Chapter 1

 

 

Gnomes are quite a small folk, rarely topping six inches or so. But that doesn’t mean that they are quiet... or shy. In fact, they are quite the opposite and one thing they really enjoy is a good party. Jena was just such a gnome and had just woken up not feeling too well. Her stomach felt a little unsettled and she knew the reason why.

 

She had been to a party the previous night for a fellow gnome in her village of Gnome Hollow. There had been a lot of rich food to eat like chocolate cake, apple pies and cream, strawberry tarts and custard, not to mention honey and apple cider’s. She had eaten far too much and was now suffering for going to bed on a very full stomach.

 

What was worse however were the curtains of her bedroom window. They were not pulled tight across the window and a glare of early morning sunlight was shining on her face. She could get up and pull them tighter, but that meant getting out from under her warm quilt.

 

She decided to ignore it and rolled away from the window. She gave a sleepy yawn and snuggled deeper under her quilt.

 

But she had only just started to doze off again when there was a sudden loud thumping on her bedroom door. With a moan of dismay she realized that her visitor could be only one person.

 

‘Please!’ she muttered, pulling the quilt over her head. ‘Not this morning!’

 

But her plea was rudely ignored as the door burst open.

 

‘What, not out of bed yet!’ exclaimed a loud voice.

 

Jena peeked over the quilt at another gnome standing in the doorway. He was grinning at her in a very cheeky way.

 

‘Oh! Leave me alone, Dom,’ she said weakly. ‘I’m... I’m not feeling well.’

 

‘Nonsense!’ scoffed her younger brother as he stepped into the room. ‘It’s a beautiful summer’s day outside and we should be out enjoying it.’

 

He walked over to the window and tugging the curtains aside, allowed bright sunlight to flood into the room.

 

‘See!’ he said cheerfully.

 

‘Look, I’m really not well, Dom,’ Jena complained.

 

‘Ha! The only reason you’re feeling ill is because you ate too much last night,’ he replied and then added slyly. ‘And I know just the cure!’

 

Jena groaned at the word cure and tried to sink as far as she could into her bed. She knew very well that Dom’s cures meant some kind of physical activity and that was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment.

 

‘Just a little longer, Dom,’ she pleaded.

 

But he was already reaching to snatch the quilt off her bed.

 

‘All right, all right!’ she said, clutching at it. ‘I’m getting up!’

 

‘Good!’ Dom said. ‘We’ll go for a walk. How about going down Bright Brook to the Swift River?’

 

Jena thought that didn’t sound too hard. Exploring brooks and streams was always good fun and the Swift River was not that far away.

 

‘Okay,’ she said.

 

‘Then hurry up and get dressed,’ he said. ‘Mum and dad are still asleep, so I’ll write them a note to say where we’ve gone.’

 

He turned away toward the door, but stopped just short of it. He looked over his shoulder with another sly grin.

 

‘Feel like some breakfast?’ he asked.

 

Jena moaned, her stomach rumbling uneasily at just the thought of food.

 

‘Oh, go away!’ she snapped.

 

* * *

 

Once Dom had closed the door, Jena got out of bed. She gave her face a wash from a bowl of cool water on a table under the window, then got dressed. As an afterthought she slipped a plain gold bracelet over her wrist, a piece of jewellery her grandmother had given her some months ago for her birthday.

 

She had been a little mysterious about it at the time. Jena was always to wear it she had said, especially when going exploring. She had asked her gran what was so important about it. But she had just smiled and said that it was just a small tradition in the family.

 

So with the bracelet on she left her room and headed down to the kitchen where she found Dom waiting. She managed to drink a glass of blackberry juice to settle her stomach and then they both stepped down the hall toward the front door. A coat and hat stand stood near the door and hanging from it were several coats and colourful caps. They wouldn’t need coats today, but they did put on a cap, something that all gnomes wore when outside.

 

Dom opened the door, allowing bright sunlight to flood into the hallway. They stepped onto a wide, flat rock that served as their front porch and sniffed deeply at the fresh morning air. Above them the sky was a pale blue with not a cloud in sight. It looked like it would be a glorious day.

 

Beyond their cottage lay the village of Gnome Hollow. Its many cottages lay nestled in a gently sloping hollow that was ringed by a thick forest. Smoke rose from the chimneys of some of the cottages. It suggested a few gnomes were up having breakfast, but as yet they could see no-one about.

 

Pebble paths led away from the cottages, all  connecting to a path that circled the hollow. In the middle lay a large circle of flat stones, painted white and yellow. This was where village meetings and parties were held when the weather was fine. The party last night had been here and many chairs and tables still stood about it.

 

‘I wonder who’ll have to put all that away?’ Dom wondered out loud.

 

‘We will if an Elder sees us,’ Jena replied, speaking about the gnome members of the village council. ‘Come on, we’ll leave the back way.’

 

They quickly headed around the back of their cottage to where a trail led up out of the hollow and into the forest.

