On the top of a very, very high mountain covered in ice and snow, a group of Yeti children sat in a circle around their village leader, the Stonekeeper. His long, white beard touched the ground. He wore a robe made of flat stones. He carried a purple crystal staff that glittered in the light of the campfire.
“The stones are here to protect us and keep us safe,” the Stonekeeper said. All the Yeti children nodded. They knew the history of their world. In the beginning, the first Yetis were created when they fell out of the butt of the Sky Yak. Then they tumbled out onto an island that floated on a sea of endless clouds. And below the clouds was the Great Nothing—nothing but endless blackness. They knew they had to be vigilant to protect their island. They had to feed ice to the Mountain Mammoths who kept the island from sinking.
And every morning a gong had to be rung to wake the Great Glowing Sky Snail. The snail crawled across the sky, bringing light to the village.
All the rules of life for the Yetis were written on the stones.
The Stonekeeper looked at the children. “Who can tell me what will happen if you don’t follow the stones?”
“The Smallfoot will get you!” answered Gwangi, a young Yeti with shaggy purple fur, and the Stonekeeper frowned.
“Ahhhhhhh!” the other Yeti kids shrieked with fright.
“It’s a horrible creature . . . ,” Gwangi continued.
“With flat white teeth,” added Kolka, who wore her hair in a ponytail.
Another Yeti, smaller than the others, jumped up. “And beady little eyes!” Fleem cried.
“And the only hair it has is on the top of its head,” Gwangi said.
“Is that really true?” asked a Yeti named Migo. He’d never heard of a Smallfoot before.
“No, Migo,” said the Stonekeeper firmly. “And how do we know it’s not true? Meechee, tell them.”
“Yes, Father,” replied a Yeti who wore her lavender hair in a long braid. She stood up. “Stone Ten tells us, ‘There is no such thing as a Smallfoot.’ ”
“That’s right,” the Stonekeeper said proudly. He patted her on the head, and then removed Stone Ten from his robe.
“There is no such thing as a Smallfoot!” he said, in a voice that said the discussion was over.
Gwangi, Kolka, and Fleem grumbled, but they didn’t argue with the Stonekeeper. Migo felt relieved—but still, every time he heard the stories, he had questions about things the stones didn’t have answers for. Like, Why was the sky blue? And, Was there more to life than what could be found in the Yeti world?
But he knew he couldn’t ask the questions, because, just like Stone Fifteen said, “Ignorance is bliss!” So he pushed them down inside him and decided to simply forget about them as best he could. And the questions stayed there for years, until Migo grew up.
Little did they realize then that in a few years, those children would become important members of their little village.