THE FARTHESTAWAY MOUNTAIN

Though almost fifteen and sought after by most of the lads in the village, Dakin refuses to marry until she has been to the farthest-away mountain and met a gargoyle--and then she will only marry a prince. But no one has ever been to the farthest-away mountain because no matter how far you travel it never gets any closer. And everyone knows that Prince Rally, the only prince hereabouts, can't marry without the ring of kings which disappeared at his christening seventeen years ago. Just the same, the mountain nods one morning and Dakin goes--into a mechanical sequence of setbacks and progressions, the chief elements in the adventure being a frightened frog, an evil witch who colors the snow, an ogre and his winged assistant, sheer cliffs, a bottomless pool, three gargoyle guards, and a password. And Dakin, being wise and brave as well as good, frees the mountain from a two-hundred-year-old spell and, in the process, finds the missing ring. Fortunately for the story it isn't picky Rally that she marries but Croak the frog himself, now a handsome young man and Dakin's prince of the mountain. But a board game could be more compelling, and just as significant.