Chapter 1
How baby-mammoth Dima and baby-elk Kesha made the acquaintance, about a travel to the lake and about wise and kind owl Glafira.
Far far in the North, when it was still warm all over the Earth, in the mountainous land with a tender name Susumaniya lived a little baby-mammoth Dima with his big, strong and kind mummy – mammoth Rose.
Once upon a time Dima decided to take a walk to a not very big lake that sparkled like a blue saucer at the edge of the big and mysterious forest, where he had never been before. The path ran along a big-big tree, on which, as he knew from his mother big mammoth Rose, lived an old-old owl Glafira, mother’s good friend.
As baby-mammoth Dima had just come up to the tree, the old owl came into view from her hollow creaking and groaning at every step:
- Where are you, baby, going? Little children oughtn’t to go so far from their parents. Besides, you certainly didn’t ask?
- Aunt Glafira, aunt Glafira, - repeated baby-mammoth Dima louder the second time as he knew, that the old owl was hard of hearing, - my mother allows me to walk as far as the forest and said, that as soon as she became a little bit free, she certainly would take me to the forest.
- Well, if she allows, than go, and I will watch you from my tree and bask in the sun.
And baby-mammoth Dima joyous ran skipping along to his little lake. Of course, he was afraid of going so far alone, and honestly, he has never gone so far before. But the little lake attracted him by its blueness, and he wanted to look at white swans, who swam on the lake.
- Help, help! – heard baby-mammoth Dima, when he had come near at hand to the lake. He ran up to the bank and saw a little elk, floundering in water under the steep bank.
Baby-mammoth quickly stretched out his trunk and caught the poor baby-elk at his withers, made a push and in a movement took out baby-elk, who had crumbled away in the lake with the bank. At that moment an elk, mother of unlucky baby-elk, ran up to them and began to wipe him by her tongue. With that she was pulling his little ear and kept saying:
- I've told you time out of mind – don’t come up near to the bank, it can crumble away. You are lucky that baby-mammoth saved you with his wonderful trunk.
Meanwhile baby-elk dried off, a smile played on his face and his big hazel eyes sparkled.
- What is your name? – asked little and a bit shy baby-elk.
- Dima, - answered baby-mammoth.
- I’m Kesha, - took up baby elk, - and this is my mother Sopochka, let’s be friends with me.
- Let’s.
And they began enjoying themselves and somersaulting on the lawn. That is the story how baby-mammoth Dima and baby-elk Kesha made the acquaintance and became friends.
While they were playing and enjoying themselves, Sopochka took a basket and went away into the mysterious forest. When she came back, they had already played a lot and got hungry.
- Oh, what do you have in your basket?
- Mushrooms. We are picking them for the Christmas pie, these are yellow boletuses, these are - rough boletuses, these are – ceps. I picked up some raspberries for you, sit down, eat and let’s go home. Tomorrow if mother allows baby-mammoth to go, you may play here even the whole day.
Children ate berry, said each other good-buy and ran home. Baby-mammoth Dima came home and told his mother everything, and his mother allowed him to play and be friends with baby-elk Kesha.
Chapter 2.
Jellyfish Lera’s tale and mole Nely’s present.
Next day, as soon as the sun rose, baby mammoth-Dima and baby elk-Kesha had been already playing on the clearing near the lake. They were sailing self-made ships, sunbathing and watching the dolphins, who were jumping high up out of the water. When dolphins swam up to the bank friends made the acquaintance with them at once. They turned to be a wedded pair. Dolphin’s name was Charlie and his girlfriend’s name was Muse. Muse was considered to be a good singer among dolphins, Charlie danced quite good and showed his favorite dolphin’s dance on the tail.
Water in the lake turned to be salty, because the lake joined the sea by a broad channel. On the bank of the lake there was a boat upturned upside-down, and they found a jellyfish under it. If not the shadow from the boat and a mole Nely, whom they made the acquaintance with and who brought food to her, the jellyfish would die of hunger or dry up on the sun long ago. The jellyfish whose name was Lera asked to take her back to the sea.
- Jellyfish Lera, how did it happen you come here and whose boat is this? – asked baby-mammoth Dima.
Jellyfish Lera told that she got to the boat with the wave, when the boat was sailing on the sea. The boat belongs to gnomes, who live in the mountain, in the cave, the entrance of which is stood guard over by an ancient raven Karl. She also told that when she was sailing in the boat she saw a wonderful fairy Alina. Gnomes transported her and she had caught a mysterious illness. Dolphins carefully took jellyfish Lera, said good-bye and brought her to the sea. Mole Nely gifted friends a special magic lantern. Baby-mammoth Dima and baby elk-Kesha decided to come over gnomes’ place, see the wonderful fairy Alina and help her to cure.
Next day they made an agreement that they would ask their parent to take them to a mysterious mountain where gnomes lived.
Chapter 3.
A travel to the cave and new friends – squirrel Katenka, fox Olechka, hare Mashenka and partridge Nadya.
Some time passed. Baby-mammoth Dima’s mother showed him the forest, and on the one of the clearings they made the acquaintance with a squirrel Katenka, who treated to them wonderful nuts, which baby mammoth Dima felt slightly giddy from. Having heard the noise, a fox Olechka and a hare Mashenka, who were running quite near the clearing and picking flowers, came on the clearing.
Fox Olechka, who knew the surroundings quite well, got to see them off and acquaint with a partridge Nadya. It was only partridge Nadya, who knew quite well the road to the mountain where gnomes lived.
