Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Ingrid Hollip who lived alone in the woods. She stay in a wooden cottage painted with every color in the rainbow, all haphazardly. A plank here in canary yellow, a board there in gooseberry red. There was even a door painted with a color found nowhere else in the world.
But to say she lived completely alone would be a lie. In the yard there was a large, open plot where her friend Lika the cow ate the very best grass and waded in a cool pond. There was a well out front at the bottom of which lived a grumpy water goblin named Hujoo. And next to the house was a grove of trees. In the biggest tree was Ingrid's tree house. The other trees were inhabited by a group of sprites They built little houses out of walnuts and rode squirrels from tree to tree.
There was even a domovoi in the house with a long beard and a pointed cap. He was only as tall as Ingrid's knees and was hundreds of years old. He helped Ingrid take care of the house when she wasn't looking and was almost never seen. She left him camembert and herring every night to make sure he was happy and didn't play any tricks on her.
But what of Ingrid? The little girl was not, in fact, so little. When she wanted, she could be as tall as a grandfather clock though most of the time only her chin came over the window sill.
Her hair was yellow and her dress was blue. She spoke the language of every bird in the forest and could swim like a fish without taking a breath for hours. She was also clever, the cleverest girl in perhaps all the world.
* * *
One morning, Ingrid woke to the song of the blackbird. The sun was already up but the rooster was still crowing. She jumped and stretched til she was as tall as a fence. She let out a long sigh and let herself down to her normal size. At the window were three singing birds to whom she bid good morning. Looking out, the sunlight shone on her face and she saw that the whole yard and the whole forest were bustling with noise and activity.
The sprites in the grove were bickering over acorns and racing their squirrels. The water goblin sat on the edge of the well, talking with Lika and splashing water on the dragonflies. Even the animals of the forest were already out, wrestling, digging and playing.
Ingrid changed into her blue dress and yawned as she walked into the kitchen. On the counter was a small note which read,
"The herring was delicious last night but the camembert was a bit dry. The basement is swept and the sheets are folded. The mice in the attic would like more crumbs, please. Hope you dreams were dreamy and your sleep was sleepy. --- The Domovoi"
Ingrid smiled. Next to the note was a plate with black bread and jam, which the domovoi left for her every morning. She munched happily, humming a seagull's song about sailng the Asian seas. As she went to put jam on her second piece of bread, she noticed there was more written on the note:
"P.S. We are out of chocolate; please get more."
She dropped the piece of bread on the floor and gasped. Ingrid found everything she needed from around the house and the forest. All she needed except for one thing: chocolate.
Ingrid had a piece of chocolate everyday. If not, everything went wrong. Her dreams weren't as dreamy and sleep was definitely not as sleepy. The goblin in the well wouldn't give her any water and she would tie her shoelaces together. Even the domovoi had agreed, in a letter, that a day is never truly finished without chocolate (although this may be because she forgot his cheese and fish whenever this happened.)
To get more chocolate, she would have to go to the village miles and miles away, over three hills, seven rivers and two valleys.
Ingrid sighed and hung her head. It was not that she couldn't do it. Ingrid was strong and hearty. Though she was small, she could walk to far away places very fast and carry large bags with everything she needed.
But a day walking to the village and back with no adventure; what fun was there in that?
As she stepped out the door, Lika the cow mooed a hello to Ingrid. Hujoo the water goblin muttered senselessly in the well and splashed her with water. With a glum face, Ingrid told them her plight. Paying no mind to her distress, the goblin danced around the edge of the stone well til he fell in. As they heard a loud splash, Lika gave her condolences. "Dear, not only that but you'll have to harvest before you go! You'll need help!"
Living in the forest, Ingrid had no money. To pay for her chocolate, she had to trade her delicious black raspberries. She had fields and fields of the thorny jagger bushes behind her house on which the small berries grew. Getting through all the thorns would be hard and she wouldn't be able to harvest them all by herself and go to the village, all in one day. Lika was right; she would need help.
