Something More Weekly

#128 A surprise discovery

Once upon a time, there was a little elf called Naomi. She lived in the enchanted forest where she went to school and played with her elf friends. Naomi's favourite elf game was a game called hide and seek. You might have played the people version of this game. Naomi was an expert hider. She could always find the best hiding places. One day, when she was out playing in the woods, she noticed the grassy mound next to the large bramble patch and said to herself "If I crouched down, I could hide behind that grassy mound". Over to it she went and crouched down behind it, giggling to herself. 

The minutes passed and the little elf became bored for her friend still had not found her yet. She looked around her surroundings. On the ground, next to the bramble patch, she saw a small wooden box. Curious, for Naomi was a curious little elf, she reached for the box, grabbed it and gave it a shake. Upon doing so, it felt disrupted in her hands, as though something was moving inside. Startled, she dropped it back to the floor and ran back to a nearby tree.

"I see you Naomi!" yelled her friend Marc, "I see you running! Hahaha". Naomi no longer really cared about the game. Relieved to hear her friend's voice, she hurried over and rejoined him. "I'm tired of hide and seek now" she said. "Let's return to the village and have milkshakes". Naomi knew that there was nothing Marc liked more than a strawberry milkshake. "That sounds like a great plan" he said. They picked up their shoes, for elves always play barefoot in the forest.

"Wait a minute" said Marc. "You must show me where your hiding place was. That's elvish tradition". "Behind the tree" she said casually. "No" said Marc, "you ran back to the tree but where did you run from?" "Ok" said Naomi "but there's something I found, near the big bramble patch. I'm a bit scared about what it is". Marc looked thoughtful for a moment. "Was it an object or an animal?" he asked. "An object" she said. "A small wooden box but when I shook it, something was moving inside as though I'd woken it up". "Would you like me to come and take a look at it with you?" asked Marc. "Yes but we have to be very careful" she replied, timidly. Marc nodded sympathetically, took Naomi's hand and together, the two friends crept back into the woods, in the direction of the large bramble patch.