The Great Mushroom Hunt

The Tales of Minz series is narrated and edited by fictional characters. This short story is set in their whimsical world. Learn more about the series here.

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In stories, adventures are often grand and fantastical. Protagonists save the world from certain doom or discover a lost treasure or fabled city of gold. But perhaps that’s a misrepresentation of what  an adventure can be. An adventure can be anything—even something simple—so long as it is regarded as such by the person going on that adventure… Or reading about it. This is one such story, Dear Reader. Enjoy.

—Barnabas E. Wooldridge

Editor in Chief of the Tales of Minz

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In the middle of the once-frozen Forest of Ildref was a beautiful glade. Butterflies fluttered by, birds called to one another and flitted to and fro, bees buzzed lazily from flower to flower, and a cool breeze pleasantly danced its way through the trees. (Today, unlike other days, it was a whimsical swaying to an unheard beat, if you were curious.) A stone-built well sat near the edge of the tree line.

In the middle of the forest glade sat a cottage—an herbalist’s cottage. It was everything you might imagine an herbalist’s cottage to look like. Quaint in stature, it looked as though it had been sitting in the forest glade for a long, long time. Large, rounded stones made up the cottage’s walls, filled in with some sort of mortar. Plenty of glass window-panes were set within its walls, giving the cottage plenty of natural light, and it was roofed with grass and wildflowers.

A flourishing garden was off to the left of the herbalist’s cottage, and small apiary huts crouched down next to its right. Chickens pecked at feed scattered in the front yard, and a solitary goat with a bell around its neck kept a somewhat vigilant eye out for any approaching visitors. A gravel-stone path winding its way through the forest led right to the herbalist’s front door. 

The quaint cottage in the forest glade belonged to a woman known as Gera the herbalist. But this short story isn’t about Gera, nor does it take place within her cottage. All of that description was simply to set the scene.

Rather, this tale focuses on Gera’s seven-year-old granddaughter, Julia, who should have been in the cottage but was not. No, she was far from that beautiful forest glade—far from home. If you were to look carefully amongst the trees, you’d see her: a young girl, creeping barefoot through the forest. She wore a simple, homespun dress and a look of incredible concentration. Her dark brown hair was tied back in a braid.

Julia was hunting for mushrooms.

Like all mushroom hunters who also happened to be seven years old, Julia knew that the best mushrooms were found deep in forests where other, less motivated mushroom hunters wouldn’t go. And so, because she was deeply motivated, Julia went far into the heart of the Forest of Ildref, farther than she had ever gone before in the once-frozen forest. 

Julia didn’t even like mushrooms. They tasted too chewy when they were cooked, and Julia didn’t even want to think about what they’d taste like raw. So why was she hunting for mushrooms in the early morning then? A fair question. 

Julia was looking for a specific kind of mushroom that her grandma needed for poultices and remedies. She was almost out of her reserve stores, and she’d soon need to search for the elusive mushroom once more. Julia couldn’t help her grandma make poultices and remedies—not yet, not until she was at least eight—but she still wanted to be helpful. She could hunt for mushrooms, and so, she did. Which brings us to our present tale.

As the young girl crept through the forest (because she didn’t want to frighten the mushrooms or scare them off), she kept a close eye on her surroundings. Her grandma taught her that people often ignored what was right in front of them because they were so focused on other things. Julia didn’t want to miss the mushrooms because she wasn’t expecting to see them hiding in plain sight.

Minutes turned to hours, and the morning sun climbed higher in the sky overhead. (Where else would it climb?) Despite her long hours spent searching with nothing to show for it, Julia didn’t lose hope. She kept going. She kept walking forward and refused to give in. Her grandma taught her that too. 

Since Julia was watching carefully, she saw a single mushroom cap peeking out from amidst the detritus and fallen leaves in the forest. It looked exactly like the one from her grandma’s herbology book. Her face broke out in a huge grin. Finally. She rushed over and reached down to pluck the mushroom from the earthen fold.

Imagine her surprise when a tiny green hand reached out from beneath the mushroom cap and slapped her hand away. Seconds later, a little green man wearing an odd assortment of clothes made from fallen leaves and other elements of the natural world burst out of the ground. The man had a large, bristly beard of sand-gold hairs and dark tattoos up and down his bare arms.

“Hey!” the tiny, green man yelled. “Keep your hands to yourself, girlie. Don’t touch my hat!”

Julia was too stunned at the sudden sight to do much more than stare. She had never seen a tiny green man—or woman—in the Forest of Ildref before. And she was certain that she’d remember if her grandma had mentioned them to her before. Then, she remembered her manners, because Grandma Gera had taught her those as well. 

“I’m sorry,” Julia apologized to the tiny green man. “I didn’t know it was your hat. I thought it was a mushroom.”

The tiny green man scowled at her, his arms crossed on his bare chest. “It is a mushroom, but it’s also my hat! Don’t you know not to take what isn’t yours?” 

