They walked and walked for what seemed like hours and by now were very hungry and thirsty. The candle  lantern was starting to flicker and gutter as it got shorter and shorter. They stopped to rest for a while and through the silence thought they heard a faraway tap tap tap again. Then came the sound of voices; high squeaky voices. 

As the came round the bend  in front of them was a group of teeny weenie figures digging away at the walls  with pick axes. Anything shinny and bright caught their attention. A bucket was almost full to the brim of gemstones that winked and blinked in all the colors of the rainbow in the light of the candles stuck in the cracks in the wall. Suddenly the three friends were spotted and the little people cried out angrily

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Lfant explained they did not want anything here but were trying to get to 'Somewhere' and find his home. The rabbits were helping him as they wanted a home too.

"Well we are the Tommy Knockers and we live here. We  find what other people loose and leave behind but not so many people come this way now. We have never seen any such as you. If you keep going a little while longer you will reach the  fresh water pool and  then a big cave. Be careful though as we have seen strange shadows playing about  there and we keep well away".

 Leaving the strange little men to go about their work the three at last  came to the poo; and took a long drink. They saw the cave and then the shadows dancing on the roof and the walls. They waited, too scared to carry on. They heard the crackle of a fire and could smell  cooking and then they heard an enormous sob and what sounded like a trumpeting.

Lfant crept closer to the entrance of the cave and was amazed to see this hairy monster sitting all alone and crying as he sat by an open fire.

The monster was large and hairy but he also had a trunk and enormous tusks and, apart from the hair he looked a lot like Lfant. The rabbits were by now alongside him and he felt a bit braver. Surely this monster was related to him somehow.He cleared his throat and said. 

"Excuse me sir, may I ask what has upset you so" 

No answer. He tried again.

"My name is Lfant and I am looking for my home. These are my friends, Brown rabbit and Blue rabbit who have decided to look for a home also. Have you lost your home as well"

At this the  big hairy beast began to sob even louder and said, 

"I'm a wooly mammoth and I got trapped here centuries ago  in an ice storm. I can only venture out in the  summer-time when I gather food to last me through the winter. This  is the first time I have had company to supper in hundreds of years. My kind must have all died out now but you have the look of a  younger and less hairy relative of mine. You look very tired and hungry. Would you and your friend like to share my vegetable broth?"

Well, they soon tucked in and felt better for it They had a good nights sleep and woke up in the morning but it was still dark.

"The sun never shines at the North Pole in the wintertime" explained their new found friend. 

"We are right in the middle of winter now. How I wish I could find a home where the summers were nice and warm and, even if it snowed in winter, I would not mind if the sun also shone  a little"

For what happens next click here