The old man tells the second story
"Years passed and Ani and Ieli's children grew older. The two
groups had never in their lives crossed paths although they were
cousins. Because of Ieli's kindness, her children were beautiful, but
Ani's children were ugly because of her cruelty.
One day, while out in the forest, Ani's eldest child, Helga, met
Ieli's eldest child, Lilu. At first they blinked at each other like
surprised birds. Lilu ventured to say hello. When she did so,
Helga's face filled with scorn. She felt threatened by the beautiful
child and extremely jealous. With magic powers called upon through
magic words, Helga cast a powerful spell on Lilu and her brothers and
sisters, trapping them inside the mountain. The mountain is guarded
by seven serpents and no one has been able to break the spell so far.
The secret part enters into the story because only one thing will free
Ieli's children...but nobody knows what it is."
Your elfin ears twitch in consternation as you think about what action
to take next.
The man sighed and began his second tale.
