailors to keep away, keep away, there’s ragged rocks in the bay!
Tiptoes returned. She flew back along the cliffs and bluffs, past the sea stacks and the lonely sea arch, past the caves hidden under the rocks, and in through the keyhole of Farmer John’s cottage. She found June Berry’s woolen sweater lying on the chair beside her bed. Tiptoes slipped inside one of the arms, curled up comfortably and fell fast asleep.
Chapter 10
~ Sunday ~
The Cave
Farmer John lay in the shelter of a sandy hollow. It was sunny but windy, and he was soaking up the sun. His hat lay over his eyes and he listened to the thunder of the surf pounding on the beach. Behind him he heard the voices of Tom and June. They were exploring the rocky bluff that ran along the shoreline.
“Look,” said Tom, scrambling up a steep slope. “There’s a hole.”
“Wait for me,” said June Berry, scrambling after him.
They stood on a narrow ledge about half way up the bluff. All about lay fresh, untouched soil, all jumbled up. Higher up the soil and rocks had fallen away, leaving a scar.
“The dirt must have fallen down last night,” said Tom. “See how new it is—there’s not a single footprint.” He got down on his hands and knees and looked into the hole. “It opens up,” he said, digging away the dirt on the ledge. “Let’s go inside,” and before June Berry could say anything he had vanished.
June Berry hunkered down, but the opening was too low. She got onto her ha
nds and knees and peered in. She saw Tom looking back at her.
“Come in, Junebug,” said Tom, using her nickname and waving her in.
June Berry wasn’t sure if it was safe or not. She looked at the bluff above the opening. It was solid rock. She walked back along the ledge and glanced down at her dad. He was still lying on the sand. So she returned and crawled in.
“It’s a cave,” she said as soon as she got inside.
The cave was big enough to stand up in. The floor was sandy and the walls solid rock. At the back there seemed to be another passage, but it dived downwards and was blocked by sand.
“A secret cave,” said Tom grinning from ear to ear and looking around. “We’re the first ones here—ever!”
He went all the way around the walls. They were smooth and water worn.
“It looks safe,” he said. “It’s been buried underground for ages and ages.”
“This can be our Treasure Cave,” said June Berry.
Tom’s eyes widened. “We can make swords and protect our gold from pirates and sea dragons.”
“No sea dragon will dare to come close to me!” shouted June Berry fiercely, waving her arm about.
“Nor me!” declared Tom.
“First we need to get real swords,” said June Berry. “I saw some outside,” and she scooted out the door with Tom at her heels.
Chapter 11
Tiptoes meets Obaro
Tiptoes sat on a log close to Farmer John. He was lying in the sand and enjoying the sun. She watched the rising tide swirl around the two sea stacks that marked the end of the long sandy beach. After a while she noticed Tom Nutcracker and June Berry climb up the rocky bluff and crawl into a narrow tunnel. The tunnel had been uncovered by a fresh landslide.
“What are those guys up to?” she thought.
A few minutes later they came out and clambered over the rocks to the next bay. They were searching for something and were very excited. Tiptoes was curious. She flew to the tunnel and went inside.
“What a wonderful cave,” she exclaimed, looking around. “These walls are water worn. I bet a river ran through here a long time ago.”
“That’s right … that’s right,” said a hollow voice behind her.
“Eeek!” screeched Tiptoes, spinning around.
In front of her was the oddest creature. She stared and stared, trying to work out what it was.
“Hello, Mr … um … Cave Thingy,” said Tiptoes, trying to sound polite.
“I am not a Cave Thingy … Thingy,” said the creature, his voice echoing in the hollow cave. “There’s no need to be rude … so rude.”
“I’m sorry,” said Tiptoes, “I didn’t … I mean … I don’t know what you are. You look so … um … um … different.”
“I’m the cave spirit … spirit,” said the creature. “If you have to know, I am a kind of gnome, only turned, turned inside out.”
“That’s wonderful,” said Tiptoes, trying to sound cheerful. “I have gnome friends, Pine Cone and Pepper Pot. Perhaps you’re cousins.”
The cave spirit did not look pleased. Tiptoes wished he wouldn’t stare so hard. He was so odd and funny looking—and his voice kept echoing his last words. It was strange, very strange.
“I meant my friends might be distant gnome cousins,” said Tiptoes, “ … very, very distant.” She wasn’t sure why the cave gnome looked so displeased.
“Well … you look odd and funny to me, to me, Miss Blue Dress with Yellow Wings,” said the creature grumpily. “Here I am, I am, locked in this cave for thousands of years, thousands of years, and as soon as the door opens, it opens and in come two chattery … I don’t know what they are … creatures, creatures with bodies full of … full of … stuff, stuff.
“That was Tom and June,” said Tiptoes. “They’re children.”
“Children! Children of what?” said the cave spirit. “Are they trees?”
“They’re human beings,” said Tiptoes.
“So that’s what human beings turned out like, out like,” said the cave spirit. “Very noisy, and quick, very quick, like you—only you’re worse, much worse. After all this coming and going, and going, in my cave, you waltz in and call me a Cave Thingy and think I am odd and funny looking and speak strangely … strangely!”
