A History of the Dwarfs

By Tupenny Longfeather

Six hundred years ago the dwarfs lost their interest in gold.

Leaving the mines the dwarfs build a society above ground, adopting a simple farming lifestyle and a love of nature. They live a peaceful life for six centuries.
Then a mysterious stranger arrives, offering gold in exchange for the dwarfs' few possessions. Soon the dwarfs way of life is under threat from the Tinklers, the strange creatures that have taken up residence in the old dwarf mines and have other desires than buying dwarfish goods.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 27, 2017
• ISBN: 9781326989088

Book preview

A History of the Dwarfs

A History

of the

Dwarfs

Tupenny Longfeather

Copyright © 2017 by Tupenny Longfeather

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2017

ISBN 978-1-326-98908-8

longfeather.weebly.com

Prologue

Six hundred years ago the dwarfs lost their interest in gold. After centuries underground their mines were vast, their fortunes colossal. Their hearts, however, were empty. They had little interest in digging for gold or jewels as their ancestors had done for countless generations.

Thinking on these problems for what turned out to be several years, a group of dwarfs proposed a solution to the general malaise experienced by the majority of the cave dwellers: they would move above ground.

At first this suggestion was met with a stony silence, then an incredulity based entirely upon fear. It did not take long, however, for the dwarfs to see the potential in this idea and they began to make plans to move above ground. To move an entire population and expect it to change its way of life is no easy task.

A hundred were selected to go ahead and start a colony. Gradually, if living above ground were possible, the rest would follow. And so, after centuries in the dark, the great gates were opened for the first time and the dwarfs stepped, blinking, into the sunlight.

Working at dawn and dusk, for the great light hurt their eyes, they built a village. No longer wishing to dig hard stone they built their houses of wood and roofed them with turf to remind them in some small way of their underground existence. The only digging they would do henceforth would be to plant their crops or the flowers that they had determined were the true treasure of the world.

And so the years passed and the dwarfs scattered their villages about the great forest they found above their mines. They would not fell more trees than were needed to build their homes and make their furniture, and they owned little save that required for working their gardens and small fields. For they grew barley to brew beers and vegetables in their own gardens. They