In the centre of our story lies a rock, two in fact, placed in a 'rock table' formation, a product of tectonic activity and erosion in the past. Our story is, despite our abundant cultural heritage, dedicated to an often forgotten part of natural heritage – Earth heritage. All natural heritage has been an irreplaceable source of inspiration and an existing rock formation in Idrija surrounding (Tomaž's table) became a main character in a children story, giving shelter and narrating about the past processes. In a project proposal, we foresee the story becoming a part of the future heritage as a bilingual children's book illustrated by local children.

The children's story ''Ouch! That darned rock!'' was written on the initiative of Idrija Heritage Centre (Idrija Tourism Board) by a heritage interpret Janja Sivec with the purpose to educate the young generation and promote natural heritage. In the story a geological heritage structure - a stone table and a boy are making conversation about the past land formation processes. The conversation is an illustration how Earth heritage sites are essential for training, education and practical demonstration of natural processes and principles. Understanding how Earth processes have worked in the past is important for understanding problems in the present. The story also plays a central role in a project idea in which the story (and in a way the heritage) will come alive at a children's event, in children's illustrations and transformed into written legacy as a book. Ouch! That darned rock! "Ouch! That darned rock!" Tonček grumbled as he kicked the rock, and then the rock kicked back. That is why his toe is sore now. Tonček is lost in the woods. He is wandering about, trying to find his way home. The forest path amongst the tall trees is getting darker and darker, and a loud rumble is rolling in from a distance. "Oh my, a storm is approaching. I must find shelter to keep myself dry." He quickly runs deep into the forest and seeks shelter from the storm. Suddenly, a huge rock table appears before him. A table so big that it could easily hide at least ten of his classmates! The first dense droplets of rain start to trickle down, a thunderous roll and then lighting darts across the sky. Tonček quickly hides under the large rock table. He is a bit afraid and his eyes are welling up. He closes his eyes and presses his body against the rock pillar. Then something incredible happens. The rock becomes warmer and warmer, and then the table speaks to him. "Hello, little fellow, what are you doing here in this storm?" Tonček can’t believe his eyes! He pulls at his ears and squints a bit to see who is speaking. "Don’t worry little fellow, it is only I, the rock table that is giving you shelter. What's your name?" "T-t-t-tonček," he says in frightened voice, still not believing the table is actually speaking to him. "What are you doing alone in the forest," the rock giant asks the little boy. "I wanted to find the dinosaur footprints." "Oh, I remember them! When I was a young pebble, these great beings lived on Earth." "Really! You saw the dinosaurs?" Tonček is thrilled! "How big were they? When did they live and what did they eat? Why are they gone?" "Not so fast, Tonček! One question at a time," voiced the rock table and continued. "Back then the Earth was still young, like you, child, and it was one big continent. A continent is the surface that rises from the sea: mountains, pastures, deserts ... Today, there are more such continents on Earth, but then there was just one large. These creatures walked through the meadows, flew over the mountains and swam in the seas. Some were as small as you are now, others were a bit bigger, as big as a closet if you like, and some were as big as a house. Some creatures ate plants, others hunted animals for meat. "And why are they not here anymore?" Tonček asked. He was so enchanted with the story that he no longer felt afraid. "I don’t know that. But I can tell you that the oldest continent where the dinosaurs lived broke into pieces, which is why I am here. « "Broke into pieces? What do you mean by that?" Tonček asked. "The Earth when it was young, had a very big and hot core. This core, which had such ferocity, it caused the great continent to slowly break apart into smaller pieces. The rocks on this great continent broke up and started to move away from each other. Valleys were flooded by the sea. Smaller pieces slowly drifted away from each other and small continents were born: Europe, Asia, America, Africa and Australia. "Do you know what the most interesting thing is?" The table asks Tonček, who gazes upon it in amazement. "That same strong core, inside the Earth, which caused the continents to move apart, is so powerful that the continents have begun to move closer again. That is why I am here in this forest." Tonček looks astonished and asks the table: "Have you not always been here?" "Why, no! When the continents began to move closer again, the two, which we know today as Africa and Europe, started to push against each other. They pushed so hard that the rocks in Europe had no space any more. We started to roll over, pile up and fold. We were pushed back and forth. The push was so forceful that we started to rise one on top of another, and then slowly grew higher and higher." Tonček thinks for a second and asks: "Grew higher? You mean as high as the mountains?" "Exactly," the table answers. "Do you know the Alps? And Triglav, our highest mountain?" Again, Tonček thinks for a bit and remembers he has already heard about the Alps, the high snow-capped mountains, and he has also heard of Triglav. "After all this pushing and folding, some rocks remained in the lush green valleys and in the forests. Other rocks were pushed high into the sky, and now they are at home high up in the mountains." Tonček was amazed at the story about how the table came into the forest, while the other rocks were pushed high up into the Alps. He was so absorbed in this tale, he completely forgot about the storm. Only a light drizzle remained, and then he heard his name: “Tonček, Tonček!” Živa found her lost brother and ran to hug him. "Živa, Živa... I have to tell you an amazing story!" The story about the rocks and the mountains had impressed Tonček so much that he has been observing nature with a keen eye ever since. And listened to her incredible stories, over and over.

The story seeks to establish a new bond between people and their heritage, while increasing knowledge and creativity. Activities tied to our story encourage participation, educate and enhance awareness on heritage. Children and other participants will learn and apprehend the shared geological history of Europe and the world and through artistic process produce illustrative heritage information. Their active involvement will incorporate identifying natural heritage, finding inspiration in nature and natural phenomena and creating new cultural legacy. Our story’s project approach is applicable in versatile cultural surroundings across Europe (and broader) to promote natural or cultural heritage. It encourages human creativity, understanding and knowledge, community engagement (focusing on children) and recognition of heritage.