Snørgl The Forest Goblin. Betty Kamer
we talk about THE BOOK. Our book of stories. And I talk about the journeys we can take together in the dreams and the adventures to be had. In most cases, I also find out what the child would most like to experience or where he or she would like to go.
Then it's time to go on a dream journey... wherever that child would like to travel, whatever he or she wishes to experience, whatever longing he or she has. For through the magical powder of the elves, we can experience this dream journey together.
When I got my first assignment many years ago, I was very surprised because I had never really paid attention to the fireflies before. I actually thought that they fly around with little lights and that's why you can see their light. But of course that's not true.
You see, fireflies have a rare ability in the animal kingdom: they produce light through a chemical reaction - something called bioluminescence. (I couldn't read the word correctly the first time, much less pronounce it. If you feel the same way, please ask someone in your family).
Yes, I know it's a hard word. But it really is, and it means that fireflies are able to produce light. They do that by triggering a chemical reaction through an energy component - which they produce in their body - and oxygen. Maybe you think that the light of fireflies is certainly warm and yellowish. At least, that's what I thought until Elin the elf explained it to me. Because in fact, the light is quite bright and cold.
What do I mean about it being cold?
Why don't you ask around your house and see if you still have any old light bulbs? You know, when a light bulb broke, you had to let it cool down before you could replace it. The light from those bulbs wasn't as bright, but the bulb itself got very hot. And with the fireflies, it's the other way around: the light is super bright, but in return it doesn't give off any heat. So it uses all the energy to shine brightly and not to give off heat.
The glow is mainly for the animals to communicate. Some flash very quickly one after the other and then again for a long time continuously. I have often wondered what they are talking about - but I have never asked.
They live very safely in our forests now, as birds and spiders used to love to eat them. You don't have to be scared, because it's natural. But since the elves had explained to all the animals in the forest how important the fireflies are for us and how much we depend on their cooperation, the animals leave them alone and respect them.
It is especially common to see this beautiful sight of flying light on dry summer nights: Suddenly, the darkness is teeming with tiny points of light. These are fireflies that, depending on the species, either glow continuously or flash at short intervals. This also distinguishes the females from the males when they glow.
Yes, what else is there to tell? Ah yes: the female fireflies can't fly and mostly crawl around on trees and most male fireflies fly about a meter above the ground. Of course, there are exceptions, like with 'our' firefly. Well, and actually they are not 'worms', but beetles.
See, now you know why sometimes you can see little lights floating in the dark.
Let me think for a moment... yes, now I have told you all about the lucky children and also about the fireflies, at least I think so.
Firefly
My new tree apartment
"I can't get this darn knot undone. Wizened and sewn shut."
Oh dear, I recognize that voice among a hundred other voices. It's Galdur for sure, once again annoyed at something. But most of all about himself, when he doesn't get something right.
I have a very special friendship with Galdur. We have known each other for a long time and have experienced many things together. He is my best friend. It was he who found me as a young wretch at the edge of the forest, near the big rocks. I must have fallen, hitting my head. That was probably the reason I couldn't remember anything that had happened before the fall. I could remember a voice that sounded good to me and a feeling as if I were floating. It has remained that way to this day. I will probably never know what happened then. It was Galdur who - after he had found me - ran to the head sprites to get help. They brought me back to the forest and nursed me back to health with the help of the elves.
But now I'd better go and see why he scolded me so. Galdur lives in the same tree as I do. We are neighbors, even though the entrance to his apartment is on the other side of the trunk. But first let me tell you what the trees are all about:
Well, we Goblin have been living together with animals in mixed forests for a very long time. You see, these are forests where there are many deciduous trees, such as beech, birch, maple, oak, and also conifers like fir, larch and spruce.
In the forests, all the inhabitants stick together very tightly because we can help each other.
Friendship is very important not only for Goblin, but also for people. I think whoever is without friends must be very lonely and even if you don't see each other every day or talk to each other, it is important to always think of each other and be there for each other. Vegard, one of the head Goblin, claims that the word 'important' comes from gnome. Funny, isn't it?
So the Goblin have always maintained a very thick friendship with the birds, which also live in these forests. Some of them even have their nesting places actually in the trees and not in a nest on a branch. Really. These are real great caves inside the tree trunks. These birds are called 'cavity breeders'.
For example, that's the titmouse, the starling, the great spotted woodpecker, the great tit, and the tawny owl, just to name you a few birds.
I'm talking, I'm talking, I'm talking. I actually wanted to tell you something else. - You see, that's what my scribe line meant when she asked me to tell you that I'm talkative. She's probably right about that.
But I still have to tell you something:
Well, we Goblin used to live in small, somewhat warped houses at the bottom of the forest. However, it used to happen that people would walk their dogs in the woods and let them off the leash. Irresponsible, if you ask me. They were constantly sniffing the forest floor with their wet noses, digging holes in the ground and often even destroying our houses. And I tell you, it happened not only once that we had to hide from the adult humans who were looking for their four-legged friends. They are not allowed to see us at all!
You ask why?
Well, some of the adult people have no imagination anymore and do not believe that we really exist. And when they discover us, we lose our abilities for a few days and can't go on dream journeys during that time. Why this is so none of us knows.
So we Goblin consulted with the animals of the forest and the perfect solution was found for us: with the help of the starlings, the spotted woodpeckers, the robins and the tawny owls, we built our dwellings exactly as the cave-breeders build their nests. Only not high up in the trees, but at the very bottom in the trunks. And we even got little windows and doors.
But back to what I wanted to tell you: Wait a minute, siblings one more time. What was that again? Oh yeah, now I remember:
So ... up until the moment Dellingur offered me a move to this tree apartment of the banished wretch, I was living with Tamin the tailor. It was really nice with him, but I was very happy to have my own place. Not that we didn't get along. On the contrary, I always found it exciting to talk to him about all sorts of things while he sewed something for the rest of us wretches. A little shirt here, a pair of pants there. He dyes the fabrics for it in the most beautiful colors, which Gulltoppur mixes especially for him. However, his fabrics, the sewing machine and the large table on which he cut the fabrics, needed more and more space over time and I had to store my books - you must know, I am an absolute reading gnome - even under the bed. That's when Dellingur's offer came in handy.
After the