Moko sees the ocean for the first time. He thinks it is a huge river or lake, but when he tastes the water, he notices that it is salty. He wonders what sorcerer would have played such a trick. Back in his village, he asks an old wise man to cast a spell on the village’s river so that the drinking water never becomes salty. The wise man reassures him that this is not necessary, the water will never be salty and Moko is grateful that someone has already thought of protecting the village’s river.

As the first rays of dawn appear, Moko and Mei-Li head off to the forest to pick some plants that can’t be found anywhere else. Moko is following Mei-Li’s lead as she knows what to do. She picks a leaf and lets it float away, and Moko picks it up. All of a sudden, both his feet sink into the sand and he can’t get free. He calls out for help. Some fishermen come to his rescue and one of them throws him a line and they pull him to safety. Moko and Mei-Li head back towards the village thinking that the forest is jealous and possessive, since it clearly wanted to keep every leaf and every plant for itself.

Intrigued by the name given to the mountains in the horizon, “the Hills of the round Earth”, Moko ventures off to see if the Earth is, in fact, round. An old wise man tells him that yes, if he were to walk in a straight line he could very well go all the way around the earth and come back to his starting point. Moko does as he is told and travels all the way around the Earth and returns back to his village, but since he didn’t have the feeling that he was walking around a sphere, he continues thinking that the Earth is flat.

Ce jour-là, le soleil est si fort que les gens ne quittent pas leur maison. Moko et Meï-Li se reposent à l’ombre d’un grand arbre. Meï-Li se demande si Moko va repartir, elle pleure et s’en va. Moko tente de la retrouver dans la forêt. Des gouttes d’eau ruissèlent des arbres comme des perles de pluie. La nuit tombe et Moko ne voit plus rien, il s’arrête pour attendre que le jour se lève. Au matin, Meï-Li est là, elle a dans ses mains une pierre transparente. Elle sourit car elle se dit que Moko tient à elle puisqu’il a fait tout ce chemin pour la retrouver. Elle lui offre la pierre pour qu’il ne l’oublie jamais. Moko s’aperçoit que la pluie des grands arbres s’est arrêtée. Il pense alors que la forêt a arrêté de pleurer car Meï-Li est consolée. Ils rentrent au village et se promettent que tout ce qu’ils découvriront dans ce monde, ils reviendront se le dire un jour.

Alarick’s country is very strange. It has been many days now that night has not falen, and no one seems to be worried. Moko decides to head towards the horizon to see what is keeping the sun from setting and Alarick goes with him. Along the way, Moko tries to lull the sun to sleep with a lullaby from his country. The sun looks like it will set, but stops short and rises again. Perhaps the ocean is frozen at the horizon and is keeping the sun from setting. He decides to ask the fishermen and one of them responds that the world is filled with such mysteries and that it is more precious for him to learn the secrets of his friend than that of the sun.

Moko et Totémi restent quelque temps au bord de ce lac. Un matin, un immense bruit agite le village. C’est alors qu’une coulée de boue géante descend du flanc de la montagne et menace d’engloutir le village. Moko s’avance vers la coulée de boue en implorant la montagne d’épargner le village. Il se souvient de Meï-Li qui savait parler à la montagne. Il sort de sa poche la pierre précieuse qu’elle lui avait offerte et s’apprête à l’offrir comme avait fait Meï-Li au bord du volcan. Mais Totémi l’en empêche et lui offre le collier qu’elle a au cou. La montagne épargne le village et la boue se déverse dans le lac. Moko promet d’offrir un jour à Totémi ce qu’il aura de plus cher...



Ce livre est disponible en français : Les montagnes se rebelle

Moko et Alarick ont repris le chemin du village, leur bateau rempli de poissons. Ils accostent et commencent à marcher. Au détour de la montagne blanche, ils aperçoivent enfin le village. Moko se met à crier de joie, rompant le silence de la montagne. C’est alors qu’un nuage de neige apparaît, descendant le flanc à la vitesse d’un cheval. Alarick et Moko se réfugient sous un gros rocher. L’avalanche fait trembler sa colère. Alarick implore à la montagne de pardonner Moko… puis le calme revient. Moko promet de garder le silence et remercie son ami d’avoir su parler à la montagne.

Moko sees the ocean for the first time. He thinks it is a huge river or lake, but when he tastes the water, he notices that it is salty. He wonders what sorcerer would have played such a trick. Back in his village, he asks an old wise man to cast a spell on the village’s river so that the drinking water never becomes salty. The wise man reassures him that this is not necessary, the water will never be salty and Moko is grateful that someone has already thought of protecting the village’s river.