The Candy Factory

Once upon a time in a kingdom far, far away, there were two dwarfs. Their names were Gilligan and Mildred, and the two of them were best friends. Gilligan was the oldest. He was very neat and polite, and he owned his own tailor shop and was also a very successful tailor. Mildred on the other hand, was the real opposite to Gilligan. He was a real troublemaker and everywhere he went, there was trouble, and poor Gilligan was always there to help him out of it.

One day a man in colourful clothes, a big hat and with a hookah hanging from his mouth knocked at the door. Gilligan saw him from the window, and recognized him at once. It was the strange wizard Steven. Steven was a very odd person. You never knew where you had him. One moment he could be a bit absent-minded and scatterbrained, but in the next, he would swing a long black cloak with a hood around himself and start a cruel giggle. On his right hand an evil-looking puppet was to be found. Gilligan got a bit frightened, but polite as he was, he decided to open the door. At first, Steven just stood there, looking a bit sneaky, but suddenly he pulled out something from his pocket. In his hand there now were three acorns, three grains and three peas. With a big smile on his face he said:
“Good day sir! I have come here to tell you about my latest discovery. This, my dear friend, is a little thing I like to call candy.”
Gilligan was confused. He didn’t want to be rude, but he had to say something.
“I’m sorry sir, but that isn’t candy. That’s just some acorns, some grains and some peas.”
Steven stopped smiling and stared at Gilligan.
“No it isn’t! he said. This is candy and I made it myself in my candy factory.”
Gilligan could see that Steven was about to get angry, and he didn’t want to push it any further. So he just said:
“Okay then, mister. Maybe you are right, maybe it is candy. But I’m not interested.”
“Oh, then why didn’t you say so in the first place? Well, in that case. Have a good day sir!“
Steven said as he turned around and waddled off. Gilligan watched him, and couldn’t help to think that Steven really was an odd character.

As Steven walked along, talking with himself, someone came towards him. The person stopped amid the road and looked at Steven with big and curious eyes. Steven stopped too and looked back at the small dwarf ahead of him.
“Do you want to see something?” Steven suddenly asked.
The dwarf nodded his head as he walked up to Steven.
“This, my friend is a thing called candy. I’ve made it myself in my candy factory” he said as he pulled out the peas, acorns and grains from his pocket.
The dwarf looked impressed and Steven now had a big smile on his face.
“Maybe you want to follow me home? To Candy Mountain that is. You see, that is where I have my factory. “
The dwarf smiled and asked:
“Can I have some candy then?”
“Of course you can. Just come with me. And say, what is your name?”
“My name is Mildred” the dwarf answered.
“Good day Mildred. My name is Steven. Nice to meet you!”
And with those words, Steven and Mildred began walking towards Candy Mountain.

Back at the tailor shop, Gilligan was starting to get worried and wondered where Mildred had gone off to. He was supposed to be back with Gilligan’s new fabrics by now. Gilligan was sure that Mildred had got himself in some sort of trouble. Maybe he had been throwing pebbles at the witch’s house again. He decided that he should visit the old witch, just in case. He put on his cloak and began walking towards the witch’s house. Gilligan walked fast, you never knew what punishment the witch could use. There was this one time, when Mildred had stepped on her cat’s tale. The witch had scolded on poor Mildred, as Mildred had tried to explain that the cat shouldn’t lie in the middle of the road. The witch got even more furious and turned Mildred into a gingerbread, just to teach him a lesson. One other time she had made him eat a poisoned apple which made him sings everything he said in a high-pitched voice for a week. Gilligan was afraid that se had done something even more terrible this time.

Soon he arrived at the witch’s house. He knocked at the door. The door opened but it wasn’t the witch, it was her housekeeper Lucy. Lucy was a real dainty, but also very different. Everyone knew that she was the king’s daughter, even though she never mentioned it. About a year ago, she had run away from home. She felt trapped at the castle and wanted to see the world. But instead she had ended up at the witch’s house, where she had been ever since. She was different alright. But it wasn’t just her way to act, that was. Her looks wasn’t really an everyday look. She had pink hair and on each side of her head, there was a horn. Because of that, people often got afraid of her, though she really was the kindest and happiest person Gilligan had ever met. And as usual, she put on a big smile when she saw him, and he couldn’t help to smile back. She invited him for a cup of tea. They had talked for a while when Gilligan asked if she had seen Mildred.
“Well, he hasn’t been here for a while. But I’m pretty sure I saw him with an old man in colourful clothes earlier. I think it was Steven the wizard. “
“Oh dear” Gilligan said. “Do you know where they went?”
“I think they headed towards Candy Mountains.”
“Oh Mildred, what have you done now?” Gilligan cried out anxiously. “I have to go after him Lucy, I really have to.”
“Then I will come with you!” Lucy said.
“You can’t do that, it’s too dangerous.”
“I wouldn’t call it dangerous, just exciting. And besides, I’ve really longed for this, so you can’t stop me even if you tried.”
Gilligan knew that arguing didn’t matter in this case. She had made up her mind, and that was it. Actually he felt pretty relieved that he didn’t have to go by himself. They kept on talking and discussing what they should do. Suddenly the old witch showed up. They decided to tell her about what they were going to do, and she sat there listening. When they had finished explaining, she walked over to a cupboard and took out a bottle.
“This is a magic potion. It will help you if you get in trouble, but you must figure out how by yourselves” she said and handed the bottle over to Gilligan.
Gilligan looked confused and asked:
“Well, I don’t know. Is the potion really going to help?
“If you don’t want it, give it back!” the witch said.
“No, I want it.” Gilligan said quickly.
“Then it’s going to help! Now, good luck to you both. And Lucy, listen to Gilligan” she said and disappeared.
Gilligan looked at the bottle and then at Lucy. After a short pause of silence Gilligan said:
“Let’s go to the Candy Mountain.”

