"Gather round," said Mickey as he settled himself on a superior hay bale.
"I shall tell you a tale of yore."
We flattened and scruddled around on the loose hay in the barn until we were comfortable and he combed his whiskers slowly whilst we waited in silent anticipation of his Tale of Yore.
"Many, many years ago," he began, pausing slightly between purrs.
"I shall tell you a tale of yore."
We flattened and scruddled around on the loose hay in the barn until we were comfortable and he combed his whiskers slowly whilst we waited in silent anticipation of his Tale of Yore.
"Many, many years ago," he began, pausing slightly between purrs.
"In the deep of the old pine forest where the Hoot-Hoots live and man and beast feared to tread, there travelled a Coach drawn by a magnificent pair of black horses, at six o'clock each afternoon. It was the Lady from the Big House on the estate as she returned home from visiting her elderly parents in the next village. It swept along the drive chankering on the cobbles as it went. The hooves in perfect rhythm making a hollow sound and sending sparks flying in the air." Mickey paused and cast a foreboding stare at us. The youngest ones trembled, but their eyes were firmly rooted on Mickey's every whisker.
"One day the Lady failed to return. The clock on the tower of the stable block struck six times, but there was no sound of the outstretched gait clattering between the high rhododendron hedges flanking the long drive through the forest. The Hoot-Hoots awoke and with their eerie call heralded night-time."
"Where was she Mickey?" Seagoon was almost beside himself with excitement and fear.
"No one knows, Seagoon. But it is said that on a late autumn evening as dusk falls you will still hear the Coach and horses racing up the drive and stop outside their stable block."
"Have you heard it Mickey?" Alys asked.
"Indeed," replied Mickey. " I was on a mousing adventure and had to take cover in the bushes as with a rush of wind the wheels and hooves sped past me. Now off you go to your beds and Sweet Dreams!"
And with that Mickey stretched and curled up in a snug ball ready for a good night's sleep. Gordon and Sylvia xxx
"Where was she Mickey?" Seagoon was almost beside himself with excitement and fear.
"No one knows, Seagoon. But it is said that on a late autumn evening as dusk falls you will still hear the Coach and horses racing up the drive and stop outside their stable block."
"Have you heard it Mickey?" Alys asked.
"Indeed," replied Mickey. " I was on a mousing adventure and had to take cover in the bushes as with a rush of wind the wheels and hooves sped past me. Now off you go to your beds and Sweet Dreams!"
And with that Mickey stretched and curled up in a snug ball ready for a good night's sleep. Gordon and Sylvia xxx