The Treasure Cave: sea tales of Tiptoes Lightly (14 page)

“Yea!” cried
Johnny Top, as Flicker and Flash flew about the room like yellow, red and
orange.

“I’m getting
too hot,” said Tom, taking off his sweater.

“Me too,” said
June Berry and Veronica, fanning their faces.

“Why is it so
hot in here,” said Farmer John looking in from the kitchen. “It suddenly got
warm.”

Gramma clapped
her hands again, and cried: “Into the oven Flicker and Flash,” and in an
instant they flew into the kitchen oven.

“They’ll roast
the Thanksgiving turkey for us tomorrow,” said Gramma. “Then they’ll go into
our tummies and warm us up all over again.”

Gramma stood
up with Johnny Top cradled in her arms. “Now it’s time for this sleepy head to
go to bed,” she said, and carried him to the bedroom.

Three
nodding Heads

After Johnny
Top was in bed the grown-ups sat with Tom and June and Veronica around the
fire. Aunt Sally leaned forward and looked at June Berry’s necklace.

“Those are
beautiful beads,” she said, touching them. “I was admiring them at supper. They
look like pearls.”

“They are,”
said June Berry. “Tiptoes said so.”

“Who’s
Tiptoes?” asked Aunt Sally.

“She’s a
fairy,” said June Berry. “We found them down by the beach, in our Treasure Cave.”

Uncle Finn
laughed. “They are pretty,” he said, “but they can’t be pearls—they’re much too
big. They’re plastic, for sure. Pearls that size would be worth a fortune.”

Aunt Sally
gave Uncle Finn a warning look. “They’re pearls,” she said. “If their Tiptoes
fairy says so, then they are.”

“Tiptoes has
been telling us a story in the evenings,” said Tom.

“We met her
this afternoon too,” said Veronica. “Didn’t we, Gramma?”

Gramma nodded.

“But my dad
keeps missing the story,” said June Berry. “Every time Tiptoes starts to tell
one his head nods and he falls asleep.”

“I’ll stay
awake this time,” said Farmer John, yawning. “Promise.”

So the
children turned towards the fire. It was crackling merrily and Tiptoes sat on
the edge of the hearth rug. Everyone was quiet and the sound of the waves on
the shore wrapped around the house. It came in through the windows and walls
and roof—hush, hush, hush, the wave-sound said—hush, hush.

“But where’s
this Tiptoes?” asked Uncle Finn, frowning and looking about.

“Right there!”
said all the children together, pointing at her.

“Uh, okay,”
said Uncle Finn, looking confused, and he settled back into the sofa and
pretended he saw her—but he didn’t.

“Before I
start,” said Tiptoes, “I’ll tell Veronica and Gramma a bit about our story. It
happened long ago when the sun sent Asherah the Earth Mother her newest and
youngest children, the human beings.”

Tiptoes
grinned and looked at the grown-ups.

Veronica
turned around. “They’ve gone to sleep!” she exclaimed.

“Everyone
except Gramma,” said Tom. He was grinning too.

Gramma sat in
her armchair. She was wide awake and had a thousand twinkles in her eyes.
“Those sleepy heads will wake up when the story is over,” she said. “Go on,
Tiptoes.”

So Tiptoes
continued.

“Sister Vive
cast seeds from the Tree of Life on the sun down to the earth. They were bright
and hung in the sky and floated day and night. Some sun-seeds were properly
ripe—these were the first human beings. They didn’t look at all like people do
now because they were so new to the earth. Each seed had only warmth from Kalor
the Hot One, light from Vallor the Bright One, and life from Sister Vive. That
is why they floated; there was nothing inside them to weigh them down. And they
were all different: bigger and smaller, brighter and dimmer. Some were hotter
than the others—they were like Kalor and breathed fire. Others were filled with
light like Vallor—they were more like great birds of light. And others still
had life abundant like Sister Vive—many of these were like children, but some
grew to be giants.”

“But I am not
going to tell you about them,” said Tiptoes. “I am going to tell you about the
ones that came from the seeds that were too big and too ripe. These Bright Ones
were much bigger than human sun-seeds. They were as big as giant clouds full of
light. Many things happened in those days; many tales could I tell, like leaves
on the trees they are, and ever-renewing. This one is called: How Oshi loved
the Ocean.”

How
Oshi loved the Ocean

In the younger
days there were three Bright Ones: Eefer, Oshi and Ko-Ko-Roomba. They were
sun-seeds new to the earth and floated above it like huge clouds. They came
from seeds which were too ripe, and because they were too ripe they were not
perfect.

