Martin was arisen from his slumber at the crack of dawn by an excited Moomintroll. He had been living with the Moomins for a week now and had grown accustomed to the young, playful Moomin making an early start every morning to play with his friends outside and dragging him along with him. He had been given a private guestroom next to Moomintroll's bedroom and Moominmama had lent him some old-fashioned nightclothes to use at night (the Moomins wore no clothing except their nightshirts). Although not exactly what Martin was used to back in his own world, he managed.
At first, Martin, being seventeen, wasn't so sure about joining in what he figured were probably dull, children's games; however, realising how Moomintroll and his friends adored him and not wanting to be left out, he had decided to give it a shot. He found that life in Moominvalley was anything but dull, especially when in his new friends' company. He, Moomintroll, Sniff, Little My and Snorkmaiden would spend all day having fun outside, exploring around Moominvalley, as well as meeting new friends, like today.
"Wake up, Martin!" Moomintroll shook him again, jumping up and down with excitement, "Come on, Snufkin's finally here!"
Martin stood up and yawned, "All right, little buddy, hold your horses! I'm up." He glanced at his watch; it was hardly seven o'clock. "Aren't you up a little early...?"
"But Snufkin's back!" repeated Moomintroll, pointing out the window at what Martin noticed was a tent pitched on the edge of the stream close to Moominhouse. "Come on, we're going to do something really exciting together!"
Martin grabbed his clothes, lying clean and neatly folded at the foot of his bed, courtesy of Moominmama, and dressed. Then, he and Moomintroll hurried downstairs. They could hear Moominmama, always an early riser, busy in her kitchen as usual, making breakfast. Pausing outside Sniff's room, its owner snoring inside, they knocked. Sniff was never a morning person so it took a good couple of knocks before he opened the door, ears drooped and sleepy eyes staring annoyed at them, like someone who had woken up on the wrong side of his bed.
"Please go away you two!" he groaned, "Can't you see I'm sleeping?"
"Come on, Sniff, don't be so lazy!" said Moomintroll, "We're going to do something really exciting with Snufkin!" Sniff's ears perked up, thinking it might involve one of his two favourite subjects besides sleeping: food and treasure hunting. Quickly washing his face, he joined Martin and Moomintroll and they hurried out.
At the door, they bumped into a waiting Little My, who had a tendency of always making her presence known long before someone came looking for her. The dwarf Mymble booed loudly at them, jumping into their path at the door, catching them all by surprise.
"Going somewhere without me?"
"Oh...no, of course not, Little My," muttered Moomintroll sheepishly, while Martin tried hard not to laugh. In spite of her mischievousness, Little My could be really funny at times, especially when she made one of her dramatic entrances. With her hitching a ride on Martin's shoulders, they made their way towards Snufkin's camp.
Approaching the camp, Martin saw a rugged-looking youth of around his age sitting on a nearby bridge, playing a harmonica. A fishing rod trailing its tackle over the edge of the bridge stood by his side. Although most of the inhabitants of Moominvalley were trolls and other non-human creatures, Martin had soon discovered there were humans in this world too, like Snufkin. Despite his worn-out clothes and vagabond-like appearance, this Snufkin character looked like a real smart and level-minded person. Moomintroll approached and greeted him.
"It's so good to see you again, Snufkin," he said, hugging his best friend, "Welcome home!"
Snufkin, like Sniff, had been raised by the Moominfamily; he had been found as an abandoned orphan in a basket floating on the river, just like Moses. After growing up, he'd left home to see the world, travelling south every winter, although he always returned to Moominvalley in the spring to be with his friends.
"It's good to see you again too, Moomintroll," said Snufkin, putting aside his harmonica and returning the hug, and greeted Sniff and Little My too. Moomintroll then turned to introduce Martin.
"Snufkin, this is Martin. He's come to live with us," he said excitedly, "He saved Snorkmaiden's life." Snufkin looked impressed but refrained from complimenting Martin for his heroism like the others had done; instead, he merely shook hands with the newcomer.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Martin," he said curtly, "Welcome to Moominvalley."
With Snufkin also joining them on their morning stroll, the group of five set off to pick up the last member of their little group: Snorkmaiden. The Snorks' house was only a short walk from Moominhouse, situated atop a small hill on the edge of the Valley. Just like every house in Moominvalley it was roundish and stove-shaped, albeit not as high as Moominhouse.
