A Scary Tale - Part Three

All Hallows Eve.... Time is Up!

It was the Very End of the Afternoon, Dear Readers, when Guard Ian set off from the Castle with the Children. He carried them astride Ghost Rider, the Stoutest Horse in the Stables. They rode like the wind as the day drew to a close.

They passed a Dark Forest and continued on, ever on.....

As Dusk closed in around them.....

Heading for the Gates of Time.....

Where Guard Ian must Go No Further.....

And the Children Must wait Alone!

For the Forces of the Ages were Stirring, this All Hallows Eve! 

A Storm was Coming.... the Winds were Rising.....

And the Veils of Time were Opened Wide!

Travelers Must be Wary ..... or Find themselves Lost amid the Years....

With No Guide Home.....

Even as the Children Reach the Gates, 

Deep in the Caverns below the Castle, 

The Wizard and Old Meg are Casting the Spell....

Dipping the Chalice of Time deep into the Simmering Waters

And Pouring it into a Crystal Phial.....

"And with the Phial take these Three seeds.... 

they must be dipped in the waters of the phial and fed to the Child....." said the Wizard.

"It is Essential that she eat all three seeds for the charm to take effect! 

The Creatures will be able to feed them to her and she will remember them no more!"

It is completely Dark by the Time Clarence and Snowy approach the edge of the woods where the Gates of Time are Open! Clarence has no Idea that such a place exists... but he has complete Faith that Snowy will track the Children down...

Tommy is looking anxiously for any sign of his Father arriving... 

but at first when he sees a light approaching in the distance.....

He thinks for a Moment that ......

A Horrid Specter is approaching.....

But then Caroline cries out "Papa, Papa...We are here!"

And suddenly There is Snowy leaping on him and Papa with a Lantern... 

and Tommy is Sure that everything will be alright...!

But then Papa says "Where is Beatrice...?"

And Caroline bursts into tears!

But Snowy is racing ahead of them and Barking.....

So there is no time for questions or explanations.... 

they simply Must follow him as quickly as they can!

Meanwhile at the Cottage, Hazel and Agatha have gone to Summon Help!

They stand by the Garden Fountain and gaze into it's depths....

This is the Mystical Fountain of Seeing... 

where the stars are reflected in the waters...... 

even on a Starless night.....

And that which you Think you see......

Is that which you WILL see.....

They gaze into it together and think of Old Meg....

And they are Not at all Surprised when she is suddenly With them!

Old Meg takes the Crystal Phial and pours the Potion over the seeds....

Carefully letting the Charmed Water fall back into the Fountain.....

Then she takes the seeds.... 

and follows Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria to their Home in the Tree.....

Where she finds Beatrice cozily seated in their kitchen....

She gives the seeds to Anna Maria.....

Who Very Politely asks Beatrice if she would Please eat the seeds...

as they are Sure to help her feel better....

Beatrice is Not so Sure.... she doesn't think Anything can make her feel better... 

she just wants to go home to her own little bed.... 

but she doesn't want to refuse such a kind offer...

So she takes the seeds....

And she eats two of them 

before she remembers that she probably shouldn't be eating Strange foods from even Stranger creatures....

So she pretends to eat the rest but really spits one out.....

And then Old Meg calls her to come outside to sit with her....

Where her Father will be able to find her.....

 And Beatrice thinks that would be a good idea....

And she won't mind waiting in the dark if she is not alone....

Old Meg says not to worry... nobody can see her..... 

And before they can even get tired of waiting... 

Suddenly there is Snowy jumping up and licking her face...

And in another minute there is Papa with a Lantern.....

And he picks her up and holds her close......

and Beatrice Knew there was no better feeling in the World than her Papa's arms....!

And then Tommy picked up the lantern and they set off for home.....

With Snowy leading the way.....

His white tail waving like a flag in the wind....

The Storm was coming...... But they would make it home in time...

Because This All Hallows Eve.....

