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GRANDPA’S TALL TALES
UNDER THE WILLOW
Copyright 2005 James Boulden
Hi! I’m Grandpa Jim. Welcome to another of my tall tales.
This adventure happened to my two younger children, Jonathan and Jennifer, when we were living in Smith Valley, Nevada. You may have heard of this area. It’s where miners used to dig gold and other precious metals in the hills behind our home.
In the evenings, Jonathan and Jennifer would explore the hills for hidden treasure. On hot days, they would play by the small creek that flowed near our house. The children liked to sit in the shade of the willow trees while they bathed their feet in the water.
Jennifer and Jonathan always took Kiki and Roughy with them. Kiki was a fierce black cat while Roughy was a brave Shepard dog. I never worried when these pets were with the children. They were good protection.
It was on one hot day in mid-July when the children had the following mysterious experience. I’ll tell the story to you, just as they told it to me.
The children are sitting quietly under a large, old willow tree. Suddenly they hear a loud noise and see Kiki chasing a strange looking animal. The creature is making angry noises and in a great hurry to get somewhere. It dashes down a dark hole near the stream.
Kiki and Roughy dive into the hole after the animal. Jonathan quickly grabs Roughy’s tail to save him, but is drawn into the dark hole after him.
Jennifer snatches her brother’s foot and holds on with all her strength. Unfortunately the weight is too heavy. Soon Jennifer, Jonathan, Roughy and Kiki are all falling down the hole.
Down and down they fall, traveling faster and faster. The children feel the wind blowing their hair and whistling in their ears.
Roughy lets out a howl and Kiki begins to whine. The children are afraid. The hole seems to go to the very center of the earth.
After a time, the children start to feel a strong hot wind coming up from below. Looking down, they see dark rain clouds surrounding a monster volcano. Red flames are coming from the mouth of the volcano. Large boulders are being tossed in the air. A great roar can be heard as the steam shoots toward the children.
The blast of hot air slows the fall of the children, but not enough to keep them from falling toward the mouth of the volcano. Soon they will be burned alive.
As the children continue to fall, they pass through the storm clouds. The noise of the volcano is drowned out by loud thunder. The sky lights up with flashes of lightening. The rain comes down so hard that the children can’t see anything.
The strong winds from the storm carry the children toward a small lake. On and on they fall. Finally they plunge deeply into the lake. Gasping for breath, they fight to reach the surface and swim to shore. They discover that they are high up on the side of the volcano.
Everyone is cold and soaked to the skin. Jonathan begins to cry a little and even Jennifer is worried. How will they ever get down? The cliffs are steep and slippery.
The children sit down by a large rock to think things over. Soon they become aware that the ground is shaking. It feels like the volcano is about to erupt. Large hot rocks begin to fall near where the children are sitting. They need to find shelter, fast.
“Look!” Cries Jonathan. “The lake empties into that hole in the volcano.”
Jennifer goes to peek in the hole and calls to her brother. “Come see! This is an old tunnel made by ancient lava flows. It is like a giant water slide leading down into the mountain.”
Soon the children are sliding down into the heart of the volcano. Faster and faster, round and round they go. At first it’s fun. Just like the slides at the water park. Soon, however, they start going very fast and begin to get frightened.
The walls start to glow red hot as the children plunge deeper into the heart of the volcano. Hot steam fills the tube and the children cover their faces.
“We’re going to be boiled alive.” shouts Jennifer
“Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.” Responds Jonathan. “I want to go home.”
The children let out yelps of surprise when they are suddenly plunged into cold water. It is a stream flowing through the base of the volcano. The children gasp for breath as a swift current carries them into the blackness.
The children quickly join hands so they won’t be swept apart.
On and on the children are carried by the current. Finally, far ahead, they can see a bright light. The underground river begins to widen and the current slows depositing the children on a sandy beach.
“Roughy!” Jonathan shouts with joy as he feels a rough wet tongue licking his face. “You’re alive.” The boy and the dog roll together on the beach.
