The Growing Hill

Once upon a time there was a peculiar thing called a growing hill; a magical hill that grew taller the higher you climbed up it and children were warned by their parents, "Never climb up a growing hill or you may never be able to get down again".
But one day two children called Jessipha and Joe, curious to see a growing hill and wether it was real or just a story their parents had invented, started to climb up one.
It was only a small hill at first, barely a mound of earth but then, with every step up the hill they took, it doubled in size until, by the time they had taken a hundred steps, it was almost the size of a mountain and, looking down but unable to see the bottom of the hill, the children started to get scared.
"What will we do?", asked Jessipha, "The hill has got so big we'll never get down now".
But then, because they could not climb down they climbed higher making the hill grow even more and as the hill grew, they saw a cave form in it that contained an old, bearded hermit.
"What are you doing on my hill?", he said to them angrilly, "Go away immediately".
"But we can't", said Jessipha, "The hill has grown so tall that we can't climb down".
The hermit stroked upon his beard in thought.
"Hmm? Well I will help you get down again if you will do something for me first", he said.
Then he told them to climb higher upon the hill until they saw a cave form that had a serpent in it.
"The serpent guards a silver lightning bolt, I want you to get the lightning bolt for me", he said.
The children said they were afraid of serpents but the hermit told them not to worry.
"Just hold your breath", he said, "As long as you hold your breath, the serpent can't see you. I would go and do it myself but, being an old man, I can't hold my breath for very long".
And so Josepha and Joe climbed further up the hill, making it grow more and as it grew they saw a cave forming in it with a silver lightning bolt and a giant serpent guarding it.
And holding their breath the two children entered the cave, creeping past the serpent who didn't seem aware of their presence in the cave and Joe grabbed hold of the lightning bolt.
But the sharp point of the lightning bolt was stuck deep in the rock of the cave and Joe couldn't pull it out and even with Jessipha helping, they both had to open their mouths to breath in order to pull it up.
Fortunately, though they both took a deep breath, the serpent was looking the other way and so he didn't see them.
Then when they had hold of the lightning bolt they carried it slowly from the cave and back down the hill to the hermit who, waiting for them, greedily snatched it out of their hands.
"I've got it now, I've got it", he said, dancing about with glee.
But then, rather than helping the children get back down from the hill, the Hermit pointed the lightning bolt at them and made a cage with iron bars appear magically around them.
"Why are you doing this?", asked Jessipha, staring out at him from inside the cage,  "You said you would help us get down from the hill".
"What?", he replied, "Let you go when there are so many other treasures on this hill that you two can get for me".
"But we have a family", said Joe, "And they miss us".
"Well then they shouldn't let their children go climbing up growing hills should they", said the hermit.
But then, suddenly, the children saw the serpent from the cave appear, slithering down the hill.
"Give back my lightning bolt, old man", he said to the hermit.
"No", said the hermit, "I won't give it back and you can't make me. I'll use this lightning bolt to turn you from a giant snake into a tiny worm and then I'll feed you to the birds".
And saying that the Hermit aimed his lightning bolt at the serpent and used its power to shrink him to the size of a worm.
Then he raised up his boot and stamped upon the serpent but when he did, rather than killing the tiny serpent he only split it into two tiny serpents and when he tried to stamp on both of them he only split them again so that they became 4 tiny serpents.
Angrily, the hermit kept on stamping upon the serpents but as he did they just kept multiplying more and more and then all the tiny serpents, using the hermit's long beard and robes started to crawl up over him.
Terrified and screaming, the Hermit tried to use the lightning bolt to destroy the serpents but, because they were all over him, the Hermit only struck himself with its power, turning himself, with a loud boom and a flash, into a big pile of purple dust.
Then all the little serpents, crawling onto the lightning bolt that was lying amidst the dust, used its power to turn them back into one giant serpent.
"Please don't eat us", said Jessipha and Joe, seeing the giant snake from inside the cage.
"Eat you?", said the Serpent, "I don't want to eat you. I only wanted to keep the thunderbolt from that evil old man".
But then the serpent used the thunderbolt to free the children from their cage and, realizing that it was a friendly snake, Joe asked it,
"Please, Sir Serpent will you help us get back down the hill?".
And so the serpent, only too happy to help, stretching out just like an elastic band, stretched itself to the bottom of the hill before turning its body into a playground slide and then Jessipha and Joe, sitting at the top of the slide both went whooshing down the slide as fast as two comets all the way to the bottom.
And at the bottom they met their mother and father who, when they hadn't come home for supper, had gone out searching for them then, picking up their son and daughter in their arms they carried them home where the children lived  safe, snug and happily ever after.