Age:
Middle School
Reading Level: 2.8
Chapter 1
Dorr and his friend Kaitee walked home from their fourth session classes at the School for Young Forest Gnomes. It was a cool, sunny day. Autumn had started to change the leaves into vibrant colors all around the forest surrounding Feather Lake.
Dorr lived with his mother and father in the small home they had carved into an old oak tree’s trunk. Kaitee lived nearby under a group of stones near a brook that flowed into the lake.
Gnome dwellings were always well hidden in the forest. Since Gnomes were only about six inches tall, it was always best to avoid the curious eyes of people.
They could just see Dorr’s dad, Rixx, struggling with the front door.
“What’s your dad doing?” asked Kaitee.
“He’s trying to fix the door before winter comes,” said Dorr with a wry smile. “I’m sure he’ll realize that he needs to hire someone who really knows how to fix a door. Dad likes to save money—”
“Look,” interrupted Kaitee. “There’s Bestee with her friends Crikk and Fizzor. What are they doing by that tree?”
Bestee, Crikk, and Fizzor were kneeling below a large Beechnut tree near Feather Lake. Bestee looked up, saw Kaitee, and waved. “Hey! Over here! Look!”
Chapter 2
Dorr and Kaitee ran over to them. “We found a really deep hole in the ground,” said Bestee. “You can even hear an echo if you yell. Listen. Hey! ‘hey, hey, hey’ . . .” The sound slowly faded away.
“There must be a chamber of some kind down there,” said Fizzor. “Maybe it’s a rabbit hole?”
“Let’s go see. I’m not afraid of any rabbit,” announced Crikk boldly. Crikk was loud and argued with everyone, especially his teachers. Dorr and Kaitee avoided him, even though Crikk and Bestee were friends.
“Yeah,” said Fizzor. “Let’s look. Maybe there’s a tunnel underground that no one has seen yet.” Fizzor was big and strong and tried to pretend he wasn’t that smart. Dorr thought otherwise. Although Fizzor preferred playing to studying, he always did well on his schoolwork.
“Well,” said Dorr, “maybe some other time. I have homework, and it’s getting late. And I promised my dad I’d help with the front door . . .”
“Late?” cried Crikk. “It’s only afternoon. Suit yourself. I’m goin’ down.” Crikk wriggled his body into the hole. Fizzor followed, but when he was halfway through the hole, the ground started caving in.
Everyone looked at each other with wide eyes. Instantly, the ground beneath them completely gave way. They all fell like bricks.
Chapter 3
“Wahhhhhh!” came a chorus of cries as they all tumbled down and landed on a ledge about three feet wide. That was a long way for Forest Gnomes.
“Well,” said Dorr as he brushed himself off and stood up, “It’s dark down here, but I can still see some roots sticking out of the earth. I think we can climb out that way.”
“We’re down here now,” said Crikk. “Let’s explore first.” He managed only one step before the ledge collapsed.
Everyone slid further down into the earth. They all landed with a series of watery plops as they crashed into each other at the muddy bottom.
“Yuck!” screamed Bestee. “This is disgusting!”
“Wow,” said Kaitee, ignoring her muddy clothes. “It sure is dark down here.”
Suddenly, a bright light appeared. Bestee had used her emergency match to light a cattail torch from her backpack. It was soaked in swamplight, a flammable liquid made from distilled swamp gas. “Dad gave me this ‘just in case.’ I guess this is ‘just in case.’”
About twelve feet above them was the new hole they fell through. “Well,” said Dorr, shaking his head, “I don’t see any roots down here to climb.”
Everyone looked at each other, lit by the flickering torch. They all wondered how to get out and what to do next.