Seaside Escapades Storyline

Along the eastern seaboard, just south of a sleepy little human fishing village, there lives a colony of gnomes. Their wee cove was protected from threatening storms and overly inquisitive humans hundreds of years ago by several very powerful sea fairies. Here, in Hidden Cove, not much changes from century to century and the gnomes live out their lives raising their families and enjoying the company of the other village gnomes and local animals.

While out on an adventure with a friend, Kristoff meet his lovely bride, Caleen, in one of the Prairie Villages to the west. Although Caleen was fearful of moving so far away from home, when she saw the ocean for the first time she had to admit it was a spectacular site to see!

Caleen couldn’t help but wonder if life would be so different here. She asked Kristoff about it.

Kristoff just smiled. He knew there were many surprises awaiting Caleen. He looked forward to sharing each and every one with her!

[nextpage title=”Hidden Cove”]

In the village of Hidden Cove, where Kristoff grew up, gnomes with the ability to tell the most thrilling stories are highly revered and honored in the village, and it is the hope of all parents that one day one of their children will become a gifted teller of tales.

There is one position in the village, however, that receives even more respect than the storytellers, and those are the Whitecaps. Named after the small waves with foamy crests that can be seen on the ocean surface, these gnomes are not afraid to go into the sea.

Truth be told, most gnomes are quite afraid of the water. For that reason it seems the coastline might be an unlikely place for a community of gnomes to settle, but not to them. They love the sights and sounds of the ocean. They love walking the beaches. They love their driftwood bonfires with the purple and blue licks of flame and in nice weather, they love sleeping under the stars.

Every generation, one or two male gnomes are born that show no fear of the water. As soon as they learn to walk, their poor frazzled parents must be ever vigilant for fear of losing them to the sea. They need not worry, however, because the Whitecaps are as home in the sea as they are on the land, and when they do frolic in the waves or choose to swim with the dolphins, they always come home.

Perhaps one of the most valued skills of the Whitecaps is their ability to dive to the ocean floor and gather pearls from their oyster friends. The pearls are cherished by the village folk and it is tradition for a string of pearls to be presented to a gnome maiden from her intended when they become betrothed. Although there is no currency among the gnomes, the Whitecaps are rewarded with gratitude, the seats closest to the fire and if they themselves are unmarried, the affection of all the single maidens in the village.

You can easily spot the village Whitecaps because they are the only gnomes allowed to don a white cap. Also, the Whitecaps keep their hair and beards cut short so their hair does not become entangled in the ocean coral, rocks or sunken ships.

Kristoff is the youngest of the Whitecaps in the village, and in all likelihood, is most at home in the water. Besides collecting pearls, he is ever vigilant for signs that the humans have set lobster traps in the cove. When this happens he rows out to the traps and releases all his lobster friends. Eventually, the fisherman grow weary of empty traps and leave the cove. Many of the lobsters owe their lives to Kristoff.

[nextpage title=”Meet Kristoff”]

As was traditional in Kristoff’s village, before a young gnome decided to settle down and marry, he set off into the world to have his very own adventure. His best friend Bernardo, nicknamed Rocco because he was known to be hard-headed, had wanted to join him, but, no, not this time. There was plenty that Kristoff wished to contemplate, and with Rocco around, he was sure he would spend his whole time getting or keeping Rocco out of trouble!

Armed with only a backpack, walking stick and a map of other known gnome settlements, Kristoff bid a fond farewell to his kith and kin and set off. Kristoff flew across the sand and dunes on the back of a goose, but when they reached the edge of the forest, Kristoff preferred to walk.

He had been to the forest many times with his father, but being alone among the trees and plants, he felt like he was seeing it for the first time. He listened to the rustling sound of woodland animals as they scampered across the forest floor or as they jumped from branch to branch high above his head. If he ran into any of the animals, he bowed politely, and if the animals were so inclined, he would sit and chat with them.

As he walked he noticed there were rabbit snare traps set. One by one he would trigger the traps, hoping to save one of his furry friends from a stew pot. On his third day in the forest he heard a commotion that quickly turned into uproar. He quickly followed the noise, not quite sure what he would find. When he finally came upon the scene, there was Rocco, dangling by one foot, at the end of a sprung rabbit snare!