The Snorkmaiden was already up and about, picking flowers in her garden. Inside, the Snork, who rarely had time to sit down to breakfast like everyone else, was barricaded in his study as usual, buried deep in his work. The Snorkmaiden saw them coming and hurried over to greet them.
"Good morning to you, Moomintroll, Martin," she said excitedly, hugging each of them in turn, "You too Sniff, Little My and Snufkin." They all happily returned her greeting. Snorkmaiden went inside to tell her brother she was going out, but only met with a dismissive 'a-ha' from Snork. The workaholic inventor was too preoccupied with his latest invention, a flying ship, or so Martin had heard, to chat.
They set off, making their way up the mountain. Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden walked together hand in hand, enjoying each other's company; Snufkin walked alone, playing his harmonica; Little My simply scurried along. Martin, who liked morning exercise, was enjoying the refreshing breeze as they made their way up along the narrow footpath. These long walks not only allowed him to get a better look at his new surroundings, but also gave him plenty of quiet time to think about his situation.
So far he'd gotten nowhere trying to figure out whether he was just dreaming or that he was in fact living in a new reality. For the past few days, he'd wake up every morning, expecting to find himself back in his student dorm or in a hospital in Helsinki, only to discover he was still in Moominhouse and a whole new world. Strangely enough, he was actually enjoying it very much; with the Moomins, he was getting to do many of the things he'd missed as a child. The happiness of life in Moominvalley couldn't possibly be found in his dodgy neighbourhood in London's East End, in his broken home with his depressed, widowed mother. If this was all part of Ulrich's theory of finding happiness from within your own subconscious, like by being thrown into a new reality by a lightning strike, he'd sure been right. Secretly, he wondered if he would ever see his friend again to tell him all about it...
The only one not enjoying the stroll was Sniff; tired and missing his breakfast, he kept grumbling about why they always wanted to do something 'exciting', or more precisely, as far as he was concerned, dull and boring walking. At last, they reached the top of the mountain.
From up here they had an excellent view. Down below they could see the whole of Moominvalley, with Moominhouse clearly visible in the centre. Smoke was coming from the chimney and Martin was sure Moominmama would have something good for them when they got back. Beyond the Valley, the endless sea stretched out to the horizon.
"What a gorgeous view!" exclaimed Moomintroll, "You can see everything from up here!" Martin was staring curiously at another, higher mountain peak on the other side of the valley; that one was completely obscured by dark storm clouds, the sides of the mountain steep as walls all around. The sight was quite foreboding, yet intriguing all the same.
"What's that place?"
"It's called the Lonely Mountain," explained Moomintroll, "Nobody knows what's up there – the mountain is completely impassable. Papa said he tried climbing up there many times when he was young and never succeeded. Oh, what an adventure that would be, no?"
"Not for me, I don't like heights," muttered Sniff with a shudder, "And they say that place is haunted by that monster, the Groke..." Martin might have laughed at Sniff's superstitions if he weren't suddenly feeling so nostalgic at the thought of what that mountain might look like from a bird's eye view. How he missed the good old days of flying gliders with his father. As if on cue, Snorkmaiden spoke up.
"Maybe my brother's flying ship can reach the top of that mountain," she said, "Snork has always dreamed about building one..." Those words suddenly had the wheels in Martin's head turning with an interesting realisation.
"Your brother is actually building an aeroplane?" he asked her. The Moomins all stared at him blankly.
"What's an...aero-plane, did you call it?" asked Snufkin curiously. Martin explained to them about the aeroplanes that dominated the skies back in his own world and how they worked. He also told them how he used to fly gliders with his father before he died, where he'd enjoy the wonderful experience of drifting in the wind high above the earth. The Moomins were stunned.
"You've actually flown a real flying ship?" asked Moomintroll in amazement, "Could you built one then?"
"Don't be dumb, of course he can't!" retorted Little My, who thought the idea of making a flying ship was completely preposterous. Martin however, was suddenly struck by a wild idea at his friend's question. He was an engineering student after all and while he obviously hadn't designed a full-scale aircraft before, he had apprenticed for years in his mother's business, building model planes. Maybe he could adapt that knowledge for building a real, full-sized aircraft, perhaps a glider, like his father's?
