The Mountain That Hiccupped

Mount Mumble looms over the peaceful village of Nook, where daily life is disrupted when the mountain suddenly hiccups, causing the ground to shake and windows to rattle. While the villagers panic and Mayor Hettie insists on evacuation, young Felix with his messy chestnut-brown hair and scuffed red boots is the only one who wonders why the mountain has hiccups at all. When no one listens, he packs bread, cheese and a notebook and climbs the dusty trail to find out for himself.

Halfway up, a hiccup makes him slide down a slope, and he lands on a hidden ledge. Behind a curtain of moss he discovers a tunnel that smells of soup and fresh bread, leading to a kitchen carved from solid rock. There he meets Grandfather Granite, a tall stone creature with moss on his shoulders and a copper pot for a hat, and Pebble, a round pebble child. They are cooking a feast for the Stone Gathering, but their pots are too small and the steam has nowhere to go, so it builds up inside the mountain and bursts out as hiccups. Felix opens his notebook and draws a plan to move the pots near the chimney, open the vents and weave a fan from broad leaves. This gentle tale, written by Yavuz DEMİRKIRAN, can be read on Online Masal.