“I’m sorry,” Julia said again, even more sincerely than she had before. “I know that taking things that aren’t mine is wrong. I didn’t know the mushroom hat was yours. Will you forgive me?”

The scowl remained upon the tiny green man’s face. But as the seconds passed by after Julia’s question, the scowl softened. The tiny green man kicked a pebble on the ground. “Yeah, all right,” he said. “I forgive you, girlie. Just don’t try to steal my hat again. I’m quite proud of it, you know.”

“I won’t try to steal it again,” Julia promised. “And you should be proud. It’s a beautiful mushroom hat—the best one I’ve ever seen.” (Never mind the fact that it was the only one she had ever seen.) 

The tiny green man’s chest puffed up ever so slightly at Julia’s kind words. “The best you’ve ever seen, eh?” he muttered under his breath. He slapped his knee and then laughed with glee. “Well how about that!” He looked up at Julia. “I’m Kell of the Narfi in the Forest of Ildref. And you are?”

“I’m Julia. What does Narfi mean?” 

Kell looked shocked. He thumped his chest. “Why, it’s what I am, of course! Haven’t you ever heard of the Narfi? We have a rich history, you can find our clans scattered all throughout the world!”

“I’m sorry, I haven’t heard of your people before, but there’s a lot I don’t know,” Julia said honestly. “I’m seven. Maybe I’d have heard of you if I was eight.”

Kell nodded seriously. “More years bring more wisdom. This is known by our people too. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. You from town?”

Julia shook her head. “No, I live with my grandma in a cottage here in the forest.”

The tiny green man—Kell—nearly fell backward, awestruck. “You’re the witch of the woods’ granddaughter?” 

Julia was taken aback by Kell’s eagerness. “Um… yes? I mean, she prefers herbalist, but yes, I think she’s a witch too?”

Without hesitating, Kell pulled a small shell from his pocket and attempted to blow it with some mixed success. It sounded like someone with seasonal allergies trying to breathe on a high pollen-count day in Coland, but its odd tones still reverberated throughout the Forest of Ildref.

Before Julia could react, hundreds of tiny, green people burst out from the foliage and detritus in the once-frozen forest. Some wore mushroom hats like Kell. Some wore suits fashioned from leaves and wore hats of woven grass. Others wore acorn shells that appeared to be fashioned into breastplates, and they carried sharpened twigs and tree needles. Some were women, others were men, and Julia even saw tiny, green children amongst the adults.

And they were all staring at Julia.

Kell hopped up on a nearby rock sticking out of the ground and raised the shell he had blown. “Behold, I, Kell of the Narfi in the Forest of Ildref, have summoned the clans,” he shouted. “And the clans have answered! The granddaughter of the witch of the woods stands before us!!”

Hushed whispers scattered through the gathered crowd like wildfire. And they all continued to stare at Julia. Some even pointed at her. 

“Um… hello,” Julia said nervously, because she remembered her manners, even if they clearly didn’t. 

Silence. And then—

“Hello! Hello! Hello!” A chorus of greetings filled the forest with cacophonous noise. Cheers followed, and all around the Narfi beamed, whistled, waved, hooted, and hollered excitedly. Several Narfi even quickly wove together a crown of flowers, climbed the tree that Julia was standing under, and placed the flowers on her head. 

Understandably, Julia felt rather overwhelmed. She leaned over and whispered to Kell, “Um… Kell? Why is everyone so excited and being so nice to me?”

Kell laughed. “It’s because you’re the granddaughter of Gera Greenthumb, girlie! The Narfi people living in this forest owe her a debt we can never repay, but we’ve never been able to thank her—so we’re thanking you instead!”

“Oh.” Julia looked around at the Narfi, still uncomfortable at being the center of their attention. She usually only interacted with her grandma and Blue Spruce (a magically awakened, sentient tree), so to have several hundred little green people all cheering for her was a bit much. “Um… well, my grandma taught me not to take credit for something I didn’t do, so I don’t feel right saying you’re welcome, but I’ll tell my grandma that you’re thankful for… um, what exactly are you thanking her for?”

Kell stepped forward and slapped his chest a couple of times. “The Narfi have lived in the Forest of Ildref for generations upon generations. Our people remember the stories of old, passed down by our ancestors. We still remember the tales of frozen days and nights, of fear and starvation, of hypothermia and turning blue. Blue! Can you imagine Narfi turning blue? Why, that’d look ridiculous!”

All around the clearing, the Narfi nodded, and Julia felt obligated to nod as well. Kell continued, unperturbed. 

“That all changed when Gera Greenthumb came to live in these woods, when she came and called them her home. She brought warmth and sunlight with her, green vegetation and life! She saved our people from certain death and we are eternally grateful. We shall serve the witch of the woods and her kin to our dying day! No matter what is asked of us, we shall see it done!”

Kell inclined his head toward Julia, made a fist with his hand, and thumped his chest once. All throughout the clearing, the Narfi echoed his motion as one, and the sound was like a dull drumbeat. A nearby crow took flight from its roost, surprised and a little disturbed by the unexpected noise.