“I suppose,” said Tiptoes, hanging her head. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t looked at it that way. And I didn’t realize you had been here for so very long.”
Tiptoes hadn’t meant to be rude. The cave gnome really did look different. Where his body should be was nothing but a hollow space—just like a cave! On the outside of the hollow space was the gnome looking into the hollow space. For clothes, if you can call them clothes, he had gray-brown and yellow-brown swirls, just like the colors of the rocks in the cave, only these swirls moved and changed depending on what he was saying or feeling. At the moment the colors had gone dark brown and heavy. He also had two deeply set eyes which looked like two small caves. But, and this was the strangest part, his eyes looked into his hollow body; this meant he had to turn his back on Tiptoes when he wanted to look at her! Then he peered across his empty space and out through his back. Tiptoes had never seen anything like it. She thought he must be very, very ancient.
“Yes, I am,” said the creature. “I am.”
“You are what?” asked Tiptoes.
“Ancient,” said the creature. “Ancient.”
Tiptoes clapped her hands over her mouth. “Oops,” she thought, “that odd creature can read my mind.”
“Yes, I can, I can,” said the cave spirit, frowning. “And stop thinking me odd, so odd! I hear everything that goes on inside empty spaces. Empty spaces like caves or seashells or heads like yours, like yours.”
“My head is not empty!” declared Tiptoes.
The cave gnome grinned. “To me it is, it is,” he chuckled.
Tiptoes put her hands on her hips. She was huffing and puffing. What an insult! But the more she huffed and puffed the more the cave gnome brightened and grinned. Finally Tiptoes had no choice but to burst out laughing.
“Fine,” she said. “Sometimes it is empty! What’s your name?”
“Obaro, Obaro,” said the cave gnome. “Nice to meet you, meet you Miss Tiptoes Lightly of the Great Oak Tree, Oak Tree.”
Tiptoes gave a little curtsy and Obaro closed his deep-set eyes and vanished.
Chapter 12
Swords to defend the Treasure Cave
The beach ran from the railway trestle all the way out to the Nutcracker’s cottage. Now wide, now narrow, it had soft, golden sand, wild surf and sheltered nooks and crannies along the bluffs. Two jagged sea stacks, huge rocks that stuck out of the sand and surf, marked the end of the beach. After that came the rugged coastline that ran for a couple of miles before it came to the wide, sweeping bay with the lighthouse.
Tom Nutcracker and June Berry were looking for swords. They were in the first bay just around the corner from the sea stacks. The bay was filled with jumbled rocks and lots of flotsam was caught in the crevasses.
“Here’s one,” said June, picking up a slim piece of driftwood. She swung it in the air. It whistled and hissed. “Perfect,” she said. “Now I need to find a belt.”
Soon Tom found a sword too. It had a narrow handle and a wide blade. He grasped it with two hands and whacked a dangerous looking rock. The sword held and didn’t break.
“This is my mighty broadsword,” declared Tom, looking fierce. He climbed onto a shelf overlooking the waves and the two sea stacks. “I am King Thomas Nutcracker the Sea-Lord,” he declared, holding his sword high. “Behold my two sea castles, Ragged and Jagged. They are mine. I defend them. No pesky pirates will conquer them, nor find my gold in the Treasure Cave.”
“Yea!” shouted June Berry, climbing up and joining him. “Me too! Me too! Yea for the Treasure Cave! We fearless fighters will defend our treasure from sea dragons and pirates!”
They were still shouting and screaming when Farmer John found them. They wer
e so busy they didn’t see him come up behind.
“What are you two doing?” he asked.
“Yikes!” screeched Tom and June, whirling around.
“Dad!!! Don’t frighten us!” they cried.
Farmer John laughed. “How can I frighten such fearsome warriors?” he said. “And besides, it’s time to eat.”
So they clambered over the rocks to the beach and headed for home. Tom and June ran ahead and charged up the bluff, still shouting and screaming and waving their swords at the sea dragons swimming about offshore.
Chapter 13
A Ship
After lunch Tom and June rummaged around the cottage for belts. They found a piece of old rope in the mud room and Farmer John cut it in two. They wrapped it round their waists, made a knot, and slid in their swords. Now they were held properly. From a box of rags in the attic they cut two bandanas, one red and one blue.
“Now you look like real pirates,” said Farmer John. “All you need is a ship.”
“A ship—I forgot!” said Tom. “We’ll have to build a ship,” and he grabbed June Berry’s hand and pulled her out the door.
Across the sea meadow they raced and zigzagged down the path to the beach. Soon they found the perfect place for their ship. It was close to the bluff, just below the cave, but high enough up the beach that only a fierce storm and high tide could reach it. They searched for driftwood and found a long pole. Tom dug a hole into the sand. He stuck the pole in and held it while June Berry packed sand around it.
“There, that’s the mast,” said Tom. “Now we make the ship,” and he traced the shape with his foot.
They scooped out sand from inside the boat and hauled driftwood planks and logs to make the hull. By late afternoon it was half finished and they could see the boat’s shape. Tom and June climbed inside and imagined being on the ocean. They were still on board when Farmer John turned up with Lucy. He had two bottles of water and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.