One day Eefer,
Oshi and Ko-Ko-Roomba went for a float. The breeze was delicious, the sun was
gorgeous and the other clouds few and far between. They floated over a forest,
along a river and over a volcano. All around the volcano Hot People had
gathered. These were the human sun-seeds who liked to be where it was warm.
They wallowed in the heat above the volcano just like we wallow in hot tubs
today. Ko-Ko-Roomba liked what he saw, for he himself had lots of Kalor’s heat
in him.

‘Roomba-doombha,’
rumbled Ko-Ko-Roomba. ‘Fire! Fire! Fire is fine, fire is furious, fire is
fantastic. A swim in fire would tickle my fancy!’

‘Oh, be
quiet,’ said Oshi, thinking him mad. ‘What’s this roomba-doombha nonsense?’

Ko-Ko-Roomba
was going to reply, but the breeze picked up and blew them away from the
volcano.

On they
floated, here and there, up and down, and the more they floated the more Eefer
sang the praises of the air. ‘O, the air is so sweet and fine,’ she said. ‘So
lovely and soft, so fragrant and scented, so very breezy. I love the wind!’

‘Oh, stop
blubbering,’ said Oshi, getting annoyed. ‘There’s too much silliness coming
from you!’

But Eefer
didn’t pay any heed and went on singing the praises of the wind and air while
Oshi fumed. Oshi was a changeable, moody character. One minute he’d be gentle
and calm; the next he’d be wild and stormy.

The wind
picked up and blew the Bright Ones across a vast, empty and grassy plain dotted
with lakes and ponds. Finally the wind blew them out to sea. These three had
never seen the sea before. Ko-Ko-Roomba quaked in terror. He saw that the vast
waters of the mighty ocean could quench his fire in a moment. And Eefer didn’t
like the ocean either. It was too heavy and dark for her. She preferred the
light shining through the crystal clear air.

But Oshi
looked down and was amazed. He peered into the deeps and saw how the ocean
could swallow the tallest mountain on earth. He saw the waves run with the
wind, now ripples, now whitecaps, now swells many miles long. He saw the
breakers pounding relentlessly on the beaches, and saw how gentle and calm and
generous and full of life the sea was. To him the sea was beautiful and strong,
so restless and ever-changing, and Oshi fell in love with her.

‘I’m going for
a swim,’ said Oshi. ‘I feel the ocean calling.’

‘No, no,’
cried Eefer and Ko-Ko-Roomba. ‘Don’t go for a swim! Don’t touch her.’

But Oshi
wouldn’t listen. He floated down from the great heights and gently, softly,
lovingly touched the water with one hand. Instantly, a watery mist rushed into
Oshi’s body. He trembled. He shook. He cried out, but whether in joy or sorrow
even he did not know, for in that instant he was changed, changed utterly. He
rose, he struggled to gain the heights, he fought to be light-filled and
buoyant again, but could not. The sea mist darkened within him and he wept, and
as he wept he fell, drop by drop, into the sea and was gone.

‘Oshi! Oshi!’
cried Eefer and Ko-Ko-Roomba. ‘Where are you?’

There was no
reply, but the sea began to churn and the waves to mount. Horsemen rode the
waves and the breakers crashed on the shores and pounded mountains to sand.
Wild, wild was the storm, for weeks and months it surged and fell. At last the
storm stopped and the sea calmed again. But in the depths the sea was more
restless than ever before, and, for the first time, the tides rose and fell
like the breathing of a great being.”

“That is how
Oshi became King of the Sea,” said Tiptoes. “He lives there still; ever moody,
ever dangerous, ever generous and filled with life, but also wild and
terrible.”

“What happened
to Eefer and Ko-Ko-Roomba?” asked Gramma.

“Eefer and
Ko-Ko-Roomba floated on,” said Tiptoes. “They left the great ocean and passed
over a land of many volcanoes. Ever and again Ko-Ko-Roomba looked longingly at
the fires coming from deep inside the earth. At last he too floated down and
touched the molten rock. He became the Master Burner and King of Fire.

But Eefer
stayed floating. For long ages she stayed floating—far longer than any other
Bright One. She even refused to come down when it was time for humans to stand
on the earth. She could have become one of the great leaders of a sleepy and
mischievous humankind, but this is not what she wanted. She became the Queen of
the Air and lives in the wind and storms and gentle breezes. She too is filled
with different moods, but is never so dark as Oshi, for the air welcomes the
light of the sun.”