Ingrid walked into the grove beside her cabin and then climbed up into her tree house. As she sat down in her chair high above the grove, she whistled a peculiar tune which hung in the air long after she had finished. A few minutes later, a large squirrel appeared in a smaller doorway next to the one Ingrid had used. The two doors were identical in every way except this one was no taller and no wider than Ingrid's hands. As the squirrel marched forward, she could see a tiny, noble.man sitting regally upon the rodent's back. A golden crown sat upon his pointed ears and wore a luxurious robe made from orchid petals.
The squirrel deftly climbed up a small ramp leading to the top of a wooden pole. On top of the pole was a flat disk on which sat a miniature throne. The tiny king, no taller than a mug of tea and as thin as a switch, dismounted with grace after the squirrel came to a stop next to the throne. He walked around the throne and faced Ingrid, straightening to his fullest height.
Slowly, Ingrid bowed in her seat, making sure her head came at least a little bit lower than the king's.
"King Odinas, monarch of the Twenty Trees," Ingrid said quite royally and respectfully.
"Maid Hollip, mistress of the House of Many Colors and its surrounding provinces. It is lovely to see you, mademoiselle."
"Some nourishment for your stead, sir?"
"Of course. Your hospitality is always of the utmost quality, my dear."
Ingrid reached into a small pail next her chair and selected a particularly ravishing looking acorn. As she offered it with her utmost attempt at elegance, the squirrel greedily snatched it. The animals quickly cracked the seed and began eating. The king turned to Ingrid.
"Excalibur still needs some training in his manners, I'm afraid. A wonderful mount in battle but lacking in refinement for formal occasions."
"He's a fine steed, your majesty."
"Yes, yes. I received your missive asking for an audience. Very expertly whistled, I might add. What is it that you wish to speak about?"
"Yes, my lord. You see, I have an awful problem. I've run out of chocolate. And I need to get more, otherwise I'll just be a mess. I'm sure you understand how this feels for me." Ingrid lost her royal composure at the thought of a day without chocolate, putting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands.
"Hmm. Can't say that I do," said Odinas, with some slight disapproval of Ingrid's unregal posture. "But if you would like to talk about the merits of bumblebee honey..."
"Oh yes! Think of bumblebee honey! What's a day without honey, you majesty? That's what I must suffer with if I don't get more chocolate."
"Oh my!" said the king, quite horrified by the thought of living without honey. All tree sprites have an awful weakness for bumblebee honey.
"Well, my dear, what can be done about this? One doesn't just find chocolate in the forest."
"I must take my delicious black raspberries to village market and trade them for chocolate. But they still need harvesting before I can go to the village."
"Well how are you going to harvest them?" the king inquired.
"Well that's where I thought you could help me. I can't walk through the terrible jagger bushes and collect them all before I need to leave. If you sent your people to collect them for me, I could leave right away."
The king straightened and tossed back his head. "Certainly not. The people of the Twenty Trees have many important tasks and business to attend to. You cannot expect them to drop everything for you."
Ingrid thought quickly, summoning her cleverness.
"I thought maybe if you asked them to do it...who couldn't listen to such a ...tall king."
Odinas, king of sprites, smiled and looked at Ingrid with renewed interest. "Tall, you say?"
"I mean, I'm sure everyone looks up to you. I look up to you."
"Oh, well then." Odinas straightened and looked at himself. "Perhaps something can be done." He whistled a complicated melody. Suddenly, two more sprites rode in on squirrels. The squirrels scampered up to the king and he whispered something to each of the sprites. They shot off through the tiny door and disappeared.
"Not to worry my little Miss Hollip. I will have my very best harvesters look to it. Your berries will be ready within the hour." With both pomp and grace, the king remounted his squirrel and rode to the tiny door. His squirrel reared as he wave adieu to Ingrid.
