# IV: The Goblin Blacksmith explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by George MacDonald.

## What happens

Colin follows a dim light to a goblin smithy, where a humpbacked smith works furiously with two forehammers. The smith calls out his goblin children, who torment Colin until he delivers a message from the old woman with the spindle: they must lift Cumberbone Crag a yard higher and send a flue under Stonestarvit Moss. Colin is forced to work alongside the smith, hammering in time to avoid injury. After three days and nights of labor, the smith reveals the old woman's plan to improve the Moss and instructs Colin to go there, dig a trench, and tend a vine that will produce grapes for a bottle of Carasoyn.

## Themes in this chapter

### Suffering and Divine Chastening

Colin endures grueling labor and the threat of injury, but the work strengthens him, suggesting a refining ordeal.

### Reality vs. Illusion

The smith dismisses the old woman's plan as 'all moonshine,' yet the goblins must obey, blurring the line between fantasy and purpose.

## Character check-ins

### Colin

Works three days and nights at the goblin smithy, hammering in sync with the smith; grows stronger from the labor and receives instructions for making Carasoyn.

### Fairy

Referred to as 'the old woman with the spindle'; her message drives the goblins' tasks and Colin's quest.

## Key lines

> Come in; come in, my youngsters will be glad of you.

The goblin smith invites Colin into the smithy, warning that his children will be eager to meet him.

_The smith's welcome is ominous, foreshadowing the goblins' harassment._

> The old woman with the spindle says you're to lift Cumberbone Crag a yard higher, and to send a flue under Stonestarvit Moss.

Colin delivers the fairy's command for the goblins to raise the crag and create a hot passage beneath the moss.

_This message sets the goblins to work and advances Colin's quest._

> As soon as you leave the smithy, go straight to Stonestarvit Moss. Get on the highest part of it; make a circle three yards across, and dig a trench round it.

The smith instructs Colin to go to the moss, mark a three-yard circle, and dig a surrounding trench.

_This begins the process of growing the vine that will yield Carasoyn._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters/iv-the-goblin-blacksmith
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_21_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_21_se/chapters