Rocco had followed Kristoff! When Rocco saw him, he shouted, “Leaping Lizards, Kristoff, get me down! I’m getting dizzy.”

Kristoff said nothing. He sat on a nearby rock and looked up at his friend. Finally, he lit his pipe and proceeded to blow large smoke rings in Rocco’s general direction. Kristoff knew he would help his friend down, he also knew that Rocco would accompany him on the rest of the journey, but for the next few minutes he thought it might do Rocco some good to simply hang upside down by one foot while Kristoff leisurely finished his pipe!

[nextpage title=”Building the Cottage”]

Kristoff had just returned from his travels where he had meet and became engaged to the beautiful Caleen. Her brothers had told Kristoff that they could marry as soon as he built a proper home for his new bride. All the gnomes in his village lived together in a community built in the side of a dune, but the brothers insisted that Caleen have her very own house. As Kristoff sat on the beach trying to decide where to begin, he saw something being tossed about by the surf. It was a crate!

“Perfect”, thought Kristoff. “I can use that to make Caleen her house.”

Kristoff wondered if it had been washed ashore from the human fishing village up the coast or if perhaps it was a relic from a sunken pirate ship that had finally been set free.

It really didn’t matter, because he knew he could use it for their home. The only problem was, how was he going to get it out of the surf and up to the dune!

[nextpage title=”Moving the Crate”]

While Kristoff paced up and down the beach trying to figure out how to get the crate out of the water, he noticed something quite peculiar. It seemed the crate was making its way to the shore all by itself! How could this be?

When the crate finally cleared the last of the waves, Kristoff smiled deeply. Under the crate were 3 of his friends, the lobsters! How many times had Kristoff rowed his small boat out to the lobster traps that the humans had set and released his friends? And now, they were returning the favor by carrying the crate out of the ocean for him!

Kristoff lead the lobsters to an area of the dune that would be perfect for the new house. When the lobsters had the crate in place, Kristoff walked with them back to the water. After they exchanged a few pleasantries, the lobsters disappeared in the surf and Kristoff rolled up his sleeves and set to work on the new house.

[nextpage title=”Rooftop Terrace”]

Kristoff labored long and hard on the new house. Not only did he wish to make a functional house for his soon-to-be bride, he also wanted the house to be beautiful… just as beautiful as the ocean and Calleen! Then he got an idea! He would cover the floor in pieces of sea glass that often washed ashore. It would sparkle like the ocean… and Calleen’s eyes! Then he decided make a deck on top of the house. He could just imagine sitting up on the roof on beautiful evenings, star gazing with her. And, if they wanted to “camp out”, they could sleep under the stars.

When he was finishing up the last of the railings, his best friend Rocco wandered over.

“That’s perfect!” Rocco said. “Let’s call that space up their mine! You and I can hang out up there after your wife has gone to bed. We are going to have so much fun in our new house.”

“Hmm,” thought Kristoff, “I think Rocco and I are going to need to have a talk about married life. I don’t know much about it myself, but I’m willing to bet Calleen will NOT want Rocco living on the roof!”

Kristoff shuddered. He certainly was NOT looking forward to having THAT conversation with Rocco!

[nextpage title=”A Talk with Rocco”]

As Kristoff had feared, his talk with Rocco did not go well. Rocco had stormed off and disappeared for a few days. When he did return, every time Kristoff passed him, Rocco looked down at the ground and Kristoff could hear him murmuring things like, “Everything’s changing.”… “Who needs a wife anyway?”… and “Some best friend he turned out to be.”

Kristoff just smile. He had know Rocco his whole life. Right now Rocco was acting very, well… very “Rocco-ish”!

“He’ll come around.” Kristoff told himself, “He always does.”

As Kristoff was finishing the steps to the house he heard a loud grunt.

There stood Rocco, carrying a rather lopsided ladder.

“Here,” he said, dropping the ladder on the sand. “Made it myself. You can’t be expecting that wife of yours to fly up to the roof, now can you?”

“Very thoughtful of you, Rocco.” returned Kristoff. “I know Calleen will really appreciate it.”

Rocco just snorted and pulled out a pipe.