 

 

* * *

 

It wasn’t long before they were deep into the forest, walking along a trail that passed beneath thick ferns and bushes. The forest trees towered high above them and beams of sunlight streamed down through gaps between the branches. Brightly feathered birds flittered about in the air and squirrels chattered on the branches.

 

As they walked they came across the odd stone lying beside the trail. They played a game of leapfrog over them till they arrived at Bright Brook. A small wooden bridge lay over its crystal clear water that tumbled over a bed of pale grey river stones. Without pausing they turned off the trail along a bank and began to follow a bank.

 

Morning turned into midday as Jena and Dom followed the brook.  Sometimes they came across tree branches lying over the bank and they had to either crawl under or climb over them. They got a bit grimy doing this, but they didn’t mind. It would be a good excuse to have a long hot bath at the end of the day.

 

Gradually the brook began to widen and its flow quicken as it neared the Swift River. Mountains appeared through the trees, their high peaks ringing the valley in which their village lay. They shortly came across huge willow trees, their long branches trailing on the ground or in the water. They were walking around the base of one of them when they almost bumped into a large, moss-covered object. It stood twice as tall as either of them and appeared shaped like a bowl.

 

‘Good gnomes!’ Jena said in surprise. ‘What’s this?’

 

‘It’s huge ! Let’s pull the moss away and find out!’ Dom said excitedly.

 

They quickly pulled some of the moss away and then stepped back for a better look.

 

‘It’s a wooden bowl!’ Jena said in wonder.

 

‘Good gnomes, a giant must have used this to eat from!’ Dom exclaimed. ‘I wonder where it came from? It wasn’t here last summer when we came this way.’

 

‘It probably got washed up here from the Swift River during the winter floods,’ Jena suggested and then added thoughtfully. ‘You know, our village tales tell of giant folk who live beyond our valley. Perhaps some of them lived here once.’

 

Dom gave a hearty laugh.

 

‘You don’t believe those tales do you?’ he asked. ‘They’re just stories. Come on, I want to have a look inside.’

 

He jumped up and catching hold of the rim, hauled himself up till he was sitting on it.

 

‘Anything inside?’ Jena asked.

 

‘Just more moss,’ Dom replied in disappointed tone. He had been hoping to find something exciting in there like gold or precious gems.

 

‘Let me have a look too,’ Jena said.

 

Dom reached down a hand and was about to pull her up when a distant rumble of thunder filled the air. They both looked up to see the northern sky filled with dark storm clouds.

 

‘I think we’re in for a storm,’ Dom said.

 

Jena nodded.

 

‘Do you think we should try and get back to the village before it gets here?’ she asked.

 

‘I don’t think we’d make it,’ Dom replied. ‘Why don’t we wait inside the bowl till it passes? The willow tree above will protect us from any rain.’

 

Jena thought that was a good idea and Dom helped her up onto the rim. Then they both slid down its curving sides and sat down on the soft moss on the bottom.

 

‘Imagine what we could use this for if we took it back to the village,’ Dom said.

 

Jena laughed.

 

‘I don’t think you could talk anyone into dragging it all the way there, Dom!’ she said.

 

Suddenly an even deeper rumble of thunder rolled out of the approaching storm clouds and a gust of wind shook the willow’s branches.

 

‘This could be a nasty storm,’ Dom said.

 

‘I think you’re right,’ Jena agreed a little nervously.

 

It wasn’t long before the storm arrived, bringing with it a gusty, moaning wind. Lightning stabbed out of the clouds in shimmering, forking bolts and thunder followed in deafening rumbles. Heavy rain began to fall, spattering loudly over the tree, but none fell into the bowl.

 

But it didn’t last long, a quick summer storm that was over as quickly as it had begun. As the clouds began to clear and the rain stopped, Jena was about to suggest they head home when there was a last heavy gust of wind.

 

A loud crack sounded above them and startled, they looked up. A large branch had snapped off and was falling toward them.

 

‘Look out!’ Jena yelled.

 

The branch crashed to the ground beside the bowl, bounced and whacked it on one side. With a sudden lurch it skittered across the ground and then with a loud splash, it slid into the brook.

 

‘Good gnomes, we’re in the water!’ Dom exclaimed and he tried to clamber up one side.

 

Immediately the bowl began to tip over and Jena gabbed his legs.

 

‘Come back, Dom!’ she pleaded. ‘You’ll capsize us!’

 

Dom slid back and the bowl righted itself with a few alarming sways.

 

‘We’ve got to get out before we get swept into the Swift River!’ he said in a frightened tone.

 

Jena frowned in thought for a few moments.

 

‘Look, if we climb up to the rim together on opposite sides it should stay steady. Maybe we can then jump onto a bank.’

 

‘Let’s try!’ Dom urged.

 

On a count of three they jumped up to the rim. The bowl rocked slightly, but remained steady enough for them to get their heads and shoulders above it.

 

But they were too late. The mouth of the brook slipped past them and they were swept into the rapid flow of the Swift River.

 

‘Jena!’  Dom said anxiously. ‘We’re in big trouble!’