Little Orphan Anvil: The Complete Trilogy by Joseph Beekman (best contemporary novels .TXT) 📕

they were braving the down-slopes of the icyhillsides, Tabitha tripped and fell; she rolled far downthe hillside into the darkness of an icy fog-filled valleybelow, and out of Tinspar’s exceptional line of vision.

Tinspar found himself wandering among a vastarea of geysers that spewed hot plumes of rising steam,and of trees that looked as if they had been carved fromstone. In the cold bluish-light that reflected from theice crystals dangling from the stone-like treessurrounding the geysers, Tinspar searched in vain forTabitha.

Spirits below! Where could she be?

he thoughtfearfully.



Laying upon the ice covered ground, Tabithaawoke to the strange feeling of being poked with sharpwires. She remembered taking a bad spill and rollingfar down the slopes of the hills—but that was all shecould recall.

I must have hit my head! she thought.

And then she felt the poking again. This time itwas followed by a series of bleeps and low-pitchedwhistles.

Raising her head up and opening her eyes, sheturned to see what the noise and fuss about her was. Toher astonishment and disbelief, she was staring at ametal, rounded robot hovering lightly off of the groundnext to her.

Old man Will’s robot, Anvil? Could it be? shewondered with hopeful delight.

If anything, she felt relief just seeing the robot—it was an object of her homeland and something shecould relate to. But she also felt relief realizing that shehad regained her memory!

The robot’s tiny red eye-lights zoomed out of itstarnished and dented body, seeming to focus on Tabithawith intense curiosity. She noticed the robot’s five,spidery metal limbs moving forward towards her. Twoof its limbs moved under Tabitha’s legs, while the otherthree made to move under her upper body—the robotdroid was attempting to lift her from the ground.

“It’s quite okay,” she said, her voice dry andhoarse. The robot backed off a bit, startled by hervoice. “I can stand; but thank you…”

She rolled on to her side and lifted herself off theground. Wiping her cloak and clothes off from themottled mess of the fall, she looked upon the robotmore clearly now. It hovered near her at face level,withdrawing its metal limbs back and around its body.

Tabitha wiped at her face and rustled her grimyhair, loosening any other dirt and debris from it. Shethen covered her head with her hooded cloak andlooked about her dusky surroundings. Several geysersgurgled and spouted steam nearby, and a crystal bluehaze wavered through the scraggly stone-like treeswhich resided in the alien landscape.

Then taking a much needed deep breath of freshair to calm her nerves, Tabitha looked the robot squarein its electrical eyes.

“What’s your name, little droid?” she said to therobot with a firm but kind tone. “Are you from aroundhere?”

The robot’s eyes beamed a bright reddish glow,and it emitted a few high-pitched bleeps.

“Are you…Anvil?” Tabitha then asked. “Forgedby the old man, Will?”

A series of bleeps spurted forth from the robotthrough the dark, chilled air as it spun its rounded bodyexcitedly.

It must know of Will! It has to be Anvil! Tabithathought excitedly.

“Well…Anvil,” she said a bit hesitantly. “Canyou take me to him, please? If you understand what Iam saying, that is. I’m a little bit lost, and I need help.I need to find Will and see if he can help me. I alsohave a friend who came with me, and…well, he’s got tobe wondering where I am!”

The robot lowered a metal limb outwards toTabitha. She took a step back, looking from it toAnvil’s gleaming eyes.

“Oh—okay…take your, um…hand?” she asked,not sure what to call the iron, pincer-like fingers of therobot’s metal limb.

Anvil emitted a bleep to reply.

“Oh it’s okay, never mind; I’ll just follow you!”Tabitha cinched up her cloak. Anvil spun aroundand moved ahead—the robot’s eye-lights beamedforward to light the way.



A distinct hammering noise, that was bangingagainst heavy-plated metal, echoed from within an oldand very giant tree stump that Tabitha and Anvil nowapproached. The tree stump was of stone like all theother trees and stumps that Tabitha had seen on her waythrough the icy forest; but this one had stood outsharply from the rest. Its outside surface had a fewlittle round holes in it for what must have made forwindows; and where there once must have been a verylarge root attached to the stump, there was now ahollowed-out hole leading down into the ground;Tabitha assumed this was the passageway that led upinto the tree stump itself.

Stone trees? Hmm…that’s strange, Tabitha hadthought to herself as they had crossed through the treesand icy-laden ground.

She had been following the robot for quite somedistance before they had reached the stone tree stump.Anvil had remained very alert along the way, and hadbeen sweetly attentive for her safety.

Now as they arrived at the tree stump, Anvilpaused and hovered just above the hollowed-out roottunnel. He swiveled his iron dome-top around to focuson Tabitha. His robotic eyes turned a dimly, reddishglow, and it whistled a few times towards her.

Tabitha hesitated for a minute and gazed about,wondering again of Tinspar’s whereabouts; she thenscampered forwards to Anvil.

Peering down into the dark, tunnel passage,Tabitha just shook her head. “This is where we have togo?” she asked wearily.

Anvil bleeped a few more times, waitingpatiently for her.

“Well, okay—but you first!” Tabitha spiritedlyremarked. “And this time I think I better hold onto oneof your metal, um—hands!”

Anvil bleeped once in reply and extended a metallimb to her outreached hand. Tabitha took a hold of it.“Thanks!” She then followed Anvil forward and downinto the hollow of the dark root.



When Tabitha and Anvil emerged from the roottunnel into the hollowed tree stump, Tabitha saw an oldman sitting on an iron crate by a small fire. He washunched over and hammering away on a piece of metalthat lay upon a rusted anvil. From the orange glow ofthe fire, his body cast ominous shadows across theinside of the tree’s walls.

Old man Will! Tabitha thought, both nervous andexcited.

The pounding of metal echoed far greater insidethe tree itself, and Tabitha had to cover her ears withher hands. Will had no clue as to her presence as sheand the