"Let’s
walk on a little bit more" said J to G. "Ok.
No telling’ what we’ll run across in here.
We can check out a couple more rooms." said
G. With a long, last, lingering look, and one
more drink, they left the fountain, with ding-dong
glazed over eyes.
Ka clomp … ka clomp … ka clompity clomp …. I
think the horses felt the effects of the water
too. Muff wagged on slowly ahead of them. It
seemed to be getting even warmer inside. "Wonder
how long it is, or how far it is, til we find
a way outside again?" asked Hoo. "No
idea," said G dreamily.
Ka clomp … ka clomp .. Ka clompity clomp … "Hey
there’s light coming out of that room up ahead," says
J. "Let’s go check it out." "Okay," says
G. This room was on the left of the corridor
from the heart of the mountain, as it was getting
narrower now. "Wow, that pepperminty smell
seems like it’s coming from in there," says
J. "So it does," says G. And so it was.
The first thing they noticed when they came into
this chamber was the stickyness of the walls.
They were flat rose pink and seemed to be sweating
or something. There was a round, low stone table
in the middle of this round room with about 12
large stone jars lined up against the wall. The
jars were about 3 feet tall, with lids. They
were just like the small ones G had in her basket.
Some were solid pale pink, others white, and
three of them were deep red. On the table were
very primitive looking rock bowls. There was
even a broken something that looked like a spoon.
Half was on the table; the other half on the
floor. When they looked around, being careful
not to touch the sticky walls, they saw other
stone mortars and knifes and things.
If you ducked down, towards the back of the room,
there was a darker, smaller chamber. Hoo bent
over and just peeked in and saw things like cookie
sheets in there … made out of silver metal. Hoo
accidentally leaned on the wall and got sticky,
when he stuck his head in. As a matter of fact,
his hand almost stuck to the wall. He pulled
it off and was tempted to lick it. When G wasn’t
looking, he did. Hmmm… hhmmm .. Hhmmm… "Hey
Granma," squealed Hoo, "the walls
are peppermint!" "So that’s what the
sweating is all about," says G. The mountain
is squeezing peppermint out of itself into this
room. This musta been the candy making room." says
G. "Hey, I bet they made candy canes here!" J
said delightedly. "Hey, maybe they come
back at Christmas and make more!" says Hoo.
What an imagination, that boy!
Then Granma remembered an old, old song. Something
about a Big Rock Candy Mountain. HA! But she
couldn’t remember any of the words to it.
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