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Fiction. © Copyright 2000, Jim Loy
Jenny was a pretty young girl who lived with her father in the most beautiful wooden house in the kingdom. Jenny's father was a master carpenter, and he had built this ornate house. Unfortunately, there was no demand for fancy wooden houses. All of the rich people lived in stone castles to protect them from bandits, enemy armies, and especially dragons. And so Jenny and her father remained poor while their house became famous, even in distant lands. Jenny's father was forced to turn his skills toward making cabinets for the local royal families.
Jenny made jewelry. Of course she had no jewels with which to make jewelry. She had to make do with wooden scraps from her father's carpentry. She carved and sanded and painted until these scraps of wood became tiny colored jewels, which she fashioned into all manner of beautiful jewelry. She wore a black ring with tastefully colored wooden jewels on it. This ring was her favorite piece of jewelry. At first glance, one might think that Jenny was the richest young lady in the kingdom.
One day Jenny and her father heard rumors that a dragon had moved into the neighborhood. It had burned a few houses. Most peasants were hiding in the nearby castles. Apparently, no one had been killed.
A few days later, Jenny heard a loud roar outside the house, and her father shouted, "Run for the woods!" They ran out the door and into the nearby trees.
Jenny hid behind a tree and looked back. There was a huge green dragon with small wings and a small cloud of smoke rising from its nostrils. It was circling the house as if studying it.
It dawned on Jenny that the beautiful house was about to be incinerated. She ran toward the dragon shouting, "No, don't hurt my father's house!" The dragon turned its head to look at her.
In the woods, Jenny's father cried, "Jenny," in a weak voice, as he had run too fast for a man of his age, and had not yet gotten his breath back.
Jenny stopped in fear, some distance from the dragon, and repeated, "Don't hurt my father's house."
The dragon said in a soft, rich voice, "Why not?"
Jenny replied, "This house is my father's pride and joy. It would kill him if you burned it."
"I think you are mistaken there. But it is a remarkable house. I have never seen anything like it. Still, I am a collector of jewels. How will I get at the jewels within if I do not burn down the house?"
"I'll get them for you."
Her father cried weakly, "Jenny," and coughed several times.
Jenny entered the house and collected her jewelry box. She exited the house and walked hesitantly to the dragon, holding the box before her.
The dragon ordered, "Open it." Jenny opened the box and the dragon bent down so that his right eye was nearly touching the jewelry. He examined each item, and occasionally turned his head to look at Jenny, and then looked back at the jewels. After a time, he raised his head and said, "These jewels are false." He said that as a mild accusation.
Jenny said defensively, "I made them out of wood. They are the only jewels in the house."
The dragon thought for a moment. Then he said, "Climb onto my back please." She did not make a move. The dragon added, "Or I might incinerate your father's pride and joy."
Jenny climbed onto the dragon's back, and he flew away with her. And Jenny's father whispered, "Jenny."
As they flew, Jenny shouted above the noise of the wind, "You're very fortunate. I wish I could fly like you."
"Yes, fortunate to have been born a dragon, I suppose."
"My name is Jenny. What's your name?"
The dragon said, "My name is..." followed by an incomprehensible sound.
Jenny tried to say this sound several times. She got the dragon to repeat it for her. Finally she said, "Do you mind if I call you Ebenezar?"
He said, "Ebenezar." He thought for a while. "Yes, that will be good."
In Ebenezar's cave, Jenny wandered among mountains of jewels, and hills of jewels, and small piles of jewels. They all seemed to have been sorted by color. After she had toured the cave and its side chambers, she said, "Thank you for showing me all of this, but did you have some other reason for bringing me here?"
"Hold out your right hand. Turn it over." Between two of his sharp claws he held a golden and diamond and ruby ring. He held it right next to Jenny's black wooden ring. "As you can see, the workmanship on your ring is vastly superior to the workmanship on this ring. I think that, given this raw material..." He gestured toward his piles of jewels, "You can make a few really fine pieces of jewelry."
Jenny was grinning, "Oh yes, please!" She looked at her tools in her jewelry box. She had a small saw, a knife, a flat stone, and some brushes and paints. She said, "But I don't know how to work with jewels and metal, and I have no tools."
"You should find what you need in here." He showed her a side chamber with a bench and tools, and a bookshelf with several books on it. "I have tried my claw at making some jewelry myself. But I am afraid that I do not have the necessary dexterity and artistic talent."
For many weeks, Jenny made jewelry. Ebenezar delivered letters between her and her father. She was in heaven here. And Ebenezar was delighted with the results. One day he brought her a lump of a black material. He asked, "Could you make a ring for me, one like your ring?" He pointed at her finger.
When she had finished the ring, Ebenezar said, "Amazing. You have created a ring that may be more valuable than all of the jewels in this room put together. But I think that I like your wooden one even better. Would you trade with me?" He held out the new black ring. Jenny traded rings. She slipped the new ring onto her finger. She had made it to fit her own finger. Now she felt like a queen. Ebenezar said, "Yes, now you are perhaps the richest woman in the world. I don't imagine you will be content to make jewelry for the richest dragon in the world."