Ingrid climbed down from her tree house. All around were the twenty trees of the grove. Each one was a different kind and they always had fruits ready for Ingrid. There were peaches, apples, kiwis, even a tree that grew spices and herbs for Ingrid's kitchen and another with strawberries, even though strawberries shouldn't grow on trees.
Ingrid chose a handful of fruit from the grove and returned to the cottage. She put the fruit on the counter and saw there was freshly baked bread and a folded note.
When she was finished washing her fruits, Ingrid pulled a large leather pack out of her closet. Then she wrapped her fruits, some cheese and the bread in brown paper and wrote 'Lunch' on it. She gathered her lunch and her bag, slipped the note in her pocket and walked out the door.
Behind the house, the sprites had left a large pile of delicious black raspberries. With their tiny bodies, they could slip through the jaggerbush thorns, climb the vines and take the berries as easily as Ingrid spread jam on her bread.
Carefully, she packed the berries into her bag and placed her lunch on top. After tying the bag shut, trying not to squish the delicious black raspberries, Ingrid slung the pack up on her back and walked back to the house.
As she walked through the yard, she bid adieu to Lika, waved goodbye to the goblin and whistled farewell to the birds. She closed and latched the white wooden gate and stepped out into the forest. It was then that Ingrid remembered the domovoi's note.
She pulled the paper out of her pocket and unfolded the note. All it said was,
"Beware the Leshy."
Now the Leshy, it should be said, is a spirit in the forest. He looks like a tall old man, with leafy green clothed and brown barky skin. He has a beard to his belt and he loves to play tricks on travellers in the woods.
Today, the Leshy was watching Ingrid from the moment she stepped out of her white wooden gate. The Leshy knows everything that goes on in his woods and he smelled the delicious black raspberries in Ingrid's pack right away. But as a spirit of the woods, the Leshy could not just take Ingrid's berries by force so he had to use tricks and riddles to get what he wanted.
From in the trees, the Leshy watched Ingrid walk the path to the town. The path crossed a chasm farther up the road from Ingrid. He saw that the bridge across was broken and smiled devilishly. Quick as a fox, he leapt down from his tree, raced to the chasm and jumped to the bottom. As Ingrid approached, he changed into the form of a troll.
Ingrid arrived at the broken bridge and gasped. "Now I have to walk miles and miles to the next bridge," she moaned. The Leshy stuck his troll head up and smiled. "I can help you little girl. I'm a bridge troll and can help you get across while the bridge is broken."
Just as he spoke, the howl of a wolf echoed across the forest. The troll winced in fear. He regained his composure and added, "Beware the wolf, little one. You're in danger when you can hear him baying."
Now Ingrid was clever, the cleverest girl in the world. She knew one could never trust a troll and saw a trick in his smile. And what troll is afraid of a wolf? "How can you help me?" she ventured.
"Chasms and valleys are no problem for a bridge troll. Just jump in my hands and I'll carry you to the other side. But I'm not as strong as I used to be, so you'll have to give me that sack of delicious black raspberries first and I'll help you to the other side second."
"Aha!" thought Igrid, "he smells my berries!" She knew that if she lost the berries she would not be able to get any more chocolate. She thought quickly and came up with an idea.
"Sure," she said, "just let me lower it to you with a stick. The berries are fragile. If I just drop them, they'll get squished"
While she tied a stick to the top of the sack, the Leshy licked his lips, smelling the sweet aroma of delicious black raspberries.
"Here," she called to the troll, as she held the pack over the chasm. "Oh my," she said. "You'll have to reach farther up than that to reach the berries. I can't possibly lower it any farther."
The Leshy stretched his troll arms up and up but every time he got near to the sack, Ingrid pulled it a little bit higher. Soon his hands were as high as the broken bridge. With a sudden bound, she skipped across his palms and to the other side before he could grab her or her sack.
The Leshy roared in rage and gnashed his troll teeth. Ingrid turned and smiled at him. "Thank you very much for your help, bridge troll. I'm ever so grateful."
As she marched off down the path, the Leshy yelled out in a deep troll voice, "Smile now, little girl, but there are more dangers on the path before you reach town!"
