The River Fools (aka River of Fools) is a river that passes through Daventry. It is the greatest of streams in kingdom.[1] It was the barrier between the Kingdom of Daventry and the Land of the Leprechauns. A section of the river is known as the Raging River.
Background[]
It is said that only a fool would enter the river's waters, which is true; but it actually got its name from a time long past when a group of thrill-seekers tried to ride its waters. They inflated a number of pig bladders and connected them inside a piece of canvas. They called the thing a raft, though no one had ever seen such a raft before. They said it could not sink, that the breath that inflated the bladders would protect against the shocks of the ragged rocks, and that the river spirits welcomed them. They were dead wrong. If the spirits did welcomed, perhaps it was as a sacrifice that day or as a warning against trespass. Neither bodies, bones, nor bladders were seen again. Since then, all know it as the River Fools. It became a tradition, that all that stop by the river carried away pebbles to appease the river spirits, as if with each stone taken the river would have more room to grow.[2]
The river surrounded a few islands including the Gnome Isle and Mushroom Isle where one could find the entrance to the Land of the Leprechauns. It also fed a few of Daventry's lakes.
The pebbles can be found near the bend and tributary in the river known to some as the Dangerous River. During the time of peace following Graham's coronation the main southwest bend of river (the Dangerous River) dried up, filled in with sediment (or dammed by the returning people), and the path of the river shifted. Regardless of the case, the former river bend was left behind dry and dusty bed. The town of Daventry was rebuilt on the former Mushroom Isle and Island of the Gnome. A shack was built over the former river bend by Rumplestiltskin. It appears that the original river path never saw water again, and a grand garden was placed a portion of it.[3] However, it seems that the path of the river shifted, and other sections of the River Fools continued to flow through the kingdom[4]. When the people of Daventry fled or killed by the Three-headed Dragon, the town crumbled into ruin. Rumplestiltskin remained behind just outside of the crumbling town, awaiting the return of the prince, Alexander.
After the Dragon was defeated, the Raging River continued to flow northeast of the town, and became a tourist location for daring swimmers. Rumplestiltskin remained in his shack, but moved the following year to Serenia.[5]
The Merelee River is located roughly west of the Raging River and River Fools.