Janty looked at Helga expectantly, awaiting instructions, pulsing with energy. Helga smiled. “Sit down for a moment, Janty,” she invited. “You will need every bit of energy you can muster soon. I need a few minutes to think and develop an idea I am having.”
Janty crouched down on her haunches, bouncing softly on the balls of her feet, gazing up through the LuteWoo. “You know why this is called the ‘Mountain That Moves But Stands Still?’ she asked Breister, who was sitting nearby, also looking up through the skylight.
“No,” Breister replied, “but I’d sure like to know. I thought it was because this is an old volcano and the ground used to tremble from that.”
“Yes...and no,” Janty replied. “The ancient stories tell of the times when the ground trembled here. But the references to the ‘Mountain That Moves But Stands Still’ only begin to turn up in the history of our people when the first WooSheep discovered the LuteWoo. They noticed how sitting down here, you see the stars, sun, and moon pass by overhead as if you are moving, but you are not. They were amazed how it felt like movement, but was not. That is where the name came from.”
Breister nodded. “Yes, I know that feeling,” he agreed. “Isn’t it interesting how being buried deep in solid rock can feel like you are moving. It’s a powerful illusion. The WooSheep see this place as a prison.”
“Well,” Helga interrupted. “I think I’ve figured out a way to free them from that prison! Here’s an idea.”
Helga quickly shared her idea, and after a few minutes’ consultation she was able to give a final summary of the plan.
“So,” she said quickly, “Janty is going door-to-door in the Bottoms. She is going to contact every WooSheep household she can and tell them to gather at the ‘Mountain That Moves But Stands Still.’ She’ll explain to them that she has proven that there are no Venom Bats and that the way is open to visit friends and family in the WooPeace. Not everyone will believe her. Many will think she is crazy or they will still be too scared to come.” Helga paused and smiled at her friends. “But, I believe that many will come. There are many creatures who have long thought this whole WooSheep situation was nuts.” She grinned at Janty. “I may have been the first to say it out loud, but I’m sure many WooSheep have thought that for a long time. Many will come. Tell them to be here tomorrow morning at sunrise,” Helga concluded.
JanWoo-Corriboo drew a deep breath. “And while I am inviting the WooSheep at the Bottoms to come, Burwell and Bwellina will be gathering every scrap of wood and driftwood they can find and piling it near the opening to the LuteWoo,” she continued. “When I get back, I will help move the wood and other supplies up and down the rope as quickly as possible.” She looked at Helga and Breister with a look of fond appreciation and hope.
“And we will do what Wood Cows do best!” Breister said, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Helga. “We will make the world’s sturdiest ladder! We’ll make a way for every creature that wants to come meet WooZan to do so!” Breister chuckled. “WooZan will see just how many creatures want to visit friends and relatives in the WooPeace.”
Helga smiled, and thought silently to herself, “We hope.”
Throughout the day, Janty scurried around the Bottoms inviting the WooSheep to visit the WooPeace, while Burwell and Bwellina carried load after load of tree branches and driftwood to the entrance to the LuteWoo.
As darkness descended, Janty returned. She was tired but encouraged. “I think many of the WooSheep will come,” she said excitedly. “Some were doubtful and a few even shut their doors in my face before I finished telling them what was happening. But I could see joy and hope in the faces of many. At least we’d better have that ladder ready!”
The quivering, natural energy that Helga had noticed in JanWoo-Corriboo from the first time she had seen her was put to good effect throughout the night. Despite running all over the Bottoms delivering invitations, Janty was called upon to make countless trips up and down the ladder delivering materials to Breister and Helga. She worked tirelessly, as did the rest of her determined friends. As they worked through the night, almost without consciousness, a simple song began to rise, first as a tune hummed by Janty, then turning to words sung over and over through the night:
A family is
a circle of friends.
Unbroken,
let the circle be.