Jennifer scoops up Kiki and gives her a hug. Except for a few scratches and bruises, all are alive and well.
The children see that they are standing in a grassy meadow surrounded by high mountains.
“Look!” exclaims Jonathan, pointing at a massive black peak, “That’s where we came from. Now how are we going to get out of here?”
“Let’s look around,” suggests Jennifer. “This stream has to be flowing somewhere.”
The children walk along the bank of the stream. It winds back and forth through the valley and finally flows into the side of another mountain. At that point they find a small boat caught in the bushes. The boat is a bright blue with orange stripes down the side. There’s no sign of paddles or a sail. The boat is just the right size for the two children and their pets.
At this time they hear loud screaming coming from over their heads. The children look up and see a flock of giant black and white birds circling over them. The birds have long pointed beaks and sharp claws. They are coming closer and closer.
The children and animals quickly climb into the boat and cast off. The current begins to slowly move the boat, but not fast enough to escape the birds. The entrance to the cave is still a ways away when the largest bird makes a screaming dive for their heads.
Kiki and Roughy quickly leap up to defend the children. Kiki’s claws scratch the first bird right in the face. Roughy snaps at the second bird and gets a mouth full of feathers.
The rest of the birds turn to circle around and try again. The next bird begins to dive, but is too late. It plows into the mountain head first when the boat enters the cave. The children let out a sigh of relief. They are safe at last. At least they think they are.
Soon the children hear a great roar ahead of them. The sound gets louder and louder as the boat floats further into the mountain.
The boat begins to move faster and faster, and then suddenly takes off like a rocket. The children begin to scream. Everything is pitch dark. Roughy lets out a loud howl.
At that moment, the children hear a loud crunching sound. The boat hits a big rock and begins to spin like a top. Jennifer grabs Kiki just-in-time to keep her from being thrown overboard. Jonathan and Roughy huddle together in the bottom of the boat.
Suddenly the noise stops and the boat slows down. The stream gets wider and begins to flow gently. At that time the children notice dim lights coming from many brightly colored rocks. The tunnel looks like it’s decorated for Christmas. Jonathan reaches up and takes a golden rock to put in his pocket.
When Jennifer looks over the side of the boat, she sees moving lights. There are schools of beautiful fish circling the boat.
The children begin to relax as they as they continue to drift down the stream. The gentle rocking of the boat comforts them.
After a time, the children see sunlight ahead. Happily they watch as the boat emerges from the cave into a beautiful meadow. Soon they come to rest on another sandy beach. The air is warm here and there is a gentle breeze.
The children hear a beautiful song and look around to see a round blue bird sitting in a tree across the meadow. The bird is shaped something like an owl that you would like to hold and cuddle. The call of the bird draws the children to the tree.
On the way to the tree, they walk through a field of flowers. There are lovely flowers they have never seen before. The air smells so sweet that the children feel like laughing and singing. There are butterflies everywhere, some of which light on the children's shoulders.
It’s a long walk to the big tree and the children become very tired. Their eyes feel heavy. It is difficult to keep moving. Even Kiki and Roughy have trouble keeping up. Still the song of the bird calls them on.
The children finally arrive at the tree. They lie down in the soft grass and close their eyes. Kiki curls up in Jennifer's lap and Jonathan hugs his friend Roughy. The music flows over the children.
Soon everyone is asleep.
You may be feeling sleepy too. Sometimes it feels good to take a rest.
Later, I found the children all curled up under the big willow tree. They were so tired that they didn't even open their eyes when I carried them home.
The next morning the children told me the adventure you have just heard. I thought it was pretty mysterious, but they said it was true. I thought that they had been dreaming.
That was before Jonathan showed me the nugget of pure gold that he had taken from the wall of the tunnel.
Jonathan and Jennifer learned that life is full of surprises. I’m proud that they didn’t give up when the going got tough.
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