Little Io and the Gem Trail

Once upon a time there was a little, venturesome girl called Io. She heard of the mysterious Gem Trail, a road many children have taken before her, and wanted to see what it was like for herself.

She set off early in the morning along a road that turned out to be surprisingly bumpy. There were stones everywhere and not even one looked like a gem. Heaps of useless, grey stones were not what she had expected! However, very soon on the side of the road she spotted a small, round, milky object. Next to it sat an ant, who was almost invisible, so tiny he was. The insect was a bit nervous and kept looking around.

Little Io asked: "Why are you looking around like this?"

The ant said: "I am on guard."

"Why?"

The ant replied: "I am guarding this precious stone here called pearl. It has the word wisdom engraved on it."

"What is wisdom?"

"It is when you can make good judgements because you know and saw a lot."

"I should like to have it very much then," said little Io with a serious face.

"And you will... one day," said the tiny ant. "You just have be open to new experiences. I can see that you are on a trip - that is a good start!" and he nodded his head in anty approval.

"Indeed, I am and I must be on my way now! Thank you, little ant, for your wise words," and little Io said her goodbyes.

The bumpy road led her to a forest next. It was mysterious, dark, and luscious, full of thick, prickly bushes and tall trees without ends.

"Hmmmm," said the little girl to herself, "I wonder what wonderful things I can discover here."

All of a sudden, under a fig tree she saw something that caught sunlight beautifully. She drew closer to it and saw a rectangular, green stone. Next to it on a low branch sat a robin and blinked with his beady eyes at the little girl in a friendly way.

"What stone is it?"

"It is an emerald," tweeted the bird.

"Oh, is it?" said the little girl and drew even closer to inspect its greenness.

"It says curiosity on it," the bird continued.

"And whaaat is thaaat?"

"It is asking questions when you feel like it, exploring places you have not seen before, and always finding new things to do."

"Oh, thank you," said the little girl. "I would like to have that stone very much."

"And you will. Fly around the world like me, see places, meet people, ask questions, and never ever stop, not even when your wings, oh... arms, get tired."

"I really want to," said the little girl. "My trip has been exciting so far. I would like to take many more!"

"Please do and keep your mind and heart open," tweeted the bird and started preening his feathers with gusto. Little Io bowed to the robin and left the place thinking what a curious encounter this was.

The path ahead soon narrowed and the light seemed to wane. The greenery was as thick as Io’s grandma custard pudding and the trees had feather-like leaves. It looked exotic and it truly was. Little Io found herself in the jungle. She admired the beauty of the nature around her and looked at each plant and flower in turn, amazed by their colours and shapes. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed something moving in the dense shade and gave out a little shriek - the moving thing was big and furry. The animal, for it was one, got closer to her slowly and looked into her eyes darlingly. It was a tiger! In her mouth she had something that glistened.

Little Io hesitated for a while but soon stammered out: "Hello, there! I have never... been to the jungle... And I... have never seen a tiger before... I mean... one that's not on paper," followed by a quick: "It is very nice to meet you, tiger."

The tiger bowed her head slightly, which made her look very untigerish. It put the yellow-brown stone on the ground and said: "It’s called a cat’s eye and it is very precious."

"Is it yours?"

"No, I am its guardian."

"And what is the cat's eye?" asked the little girl.

"It is a symbol of courage," said the tiger.

"Oh, is it the same as bravery?"

"It is. Well done!"

"And how can I have it?"

"It takes practice. You may be afraid of something at the beginning because it is difficult, uncomfortable or simply... scary, like approaching a tiger you do not know."

"Just like I did?" asked the little girl.

"Exactly!" roared the tiger and little Io flinched.

"When you have courage you can do things you thought you would never ever do. They usually turn out less scary than they seemed to be. You only have to start. I suspect you have quite a lot of courage already - you are alone in the jungle, talking to a tiger. And I could be hungry! I could be mad!"

Little Io chuckled and nodded, then said: "Well, anyway, hungry or mad I must leave you now. Thank you for not being TOO scary," and winked at the tiger to show her courage.

She resumed her walk along the narrow path and thought: "I must be brave, just like the tiger said, even though I don’t know what scary things lie ahead!"
Tiger

The jungle slowly turned into shrubland and eventually the little traveller arrived at a steppe. It was vast like a moor and touched the sky as far as her eye could see. She walked very carefully with her head down to avoid stepping on the insects which ran higgedly-piggedly in the grass. When she looked up, her gaze fell on a solitary bison. A bison! It reminded her of a big, fluffy mountain she once drew for someone who had no idea what a big, fluffy mountain looked like. She had doubts about approaching her but quickly decided to take courage and with a big smile she exclaimed: "Hello there!" The bison turned her massive, heavy head and replied to the greeting.

