Grindles

Grindles are short and sort of shaggy with great big heads and really big ears. They were the first people to live in Chaladon and their history goes back thousands of years.

Their legs are only ten inches long and they don’t have a knee. When they run, it’s hard not to laugh, because they look like fat, shaggy penguins. Fortunately, they don’t need to run a lot because they ride on animals called Great Danders

Their eyes are really amazing. They’re as big as teacups, but it’s not just their size— they’re also sort of deep and mysterious. When you look into those eyes it's like looking down a well where you can’t see the bottom. Many people believe a Grindle can see inside a person’s heart, and whether that's true or not, they seem to know what you’re thinking, even before you think it.

They also have extra big ears and can hear things much better than any human. Some think that's so they can hear bears sneaking up on their sheep, but many think it’s much more than that. Sometimes, they just stare up into the sky and smile. If you ask them why they are smiling, they just ask if you don’t hear the beautiful melody of nature. I think they hear things we can’t even imagine.

They are really nice people, but a human soon learns it's a bad idea to tell them a lie because then they won’t be your friend anymore, and this is hard to explain, but when you are around a Grindle, you really want them to like you. They never fight or argue and they live quietly without making trouble for anybody, except of course wolves and bears that want to eat their precious Shagger Baas.

Another interesting thing about Grindles: they have really deep voices, even women, and when they laugh, it sounds like it comes from the bottom of a big barrel—like a happy rumble, but real deep.

Most Grindles are sheep farmers who herd a breed called Shagger Baas that are almost as big as a cow. They use ultra-hyper, little animals called Barkety Barks to help them move the Shagger Baas from one pasture to another. Barkety Barks are world-class barkers in the yippity yap category

When Grindles go out to herd their Shagger Bass, they ride on animals called Great Danders that are very strong and fast runners. When they sense danger, they bark just like big, mean dogs. Wolves and bears are absolutely terrified of angry Danders.

Grindle men carry a big stick shaped like a hook. He cuts thin strips of three different kinds of wood and then glues them together into one very strong rod that he steams and bends into the hook shape. Grindles might not be very good runners, but their arms are very powerful, and when they start swinging a stick like an iron rod—well, bears and wolves better think twice before they mess with him. Such a stick becomes a fearsome weapon.

Angry Grindles have been known to just beat the stuffing out of stupid bears

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When they find a wolf messing around with their Shagger Baas, they use the hook to grab the wolf by the neck and throw him fifty feet over the bushes right onto a pile of very sharp rocks.

As fierce as they are about wolves and bears who might want to eat their beloved Shagger Baas, Grindles are wonderfully kind to all other creatures. They especially like birds.

With their sharp ears, they can hear a foolish baby bird peeping in alarm after it has fallen out of its nest, and they rush to save him before a wicked Frat comes along to eat him.

At least some Grindles seem able to talk bird language and use little, orangy-yellow birds called Twiddle Dees as messangers.