دالی

CHAPTER FOUR

Dolly

I woke up, but there was something wrong. Then I knew what it was. It was the silence. There was no sound of cars or traffic. Nothing. I opened my window and listened and then I heard a bird sing and a sheep call under my window.

I dressed quickly and went downstairs. A big cat sat in front of the fire. It looked like a tiger with its red, white and grey stripes. My uncle was in the kitchen.

‘Good morning, Megan. Did you sleep well?’

‘Yes, I did. I slept very well,’ I said ‘and I saw the silvery-white horse again Uncle Fraser, before I went to sleep.’

My uncle looked surprised, but he said nothing and put two bowls on the table.

‘Why do you look surprised, Uncle Fraser, when I tell you about the white horse?’

Uncle Fraser sat down. ‘There is a legend Megan, of a silvery-white horse. Some people say it is a unicorn.’

‘A unicorn’ I said. ‘Maybe the horse I saw was a unicorn. It was a long way away and it was difficult to see. What does the legend say?’

‘I don’t know.’ Uncle Fraser put a big bowl of porridge on the table. ‘A shepherd saw the unicorn, but it was a hundred years ago now.’

This was exciting news. ‘Who can tell us about the unicorn?’

My uncle poured me a glass of fresh milk. ‘Old Mrs McTagerty knows the legend. She’s the old woman who lives on the other side of the village. We can ask her. Now eat your breakfast and no more questions!’

The porridge was delicious and I ate it with cream and sugar. The cat came and sat next to me.

‘This is Marmaduke. You didn’t see him last night because he likes to catch mice in the barn,’ said my uncle. ‘Let’s go outside, Megan. I have a surprise for you.’

Uncle Fraser showed me his vegetable garden.

There was spinach, carrots, potatoes and leeks and there were rabbits trying to eat the lettuce. Uncle Fraser chased them away and they jumped over the dry stone walls.

Uncle Fraser had a field of sheep, four cows, three goats and a lot of chickens. He showed me how to milk the cows and it looked easy when he did it. The milk squirted into the bucket, but when I tried, nothing came out.

‘Oh, Uncle Fraser, I can’t do it,’ I said.

The animals don’t know you Megan,’ said my uncle. He took my hands, ‘and you need warm hands.’

Near the croft there was a small barn and stables.

I looked inside the first stable.

‘You met Darwin yesterday,’ said my uncle patting the beige pony’s neck. ‘He’s my trap pony.’

In the second stable there was a cream-coloured pony with black spots.

‘This is Moon. My neighbour’s son, Ben, often rides him.’

I touched his nose. It was so soft.

‘Why do you call him Moon?’

‘Because when you look at the moon it is cream-coloured but there are little black marks. I think he’s the colour of the moon.’

Uncle Fraser moved to the third stable where there was the prettiest pony. It was beige with a blonde mane and tail and had big dark eyes.

‘This is your pony, Megan, and her name is Dolly.’