They started walking the long way to Candy Mountain; it was a hard path that forced you to walk across swamps, wooden-bridges and through a dark forest. They walked fast and didn’t talk very much, that was probably because they both where so nervous and on the edge. When they had walked in what seemed as days, they finally saw the ending of the forest. They walked out on a grassy hill and gleaming rays of the sun stroked them in their faces and welcomed them out of the dark. Gilligan’s eyes where old and didn’t get used to light so fast, but when he finally began so see, he saw Lucy who was surrounded by caterpillars. They where in the most beautiful colours and Gilligan somewhat started to think about the reels back at his tailor shop. The thread on those reels where just like the living colours of the caterpillars’ wings. He woke up from his little daydream and started chuckle really hard. He felt so happy looking at all the colours and furthermore, the expression Lucy had on her face was a real surprise to him. The girl, who he always saw as a happy person with a big smile on her face, started smiling even greater. She started to dance in a circle with movements Gilligan had never seen before. She was prancing like a cat who is stroking against a persons leg, and she seemed to have found a little moment of the freedom she so much longed for. Gilligan knew it was a good thing that he let her join him for this journey.

They finally arrived at the Candy Mountain. It was exactly like Steven; colourful but still, sneaky. The fields surrounding the mountain where filled with flowers with buds that hadn’t blossomed just yet. Just by seeing these fields of innocence, Gilligan felt that he became much calmer and motivated to bring Mildred back.
“Let’s go Lucy, it’s now or never”. Gilligan said as he stopped and turned around facing Lucy.
“Yes! What about the potion? Have you thought about what we’re going to do with it?”
“I have. There are some things I think we can use this potion for if things go wrong.”
Gilligan knocked heavily on the large gate, but nothing happened. He knocked again and again but no response appeared what so ever from the inside.
“Maybe he’s not home?” Lucy said in an unconvinced way.
“No, I think he’s home.” Gilligan answered.
“Wait, I think I hear something!” Lucy gasped and Gilligan began listening.
She was right, something was moving towards the gate. A few seconds later the gate was slide open and gave away a loud creak of complain. There stood Steven the wizard himself with the evil-looking puppet Beelzenef, on his right hand. Steven started talking with an energetic voice:
“I know what you’re thinking. You think this is an evil lab. But of course that’s very wrong. This is a candy factory!”
Steven smirked, pleased with himself and his ice-breaker.
“I’ve come to get Mildred.” Gilligan said in a brave tone.
Steven started talking through the puppet, gesticulated and rubbed the little pawns of Beelzenef together:
“Mildred? Oh, that little dwarf. Yes, I remember him. What do you want with him?”
He had a very sneaky tone in his voice and had the same expression in his eyes as he also continued rubbing Beelzenef’s paws together.
“I’ve come to take Mildred home. Now please tell me Steven, where is he?”
“Oh, he’s inside this large mountain, with all the candy. I don’t think he will leave that easily. So, what do you offer me that will make me help Mildred with a little nudge out through the door?”
Steven still had the same smirk across his face and started giggle.
Gilligan and Lucy knew something about the wizard that most people didn’t know; his puppet, Beelzenef was his best friend who he had always strived to awaken from his puppet form into a real person. Lucy was looking at Gilligan and when their eyes met they confirmed the decision with a short nod.
“Let’s make a deal Steven, oh you great wizard!” Gilligan cried out of delight.
“A deal!? Go on, what kind of deal? “
Stevens smirk had disappeared and he immediately became interested.
“Well, we’ll switch Mildred with this potion and Lucy’s homemade magic ointment, so that you can make Beelzenef awake from his puppet prison.”
Steven’s eyes became large and hopeful, he looked down on Beelzenef and a big smile appeared on his face.
“Ok, we have a deal!” Steven said happily.
“Great!”
Gilligan and Lucy looked at each other and smiled.

They followed the wizard into the mountain and saw the environment that he lived in. It really was a candy factory! There where candy trials almost everywhere, chocolate who was cut with scythes, little cats running around with mail on their backs, gardens where exotic fruits growed but his was only a handful of all the things existing in the mountain. Suddenly Steven stopped and turned left at a funny-looking statue of seven little boys standing outside a candy factory. Steven opened a red door and there was Mildred in his element. They did the trade and then they left.

The two best friends where now back together again and started their journey back home. Gilligan was a bit sulky about Mildred’s foolishness but he figured that; that as long as they are together nothing can’t be forgiven. Lucy didn’t want to go back to the witch and decided to live her life of freedom here, at the candy factory with Steven and Beelzenef. Gilligan and Mildred often took the journey to the Candy Mountain just to see Lucy and of course, Steven and Beelzenef as well. They all actually had become pretty good friends and enjoyed each others company. Every time the two dwarfs walked out of that dark forest they where welcomed by Lucy lively smile and the sun’s striking rays. She had finally found her freedom and she lived happily for the rest of her days.