At the time, Thumbelina had been riding (invisibly) on the shoulder of a bookish young man. She thought that term sounded mildly insulting, so she morphed into the form of another young man who had gone to the outhouse, and asked, "What does 'karst' mean?"
"It's simply a description of places where limestone rock beneath the soil produces some predictable formations. All around us, we'll find springs, sink holes, and other evidence of the interaction of water with rock. When we explore a little below ground, we'll find caves that were formed by water erosion -- maybe a few stalactites and stalagmites. Karst just means limestone plays a key role in the way the land is arranged."
Thumbelina had wanted to say, "Well it's a stupid word to choose. How about something with a little drama to it? Like Water and Land Entwined?"
Being in the form of a boy who rarely asked questions, though, Thumbelina knew well enough to keep quiet. She also had to do a quick re-shuffle act when the kid came back from the latrine (otherwise known as the back side of a tree.) Shuffling her way to the back of the group, she watched for him, and made sure to disappear before he saw himself. What a sneak. She still followed the geologist back to his campus and sat in on a few lectures. Karst is the name of a place in Europe with a lot of limestone, and that's where the term came from.
No wonder nobody wants to study geology, she concluded.
For the record: I agree. More people would study geology if the 7-year-olds of the world were allowed to name things. "Volcano" was about the best word chosen for anything geologic, and I'm going to wager five Twix bars that it was named by a 7-year-old.
Now that I know about the limestone, though, I have a new idea. Tomorrow I'm going to ask Thumbelina take me cave-flying -- or whatever else it is that fairies do around caves. They either have chores there, or they have fun there. I will probably like it, either way.
Can't wait.
-- Sabrina
I remember the geologist. He was so satisfied knowing about the names of features, he never bothered to find out about interactions. He was the same way with students. He didn't know that Tiffany had a serious crush on Shawn, but thought since he was black there was no hope of a spark. He didn't know that Sophia and Melanie had hated each other since 8th grade, and couldn't believe they were stuck on a field trip together. Brent was aware of the feud, and did everything he could to make it worse, while Keisha tried to patch things up between the two. If you knew what was at issue -- actually, a huge list of things at issue -- you'd really admire the pluck of that Keisha, by the way.
Same thing with the land. He didn't care that a sink hole in one place meant more moss and a completely different group of plants and animals than on a rocky ridge where the limestone was exposed. A sinking stream wasn't a portal into a different world (the underground world -- don't think I'm being crazy, here.) To him, the sinking stream was just evidence of more porus rock which had been eroded unevenly. For a guy who studies rock and water interactions, his insights were dry. I had to leave college after a week so I wouldn't turn to dust and be swept off on a passing wind.
I've got to talk things over with the queen before taking Sabrina anywhere underground. The actual Thumbelina was originally lost because of a wander below ground before she was old enough to handle it.
May your orchid's odor never outrage you.
-- Fresh
