American Community School
Short Story
ESL
A Mysterious Meeting
By Bettina Roehr
Grade 9
May 2002
A Long, long time ago, there lived a poor, old miller with his daughter on a clearing in a deep forest. On a sunny morning his daughter Julia went into the woods in order to collect some berries. After half an hour she suddenly heard someone railing. When she turned around, she realised, that the voice came out of a small bush behind her. At first she was scared, but then she went closer and bend the branches away. What she then saw was really hilarious. There was a small man wriggling and cursing, who got caught in the branches and thorns of the bush. She asked him laughing:” What are you doing in there?” he answered aggressive:” Definitely not my early morning exercises!!! Instead of staring at me, you should better help.” She grabbed the small man and freed him out of the thorns .He had hardly reached the ground, when no sooner he ran away without saying thank you or anything. “So the stories my grandmother told me, about the dwarfs who sometimes come out and help humans are all true. And no one ever believed.”
After two hours her basket was full, so she decided to go back home. It slowly started getting dark and after a while she realised that she had walked the whole time in a circle. All of a sudden she heard something rustling behind a tree. And who comes out? The dwarf with a worried expression on his face, "What are you still doing in the forest? You shouldn’t be alone here when it is getting dark. A forest in the night can get very dangerous, especially when you are in this part, the deep part where normally no human comes.” “ I know; usually I don’t go so deep, but today I got lost.”“ It’s okay. Now I am with you, so nothing can happen to you. I came to tell you that everyone who saves a dwarfs life, has free wishes free. And I think it is better if you sleep tonight in my small town, because it is safer like that, than crossing the forest by night. So what do you think?”,” Yes, but where am I going to sleep? I am too big.”,” Just use the first wish when we arrive. It will last for 10 hours.”,” Well, okay. But are you sure it will work?”, “ Yes.”
They had to cross a gully and a small river. After a while the dwarf stopped in front of a big, dark fir. The dwarf started to go around, while he muttered something. After 7 rounds around the bark of the tree,
it cleared itself and then opened. The dwarf invited the girl to enter. Carefully she made the first step and what she then saw took her breath away. There were houses out of toadstools and in the trunks were small shops, tailors, hairdresser, butchers and bakers.

Between the toadstools and at a very, very small river were children playing on flowers and tried to ride on beetles, caterpillars and snails. Others sailed on the river in nutshells or on leaves. And in the middle of this a great palace with many bridges, balconies, a beautiful garden with lots of fountains.

Quickly, she made her first and in a few seconds she was as small as the dwarf next to her. “Now I only need to ask the Queen for the permission, but she’ll allow it. Wait here, I’ll be back soon.” And in the next minute he was on his way to the castle. After 10 minutes he came back with a smile on his face and told her: ”It’s okay.”
The next morning when the dwarf woke up, Julia was already sitting outside and waiting for him because the wish had lost its’ effect. “ How long are you waiting here?” “Since 6 o’clock.” “I have to tell you something, long, long time ago there was a young dwarf girl which married a human, so her children and grand-children and even herself got humans, and the legend says, that: after a hundred years there will come a human girl into our town and marry a dwarf. So we all belief that you are the girl, the legend is telling about. So do you want to marry me?” “But what is about my father?” “ You have still to wishes free so wish for your father to get a dwarf too. And when you marry me you will automatically get a dwarf.” “Yes that’s right, I will marry you.”
After the marriage she had still one wish free, which she put into a golden feather and then hid in the trunk of the tree through which she entered the first time into the small world.
Narrative Elements:

Setting:
Time: A long, long time ago.
Place: In the forest, in the woods, then in the dwarf's town.

Characters:
The protagonist is the girl, Julia.
The character foil is the dwarf.

Plot:
Exposition: Long, long time ago there lived a poor miller with his daughter at the edge of the woods. One day, the girl goes into the forest in order to collect some berries, when she suddenly hears someone shouting.
Action dynamics: After she freed the dwarf both go to his little town. They enter through a tree.
Climax: After they enter through the tree, she sees the town for the first time. After her first night in, the dwarf asks her if she accepts to marry him.
Falling point: She tells him, that she accepts to marry him.
Resolution: They get married and she puts her last wish in a magic golden feather.

Point of View:
The story is written in limited omniscient.

Page Created on May 23, 2002 || Last updated on  June 12, 2002
Copyright © 2002 Nada AbiSamra & Bettina Roehr
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