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Landsbyen -Into the North- An Epic Poem 14

Joulupukki awoke early the next morning and hurriedly dressed.  His intention was to catch DynDoeth before the crowds started gathering in the eating hall.  He had but one question for him that he thought would answer all of the others and he could not wait for the ceremony in the veiled alcove in which  they had met the day before.  As he entered the cooking room, DynDoeth's wife, Ceridfen, was already busy at work cooking the morning meal.
     “Do they ever give you a break?”  He questioned.
     “Oh, Joulupukki, you are up early this morning.”
     “Yes, I need to speak with your husband,” he stepped aside as she quickly brushed past him.
     “He should be sitting at the dining table in the eating room shortly.”
She looked at him in a way that suggested that he was in her way and she was about to throw him out when her face softened, “Would you be so kind as to help me with the place settings,”  she asked?  He knew she was just being nice and assumed he would just be in the way if he remained in the cooking area, 
     “Of course I will,”  he replied.  “Are these the dishes you wish for me to use?”  He pointed at a stack of well worn glazed dishes placed on the end of a counter.  Metal knives and large two pronged forks sat beside them and a second, much taller, stack of wooden plates towered behind them with wooden spoons placed in the middle of the upper plate.
     “Yes, I need eight settings laid out on the main table and all of the wooden plates and spoons arranged on the children's table.  And to answer your question from before, no, there is no time for breaks when serving the meals.
It makes my heart happy to see their satisfied faces as I fill their plates.”
He looked deeply into her unfocused eyes as her thoughts drifted off and he could tell she was speaking the truth.  DynDoeth was right, they broke the mold when they made such good hearted women as his wife.  Joulupukki carefully removed eight place settings with plates, bowls and cups from the table, stacking eight forks and knives on the top plate.  As he walked into the eating room he placed the dishes on the end of the main table.  He found cloth napkins folded into squares on a small serving cart near the door that he had just passed through.  Removing eight napkins he further folded each one into triangles and placed them on top of each plate.  The fork was placed to the left of the plate tines upward and the knife placed to the right of the plate
with the blade facing the plate.  The bowl he arranged in the upper left corner
of the place setting and the cup to the right of it.  When this was completed he went back into the cooking room and retrieved the wooden plates.  As he began arranging each plate with a spoon to its right, DynDoeth, strolled slowly into the dining area, speaking to another of the family elders.  Joulupukki could not at the moment remember his name so he nodded to each in turn as they entered.  Stopping what he was doing and turning to face the elves, he was taken aback when he saw them stop, staring at the table he had set.  He heard Ceridfen call out from the adjoining room,
     “Is that you DynDoeth?”
DynDoeth hesitantly replied, 
     “yes, Ceridfen, it is me,” as she stepped through the doorway.
She stopped when she saw the table, a gleaming smile stretching her lips.
     “Are we expecting the council for breakfast this morning,” asked the other elder.  She glanced at Joulupukki and strode over to the tall man.  She hugged him and as she pulled away he saw a glistening in her eyes.
     “Did I do something wrong,” he asked worriedly, “I hope I haven't offended you.”
Quickly Ceridfen turned to him, 
     “No, no, Joulupukki, you have not offended anyone,” she said, while wiping the tear from her eye.  “If there was but a tiny drop of doubt that you were the son of Aisling of Erin, it is gone forever, now.”  She stepped back into the cooking room, wiping her eyes.
DynDoeth, saw the confusion in his face and explained,
     “Your mother used to help her with the morning meals when she and Erlenkönig yet lived in the village.  They became very close, cooking and laughing together.  Each morning she would insist on setting the morning table in the same manner in which you have.”
     “It is lovely, Joulupukki,” she said from the doorway.  She walked over to him once more and hugged him again.  “Thank you,” she said as she turned her attention back to cooking.  Joulupukki also turned back to his own duty,
quickly finishing the placement of the remaining plates and spoons on the table.
     “Do you have more napkins, there are not enough for each place setting,” he inquired of DynDoeth?  DynDoeth removed the remaining napkins from the serving cart and handed them to Joulupukki.
     “Put them in the center of the table. There will be enough.  Most of the young ones can not, as yet, tell the difference between a napkin and a sleeve or pair of trousers.”  He chuckled.
After positioning the napkins in several piles in the center of the table
he turned to the two elves and gestured for them to sit.
     “There is something I must ask you DynDoeth,” he said, as the three of them slid into their chairs.  Hearing the serious tone of his friends voice DynDoeth suggested they wait until after the morning meal and pursue it in the secured room, but Joulupukki insisted, “I am sorry DynDoeth but I can wait no longer for the answer to this question.  It is a simple question that may answer many others that I have.  Please, allow me this one indiscretion.”
The elf looked at him and gently nodded his head.  Slowly, Joulupukki, carefully choosing each word, articulated them as if they held inside of them the meaning of life, of his life.  Depending on the answer he was given, his life might never be the same.  “What is the meaning of my father's name, Erlenkönig?”

Copyright © James Inman | Year Posted 2021

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