They had Time on their side!

A Scary Tale - Part Two

Time Is Running Out....

Beatrice was Not at all sure she was feeling well, Dear Readers, because when she opened her eyes she saw a small creature dressed in a very nice Green Velvet Coat standing at the bottom of the stairs. He was staring at her so she stared back. Then she remembered her Manners and said, "Hello, my name is Beatrice... Who are you?"

To her surprise, he nodded his furry head and said in clear plain English "My name is Samuel. Samuel Whiskers, that is." And he cleared his throat and tried to look Important. "Is this your House?" asked Beatrice, still not sure she should be conversing in English with a Tiny Creature.... no matter How well dressed he was! " The House belongs to my Aunt and Uncle who have gone to Town for the Season," he explained. "But my Wife Anna Maria and I are looking after it while they are gone..." he added a trifle nervously. There followed a moment of awkward silence. Beatrice finally recollected that She was sitting Uninvited in Their kitchen and started to apologize and was about to squeeze back out the door... when Samuel Whiskers spoke up suddenly to say "Welcome to our Home.... please make yourself comfortable..." And he tried not to notice that her head scraped the ceiling and there was nowhere for her to turn around! Then he added hastily "If you will just excuse us... My Wife and I have something to attend to.....!"  And then he and Anna Maria, who had been hiding in the corner just out of sight, whisked up the stairs and disappeared. Now Beatrice was SURE she wasn't feeling well at all... she just wanted to go Home... so she closed her eyes once more.....

Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria ran out of their Tree House and dashed across the Countryside until they came to the Cottage where the Old Ladies Resided. They needed to ask for help in removing the Human Child from their Home!

They marched right up and knocked on the door! One of the Old Ladies answered.... she seemed only a little surprised to see such a small guest at her door!

"Begging your Pardon, Ma'am," he began.... 

"There seems to be a problem... and we need your help!" 

"Oh..?" said Hazel.... "And what problem is that?"

"There is a Human Child in our Tree House.....!" said Samuel. 

"This will not do at all! We can't have Human Children knowing about our house like this... 

they will tell tales... we will be found out....!" he stammered, getting quite agitated.

"She seems quite unwell" added Anna Maria....

"She looked feverish to me!"

"Oh, Dear!" said Hazel, a concerned frown on her brow....

"Agatha!" she called loudly.... (Agatha is a little hard of hearing)

"Agatha,  what can we do to help this child...."she hollered. 

"There will need to be a Memory Charm at the very least! 

Do you know how to do a Memory charm, Agatha?"

Agatha, who had been watching the Little Creatures quite intently, just shook her head and said "I was never any good at Memory Charms, Hazel..." Then she nodded her head wisely and said "I think we will need to call for help, Hazel.... we can't have the Children finding out about all this.... that would not be a good thing at all...!" And she shook her head again. "We need Old Meg!"

But Deep under the Foundations of the Castle, In the Crystal Caverns, 

Old Meg had already woken the Wizard!

They would need to make a special potion that the Tiny Creatures could give to the Child....

With Water drawn from the Spring of Dreams.... 

that poured from a Crevice into the Obsidian Basin....

And could Only be Touched by Those Who Dared To Dream.....

Never Knowing whether those Dreams would be Filled with Light.....

Or the Denizens of the Deep..... 

Nor for How Long One Would Sleep....

The Wizard dips his hands in the Water.....

And begins the spell....

Meanwhile, Dark has fallen and the Children have not returned home! This is not the First time this has happened... but nevertheless, Clarence is Uneasy. There is a Storm brewing. He can feel it in his bones! The children must be home before the storm breaks!

Clarence is afraid of neither the Storm nor the Dark! He has spent too many dark nights on the Stormy seas to be afraid of what the Night holds! But he is afraid for the Children... especially Beatrice who is still so young...! His heart quakes at the thought of what She might be fearing in the dark! And Caroline too... for all she is so practical that she never imagines terrors in the dark.... but still... they are so young...! He grabs his lantern and sets off into the Night......