Despite his newfound happiness, Martin was secretly still having trouble adapting to his new life in Moominvalley. Over here, realities away from the world he knew, away from his university and away from his family and friends, he served no real purpose; yes, he had been welcomed by the Moomins and had made some wonderful new friends in them, but he wanted more than just being a strange visitor. Well, what better way than to use his otherwise wasted education and skills to make a working aircraft, the first of its kind in this world? The thought sure had its merits...
His thinking was cut short however when a bored sick Little My suddenly snuck up from behind and tickled Snorkmaiden in the ribs and ran off, saying she wanted to play tag. The others quickly joined in and they were soon having a wonderful time chasing each other all over the mountain. But their game was suddenly interrupted when some unexpected trouble struck.
Martin was chasing Snorkmaiden, easily catching up with her because of his longer legs, and playfully pinning her to the ground. Keeping her pinned, she started tickling the living daylights out of her. Snorkmaiden squealed with laughter.
"Martin, stop! Not fair!" she screeched, "Please, stop it!"
"Not before you admit surrender," said Martin cheekily, grabbing her by the ankle and tickling her foot, her worst spot. Overwhelmed with ticklish laughter, Snorkmaiden could take no more.
"I surrender! I surrender!" she screeched, "Just stop tickling me!"
Finally, Martin relented and helped her to her feet. Snorkmaiden thanked him, out of breath from laughing too hard, but giggling all the same. It wasn't in her nature to hold a grudge easily, even when her friends would tease her at times.
Suddenly, they saw Little My running towards them. Martin, thinking they might be teaming up on him, was about to duck and run, when he suddenly realised Little My wasn't playing around – in fact she looked close to panicking, her usual gutsy attitude completely gone. Something was up.
"What's the matter with you?"
"It's Moomintroll!" she panted, out of breath, "He's fallen into an ant-lion hole and can't get out! Come on!"
They followed Little My over to another spot on the mountain. There, Martin saw a large, cone-shaped crater in the ground with smooth, near-vertical sides, making it a perfect pitfall. Clinging desperately to the side partway down, fighting tooth and nail not to slide all the way to the bottom, was Moomintroll. It seemed he hadn't been looking where he was going until it was too late. And poking its ugly head out from the earth at the bottom, hissing menacingly, was the ant-lion.
Even Martin couldn't help but suppress a shudder at the sight of that hideous creature, large as a dog, its mean little red eyes fixed hungrily on Moomintroll, as if sizing out its soon-to-be prey. Moomintroll, unable to climb out and unable to keep out of reach of the hungry ant-lion for much longer, was beginning to panic.
"Help me! I can't hold on!"
The Snorkmaiden gasped, slapping her hands over her mouth in terror at the sight of her friend trapped down there. Desperately, she tried reaching out to him, "Come on, Moomintroll, give me your hand! Just a bit farther..." But Moomintroll was too far out of her reach. None of them could reach him.
"I...I can't reach," he cried, "Help, Snorkmaiden, please!"
Noticing the ant-lion, tired of waiting, was about to make a grab for Moomintroll, Martin sprang into action. Taking off his long English overcoat he'd brought with him from the other reality, he wrung it up, fashioning a makeshift rope. Making sure it was sturdy enough, he passed one end to Snufkin – the strongest in the group, besides Martin. They all grabbed hold, watching in awe as Martin prepared to jump, holding onto the other end.
"Hang in there, little buddy. I'm coming for you!"
Lowering himself down the side of the pit as far as the length of his coat would allow him, he reached out to Moomintroll. But their hands were still a good couple of inches out of reach. But then, Moomintroll, fully aware that if he missed he'd end up right on top of that ant-lion, yet determined to save himself, worked up the courage and gave a desperate leap. Martin barely managed to grab his hand; but, by that time, the ant-lion was upon them.
Moomintroll yelled in pain as the ant-lion latched itself onto the end of his tail with its teeth, pulling him back down. Up top, a frantic Snufkin, Sniff and Little My tightened their grip on the rope, pulling as hard as they could. Soon, a tug-of-war was taking place; Martin and his friends pulling on one side, trying to save their friend, and the ant-lion trying to pull a struggling Moomintroll back down into his hole and eat him for breakfast.
