11

The eel dove into the water down to where Jared lay. It nudged Jared. When Jared didn’t move, it used its lips to grab a hold of Jared’s shirt and hauled Jared up out of the water and gently placed him on the ledge by the boat. It breathed on Jared, a warm steamy sort of air that brought color back to Jared’s cheeks. Then it laid its top of its long thick body next to Jared, its tail end still in the water. It closed its eyes and to a peaceful nap.

Jared woke with a start wedged between the boat’s hull and a slick smooth body the color of a hen’s egg. He thought he actually heard snoring. He rubbed his head where it hurt and found a lump the size of a hen’s egg. Gosh, he was hungry. He wished he had a hen’s egg right about now. He pushed on the boat with his feet and he pushed on the worm with his hands. This woke the worm up. It snaked its way from Jared so he could stand up. The worm watched Jared.

Jared went over to the boat. He touched a few golden coins lying at the top of the heap. They did not disappear. He looked over his shoulder at the beast. It just looked back at him with a kind of silly grin on its face. Jared thought he was going a little nuts. He fingered some stones. There were so many different colors; deep reds, mossy greens, bright blues and shiny clear ones. Jared couldn’t focus on the treasure yet. He needed to get it out of the cave and back home first.

He checked out the boat for holes. There weren’t any. It seemed very sound but it could still leak through the boards. He looked around it for oars. He didn’t see any. There was a chain hanging off of the prow of the boat. He would have to swim back pulling the boat behind him. He wasn’t sure if he had the strength any more to do it. He ached all over, he was tired, and he was hungry. He tried to move the boat towards the water. While it rocked, it would not move from its spot. He got behind it, pushing on the stern end. It still didn’t budge.

Jared got into the boat and sat on top of the loot. He hung his head, burying his face in his hands and began to cry. He felt like such a failure. He had a dream and he came so far and here he was with a stuck boat. He felt something wet and cold touch is ear. He looked up to see Wormy’s face right in front of his. Wormy nudged him under the chin as if to say chin up. This gave Jared an idea. He leaned forward and picked up the chain. He held it up to Wormy’s mouth. Wormy took hold of it in his mouth.

Jared tugged on the chain and motioned for Wormy to go in the water. Wormy got the hint. He slithered back down the rock ledge until most of his body was submerged. Jared sat back in the boat. He pointed to the other side of the lake and Wormy began to move in that direction. Jared was ecstatic that it was working. The chain got taut, the boat creaked and scraped and worked itself free of its years long resting place. Wormy continued to move through the water, swimming gently across the lake. Jared looked over and saw Tiny and Sparky wave at them, both with big grins on their faces. They got to the other side in no time without a drop of water touching Jared.

Wormy handed the chain off to Tiny who pulled on it while Wormy nudged the boat from behind. They got the boat up the sloping rock where it came to a gentle rest. Wormy rubbed his muzzle on Jared’s arm. Jared pet Wormy’s head and thanked him for all of his help. Wormy purred and slowly sank back into the water. In seconds the lake surface was calm and smooth as glass.

“I have the treasure. Will you both help me get it back down the mountain and come live with me and my family?”

Sparky bounced on his feet, clapping and smiling. Tiny nodded his head.

“Sparky, can’t you talk?” Jared asked.

“Not want,” said Tiny.

“That’s fine,” said Jared. “There’s too much jabbering in the world as it is. How are we going to get this back out? Maybe you could pull the chain and Sparky and I could push from behind.” Jared moved to the back of the boat to push while Sparky got in the boat.

“No, Sparky, we’ll push while Tiny pulls.”

“In,” said Tiny, pointing from Jared to the boat.

“You are just going to pull us?”

“In,” said Jared.

Jared was tired so he really wasn’t going argue with getting a break. He climbed in and settled next to Sparky. It felt good to rest. Tiny bent over, put both arms under the boat and lifted it like a pile of sticks. He hefted it securely against his chest and began the climb back up the stone steps. In minutes, they had reached the top of the tunnel steps; Tiny had taken them four and five at a time. Now they were at the cave entrance and in the fresh open air of the mountain top.

