The Season of Snow had come around again on Endor. Usually the forest rang with the laughter of the Ewoks as they played in the snow, but not this year. The Ewoks were in mourning.
When the first snows had come, Princess Kneesaa, Wicket and Teebo had been making a slide when the princess had tumbled over and had been bitten by an ice-beetle.
Wicket was broken-hearted and stood sobbing as he and Teebo looked at the beautiful princess, encased in a tomb of ice crystals. Chief Chirpa knelt by his daughter’s side, his hands covering his swollen eyes.
“Is there nothing we can do?” asked Teebo.
“I don’t know,” said Wicket. “Master Logray is going through all his parchments. Maybe he will come up with something.”
Just then the old sage approached the three mourners.
“Have you found an answer?” wept Chief Chirpa.
“There is a way,” said Logray. “But it is fraught with danger. The ice-beetle’s poison can only be combated by the juice of the fire plant…”
“But that is only found on the Mountain of Doom,” wailed Chief Chirpa.
The Mountain of Doom was the home of the Frost Giants. None of the Ewoks who had set out to journey there had ever been seen again.
“Even if there was a way, I can’t spare my men,” said the chief. “The Duloks are hungry. They were too lazy to harvest crops this year and they have begun to attack our store-houses. I need all my men to fend them off.”
“You must spare Teebo and me,” said Wicket bravely. “We shall go to the mountain.”
“Shall we?” squeaked Teebo.
“By glider!” said Wicket bravely. “And we shall succeed.”
A few days later, after an uneventful flight, Wicket and Teebo landed their glider at the base of the Mountain of Doom. It was much too high for them to contemplate flying to the top, so with ice-clamps attached to their feet to give them some grip on the smooth mountain face, they set off to scale the peak.
“Wicket,” said Teebo as they struggled up the steep slope. “What’s big, red, flies and eats Ewoks for dinner?”
“This is no time for jokes,” snapped Wicket,
“Who’s joking?” gulped Teebo, pointing to a deadly, red dragon-bird that was swooping towards them.
With a blood-curdling squawk the dragon-bird zoomed towards the two Ewoks. Teebo clutched the mountain-face for safety but the dragon-bird’s wings clipped his back and knocked him off his balance.
“Yeeeooow!” his cry filled the air as he plunged down towards the jagged rocks far below.
A few feet further down the mountain, Wicket watched in horror as his friend fell towards him. Clinging precariously to a tufty plant with one hand, he somehow managed to grab hold of Teebo’s leg as he flashed by. The force almost pulled Wicket off the mountain, but he held on with grim determination as Teebo scrambled for safety.
“This makes a change,” giggled Wicket nervously. “It’s usually you who pulls my leg!”
Teebo was much too shocked to think of something funny to say, and the two continued climbing in silence until they reached a ledge.
With a great whoosh of wings, the dragon-bird swooped in again. Just in time, Wicket spotted a cranny in the rock-face and he and Teebo pressed themselves into it. Imagine their surprise when they found that the cranny was, in fact, the entrance to a cave.
“Come on,” said Wicket. “I’d rather face whatever’s in there, than stand up to the dragon-bird.”
A few minutes later, Teebo’s voice echoed through a maze of tunnels. “At least if we’d stayed out there, we’d have been killed quickly. Now we’re lost and will probably starve to death slowly and miserably!”
“We may as well press on,” said Wicket.
It seemed to Teebo that they had been in the tunnels for hours before they turned a dark corner and stopped in amazement. For there in front of them, was an enormous cave lit by hundreds of shining crystals. At one end there was a table laden with delicious-looking food.
“At
When the first snows had come, Princess Kneesaa, Wicket and Teebo had been making a slide when the princess had tumbled over and had been bitten by an ice-beetle.
Wicket was broken-hearted and stood sobbing as he and Teebo looked at the beautiful princess, encased in a tomb of ice crystals. Chief Chirpa knelt by his daughter’s side, his hands covering his swollen eyes.
“Is there nothing we can do?” asked Teebo.
“I don’t know,” said Wicket. “Master Logray is going through all his parchments. Maybe he will come up with something.”
Just then the old sage approached the three mourners.
“Have you found an answer?” wept Chief Chirpa.
“There is a way,” said Logray. “But it is fraught with danger. The ice-beetle’s poison can only be combated by the juice of the fire plant…”
“But that is only found on the Mountain of Doom,” wailed Chief Chirpa.
The Mountain of Doom was the home of the Frost Giants. None of the Ewoks who had set out to journey there had ever been seen again.
“Even if there was a way, I can’t spare my men,” said the chief. “The Duloks are hungry. They were too lazy to harvest crops this year and they have begun to attack our store-houses. I need all my men to fend them off.”
“You must spare Teebo and me,” said Wicket bravely. “We shall go to the mountain.”
“Shall we?” squeaked Teebo.
“By glider!” said Wicket bravely. “And we shall succeed.”
A few days later, after an uneventful flight, Wicket and Teebo landed their glider at the base of the Mountain of Doom. It was much too high for them to contemplate flying to the top, so with ice-clamps attached to their feet to give them some grip on the smooth mountain face, they set off to scale the peak.
“Wicket,” said Teebo as they struggled up the steep slope. “What’s big, red, flies and eats Ewoks for dinner?”
“This is no time for jokes,” snapped Wicket,
“Who’s joking?” gulped Teebo, pointing to a deadly, red dragon-bird that was swooping towards them.
With a blood-curdling squawk the dragon-bird zoomed towards the two Ewoks. Teebo clutched the mountain-face for safety but the dragon-bird’s wings clipped his back and knocked him off his balance.
“Yeeeooow!” his cry filled the air as he plunged down towards the jagged rocks far below.
A few feet further down the mountain, Wicket watched in horror as his friend fell towards him. Clinging precariously to a tufty plant with one hand, he somehow managed to grab hold of Teebo’s leg as he flashed by. The force almost pulled Wicket off the mountain, but he held on with grim determination as Teebo scrambled for safety.
“This makes a change,” giggled Wicket nervously. “It’s usually you who pulls my leg!”
Teebo was much too shocked to think of something funny to say, and the two continued climbing in silence until they reached a ledge.
With a great whoosh of wings, the dragon-bird swooped in again. Just in time, Wicket spotted a cranny in the rock-face and he and Teebo pressed themselves into it. Imagine their surprise when they found that the cranny was, in fact, the entrance to a cave.
“Come on,” said Wicket. “I’d rather face whatever’s in there, than stand up to the dragon-bird.”
A few minutes later, Teebo’s voice echoed through a maze of tunnels. “At least if we’d stayed out there, we’d have been killed quickly. Now we’re lost and will probably starve to death slowly and miserably!”
“We may as well press on,” said Wicket.
It seemed to Teebo that they had been in the tunnels for hours before they turned a dark corner and stopped in amazement. For there in front of them, was an enormous cave lit by hundreds of shining crystals. At one end there was a table laden with delicious-looking food.
“At
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