Helga: Out of Hedgelands, Rick Johnson [suggested reading txt] 📗

sort of way...or spicy in a crunchy, saucy sort of way...or, well, I don’t exactly know how to describe it, but I like it!”

In a short time, the three polished off almost the entire stock of honeycomb and eggs. Toshty did not seem concerned. “I’ll be gathering some more tomorrow, not to worry,” he assured his friends when they noticed the provisions were gone.

“I’m hoping that you’ll spend a few days gathering honeycomb and eggs with me,” Toshty said. “It’s hard and dangerous work. The bees don’t like to be disturbed and the birds are small and nest in the most difficult to reach places. One has to climb to some very precarious places. But, as you can see, it’s worth it!”

Breister had been thoughtful for several minutes. Then he said, “Toshty, I have a question. If there are bees and birds, that might mean that they come and go from the cave. Is that what it means? Do the bees and birds come and go?”

Toshty gazed at Breister with a warm and friendly look. “I’m proud of you, Breister. You are using your mind, my friend. You’re right. The bees and birds do come and go, but not in the way you think. To protect themselves, they use only the smallest openings in the rock. None are large enough for any of us. That is not a way out, as you are perhaps thinking.”

Breister sighed and settled down with his head resting on his arms. Toshty could see that he was not discouraged, but thinking. “Breister,” Toshty said, “just because you were wrong about following the bees and birds out doesn’t mean they can’t help you find the way. It just takes...”

Before Toshty could finish, Breister completed the thought, “It just takes a new way of seeing.”

Toshty smiled at Breister. “Yes, my friend, yes...”

The next morning, Toshty announced that he was going on a several day journey to gather honeycomb and cave bird eggs. “You are invited to come with me, if you would like, but I can do it by myself if you wish to do something else.” He looked at Breister and Annie with a loving smile. “I really do understand if you have something more important to do—don’t mind me.”

Breister looked at his feet and shuffled from foot to foot, as if getting ready to say something difficult. “Well, Toshty, I really want to get out of here. I want to search for a way out of here. I’d love to help you climb around to all sorts of incredibly dangerous places where I could easily fall to my death, but I really want to get out of here...Which is exactly why I’ve decided to come with you! Somehow, I’ve learned a lot from you since yesterday...” Breister paused and looked at Annie. “I don’t know what this mangy Cougar wants to do, but speaking for myself, I think I’d love to learn how to risk my life to get some more of that delicious honeycomb and eggs!...I feel like helping you is the least I can do, even if it delays me a few days in getting out of here. There’s always time to help out a friend. Like you’ve been saying, it just takes a new way of seeing things.”

“Count me in, too,” Annie added. “I can’t wait to see how agile a big, pot-bellied Wood Cow is climbing after bees and itsy-bitsy bird eggs! It should be a hoot to watch!...And besides, I like you, Toshty...You are, without a doubt, one of the weirdest birds I’ve ever met, but I like you. It’s a new way of looking at things, I guess.”

“Well, my friends, let’s go get the bladder-canoe and be on our way,” Toshty said. Breister and Annie looked puzzled.

“Oh, yes,” he told his surprised friends, “we will definitely need my bladder-canoe. The bees and birds are found all along the Deep Springs River, which runs from here straight down into the Rounds of Deep Springs. It’s the fastest way out of here. We’ll stop along the way and gather honeycomb and eggs enough to fill the canoe. When we get to the Rounds, I’ll trade some for artist paints, other supplies, and a ride on a running-wagon back to the Drownlands Cutoff, then I either go to my cabin for a while, or come back to the studio.”

“Bladder-canoe?” Annie repeated dubiously.

“It’s an inflatable canoe,” Toshty explained. The one bad thing about the Deep Springs River is that it runs too fast to paddle against, so you can only ride it one way. So, I ride my bladder-canoe down to the Rounds, then deflate it so it’s easier to carry back. When I get to the Drownlands Cutoff, I reinflate it and paddle to my cabin. My cabin is near the place where there’s an entrance to the cave system that leads to the Deep Springs River. I stay at my cabin as long as I like, then I ride the river back to my studio, gathering some more honeycomb and eggs along the way to eat while I’m at my studio. When I’m ready to leave my studio, I complete the circuit again.”

“Mighty thunder!” Breister exclaimed. “That’s more than I would have ever dreamed when you invited me to help you collect a little honeycomb and some eggs! That is some system. ‘Seeing in a new way’ has taken on a whole different meaning! We’re getting out of here!”

“Works for me,” Toshty grinned.

 

Sailing the Ocean of Dreams

Toshty led Breister and Annie through a series of chambers in the cave system. Leading the way with a fish-oil lantern, the eccentric Owl showed them that the path they were traveling was well-worn. “I’ve made this trip dozens of times,” he assured them. “It’s easy as pie. Just a few things to know, a few things to do, and few things to avoid, and we’ll be in the Rounds!”

“So, what’s to know?” Breister asked suspiciously, sensing that Toshty wasn’t saying everything he knew.