When they climbed the last sopka, from which a splendid view on the whole valley of the big river, which flew into the sea in this place opened, they saw a mysterious, absolutely round Magic Lake. Water in the lake was of unusual dark-green color, and on the bottom in absolutely clear water at a shallow depth one can discern sea fish, as water in the lake remained since those times when the whole mother Earth was covered with ocean. Here they met partridge Nadya and she disclosed them a mystery of the Magic Lake, in which, as it turned to be, it is enough to take a bath once and all deceases cure and all injures heal up.
Also she told that there on the lake lived a couple of black swans Maksim and July. But now, when they came up to the lake they were out – evidently they flew away for a walk over the surroundings.
On one of the clearings they meta teddy-bear Topka and a baby-wolf Yashka who were playing lapta from the morning to the evening. Having come further beyond the Magic Lake they saw a mysterious and secret mountain Morjot. Something were gurgling and bubbling in it. It turned out to be a getting cold volcano. There situated a deserted and parched up well near it, though which it was also possible to get into the Gnomes’ land, without being noticed by raven Karl, who vigilantly guarded the entrance in the cave. So the friends used it.
Chapter 4.
The mystery of gnome Rudolf and the wonderful fairy Alina.
Thanks to the magic lantern, which mole Nelya had gifted them, they went down the well.
During the descending a step under the baby-elk Kesha broke, he fell down and hurt hard himself.
- Oh! Oh! Oh! How it hurts me! – baby-elk cried.
- Don’t cry, don’t cry, baby-elk, we will cure you now.
Saying this squirrel Katenka and fox Olechka, who helped her, put a dressing on a wound on baby-elk Kesha’s leg and applied brilliant green to a scratch on his elbow. Keshka became funny and amusing because of it.
And friends continued their descending. From the well they got into a mysterious cave. On the bottom of the cave stood a little chest shaded with the old mat. As they touched the chest, tinkling of bells rang out and a gnome appeared out of the slit in the wall.
- Hallo, children! My name is Rudolf and I am a keeper of the magic crystals – he introduced himself, - would you be so kind to introduce yourselves to me, and I choose to each of you your crystal, which will be an amulet to each and will protect you in an hour of need.
Friends introduced themselves with the greatest pleasure and told, that they had come to help fairy Alina.
And then the gnome Rudolf told them a secret.
Two sisters-fairies lived under the sun and a prince paid court to one of them. But the second fairy, her name was Isolda and she was a little older, didn’t want them to meet and bewitched the prince, and turned him into a beggar tramp. And promised to marry her sister fairy Alina to yhe old and greedy raven Karl. When fairy Alina got to know about all these, she fainted away and since that never woke up. Only the queen of gnomes Zemfira knew how to cure fairy Alina. It were they, gnome Rudolf and his mates, who got to see them off to her and show them fairy Alina on the way. Beautiful fairy Alina was lying in a neatly cleared-up chamber. A splendid casket stood near her bed, colorful stones lay in it. These were the most various crystals.
One of them lighted up when one was breathing at it. Another one turned into a mirror when one was blowing at it. The owner of the ablaze crystal could always get warm and make a fire of it, and the owner of the mirror crystal could see the past and what is the most interesting look into the future but only in his own. But no one, for some reason, looked into it. As it turned out, there was absent one the most necessary crystal.
Then gnomes led friends to the queen Zemfira, she received them and said:
- Friends, to cure fairy Alina, you must mine a magic crystal, which is called a Golden Diadem. If you want you can help miner Andrey, who has been finding it for the second year. Gnomes get you to him.
In the depth of the cave a muted rattle was ringing out, miner Andrey worked there and friends began to help him with the greatest pleasure. Baby-mammoth Dima lifted more then the others but baby-elk Kesha tried to keep up with him.
Chapter 5
Christmas pie in the friends circle and marriage of beautiful fairy Alina and prince.
Some times passed and in one of the days friends stumbled across an unusual quartz lump. They took it out on the surface and miner Andrey split it with one exact blow. Inside of it a crystal came to light, it looked like a trefoil, and when Andrey put it on his hand it lit up with tender yellow-pink light. It turned out to be the magic crystal Golden Diadem.
Friends were glad and in a crowd carried it to the queen Zemfira. When they brought it to her, she ordered miner Andrey to take a bath in the Magic Lake and change his clothes to a new one.
Miner Andrey came out of the cave all in dust and sooty and in absolutely torn clothes. He put of his old clothes, dipped into the Magic Lake, put on ready dress and turned into a beautiful prince, whom fairy Isolda had bewitched.
He took the crystal Golden Diadem, came into the chamber, where fairy Alina was lying, and put it on her hand. And fairy Alina came to life and became more beautiful than she was. They decided to marry at once. A lot of guests gathered on their wedding, even dolphins Charlie and Muse performed their favorite dance, and mammoth Rose brought on the wedding her the best pie with mushrooms, fern and sour cream.
And that mysterious illness was called with the same mysterious word – LOVE. Since than time everybody under the sky catches that wonderful illness and crystals of the Golden Diadem, which they put on their fingers as a token of fidelity, light up their way with clear and tender light.
Be all of you cheery and happy!
And I was there
And I drank mead and bear.
Enough bear and enough mead,
But I felt the lack of it.
The adventures of baby-mammoth Dima and baby-elk Kesha to be continued, and in the next book you are waited for new and unusual adventures of how winter came on the Earth and about meetings with new and old friends.