With Snowy bounding quickly by his side......

Together they will find the Children and bring them safely Home...

But they need to hurry....

Because

Time is Running Out......

To Be Continued....

Weather Permitting!

Hurricane!

A Scary Tale... Part One

A Hurricane is coming, Dear Readers! What? ANOTHER One, you ask? As incredible as it sounds, we are forecast to be in the path of this Monster storm only a little over one year after Hurricane Irene struck this region! This is a Very Unusual Thing in this part of the World.... so we are much less familiar with What To Do to Prepare! The forecast says the Huge storm will come ashore TODAY just south of New York City and curve Eastward through New England taking several Days to exit the region! And because it is so large a storm, the winds and the rains will be felt in Southern New England well before "Sandy" makes landfall. We have our water, our flashlights, our batteries, our pre-cooked food.... we have pulled down the Storm windows and moved the garden furniture inside. What more can one do while waiting for the Tempest to arrive?  Well...... funny you should ask..... !
Because I have been told that the Little people are stirring.... they have no idea there is a Storm approaching! In fact Agatha and Hazel have been enjoying the last warm afternoon of Autumn sitting in the Front Garden. The leaves have all fallen rather suddenly this year... so there is still a lot of tidying up to do. But for now they are resting and enjoying the fresh air.

Their Owls have joined them and are hooting quietly to one another in the tree branches.....

They can sense the change in the weather ..... 

and they are getting a little restless.....

Hazel is thinking it might be time to put the Garden Fountain away for the winter...

But really, she doesn't feel like working this afternoon.... 

Such a Wonderfully Gloomy Fall Afternoon...

Meanwhile, Tommy and Caroline and Beatrice have been out for an afternoon walk!

They might have walked farther than usual.... 

and maybe they are getting tired and aren't Entirely sure Where they are.....

They can see a Cottage up ahead and decide to ask for directions....

Tommy is about to approach when he sees something Unexpected....

At first he is not sure what he sees.....

But then he gasps.....

And says "Run... we better get away from here....!"

He and Caroline run as fast as they can away from the Cottage... 

but Beatrice was not paying attention...

She thought she saw some
Nice little old Ladies by the Cottage....

She crept closer to say Hello.....

But suddenly she wasn't Entirely Sure how nice they were......

Hazel was going to offer her some Treats....

But Beatrice has listened to her Fairy Tales....

She knows it isn't a good idea to take Sweets from Strange Old Ladies....

 She suddenly wasn't sure she was feeling all that well.... 

so she shook her head  and said "No thank you"......

and turned to follow Tommy and Caroline....

But they were nowhere in sight!!!

Meanwhile Tommy and Caroline have stumbled up to the doors of the Castle..... 

and realized that Beatrice did not keep up with them!

Caroline is surprised to see anyone in the Old Ruins....

But Tommy remembers Guard Ian and asks him to help them find Beatrice....

But Night Falls Early and Fast at this time of year......

After wandering around what seemed like Forever, Beatrice sits down to rest 

at the roots of a Very Large Old Tree......

But then she thought she could see a small light shining from within the Tree....

And was that a Tiny Door....?

And Should she go IN where it looked so warm and inviting and SAFE?

Why it Looked like a Tiny House!!!

So she climbed in.... Really she Squeezed in.......

She wondered Who lived in this tiny house....

But she was so tired..... and it was warm and cozy inside...

She leaned back against the Tree Roots and Fell asleep.....

But Meanwhile.... back at the Castle, Old Meg has left her Corner by the Hearth....

She can Feel the Trouble in her Bones......

For the Second Time in TWO Years a Storm of Epic Proportions is Coming....

And the Children are Lost between the Worlds......

THIS Time she feels she Might have to Interfere......

To Be Continued.....

Weather Permitting......

Hurricane!