Once upon a time in a far far away (ice)land, there were three little elves – one named Klaviora wearing yellowish flip flops, one named Kontania wearing green rubber boots and one named Kwermina wearing black neoprene socks. Their beloved puffin, Perla, had fallen ill. The only cure for her illness were three cups of the healing waters of ice and fire which, according to ancient legends, could be found somewhere through a magic golden ring, hidden hot springs and mesmerizing lagoons which lay beyond the seven volcanoes, the seven waterfalls and the seven gravel roads. Determined, the three little elves packed their little belongings into their little vehicle named Rentis and set out for their big adventure.
First, they were looking for the golden ring and on their way they came across a sheep.
They bid the sheep Góðan daginn and asked “Have you seen the golden ring?“
”I only know about a Golden Circle. Come with me and I will lead the way. But beware of the invisible people of the land between fire and ice.“
The brave elves remained unimpressed by this warning, having overcome much greater dangers before on adventurous journeys. They cheerfully steered Rentis according to the guidance of their shepherd until the ground opened up before them and they realized that the invisible people were not so invisible after all.
Confronted with flashlight storms, gruesome trekking garments and dangerously pointed umbrellas of the now visibles, their immediate impulse was fleeing the unwelcome company. Just in that moment Strokkur erupted underneath them and spat them far into the air.
Landing in yet another group of visibles the curse of the mighty and magnificent Gullfoss drew them nearer and deeper into the crowd. The three elves lost themselves in the spray of water, looking down into the gaping gorge, barely able to move in their awe. Luckily the sheep came to their rescue just in time before they would have been drawn into Gullfoss’ ban eternally.
Their savior spoke: “Move on quickly if you want to explore the holy treasures of this ancient land. However, the healing water will only reveal itself once you’ve found three pieces of wisdom. Find the first in the cold, the second in the green, and the third in the heat. I can no longer accompany you. But do not despair, for the Ein¬breið brú will show you the way.”
The little elves set out, following the Ein¬breið brú. After some time they reached a crossroad. Exactly in that moment, Kontania burped boldly which Klaviora misinterpreted as guidance. She decisively marched left. The other two followed, not noticing the mistake.
A few cheerful hours later, they arrived at an enormous lake, believing to have found the first piece of wisdom in the cold waters of Laugarvatn. They filled their cups with the water, only to realize the water wasn‘t cold enough and they had been mislead. Disappointed, worried and tired they set up camp and soon fell asleep.
Kwermina dreamt of the little puffin and happy times with her. This triggered her super snore which woke the other two elves with a start. Sitting straight in their beds, they simultaneously cried “Jökulsárlón”. They quickly prepared breakfast, and discussed their route to the cold, cold, cold Jökulsárlón.
Roaring Rentis took them through sheer endless plains covered in 50 shades of green, confronted them with obstacles like spellbound rivers, and finally – when the elves’ feet were heavy – a friendly feather-cloud pointed them in the direction of their frozen goal.
And there it lay before them – the first treasure – the cold: Jökulsárlón.
They saved their share of the magic water and moved just far enough from the cold to find a cosy place to fall asleep in the setting sun.
In the glittering morning sun, they took a walk in order to contemplate their next steps.
Kontania and Kwermina were at a loss where to turn but they should have trusted Klaviora’s superpowers. Her hyper hiccups had already sparked her brain activity, and along with one final huuuuge hiccup, she spotted the next Ein¬breið brú which led them to the green wisdom.
To their dismay, the wisdom was guarded by an unusually tall gruesome troll. The troll picked up Rentis with one giant hand, shook it horribly and threw it into a river. The elves were trembling with fear and holding onto their dear lives. How big was their surprise when they saw an amazing angel descending from a zepplin-cloud.
The angel created a rainbow as a bridge to a faraway land and promised the troll hidden treasures at the end of the colourful pathway and so she let go off Rentis and the three elves and with wide steps set out towards the rainbow.
The elves and the angel watched her disappear behind the seven glaciers and couldn’t believe their luck.
Expressing their gratitude, the elves wanted to share their fish with the angel. But while picking up their belongings from the river the angel left without farewell.
With the troll gone and their belongings neatly packed into Rentis, Kwermina heard a glittering sound as of a hundred tiny silver bells. She spun around to where the troll had stood just moments earlier and caught a glimpse of the most beautiful sight she had ever seen: some precious droplets of water, softly carried by a green bed of enchanted lupines. She had found the green piece of wisdom.
Merrily, the three little elves celebrated their victory and lost track of time. They couldn’t tell Icelandic summer dusk from dawn, so they accidentally journeyed onward at midnight. The reliable Rentis took them far and low across the iced land.
With a huff and a puff Rentis suddenly came to a halt. She puffed once more and spoke with a smoky but gentle voice: “We have reached the seven gravel roads and I cannot take you any further. I’m not designed to travel such roads. But you have now to pass the seven gravel roads along the seven steaming and bubbling volcanoes. Beware, the heat will be unbearable. However, do not despair. The smoke of this leaf will protect you so that the heat cannot harm you. Farewell now, I will wait for you here.”
The three elves put on their hiking garments and said goodbye to Rentis. One stomped off with her green rubber boots, the other flapped away with her yellowish flip flops and the last one shuffled along with her black neoprene socks.
The gravel crunched underneath their feet in the darkness and not another sound could be heard. For a while they marched uphill in silence when all of a sudden a timid burp joined the crunching.
crunch – burp – crunch – burp – crunch crunch – BUUUUUURRRP
Something was going on! And yes, only seconds later a tired hiccup followed suit chased even by an inevitable snore. crunch – burp – hiccup – snore – crunch – burp – hiccup – snore – crunch – bubble…? Kwermina stopped in her tracks: “Did you hear that? That bubbling noise?”
The three elves scrambled behind the surrounding rocks, looking for the source of the bubbling noise and soon found a stinky bubbling volcano. From there another soft pop resounded in the air. They followed the sound of the popping bubbles and discovered six more volcanoes. Just when they arrived at the six volcanoes they heard a troubling rumble underneath the ground: with fear they watched a bubble bigger than anything they’d ever seen arise in the distance. They knew this was the very moment for the final and third piece of wisdom which would rescue their puffin, Perla.
Kontania felt inspired and burped. Her echoing burp burst the bubble. Klaviora jumped high into the air and redirected the fleeting steam with a determined hiccup towards Kwermina who snored the hot steam into the jar and closed its lid firmly.
Having secured their third wisdom, they danced and celebrated their victory accidentally slipping into the hot spring of Reykjadalur. Enjoying the relaxing heat of the spring, they didn’t realize that the sulphury water was carrying them downstream. While they were bathing and the day was dawning, they were astonished to find themselves beside Rentis.
Reliable Rentis took them to Reykjavik in no time where they completed their journey’s work: Kontania produced the cold wisdom from her pocket, Klaviora dropped the green wisdom into the cold one and Kwermina added the hot wisdom to the mix and wham-bam, there the magic potion was: it glistened warm and golden in the morning sun, smelled of pure green lupines and felt cold to touch.
They rushed back to Perla who looked fevery and weak. Administering the magic potion drop by drop into Perla’s pale beak, she soon regained health and everybody lived happily ever after in the land of ice and fire.
Read more: 10 days around magical Iceland
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