"I have just been to the jungle," the little girl continued: "where I talked with the tiger. She told me all about courage. I was a bit afraid to approach you at first but you looked so lonely and like a fluffy mountain I once drew... that I thought I would anyway."

"I see," said the bison. "Then you must be very courageous. Thank you for your honesty."

"What is honesty?" asked the little girl.

"It is speaking the truth. Others do not always like it but, generally speaking, it is a good thing."

"I see. And what is the symbol of it?"

"This gem here," said the bison and pointed with her horn to the little hole in the ground in which a beautiful, red stone lay quietly.

"It is called a garnet and I am its guardian."

"And how can I become honest?" asked little Io.

"By always telling the truth. Telling lies usually puts you in bigger trouble than telling the truth does. As my grandma always said: 'Honesty is the best policy' so the best way you can act," the bison said and looked wistfully into the distance.

"How wise your grandma was! I want to be honest every day - with myself and the people around me. It does not sound easy but it sounds right, right, dear bison?" said little Io.

"Oh yes! Now tell me honestly where you are headed to next."

"That beach there," and she pointed in the direction of the horizon.

"In all honesty, I have become tired of our chat. All that I am thinking of right now is food."

Little Io chuckled.

"Well, good luck, little girl!" said the bison and immediately started chewing the succulent grass.

"Thank you for your wishes," said the little girl and went away.

The path suddenly got wider and the grass and insects disappeared. Little Io stepped onto a sandy beach. She was walking along a dune shaped like a particularly delicious croissant when she spotted something shiny in the sand. The object caught a sunray which was then reflected multiple times in it. It reminded the little traveller of a crystal rainbow - its source was a stone without any colour. When she drew closer to it, she noticed that something buried in the sand moved.

"Who are you?"

"I am a very old turtle that guards this diamond here."

"I see. And what does it say on the diamond?" asked little Io, knowing there must be something written on it.

"Oh, you are a clever, little girl, aren't you?" remarked the old turtle and continued thus: "It says knowledge on it. That means remembering lots of facts and information. People, and some of the turtles, also call it education. Once you have it, no one can take it away from you, unlike this diamond here which I have to guard every day and every night."

"And what do I have to do to have the knowledge of which you are speaking?"

"Read a lot of books - books about turtles, books about the cosmos, books about history, even those on thermodynamics. Remain curious."

"Aha, that's the word I already know - the robin in the forest told me about it."

"You see, you said you KNEW, and that's a good start!" and the turtle buried herself in the sand again. The little girl took one more look at the impressive gem and turned in the direction of the sea.

She approached the edge of the water. The waves were gently lapping the shore in a steady movement. On a big stone, whose tip stuck slightly out of water, was a gem. It was blue like water and shone alluringly.

"There must be a guardian next to it," said little Io to herself and there it was: a golden seahorse floated peacefully in the close proximity of the gem.

"Hello, mr seahorse, I was just admiring the stone after which you are looking. What is it?"

"It is a sapphire, a very durable stone. If you'd like to scratch it, you would probably not be able to do it," said the seahorse and rocked gently with the water.

"And what does it represent?" asked the little girl curiously.

"It stands for perseverance. It means you do something even though it may be difficult and take a lot of time, for example, a big jigsaw puzzle."

"I know what you mean," said little Io. "I once arranged all of my socks in the order of the colours of the rainbow and it wasn’t easy, I can tell you that."

"Oh yes," said the seahorse. "That was because you are perseverant."

"Thank you, mr seahorse, for your wise words. I have a mountain to climb next and I shall be perseverent! Goodbye for now."

"Goodbye," and the seahorse took a dip in the sapphire-blue water.
Seahorse

The little traveller went in the direction of a tall, looming mountain, not fluffy at all but three times as tall as she was. It looked like a snowy, sleeping queen and a challenge for which a lot of courage and perseverance was needed. Little Io started climbing - when she was half way up she saw an opening in the side of the mountain, a cave that looked very inviting and like a perfect place for taking a rest. She went in. It was so dark inside that she could barely see her own feet. All of a sudden, she flinched. She touched something soft and fluffy, just like the snow outside. But it wasn't snow at all! It was a white bear who stirred from her sleep.

"Oh, excuse me! I didn't know you were here," said little Io bravely.

"It's okay. I was just going to sleep - it started snowing."

"But before you do, can you tell me what that stone next to you is, please?"

"Oh, this?" and the bear waved her paw in the direction of a beautiful, purple, gleaming gem at the bottom of the cave.

"That's an amethyst. I guard it."

"And does it have any meaning?" asked little Io.

"It does. Patience," and the bear yawned.

"And how would you describe patience?" she asked.

"Patience is when you can wait for something and not have it right away. There may be problems or difficulties along the way while you wait. For example, I am a very patient bear. Each year I wait for spring. Sleeping helps but it is several months before I can go for a nice walk in the April sunshine."

