The Hearth and the Burrow

"See the fire, there, sprouts . . . how he settles in his bed, snug and warm. He has no flame for us now--but we don't need it. If anything, his coals are even warmer."

"Warm enough for a story, Grandmother?" inquired Pedderee, quickly taking the coveted lap position while her sister Petrilly as well as Kepli, Calkin, and the others settled around the stone hearth, snuggling into thick fur rugs.

"You know me too well, Little Kitten. Tonight, you pick; what story do you want to hear?"

"Well . . . last time you told us about how Littleman came home again after all his wanderings. What was his burrow like?"

"Ah, but that's a question you could answer for yourself if you thought for a minute, Little One. You see, when Littleman returned to Green Fields, Yondalla was determined to see that he would never leave again. Before he'd left, his burrow had just been a place to sleep, or a refuge to hide from enemies in. She decided to make it a place that would draw him like the sun draws the dew from the grass, a home so perfect that no place in all the worlds could lure him away. Now, children... what things would she look for?"

"Water!" squeaked Kepli. "A flowing stream to chuckle in the night and soothe him with its song."

"Good, lad--very good. And water deep and clean enough for a cool bath, wide enough to shelter plump trout. Also, a small waterfall, beautiful to watch and hear."

"Flowers too?" asked Pedderee, tentatively. "Or a hillside of soft grass or clover to lie on in the sunny afternoons?"

"Both, lass--and bushes and trees as well. Littleman loved growing things, and wild things as well, so outside his windows Yondalla placed a perfect meadow. His burrow was on a hillside, facing the south so that it warmed to the sun in autumn and winter--with an overhanging fringe of grass to shade the doors and windows in summertime when the sun was high. Flowers blazed in the meadow from spring to fall, and tall trees surrounded it--hardwoods, with broad, shady boughs, and tall pines, green for all the year 'round."

"And the burrow, Grandmother--surely it had a fireplace?"

"Aye, Calkin, you've put your finger on it there. You see, sprouts, the hearth is the heart of any burrow--it's the place where you should dream now of where you'll go and what you'll do when you grow up . . . and then, in later years, the place where you'll sit and savor your memories . . ."

The old halfling stared into the fire, a faraway look in her half-closed eyes. For a moment the children wondered if she was drifting off to sleep--but she merely took a brief stroll down the paths of her own memories.

To the halfling the primary symbol of the importance of home, family, and community is the burrow and its ever-present hearth. No halfling dwelling will be without some sort of fireplace, and even halflings who live above-ground tend to refer to their dwelling as a 'burrow,' even if it's only a room in a inn.

While burrows will naturally vary somewhat depending on the climate and terrain--a Furchin's icehouse will, for example, differ significantly from an Athasian halfling's tree house--all halfling dwellings have some features in common. If at all possible, there will be windows, which will be open during all but the chilliest of days--halflings never confuse `snug' with `stuffy.' Tallfellows carry this fondness for fresh air the farthest, positioning their homes to take advantage of whatever gentle breezes waft through the area, while Stouts represent the opposite extreme and might well have only a few small port windows.

Although well-ventilated, the burrow will be shielded against drafts by shutters of wood or leather that can be tightly closed and sealed against gusts and storms. Unlike dwarves, halflings keep their homes brightly lit, with lamps in every room, yet shutters and doors will be so well-set in their frames that not a glimmer of illumination will show on the outside when the burrow is locked up tight.

The fireplace will be built with as much stone as possible, given materials at hand, and capped with a large wooden mantle. It will have a wide mouth and a well-designed chimney to draw smoke up and out of the room. In colder climates, elaborate fireplaces are sometimes constructed with their own air-inlet ducts connecting to the outside of the burrow, allowing the house can be snugly sealed without suffocating the fire, while other ducts channel the heated air away. Conversely, in very warm locales halflings enjoy gathering around communal outdoor fires for an evening's conversation and fellowship--yet even so, each individual burrow will always have its own homefire as well.

It is not uncommon in a halfling burrow for a single fire to last for years, even decades or generations, without a second kindling. Even in very warm climes where it is allowed to die down to coals during the daylight hours, the embers are coaxed back to life at nightfall. Well-seasoned hardwoods are a favorite fuel, but wherever they live, halflings will quickly learn the best fuels for producing a warm, steady heat. Halflings are adept at using different local firewoods (hickory, mesquite, applewood, etc.) to "sweeten the air" or season the food they cook.

A halfling fireplace usually has several racks beside it, so that a variety of cauldrons and kettles can be swung over the coals. In this way dinners are cooked, milk curdled into cheese, and clay pottery fired by the steady heat. Often a large oven nestles in one corner of the coal bed, for use in baking the bread that forms the centerpiece of the halfling diet.

A lazy man sits in his old chair all day enjoying the sunshine, while an industrious man labors to earn the money to buy a fine new chair he may sit in someday. I ask you, who is the fool?

-- Hairfoot Philosophy

Halflings have been called connoisseurs of comfort, and the interior of a burrow will be furnished as cozily as the inhabitant(s) can afford. The floor will boast several rugs, mats, or carpets. Every halfling, however poor, has a table and a few stools, and at least one well-padded comfy chair. The bed will be small but snug, its mattress filled with clean straw or sometimes down, with several soft pillows.

The mantlepiece will feature a variety of decorations--most practical, like dishes and candlesticks, a few ornamental or exotic. The latter will often be among their owner's prized possessions, even if he or she hasn't a clue as to what the things are, provided they look interesting enough. Paintings and statuary are rare, as halflings generally prefer their treasures to be useful as well as pretty to look at.

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