“Well, the first thing to know,” Toshty said, with a shake of his head, “is that the Deep Springs River is also known as the ‘River of No Return.’” Seeing the startled faces of his friends, he quickly followed with, “No, it’s not what you think. It’s called the ‘River of No Return’ because, like I told you, we can only go one way on it.”

“Uh, thanks for the reassurance, Toshty,” Annie said. “But if that rumble I hear is where we’re going, my stomach is already queasy!”

“Yes, that’s it.” Toshty replied, stopping and sitting down on his pack. “We’ll stop here for a few minutes and rest. Enjoy the freedom to stretch. It’ll be your last chance for a while.” Breister and Annie gave Toshty uncertain looks. What was this crazy old Owl getting them into, they wondered?

“I need to tell you here what to do when we reach the river, while we can still talk,” Toshty continued. “Once we get near the river, hand signals will be our only way to communicate.”

Reaching into a pocket in his pack, Toshty pulled out some small balls of cotton mixed with pine sap. “Here’s a pair of earplugs for each of you,” he said. “First instruction is always to wear them,” Toshty explained, showing them how to mold the earplugs to fit securely in their ears.

Breister and Annie could already see how necessary the earplugs would be. In the closed caverns, the roar of the river would soon become deafening as they advanced towards it.

Toshty’s instructions to Breister and Annie hinted at what lay ahead. “The Deep Springs River is like a maddened beast,” he began, “it surges and plunges through a tube-like channel through the rock. Riding in a canoe, we are completely unable to resist the power of the river, or control our ride. All we can do is wait it out.” He paused, looking with a slight hint of bemusement at his friends.

“Now, now, I know that sounds terrifying and you wonder why anyone would take such a ride,” he continued. “Over the eons the surging water has worn and smoothed the walls of the channel to a glass-like smoothness. It’s like being blown through a reed!” He could see that the fears of his friends were not being soothed by his explanation, but he went on with his instructions nevertheless. Breister and Annie listened with apprehensive interest.

 “We’ll inflate the canoe when we get to the river,” Toshty directed. “Then we lie down in the bottom, one after another, with the heaviest beast in the middle.” He poked Breister in his considerable belly playfully, indicating that would be his place.

Grinning at his friends, he continued, “Except for the stomach-turning twists and turns, and the ‘scream-like-you’re-going-to-die’ plunge through complete darkness, it’s just like being blown through a hollow reed.”

Breister and Annie looked at Toshty darkly. “Don’t worry, friends,” Toshty assured them, “I’ve done it dozens of times.”

“When we board the canoe, lie face up,” Toshty grinned, obviously understanding his friends’ discomfort. “You’ll have to raise your head to breathe sometimes because there’ll be water in the bottom of the canoe. You won’t need light to see anything, because your eyes will be closed as tight as you can get them! It’s an absolutely terrifying ride...But when it’s over, you’ll think it was great fun!”

“Yeah,” Breister muttered, “when it’s over!”

“Toshty,” Annie asked, looking worried, “you mean we just lie there on our backs, zooming along in the dark, with no way to control our ride or see what’s coming?”

“Good question, easy answer!” Toshty replied. “You are exactly right! No paddling is possible. In fact, the worst thing you could do is sit up and imbalance the canoe. Remember it’s like being blown through a hollow reed,” he laughed. “Just lie back and enjoy the fun!”

Breister felt his stomach beginning to churn. He was not looking forward to this. “How do we collect honey and eggs going along like that?” he asked. “You said we’d collect more during our trip?”

“After about a day’s ride, zinging along without a stop,” Toshty answered, “we’ll reach a place called the ‘Ocean of Dreams.’ It’s a huge underground lake where the fast part of the river ends. The Ocean of Dreams has lots of fantastic rock formations all around it, and it’s fractured with many cracks that reach the surface. We’ll find lots of honey and cave bird eggs there.”

“Why is it called the Ocean of Dreams?” Annie asked.

“Just imagine a place with rock formations so fantastic that, if you can dream it, you can see a rock formation that resembles it! You won’t believe it until you see it. One day, you could have a pleasant dream or a frightening nightmare, and find its image in the Ocean of Dreams.” He nodded his head knowingly. “You won’t believe it!” he repeated.

“So, after the Ocean of Dreams, what happens?” Breister asked.

“We pick one of the streams flowing out of it and go on to the Rounds,” Toshty replied. “The river will be much calmer then and we can paddle normally the rest of the way.”

“One of the streams?” Annie asked.

“Yes,” Toshty replied, “there are dozens of outlets from the Ocean of Dreams...you have to know which one you want.”

“Where do the others go?” Breister said.

“I don’t know where they all go,” Toshty answered. “I really only know the one that goes to the Rounds. I know that one also goes to the Estates of the Norder Wolves, but I don’t know which one. I just know the Norder Wolves maintain a sentry patrol boat on the Ocean of Dreams. They don’t like outsiders and want to keep creatures away from the route to their