The Three Kindly Bells

A knee-high stump rises from a clearing carpeted in springy moss, its bronze bells green at the edges and bright where many hands have touched them. Dew beads on carved animal emblems, and the air smells of crushed mint and rain-soaked bark. The bells give off a faint, different note when brushed. Silver letters glimmer on the stump's flat top, while little wooden faces peering from its roots turn their eyes toward anyone who approaches. Beyond it, leaves tremble over a narrow trail despite the still air.