LITMIR.BIZ

      After she walked approximately half way, the forest around her changed drastically. There were no more yellowed autumn trees, the air became warmer, and the wind brought a pleasant scent of blooming spring meadows. Shortly Alice began to doubt if she is going back the right way. The path she was following sharply turned to the right and went slightly uphill. But Alice wasn`t in the thick of the forest. She knew any path would lead her somewhere sooner or later.

      When the ascent was over and the path become straight again, she saw something in the distance that she hadn`t expected to see there. A very small house stood on the right side of the path she was following. Alice walked a little faster and when she got very close, she was even more surprised to see a little old man sitting on a stump and smoking a long pipe. He was dressed in a warm caftan, which is wasn`t appropriate for the weather at all, and his face was hidden under the visor of a huge hat. Only a thick gray beard fell almost to his knees. Alice spoke first:

      – Greetings, Grandfather. My name is Alice. I would like to ask you how can I get to the road?

      – Hmmm – the old man chuckled – Hello to you as well, young lady. My name is Oks and to be honest, I have no idea what road you're talking about – he replied and looked at her with a suspicious view of his small gray eyes. Catching the nature of this view, Alice asked:

      – Is something wrong?

      – It's strange to see a man in this forest – the old man muttered.

      – What's so strange about that, Grandpa?

      – This is a very ancient forest. Not every person dares to come here. Maybe elves could come, but the humans…

      The surprise on Alice's face, after a moment, was replaced by a grin, and she said:

      – What are you talking about, Grandpa? The elves? My house is a couple of miles away from here. There can't be any elves here. They can`t exist, – she paused briefly – except in fairy tales.

      – Do you really think so? – The old man looked very attentively into the Alice's eyes, so she was confused.

      – Well – she drawled – I guess.

      – Okay, let's go inside, I'll treat you to some delicious herbal tea – the interlocutor offered then got up from the stump and took Alice by the hand.

      – But I need to… – she started to saying.

      – Come on, you will tell me inside.

      When Alice entered, she was plunged into the semi-darkness of a small room, with a round table in the center, a couple of stools, a fireplace, and a bed in the corner. A couple of candles were burning on the table, and a few fire woods were smoldering in the fireplace. The air was filled with the smell of smoke and some unknown herbs.

      – Sit down at the table, my dear. I'm going to light the fire, put a pot with water on it, and while it's warming up, you will tell me everything.

      The girl sat down at the table and watched the old man. He brought some fire woods from the other side of the room, put them into the fireplace, whispered something, made a pass with his hand, and the flame flared up as if it had been splash with gasoline.

      – Wow! – Said Alice, surprised – How did you…

      – How did I light the fire so quickly? – The old man interrupted.

      – Yeah.

      – Well, it is an old trick – he said – it's not important now. You'd better tell me how did you get here? Don`t rush, slowly, step by step. Because you know, I'm an old man already, I can miss something.

      Alice did not go into the details of her entire life since childhood, but only told about what happened with her over the past two days.

      – Will you show me this box?

      The girl slowly took out her mother’s gift from her pocket and gives it to the old man. After turning it over in his hands for a while, he asked Alice for the key. Opening the box, he didn`t look at the key that was inside for a long time. Shortly he asked thoughtfully:

      – What is this key? What does it unlock?

      – Good question. It would be good to know – Alice shrugged.

      – Hmmm… The verse on the bottom seems to be Elven, they are masters of poetry. Maybe this key is just a trinket, or maybe it is very expensive. I think you should ask the elves about this. They are very wise and more likely will tell you.

      – Where can I find them?

      The old man got up from his chair and went to the far corner of the room to his bed. Taking a small chest from under it, he took out a rolled-up piece of paper and returned to Alice at the table. He unfolded it in front of her and pressed it into the corners with the candlesticks.

      – So, this is a map of our world. We are here – he pointed with his finger at the bottom of the paper. You should go North. Through the Plains and The Canyon of Death you will come to the Middle Pathway, and there you`ll find Elven Kingdom very close – The old man said, and immediately heard fire woods sizzle in the fireplace.

      – Oh, I'm a fool! I completely forgot about the water!

      Taking off the pot, Oks put some dried flowers and herbs from a bag hanging on the wall into the mug, filled it with hot water and pushed it to Alice.

      – Your tea, please. You can drink it.

      – Right away? Shouldn't it be allowed to brew?

      – No, no need. This is not a simple tea, but a magic one. Just drink carefully, – he interrupted the girl, who was beginning to raise the cup to her lips – it's still very hot. Oks smiled strangely. Alice blew on the surface of the water in a mug. The pleasant smell of unknown herbs immediately pleased her and she took a few small sips. And despite the fact she always drank tea with sugar, it seemed to her just amazing taste even without it. After the next two or three sips, Alice even didn`t notice that she fell asleep right at the table.

      Chapter 4