“Hey”, said Kristoff. “There’s a New Moon tonight. Perfect for start gazing. What say you come on over and we will try out the new ladder.”

And all was forgotten and forgiven.

[nextpage title=”Meet Caleen”]

Caleen was a shy and modest lass. She would have been surprised to hear how many of the young gnomes in the area were biding their time, hoping one day to make her his bride. If Caleen was prideful at all, it was of her long golden hair. It was straight and silky and the color of wheat. She brushed it often and worn it down, although most of the young maidens on the prairie braided their hair or wore it tucked into their hats.

When she meet Kristoff, he often complimented Caleen on her golden tresses. A peachy blush would cover her face, and she was delighted it pleased him so much.

Shortly after the couple were married, Kristoff took his young bride back to their seaside home which he had built for her. The sites and sounds of the ocean took Caleen’s breath away, and she was lulled to sleep that first night by the gentle lapping of the waves on the shore.

The next morning when Caleen awoke and began to brush her hair she was horrified. She unpacked a mirror from her trunk and stood wide eyed staring at herself and began to cry.

Kristoff awoke to the sounds of his young bride sobbing. He assumed she was home sick and wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.

“There, there, lass”, he said, “I know you miss your home but we can visit your brothers whenever you want.”

“It’s not that”, cried Caleen, “Look at my hair! Something happened to my hair!”

Sure enough, Caleen’s long silken tresses had turned into a million springs! Little ringlets circled her face and the whole of her hair seemed to have taken on a life of its own.

“That, dear lass”, he said with a bit of a smile, “is because of humidity, but don’t be distraught, I think your hair is just as beautiful as ever. It’s just become a wee bit more independent!”

Caleen was not one to wallow in self pity. She thought “Humidity” must be a mischievous fairy that had bewitched her hair! She pulled her hat on her head, adorned it with her string of pearls and took Kristoff’s hand.

“Come, husband”, she said. “Let’s take a walk along the beach. Perhaps we will run into Humidity and I can have a word with her about my hair!”

Kristoff smiled. Later he would explain about humidity to Caleen. In the meantime, he would enjoy his first stroll down the beach with his beautiful new bride with the springy hair!

[nextpage title=”Fire on the Beach”]

Kristoff told Caleen to keep her eyes closed and he lead her down the steps of their new home. Hand-in-hand he walked her down the path and to the beach.

“Okay, Luv, open your eyes!” Kristoff instructed.

Caleen opened her eyes and they were filled with awe and wonder! Before her was the most beautiful fire she had ever seen! The dancing flames were purples, blues, oranges and greens.

“Is this magic?” she asked. “I have seen many campfires and none ever looked as enchanting as this!”

Tomorrow, Kristoff would explain how the mineral salts found in driftwood caused the flames to turn blue and purple, but for tonight he simply said, “Yes, Luv, it is magic.”

[nextpage title=”Caleen Misses Home”]

Caleen sat on the front steps watching the sun go down. She loved her new home and she loved Kristoff, but sometimes, like this evening, waves of homesickness swept over her.

Kristoff joined her on the steps and held her hand.

“What’s up, Luv?” Kristoff asked. “You look so sad.”

“Not sad, really.” Caleen decided. “Just missing everything I left behind.”

“Hmm,” said Kristoff, “Tell me what you miss the most.”

Caleen thought about this for a while. She missed the open fields of flowers, she missed her brothers, she missed the smell of the earth after a rain, but she decided she missed the swans the most.

“I miss my swan friends the most, I think. I use to sit with them at the pond, dangling my feet in the water. They would circle around me and I’d share yesterday’s stale bread with them. They were so chatty and had the most wonderful tales of the places they had been and the sites they had seen. I never tired of listening to their adventures.”

That night after Caleen was sound asleep and purring like a kitten, Kristoff had an idea and slipped out of bed.

For the next week, every night after Caleen had fallen asleep Kristoff would leave the house and disappear down the beach.

One morning after Caleen awoke, she looked out the window she couldn’t believe her eyes! There on the beach were 2 beautiful white swans.

Caleen threw open the door and ran down to the beach. It took her a moment to realize they were not real, rather they had been carved from wood.