Again, Julia didn’t know what to say to the Narfi. She thought perhaps that she would know for sure what to say if she were older, but she wasn’t. She was seven. Then, she thought that maybe she didn’t need to know exactly what to say for sure. Maybe she should just say what she wanted to say. The Narfi said they wanted to help her. Maybe she should let them. 

Clearing her throat, she looked around the clearing, trying to meet each of the Narfi’s eyes. (That took a long time, so an awkward silence filled the forest in the meantime.) Once she was done, she cleared her throat again and spoke in a loud voice that she wasn’t allowed to use indoors. 

“My name is Julia, and Gera is my grandma. I’m not sure my grandma would want you to serve her, she’s not big on that sort of thing, but if you want to help, would you help me find a mushroom? It looks like that—” she pointed to Kell’s hat and then added hurriedly as she saw several Narfi looking like they were going to tackle Kell— “but not that one, that’s Kell’s and it’s his hat. I need to find that kind of mushroom for my grandma.”

“We’ll send our best hunters out into the forest. You stay here and we’ll bring one back for you, girlie!” Kell said eagerly. 

Julia frowned and bit her lip. That sounded easy. Too easy even. “Um, thank you, but I don’t want to stay here. I want to go with. My grandma says that you need to do some things by yourself, even if you need help along the way. Finding this mushroom seems like one of those things.”

Silence. Unblinking, staring eyes. For a moment, Julia feared that Kell and the rest of the Narfi didn’t understand. Then—

“The granddaughter of the witch of the woods has spoken! To arms, brothers, to arms, sisters! The Great Mushroom Hunt begins!!!” Kell bellowed and then tried to blow his shell again. This time was a resounding success. It sounded like a little horn, echoing throughout the trees of the forest. Many of the Narfi picked up their own shells and blew on them as well, adding to the cacophony of sound. 

And so, the Great Mushroom Hunt began. 

Oh, what a sight it was, Dear Reader! 

Julia, the granddaughter of the witch of the woods, marched determinedly, leading a procession of little green men and women through the trees, hunting mushrooms. Kell of the Narfi stood on Julia’s shoulder, giving her directions and helping her navigate the deep parts of the Forest of Ildref. 

The sun began to sink lower in the sky, but the small band of determined mushroom hunters pressed on. They hopped over small brooks and climbed over tall hills. They clambered over fallen trees and went around large rocks. Deeper, deeper, still they traveled. Julia didn’t consider for a moment that her grandma might be wondering where she was. After all, she had left a note when she left that morning to set her grandma’s mind at ease. (It read: Grandma. Good morning. I’m going on a mushroom hunt. Be back when I find one. Love, Julia.) 

The mushroom hunters kept their eyes peeled for their quarry, until, at long, long last, Julia pointed excitedly. “There!” she exclaimed, and then the Narfi saw it as well. A field of mushrooms that all looked exactly like Kell’s hat.

A great cheer went up, and the mushroom hunters soon became the mushroom gatherers. The Narfi helped Julia pick as many of the mushrooms as she could carry (her dress thankfully had pockets), and then they all began heading back home. Most of the Narfi said their goodbyes to Julia when they made it back to the clearing where she met them, but Kell accompanied her to the edge of the forest glade where her grandma’s cottage was hunkered down.

Julia looked at it for a moment, marveling how it somehow looked different, even though she had seen it earlier that morning. Then she turned back to Kell and saw that he had taken off his hat and now held it in his hands. 

“Well, girlie, I guess this is where we part ways,” he said. “If you ever need anything, just give a holler. The Narfi will always be around to listen.”

“Thank you, Kell,” Julia said seriously. “And if you ever need anything, I’m happy to help. I’m not sure how much help I’ll be until I’m older, but I’ll try my best.”

Kell smiled. “Something tells me that will be more than enough, girlie,” he said, and held out his tiny green hand. “It was nice meeting you, Julia. Even if you did try to steal my hat.”

Julia took his hand gingerly, not wanting to crush it accidentally. “It was nice meeting you too, Kell. Next time I see a mushroom in the forest and go to pick it, I’ll ask if anyone is wearing it first.”

Kell laughed and then put his mushroom hat back on his head. With a jaunty wave, he disappeared amongst the leaves and detritus of the forest. In the blink of an eye, he was gone. But as she listened intently, Julia thought she could hear the faint sound of a shell being blown in triumph with moderate success. 

The sun was setting and Julia could just make out her grandma and Blue Spruce sitting on the back porch, watching for her and waiting. She lifted a hand and waved as she walked toward them, a bounce in her step. After a moment, her grandma returned the gesture, as if she had known all along where her granddaughter was and hadn’t been in the least concerned with her safety in the Forest of Ildref. (She had known, of course, and she hadn’t been concerned because the forest was hers.)

With her pockets full of mushrooms and an exciting story to share, Julia realized with a small smile that mushrooms weren’t the only things she found that day. She also found some friends. And that made that day an incredible, memorable adventure indeed. 

Who knew what tomorrow would bring? 

Who knew indeed…