"Let me go, you ugly head-in-the-mud, you...!"
The young Moomin frantically continued kicking and yelling rude names at the ant-lion, but it stubbornly refused to let go; but then Martin managed to get a clear shot and slammed his foot hard into the ant-lion's face. Contrast to Moomintroll, Martin was pretty strong, a part-time boxer, who'd train three times a week with Ulrich. Although not as big or as heavy as most boxers, he still had enough muscle power to send the ant-lion tumbling back down its hole with a smashed face, leaving Moomintroll free.
For a moment it seemed the worst was over, but then Sniff almost ruined everything by kneeling too far over the edge, losing his footing and went plummeting down the hole. Barely managing to cling onto the rope, now strained to breaking point from the added weight, he began thrashing madly about in a panic, screaming.
"Help! Don't let me fall! I don't want to die! Help...!"
"Stop squirming about, you idiot!" shouted Martin, "You'll take us all down!" But Sniff, thinking he was about to die, wasn't listening. With Snufkin and Snorkmaiden stuck and quickly tiring up top, unable to pull them all up, and with the ant-lion recovering and about to make another run below them, things weren't looking good at all. Martin thought desperately for a solution.
"All right, Moomintroll, you have to climb over me," he said, "Come on, buddy, you can do it!" Moomintroll scampered up over his shoulders and Snorkmaiden was able to pull him out. Martin followed, albeit with much greater difficulty because of his greater weight, and, working together, they finally pulled the semi-hysteric Sniff to safety too. At the bottom of the pit, the ant-lion, furious at having lost its meal, disappeared into the ground with a snarl. They all collapsed to the ground, exhausted and out of breath.
"Well, strike me pink!" Moomintroll exclaimed, staring back down the hole, "For a moment I thought I was a goner!" Beside him, Snorkmaiden lovingly embraced him, overjoyed of his rescue.
"Oh, Moomintroll, thank the Booble you're safe!" She kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush, "Are you hurt?"
"No, I don't think so, Snorkmaiden," muttered Moomintroll shakily, nursing his tail where the ant-lion had bit him, "Oh, look at my tail...!" The Snorkmaiden gasped.
"Oh, Moomintroll, look what that wretched creature did to you!"
It wasn't a pretty sight; the tail was badly gnawed, the usually neat brush on the end completely pulled out, leaving just hairless, raw skin. Although it didn't seem like much of an injury, for a Moomin to lose his brushy tail-tip was a real humiliating situation, much like a girl losing her hair. Moomintroll was very upset.
"Oh my, you're going to be quite a sight going outside with your tail looking like that," squeaked Little My, clearly not helping things by trying to be funny, "Maybe you should disguise it by tying on a bunch of flowers!" Sniff, despite feeling sorry for his friend, had to fight back a snort at the thought of it. Martin thought Little My's sense of humour was real bad taste. Moomintroll looked like he was about to cry.
"It's all right, we'll take you back to Moominhouse," said Snufkin encouragingly to his friend, "Moominmama will have something for it." It took a long time to persuade Moomintroll to come back with them. They made their way back down the mountain in much lower spirits than before.
Moominmama looked at her son's ruined tail in dismay, "Oh, my poor Moomintroll," she said, trying to comfort him. The others were gathered around Moomintroll, fretting about their friend's health. Would he be all right? Maybe Moominmama couldn't heal his injured tail?
"Is his tail going to...fall off or something?" asked Sniff, fearing the worst. Moomintroll and the others all gasped in alarm. But Moominmama calmed them.
"It's going to be all right, dear," she said to her son, "I'll brew one of Grandma Moomin's remedy potions and it'll grow back in no time. You'll see." This seemed to cheer Moomintroll up somewhat; even more so when the Snorkmaiden added, "Don't worry; I still love you, with or without your tail." The two of them lovingly embraced. Moomintroll then shifted his gaze over to Martin, muttering shyly.
"Thank you for saving me, Martin."
In the midst of all this excitement, they had all completely forgotten about Martin; but now that they knew Moomintroll was going to be all right, everyone's attention shifted over to the hero of the day, whose efforts had prevented this mishap from turning into a serious accident. Martin tenderly stroked the young Moomin's head.
"You're welcome, little buddy."