Ingrid climbed a high hill in the middle of the forest. On top was a very old and large oak tree that had looked over the woods for a hundred years. The Leshy saw her going up and up with her sack of delicious black raspberries. He dashed on ahead of Ingrid and, when he reached the top of the mount, he took the form of a rabbit.
As Ingrid came over the hill, she stopped for a moment to look over the forest. If she squinted, she could see her house with every color off in the distance. Suddenly, she felt something tugging on her dress.
She looked down and saw small rabbit with brown fur and white buck teeth.
"Hello, sir. Fancy meeting a rabbit all the way up here."
"Well, ma'am, this hill is my home. I live in the hole just under the gnarled old tree."
A long howl came up from the forest. The hare grimaced and burst out, "Beware the wolf, little girl. You're in danger when he bays."
"Ahem," he hastened to add. "I thought you could help me, lovely mademoiselle. I have two large bars of gold at the end of my burrow. I'm not big enough to carry them out but you look quite the right size. Maybe you could retrieve the bars and we could share them when you bring them out?"
"Okay," said Ingrid. "That seems reasonable. Let me just put my sack down and tie my shoes." By now, Ingrid was very concerned about her berries. She didn't want anything to happen to them, otherwise she wouldn't get any chocolate. So she set the bag down very close to the rabbit hole. While the rabbit wasn't looking, she kneeled down behind the bag and tied her shoelaces to the pack's strings.
"Okay, I'm ready. You said all the way down?"
"Yes," responded the rabbit with a smile. "All the way down."
Ingrid crawled into the hole. She wanted to stay close to her sack so she stretched herself to her tallest tall along the burrow. She saw the golden bars, sparkling in the darkness, just out of fingers' reach. Ingrid wiggled a little bit more inside the hole to grasp them.
Just as her feet went into the hole, the Leshy slammed a rock over the hole, trapping Ingrid inside. He danced a rabbit dance of joy, thinking he had the pack of delicious, black berries all to himself. He grabbed the bag between his paws and tried to pull the sack back down to the forest. But though he tried, the bag stayed tied to Ingrid's shoe inside the burrow.
He pulled and pulled with all of his might and POP! the rock came off the hole and Ingrid tumbled out. The Leshy was so surprised that he let go of the bag and then rolled all the way down the hill into the forest.
Ingrid stood and looked around. There was no rabbit to be seen. She shrugged and placed one of the bars at the entrance to the hole as was part of the deal she made with the rabbit. After dusting herself off, she pulled the sack up on her back and set off down the hill.
After walking a few miles, a large river came into view. The Leshy ran to the river farther downstream. He took the form of a monstrous fish and swam up to meet Ingrid.
As she came to the banks of the river, Ingrid looked up and down for a bridge. There was not one in sight. Just as she sighed, a large fish poked his head out of the water.
"Hello, little girl. Why are you sighing?"
"There's no bridge over the river and the current is too strong for me to swim across with my bag. But I simply must get to the town on the other side."
"Oh, I can't stand to see such a sweet face look so sad. I can help you get across. Just climb on my back."
Now the Leshy planned to swim Ingrid out to the middle of the river and then plunge down to the bottom of the river with the sack of delicious black raspberries. But just then, an awful howl came out of the forest, closer than ever before.
The Leshy shivered in the water and said, "Beware the wolf, my dear. You know you're in danger when you hear him baying."
He splashed in the water and then added, "Just climb on my back, take a hold of my fin and I'll take you and your bag to the other side."
Ingrid didn't trust such a monstrous fish. So she used all her cleverness and came up with an idea to protect her berries.
"Sure, just let me check to see if my lunch has been squished."
"Of course," said the fish.
Ingrid took her bag behind a large rock and emptied the berries. She blew with all her breath to fill the bag with air and then tied it shut.
She came back to the banks and went to step onto the fish's back. Then she dropped the bag into the rushing river. "Oh my!" she exclaimed.