Although it was now only a few short months since she had met Ebenezar, Jenny now seemed to have grown into a beautiful woman. She entered the shop of Bartram, maker of jewelry for the king. Entering after her were two of her father's servants who struggled to carry a large wooden box. Bartram, an old, bent, white-haired man, was curious about this obviously royal young lady and the wooden box. Jenny said, "I would like this..." A servant opened the box, showing a fortune in uncut gems. She continued, "... made into jewelry. I will pay you in gold. Here are my designs for the jewelry." A servant handed her a rolled up collection of papers. Jenny then handed them to Bartram.
Bartram placed the drawings on a table and studied them, occasionally muttering words like, "yes," "ingenious," "hm," and "incredible." Finally he said to her, "It will be a great honor to do this for you. This necklace however, is impossible, unfortunately." He pointed to one of the drawings.
Jenny said, "The necklace is possible. Imihet said that all you have to do is..."
"Excuse me! Imihet? Imihet's Gems and Jewelry?"
"Yes, he said that all you have to do..."
"Excuse me, I'm sorry. But that book was destroyed fifteen hundred years ago in the fire that destroyed the great library in Velandria."
"I have read the book, Sir. It is in the library of my friend Ebenezar."
"Ebenezar?"
"Yes, he is the owner of these gems." She pointed to the box.
Bartram wondered who was this Ebenezar who was richer than many kings. Perhaps he was a king on the other side of the world. Jenny did not clear up this mystery for him.
"Lady. Please keep your gold. I will make all of this jewelry if your friend will let me read Imihet's book."
They discussed details into the night. Bartram was delighted to talk with this delightful woman who knew so much about the making of jewelry. Although his skills were superior to hers, she had opened his eyes to the artistic side of his craft.
Several days later, Bartram received a package. The accompanying note said, "I know you will be careful with this book." The note was signed, "Jenny."
In the castle there were rumors that a royal lady from the other side of the world was staying at the carpenter's house. And somehow she could fetch a book from halfway around the world in just a few days. Several of the kings sons pursued Jenny, in hopes of marriage.
Jenny entered Bartram's shop to pick up the jewelry. Bartram seemed very nervous. He said, "There is some minor delay with some of the pieces."
Jenny examined the finished pieces, "Very good. Some of these are better than others." She studied a particularly fine piece. "But all of it is very good. You said that there is a delay?"
"Um, yes. I had several craftsmen work on this project." He glanced at her, to get her reaction to that statement.
"Of course. That is only natural."
He seemed slightly relieved. "Well, one of the craftsmen has not finished his work. He keeps stalling."
"A silversmith, it would seem, since the missing pieces were to be made of silver."
"Yes. He made the pieces using silver plating instead of real silver. I have demanded that he remake the pieces." Bartram gave her the name and address of Ganjo the silversmith.
"Ah, what can I do for you, m'Lady? You have come to the right place for only the finest silver jewelry in the kingdom. I am Ganjo, the owner of this establishment."
Jenny pointed to a row of rings in a display case. "Those silver rings seem to be silver plated, not pure silver."
Ganjo's expression transformed to one of panic. "How did you know that?"
"It was a guess. Do you know the penalty for theft?"
He was nervously looking to left and right as if he would flee. "But Lady, I am not a thief. I would not sell this trash. They are for display purposes only. I keep my real silver in the back room."
"May I see some of this real silver?"
"I am afraid that I am fresh out." He spread his hands as if to say, "Sorry."
"Mr. Bartram gave you enough silver to make fourteen pieces of jewelry. Thieves have their hands cut off, by the way."
Ganjo was losing it. He was saying, "I have debts to pay, I must support my former wife and my worthless son. My gambling companions have threatened to kill me..." He blathered on.
Jenny and Ebenezar did not charge Ganjo with theft. Other customers did. He lost both of his hands as punishment. He eventually went crazy and began a rather successful career as a court jester in a distant land.
Ebenezar made a deal with the kings and other noblemen of this and surrounding kingdoms. They would give him gems and jewelry, and he would give them smaller quantities of really fine jewelry. Everyone profited. And Ebenezar had to expand his network of caves.
Jenny married a minor prince from a nearby kingdom. They fell truly in love. They had numerous children. Many of her ancestors became kings and queens, in several countries.
Now that Ebenezar was no longer burning houses, the market for fancy wooden houses increased dramatically. Jenny's father became very rich in his own right.
One day Ebenezar was visiting Jenny and her family. He told her, "I hope that by spreading your beautiful jewelry around the world, I have made some small payment for the mistake which still haunts me."
"Mistake?"
"Yes. It was an adolescent prank that got out of hand. When I was young, I burnt down the library at Velandria. I was able to save only a few books."