While Jared had been in the caves it had snowed. A thick covering of white lay all over the land and more snow fell from dark the sky. It was night. Sparky jumped out of the boat and ran around dancing in the moon struck flakes, laughing and giggling. Tiny smiled on indulgently. While Sparky played, Jared went to find his pack. It was right there where he had left it. He brushed off the snow and took it back to the boat. He looked through to see if everything was there. The only things missing were his bow and arrows which he had lost in the caves. He could afford to spend as much time as he wanted making new ones now. He could even afford to have someone else make them for him. No, he thought, that he would never do. He enjoyed making them himself too much.

The moon was full over head tonight. That meant he had been in the caves for ten days. No wonder he was hungry. He told Tiny to move the boat back in to the mouth of the cave. He went to the hut and gathered up some wood and took it back to the cave. They would need to spend the night here and start out for home in the morning. And Jared needed a fire. He was still damp and very cold from his several dunkings in the lake water. He piled all of the wood together and struck off his flints. Sparks flew over the wood and Sparky came over to watch, laughing and smiling and pointing. The wood caught and soon they had a blazing fire. They got more wood from around the hut to keep the fire going all night. Jared offered Tiny and Sparky one of his cloaks but neither of them wanted one. They were happy with the fire. Jared wrapped up in all three cloaks, laid down near the fire and fell asleep.

Jared woke the next morning to bright sunshine and a foot of snow on the ground. He jumped up and looked for the boat. It was there. It was real. He sighed a sigh of relief. He thought he had dreamt the whole adventure. Sparky and Tiny were not there though. He looked around and saw two sets of foot prints leaving the cave and going off into he woods. The sun was already up half way in the morning sky. Jared had slept late. Did the other two go off exploring or had they left him? Jared’s stomach grumbled. He would need to do something about getting food. He looked over to the woods. There was a lot of snow on the ground. That would make hunting difficult, he thought.

Just then, Tiny came out of the woods carrying Sparky in one hand and a little piglet in the other. Tiny dropped Sparky and the pig by the fire. He went back into the woods and came back with a couple of dead tree trunks, which he broke into logs and put on the coals. When they caught fire, Tiny spitted the pig on a branch and held it over the fire. The three of them sat around quietly listening to the pig fat crackle as the porker cooked. Jared’s mouth was watering. When it was finally done, they pulled it apart and chowed down. Tiny and Sparky ate like they hadn’t had food in years. After they had gotten some food in them and felt a little satisfied Jared wondered about the two of them.

“You two seem hungry,” he said.

“Miss food.”

“Didn’t you have any food in the cave?”

“Not need. Magic.”

“How long were you down there?”

“Hundreds years.”

“I bet you are glad to get out of there then.”

“Yes, happy.”

Sparky nodded his head vigorously throughout the conversation.

“I’m happy, too.”

Between the three of them, they finished the entire piglet. Sparky ate the most. Now that they were full, they needed to think about getting down the mountain. Jared figured he had been gone from home for about three weeks. Another three days and he should be home again. As long as they did not get snowed in on the way back down they should make good time.

“Are you ready to go home?” Jared asked.

“Home!” Tiny’s booming voice echoed around the rocks.

Sparky jumped into the boat.

“In.” Tiny pointed Jared to the boat. It worked well to get out of the cave so Jared wasn’t arguing. He grabbed his pack, climbed in the boat and wrapped his cloaks around him. Tiny stomped the fire out, grabbed the boat chain and began running down the mountain. The ground shook as Tiny bound down hill towing the boat behind him like a sleigh. Snow on the branches of the trees that lined the path down the mountain sifted to the ground in white showers.

They flew over the snow and Tiny never seemed to tire. They reached the next hut in two hours and passed right on by it. They got to the base of the mountain in another three hours. Tiny pulled them into the center of the village and no one was about. Everyone must be in their houses because of all of the snow. Jared called out as he ran up to his house.