"And how can I become patient? I am not a bear," asked little Io.

"You have to accept that what you want now may need waiting for, for example a time in the year you really like, a pudding after lunch or a pet you would like to have but need to learn how to take care of first. It is not easy to be that way but usually worth the trouble. Patience is good for you, just like sleep," and she yawned again.

"I see. Thank you for explaining it so... patiently," said the little girl.

"That's okay. Now, if you'll excuse me, I shall go to sleep. You can stay however long you wish, even until spring when we can talk again," said the bear and shut her tired eyes.

"Thank you," said little Io and patiently waited for the snow to stop falling before she could go on.

Soon the weather improved and the little girl could continue her journey. It took her two days to climb the big mountain and two more to descend it. On her way down in a hollow she met a fox. It was red and looked like a small fire against the white snow.

Little Io was curious about the animal. She said: "Hello, may I speak with you?"

"Sure," said the fox "but I have to be on the lookout at the same time."

"Why?" asked the little girl.

"Because a very precious stone was entrusted to me," and she pointed to a red stone with the tip of her tail. "It is a ruby and its colour is the colour of the heart."

"That is wonderful!" she smiled. "And why is it important?"

"Because the heart is where the kindness lives," said the fox with a serious face.

"Can you tell me more about it, please?" asked little Io.

"Of course, my dear", said the patient fox. "It is about being good to yourself and others, taking care of yourself, your friends, family, and other people. Sometimes you do things for others, such as helping them carry heavy bags, and it makes them but most of all YOU happy. That's kindness."

"I know now. Thank you! So I should look after myself and others to be kind?"

"Yes! Remember everyone's important and kindness gives you strength."

"I will, thanks!" and little Io left the fiery fox and her sparkling ruby behind, surrounded by the snow coruscating in the rays of the warm sun.

Once the mountain was behind her, the little girl found herself on a picturesque meadow, full of wildflowers in bloom, long, sharp blades of grass, and tiny insects under her tired feet. All of a sudden, from the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a big, fascinating shape. It was an elephant! She was standing with her trunk up, gulping down delicious-looking plums from the nearby tree. On approach, she trumpeted loudly as a greeting. Next to her was a tiny, grey mouse, who did not seem to be scared by the trumping at all. Under her tummy, little Io saw an orange stone of an irregular shape.

The mouse squeaked: "Hello, little girl. Welcome to this meadow we love to call our home."

"Oh, thank you," said little Io. "It is great to be here. It is soooo beautiful. I was just looking at the stone under your tummy. I saw many of them before but not one that was orange in colour. What is it?"

"It is a fire opal. A symbol of love," said the mouse.

"Are you two in loooooove?" asked little Io bravely.

"We are!" and the elephant looked lovingly at her little mouse.

"We are very different from each other," continued the mouse: "for example, she’s very big and I’m... getting there. She likes cats and I am yet to meet one that does not want to eat me! We are different from each other, as you can see, but we agree on almost anything and we like each other's company very much. We are each other's best friend!" On hearing this, the elephant produced a happy rumble that made the mouse giggle.

"I love how much in love you both are. How can I also be in love?"

"First," squealed the mouse knowingly: "you have to love yourself - love the way you are, you look, and you do things. That's very important. Then you can love other people - your family, your friends, even the whole of humanity! You can love animals, flowers, landscapes, adventures, too, even peas. You can be in love with life and... love!" and she laughed heartily.

Little Io laughed, too. She really loved the wise words the elephant and the mouse shared with her. She observed: "The fire opal seems to me the most precious of all stones I have seen."

"We agree with you - it is!" exclaimed the mouse and the elephant in unison.

"I would love to stay here forever more" little Io said but I must go back now. "Thank you so much for sharing your story with me!"

The unlikely couple took a bow to their little guest and invited her to visit them again if she was in the area.

"I will, thank you for the invitation!" the little girl said and moved away from the loving couple.
Elephant and Mouse

It was the end of the road and little Io's journey on the Gem Trail. She turned around and went back, exactly the way she had come. As she walked, the little traveller was on the lookout for the animals and the gems she had encountered before but they mysteriously disappeared. However, in her memory, they remained with her forever, and ever since she did everything in her power to become wiser, more curious, courageous, honest, knowledgeable, perseverent, patient, kind, and loving.

And now for some fun...

Here's a set of printable, text-based tasks children can do on their own (if they are able to read) or with parental participation:

And here's some stuff for those who rule the colours:

And if you are reading one paragraph at a time...

The following tasks pertain to one paragraph of the tale at a time. They all consist of a flora and fauna quiz, vocabulary practice, drawing challenge, philosophical questions, and syllables ordering. They are different from the tasks above. Have fun!