Valorn's animals, a children's storybook with educational stories
page 62, the glacial gnomes
Apparently there once was (at least I was told so...maybe there still is...umm, sorry that's not the point...) a (what was it again...oh yeah) hidden treasure...somewhere in the cold cold mountains. And when I say a treasure, I probably should say a mountain of platinum and gold. You might wonder how one would hide a treasure as big as a mountain...Actually I don't know how they did it, but I suspect they had it all worked out as it was a hidden treasure after all.
Umm, where was I? Something about hidden treasure, right? Hmmn, actually this is a silly story and it absolutely can't be true...I mean how would...and why would anyone hide a treasure to cold cold mountains? Oh, now I remember they hid it in snow and ice! That's right! But why was it again? Sorry it's been a long time since I he...oh oh, they liked snow, that's it!
...and probably ice too...they were funny kind of people they were! I did tell who they were, didn't I?
They were the guardians of the ultimate hidden treasure of platinum and gold (and few silver coins too), who happened to like snow and ice...that probably was the reason they were originally hired for the job...Yes, they were hired to guard the treasure, because no vault could really hold that big pile of platinum and gold (and few silver coins too).
The guardians weren't too keen on guarding duty, they were more interested in snow and ice. And I really can understand them, who'd like to have a mountain of platinum and gold (and few silver coins too) when the other option would be snow and ice...
Apparently the one who hired them had other thoughts, he, the wealthy landowner from Milltown, decided to move the mountain to his newly built vault and get rid of the fun loving guardians of the ultimate hidden treasure of platinum and gold (and few silver coins too). Obviously the guardians didn't like their employers plans, they'd lose their home and jobs as a result. Grave news indeed for the poor guardians. The guardians, although they weren't bad or evil as such, thought they had to resist...so they made a plan.
"All we need to do is to break his vault and he'll need us again and we can have the mountain as our home like we have always had.", said one of them. The plan was quickly accepted and the little guardians of the ultimate hidden treasure of platinum and gold (and few silver coins too) marched few days and few nights and finally destroyed the vault with big boom and crash! And then they marched few days and few nights back.
The landowner wanted to build his great vault again so that he could move the treasure, but unfortunately (for him) he had no money to pay the builders. So instead, he hired group of adventurers and bandits to go to the mountain and bring him enough platinum and gold (and few silver coins too) so that he could pay the builders and get rid of the guardians of the ultimate hidden treasure of platinum and gold (and few silver coins too). The guardians were furious, the landowner had hired bandits and whatnots to rob their homes! Naturally they defended their home (and they still do), the once wealthy landowner died as a poor man, only because he wasn't fun loving man who liked snow and ice.
The moral of the story? Never ever hire a group of glacial gnomes to guard your treasure, unless you are fun loving man (or a woman) who likes snow and ice!
Notes to the teacher: This story explains why gnomes carry ice crystals (they love snow and ice) and why they carry coins (they have a treasure big as a mountain).
Urkki
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