The door flew open and out ran Jared’s brothers and sisters who grabbed onto Jared, hugging him and knocking him to the ground. Jared’s parents came out of the house more slowly. Neighbors peeked out of their doors to see what all of the commotion was. Rosamund ran out of her house to greet Jared home. She stopped dead in her tracks before she reached Jared though and screamed. Everyone looked at her and then looked to where she was pointing.

Someone yelled, “Giant.” And others took up the call, chanting giant around the village center. Jared got his siblings off of him and he got up and went over to Tiny and Sparky, holding Sparky’s hand and Tiny’s finger. The village people got quiet.

“These are my friends. They have come to live with me, with us. They helped me get the treasure home.” Jared looked around at the people staring at them. He looked at his parents. He looked at his brothers and sisters. He looked at Rosamund.

“Treasure,’ said Tiny. He pointed at the boat with his free hand. He smiled. Sparky jumped up and down and giggled.

Rosamund was the first one to take a few steps towards Jared, the giant and the midget. She was followed by Stebin and Catin, Jared’s oldest brother and sister. Then, Lucia, Jared’s five year old sister, fascinated by Sparky, broke free of her brothers and sister and ran to Sparky and the two of them jumped up and down laughing and dancing around in circles. Rosamund and the rest of the children joined them. The other villagers tentatively came to join them, slightly wary of Tiny, but being more comfortable as the minutes went by. Only Jared’s parents did not join them.

Jared broke free of the others and went to his mother and father who were still standing by their door way. He walked up to them and took their hands.

“Come see the treasure,” he said.

“There really is a treasure?” His father asked Jared his question in a quiet, trembling voice. His hands shook.

“Yes, father, there is a large, heavy, shiny treasure. Come see it.”

Pontid had tears in his eyes. He struggled forward, leaning on his wife. Jared guided them both to the boat. They walked slowly to accommodate Pontid. Falicia looked very tired and weary. She never really looked up as if she were afraid it was all a bad joke.

“You are not hurt?” Falicia asked her son. She looked at him sideways, sneaking looks at his clothes. “There is blood on your shirt.” She totally ignored the people around her, the giant towering in her village and the midget dancing with her youngest daughter. The boat did not even exist in her world. She reached over to Jared and tugged his shirt where it was ripped.

“Mother, I am fine and healthy and happy.” Jared beamed a huge grin at his mother. “Look at me. Do I look hurt? Look at my face, mother.”

She looked Jared full in the face and she broke down in tears. She collapsed to the ground on her knees. She sobbed into her apron, crying like an inconsolable soul.

“You were gone so long. I thought you were dead.” She got out these words between sobs and wet hiccups. “I did not want a treasure if you had died. We were fine without a treasure but we would have withered without you.” She continued to morn.

Jared bent do to her and lifted her up. He took her in his arms and hugged her.

“You can see I am fine. I have returned. I am unhurt. I have brought new friends. And I have the treasure.”

“I know,” cried Falicia, “I am so happy.” She continued to cry into Jared’s shoulder for several minutes more. When she quieted down, Jared walked her over to the crowd who parted to let her through. She stood next to Pontid, who had hobbled over to the boat by himself while Falicia cried on Jared’s shoulder. The two of them stood hand in hand, tears streaming down their faces. Everyone gathered round them, joined hands and looked at one another. They made sure that Tiny and Sparky were part of the group and then they all started singing a song of thanksgiving. It was an old song that may even have been sung by the old king who first brought the treasure to their mountains. They sang all ten verses, shouting out the chorus at the top of their lungs like drunken fools. When they were done, they were laughing and hugging each other.

Jared went up to Rosamund who was standing next to Tiny and holding his hand. She let go of the giant and moved into Jared’s embrace. They hugged each other and kissed passionately for the first time in their lives.

“I promised you a treasure and a better life,” Jared said, “and I have kept my promise.”

“I would have been happy with you alone. I did not need these other things.” Rosamund kissed Jared again.

“I wanted you to have these things. I wanted the best for you.”

“You are the best for me,” Rosamund said.

Jared took Rosamund’s hand, knelt down on one knee.

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes.”

Jared took the old king’s signet ring from off of Jared’s finger and placed it on Rosamund’s finger. The village cheered. Every one hugged and kissed again.