WORRIED COUNCILS

The worst had happened. Fern's shadow had completely escaped.

Queen Shianna, Bear, and Leah along with a covey of wood elves tried to calm the sad plant.

Shianna cooed," there, there, poor Fern. Don't be sorry. We can all help. We will catch your stray shadow."

"But I don't feel like a real fern anymore," sobbed the plant.

"Look at me! Without my shadow I must be a big green hazy blob!"

"It's all right," Leah said, "you don't look all that bad."

Fern cried harder. "Well what is ever going to happen to all the little creatures that have depended so long on my cool shadow?"

A green elf, hands clasped behind his back, strode up to the base of Fern. He solemnly inspected the disaster. Unfortunately Fern's worst fears proved to be true. Little dark beetles were packing their suitcases. Butterflies were fetching cocoons to spirit them off to cooler places.

The elf seated himself on a stone, elbow on knee, chin in hand. Removing his red pointed hat he wiped drops of sweat from his forehead.

Below paced the Queen of Ants. She was flaming mad. "We have just tunneled a new nursery wing for our spring hatched larva, and now it is so hot we are forced to move! Fern should be sorely ashamed!"

The green wood elf tried to calm the angry ant queen. "There is indeed something badly wrong with all this, but Fern can't be totally blamed; look at his fine past record. After all he is one of our noblest, respectable plants. We will soon have this matter under serious investigation."

Spinning away in a furious huff the ant queen snapped, "well Fern has one day to cool things off or we're all leaving for good. We will solicit a better landlord, and Fern's reputation will be ruined forever!"

A meeting was held in the Council gazebo. With some concern Shianna had postponed school for the halflings. The little ones would have to wait for their final lessons before they were sent to the denser worlds, even though the time was getting short. The forest Queen had appointed Bear to keep them busy. He gave them back-rides around the garden.

Leah had been asked to serve tea. She did wish that she could have rowdied with the halflings, but after all she had long graduated from halfling-hood, so she fulfilled her assignment proudly, not spilling too much tea at all.

Many dignitaries had gathered. The Queen arose to speak to her Council. "My dear Senators, by now you have all been told that Fern's shadow has run away. This is much more serious than it might seem. But first of all we must reach out to poor Fern; he is in a dangerous state of collapse. I'm afraid that if we don't act fast his health might be ruined forever." She turned to a shy striped garden spider. "You spiders must go to work immediately. You will spin a temporary shadow making sure that the web will be dense and dark."

Shianna sighed deeply. "Leaders of the Enchanted Lands, we must realize the urgency of this crises. We must find a way to catch Fern's shadow before there is more trouble. If other shadows start leaving too the Enchanted Lands might just fade away. Our world would lose its definition--all light no darkness. Imagine! However before I decide on a final plan I would like to hear some worthy opinions. From the Dwarf Kingdom may I introduce, Mr. J. J. Trindle, a renowned expert on the science of shadows. You may have the floor, Sir."

Mr. Trindle soaked a spot of tea from his trousers, slicked back his whiskers and stood. He cleared his throat. "To make it a matter of record, harumph, let it be known that the Dwarf Tribe has already taken action. We have closed our mines and doused our lamps so that the shadows in the tunnels will stay where they are, harumph." Trindle continued, "I have also, harumph, contacted our dwarf wizard, the famous, harumph, D. Q. Dorn. He has furnished for the Council this paper of the subject of 'lost shadows'." The dwarf senator removed from his briefcase a thick bundle of papers covered with formulas.

Queen Shianna examined the confusing arithmetic. She then questioned, "Mr. Trindle, Sir, to save valuable time, could you briefly explain the meaning of these complicated formulas?"

The dwarf twaddled his thumbs and replied, "well, from what I can understand, as you know I am but a simple tunneler, it, harumph, seems that, harumph, well, our world has sprung a leak. There is a gaping hole somewhere and, harumph, Fern's shadow is most certainly heading right for it with plans to escape permanently! Harumph."

The audience gasped.

Leah worked back in the kitchen filling teapots. "Rats," she exclaimed, as she spilled tea on the floor.

"Yew called leetle girly?" A seedy voice squeaked from below.

Looking down Leah jumped back. It was a rat licking up the tea!