Behind her Kristoff whispered, “I know they aren’t your swan friends, but I thought maybe you would like these as a reminder. I carved them for you.”

“Oh, Kristoff”, cried Caleen, “I do love them and will cherish them forever! I can’t believe you did this for me.”

[nextpage title=”Swans in the Storm”]

All day long Caleen stared at the swans and all day long she moved them around the yard trying to find just the right spot.

After Kristoff was asleep and growling like a bear, Caleen slipped out of bed and went into the yard. She decided to put the swans on the large rock by the water so that when she awoke in the morning and looked out the window, it would look like the swans were in the pond back home.

That night a storm drifted over the beach and Caleen snuggled in closer to Kristoff, thankful for her warm house and loving husband.

By morning the storm was gone but so were Caleen’s swans!

Caleen ran down to the rock and looked all around. She could not see the swans on the shore nor in the water. Caleen sunk to her knees and began to cry. She felt like she had just lost her old friends all over again! And, oh, Kristoff had made them special, just for her. She felt her heart breaking. Caleen thought there must have been large waves with the storm last night that knocked the swans off the rock. Oh, how could she have been so silly?

Just then Caleen noticed something small and white on the horizon. She stood and looked out to sea. The white dots were getting larger and coming closer. Before long she realized the white dots were her swans! They were swimming back to shore. But how could that be? They weren’t real. They couldn’t swim, yet they were quickly making their way back to her.

“What kind of magic is this?” Caleen wondered. And she didn’t need to wait long before she discovered exactly what kind of magic it was!

[nextpage title=”Mermaids Come to the Rescue”]

As Caleen watched the swans coming closer, she could hardly believe her eyes!

Behind each swan was a beautiful mermaid pushing them to shore.

Each mermaid placed her swan on the large rock that was half in the water and half out. When they were done they turned to leave.

“Wait!” pleaded Caleen. “Don’t go yet.”

The mermaids stopped and turned back to face Caleen.

“Tell me,” Caleen implored, “how did you know these were my swans?”

When the mermaids spoke their voices sounded like a soothing lullaby. “We saw Kristoff carving them on the beach.” the one with the green hair said.

“He told us how much you missed your old home and our hearts broke along with Kristoff’s,” said the mermaid with blue hair. “When we saw the swans adrift, we knew they belonged to you and wished to return them.”

Calleen walked onto the the large rock.

“I will forever be in your debt,” promised Caleen. “My name is Caleen. What are your names?”

“I am Nerissa,” said the mermaid with green hair, “and this is Lorelie.”

“Such beautiful names for such beautiful mermaids,” Caleen sighed. “Is there anything I can do to repay your kindness?”

“We do not wish to be repaid, but if you would be willing to sit with us and tell us about the home you miss, we would love to listen. We know much about life in the ocean and along the coast, but very little about life inland. Oh, please tell us stories of your world!” Lorelie eagerly asked.

“Oh yes,” agreed Nerissa, “please tell us your inland stories.”

Caleen smiled. If there was one thing she was good at, it was telling stories!

In a while Kristoff walked onto the beach looking for Caleen. Before he saw her he heard peals of laughter. There, on the large rock, Caleen was lying on her stomach with her face resting on her fists. Just inches away were the faces of the mermaids Nerissa and Lorelie. The three of them with chatting and laughing as if they were life long friends.

“Hmm,” Kristoff smiled, “They may have just meet but I do believe they already are life long friends!”

[nextpage title=”Caleen Prepares for Visitors”]

Caleen absentmindedly made the bed. She was both excited and nervous. Today, her brothers were coming for their first visit to Hidden Cove. She wondered if they would approved of her new life and her new house. Would they love it all as much as she did? She thought they would… she hoped they would, but one way or another, she would know soon.

There were so many things to share with them… the beach, the ocean, the mermaids, and the village itself. And Caleen knew, if all else failed, she could win over their stomachs! Since she had settled in to her new home, she had been busy with her kind mother-in-law, learning to cook local delicacies.

Caleen realized she had nothing to worry about. The boys would love Hidden Cove! For she knew, above all else, they wished for her to be happy, and happy she was. Her new life with Kristoff was more than she could ever have dreamed, and today she would be able to share it all with the two other men that she loved so dearly!