"I've never seen anything so brave in my entire life," said the Snorkmaiden with awe, still swooning at the memory of Martin jumping into the ant-lion's pit without fear to help Moomintroll. First he'd saved her from drowning; and now he'd pulled her beloved Moomintroll out of the jaws of that ant-lion. She couldn't thank him enough – none of them could.
"We all helped," said Sniff, trying to get some of the credit. Little My rolled her eyes, "You? You were hanging over the edge, screaming for your life, you big wimp!" Sniff gave her a reproachful look for calling him a big wimp, although deep down he felt he probably deserved it. It was he who had accidentally chased Moomintroll into the ant-lion's hole in the first place and then almost ruined everything by falling in himself while trying to help. Moominmama pulled Martin into a tight hug.
"Thank you so much for helping our son today," she said, "My husband and I will never forget it."
"Yes, that was really brave of you, Martin," added Moominpapa, "If you hadn't been up there today, Moomintroll could have been seriously hurt. You really know how to help somebody in danger, son." Martin felt himself grow real uneasy as they all applauded him.
"It was nothing much really..."
Having had enough adventure for one day, they decided to take the rest of the day off. They all made themselves comfortable in the lounge at Moominhouse, keeping Moomintroll company, while Moominmama brewed up a concoction of herbs for his tail over in the kitchen. Martin had brought down his laptop and was showing his amazed friends its precious contents.
"...So, you see, that's how we computer geeks do our work," he said, showing them a digital model of a simple aircraft on an aeronautical engineer's program for simulating new aircraft designs. The Moomins, who had never seen anything remotely like this before, were absolutely gobsmacked.
"So this...thing tells you whether your design will work before you start building it?" asked Moomintroll, looking utterly intrigued at the endless possibilities Martin's gadget offered; the opportunity of building a working flying ship, amongst other things, suddenly seemed limitless.
"My brother has to see this," said the Snorkmaiden excitedly, "With this, he can finally make his flying ship! Will you help him, Martin?" The Snork had been working on his flying ship for years but, despite his best efforts, so far he'd only come up with one failed test model after another. Maybe Martin could change that now.
On his part, although uncertain as to whether he could accomplish such a big project on his limited know-how, Martin still liked challenges and building a working, full-scale aircraft of his own, like the Wright brothers had done before him, seemed like the ultimate feat yet. It would certainly give him a whole new purpose in this world he was stuck in, perhaps for the rest of his life. So what was stopping him from seizing the opportunity?
"All right then, let's do it!" The Moomins all cheered.
At that moment, Moominmama came in, bringing a mug of some hot, steaming broth and a bowl of rubbing ointment, both made from the same remedial potion she'd looked up in her mother's old recipes. Martin caught a whiff of that stuff, which smelled awfully like a mixture of rancid manure and rotten eggs, making him glad he wasn't the one about to drink it. She passed the mug to her son.
"Drink this down, Moomintroll," she said, "All of it, now that it's still hot." Moomintroll complied, but winced at the off-putting taste of his mother's remedial concoction.
"Yuck, it tastes like ink!" Martin chuckled in amusement; Moomintroll pulled a face at him.
Moominmama then applied the ointment to her son's tail and bandaged it up. The bite wound was still pretty painful and Moomintroll winced under his mother's touch, but didn't complain; despite his young age, he was a strong boy. At last, it was set; now, all they could do was to wait and see whether the brush would grow back.
"You never know, Moomintroll; it might grow back in gold," Sniff teased him. Martin was willing to bet his laptop that Sniff would give anything to be in Moomintroll's place if his tail brush actually did grow back as solid gold, as unlikely a prospect as it was. However, currently, he had his own dream to think about.
Snorkmaiden was taking him to see her brother tomorrow, to see if he would agree to enlist his help in building his flying ship. Martin had no idea what kind of scientific principles the Snork used, or whether his own sophisticated designs would even be applicable in this place. In his way of thinking, there was a real fine line between fantasy and reality, something one couldn't possibly take for granted in this strange world. Still, it would be one exciting adventure for him and his friends and of his own making nonetheless – something that would also give him a real sense of purpose here. He simply couldn't pass on such a golden opportunity.
Author's note: The events depicted in this chapter are a crossover of stories taken from both the 1990 and 1977 Moomin TV series. Coming up next, the flying ship starts construction. Enjoy and please review!