"You scared me, Rat! What are you doing here? I don't think you belong."

The rat leered back. "Thas wha eeverybody always say. Us rats don' beelong anywheere."

"Well, you rats do have a terrible reepu. . . um. . . reputation."

"Don yew think I know theet. I beee geeting veery tired uv it all to da point thet I weesh I wasn't eeven rat no more."

"So be something else, stupid Rat. You can change if you want. Just don't think on low things. At school on Earth they call that, 'low self-extinct'."

Rat muttered, "you mean, 'low self-eesteeeming'?"

"That's exactly what I said, dumb Rat. You have a horrible case of terribly low self-extinct."

"Naw, once rat alweeys rat. Meee come frum a long line uv bad owtlaw ratsss."

Leah scolded, "you should try reading, Rat. I'm just learning to. Reading is exciting. I'm doing very well. It makes me feel proud of myself."

The rat cursed, "reeeding, yeeech, deeesgusting," and slinked away grumbling to himself.

Leah topped off the tea feeling mad and impatient with the rat. She had once seen a pretty ugly caterpillar spin an equally ill-appearing cocoon and yet turn out to be a splendid butterfly. But then Leah decided rats with wings might prove extremely revolting, even dangerous; so she gave up worrying about the matter further. After all she had much tea to serve.

On her way to the gazebo Leah passed by Bear surrounded by halflings sound asleep in a clump under the pear tree. All the little bellies were pooched out, Bear's too, from what must have been a fine lunch. Leah leapt at the tree snatching a pear. She would have liked to join in on the nap too, but she did have duties.

When she arrived at the meeting the Senators were examining maps. They were searching for possible locations of the crack.

Shianna was talking to a handsome unicorn. "So the peoples from the rivers, lakes and forests report nothing?"

Speaking lowly, the unicorn replied, "no, M'Lady, nothing wrong have I heard or seen in m' travels."

"What of the winged ones on the mountain," asked the Queen.

"They are able to see far. Have you talked with the birds?"

"Nay, M'Lady, down with a bad cold have I been. Yonder, the mountains be chilling thin; 'tis Crow, true knowledge may possess."

Shianna realized that none of the Great Birds were at the meeting. This was startling! She was sure that she had sent her messenger fairies to all the distant reaches of the empire.

She summoned the senator and Clan Mother of the Fairfolk. A dreadful clue dawned in her mind.

Marah a graying but beautiful fairy hovered in front of the Queen. To desperate questions Marah sang her reply.

"To the high mountains young Tolbin he did fly, our bravest and strongest, and master of the sky."

Shianna asked, "when did he return?"

The fairywoman hummed, "he should be at his fairy ring tending infant fairlings born this spring."

"Go quickly," plead the Queen, "see if he has nested."

Marah darted away. She returned in a twinkling.

"Tolbin, yet, has ne'er appeared. For the safety of our bravest scout our hearts are full of fear."

"Send a rescue party," commanded the Queen. "We will recess until they return."

Bear, napping under the pear tree, struggled with a nightmare. He dreamt of a world where all the lovely trees were laid cut and crushed, reduced to thin sheets. Marks were printed on the sheets--sinister marks that confused all the people.

He woke up afraid. Around him reclined the cherubic sleeping halflings. Eight, nine, ten, they were all there. None had begun to make the transformation toward the dense worlds yet.

Commotion simmered at the gazebo. With a blue haze the fairies zipped around in panic.

Weeping, Marah lamented, "we sent our searching team, and poor young, Tolbin, he was found. Very weak and wounded he lay fallen on the ground."

"And what about the mountains," Shianna asked urgently, "did any get through to the mountains?"

"Around the mighty mountains exists a forceful field, and though we worked our greatest charms the barrier would not yield."

The fairies darted away to nurture wounded Tolbin.

The Forest Queen stood alone deeply worried. A force field! If the fairies her most ethereal subjects could not approach Clear Peak then the eerie field of power could not be breached even by herself. Shianna gazed around at the shimmering sacred grove where she had performed her most miraculous spells. She knew what she must do--tap the source of all knowledge. As the light dimmed on the horizon she raised her arms and chanted the incantation.

She drank deeply from the last rays of the sun.

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER TWO