The Leshy, unable to help himself with the smell of delicious black raspberries so close, leapt forward and swallowed the sack whole. When he tried to dive down with his treasure, the air in the bag held him up. He tried and he tried but he could not swim down. He began to panic. As a fish he could never survive if he couldn't dive. On the other hand, as the Leshy, he could not have a giant sack full of air in his throat.
"Please little girl," he cried. "Help me! I can't live with this sack inside me!"
Ingrid looked at him sympathetically. "No," she decided. "I suppose you can't. I'll help you but you must also help me."
"Anything, anything!" pleaded the fish.
"Okay, I will load my pile of delicious black raspberries on your back and you'll take me to the other side of the river. Then I think I'll be able to help you."
"Oh, thank you! I'll do anything!"
So Ingrid piled her berries on the fish's back, took hold of the large fin and stepped aboard. The Leshy did not want to play any tricks in case the delicious black raspberries fell into the river and were washed away. He carefully swam to the other side. Then Ingrid placed her berries far away from the bank and came back to help the fish as she had promised.
"Alright, open wide."
The Leshy stretched his fish mouth as wide as he could. Ingrid reached far inside and pulled out her pack. The fish grimaced, dived and swam away.
Carefully, she repacked all of the berries and her lunch into the pack. She then slung the sack up on her back and headed down the path to the village.
Finally, Ingrid could see the village not far off. The Leshy knew this was his last chance to get the delicious black raspberries. He was a forest spirit so he could not trick while she was inside the town. So he took the form of a village guard and stood just outside the town gate.
As Ingrid came around a bend in the path, she saw a tall guard standing at the gate. His face was covered with a hood but a long white beard stuck out from his cloak. Ingrid wiped her brow and smiled, knowing that soon she would have a fresh supply of chocolate.
Suddenly, as Ingrid got closer to the old guard, she heard a loud barking. A large wolf ran out of the forest towards the guard. The old man flung off his cloak in terror and ran. Ingrid saw his leafy green clothes and brown, barky skin. As the Leshy dashed off into the forest, the wolf sat down in front of the gate and looked at Ingrid.
Ingrid knew that the only way to get her chocolate was in the village. Despite the wolf's large teeth and loud bark, she stood up straight and walked towards him.
"Excuse me," she said. "But I need to get past you to go into the village. And it seems you've frightened off the village guard."
"That wasn't the village guard, Miss. That was the Leshy. He's been following you all day trying to steal your delicious black raspberries."
"Oh my!" gasped Ingrid.
"Yes," said the beast. "Every time he came near you, as a troll or a rabbit or a fish, I howled my best to warn you. It's only now that I've caught up with you and could scare him off myself."
"But why is he afraid of you? If wolves are beasts of the forest, you shouldn't scare the Leshy at all."
"Oh but I'm not a wolf," he said. "I'm a hound. I was raised in the village. I don't belong to the forest and I can smell the Leshy wherever he goes. That's why he fears me."
"Oh, thank you so much! You're a wonderfully kind dog. In return, I hope you'll join me for lunch. My name is Ingrid."
The dog said, "I'm Barnard, my lady."
So Barnard and Ingrid sat down in the town to have lunch. Then Ingrid exchanged her delicious black raspberries for a sack full of chocolate. With the bar of gold she found in the rabbit hole, she bought bumblebee honey to thank the sprites for gathering the berries. Barnard accompanied Ingrid all the way to her house and the Leshy did not bother them at all during the whole trip.
When they reached the house painted with every color, Ingrid said,
"Barnard, you are such wonderful friend and a wonderful hound. How would you like to stay with me at my house?"
Barnard, of course, agreed. That night, Ingrid set out herring and camembert for the domovoi. Then she slipped into bed with the satisfying taste of chocolate in her mouth. Barnard slept quietly on the floor next to her bed, as he would do every night from then on. Ingrid fell asleep as happy as she had ever been. Her dreams were indeed dreamy and her sleep was wonderfully sleepy.