مه‌های اسکاتلندی

CHAPTER SIX

Scottish Mists

Ben came to the croft the next morning. He gave me a riding lesson and then we decided to take Idris out for a walk and pick wild raspberries for tea.

‘Don’t forget your jacket,’ said Uncle Fraser. ‘The weather looks uncertain. And don’t go far.’

‘OK’, we both said.

Idris was happy to go out with us. He ran and jumped among the wild flowers and when we reached the small loch he swam. Otters are playful animals and Idris made a mud chute. He was very happy, because now he could slide into the water. Ben and I sat in the warm sunshine and watched him.

‘Why did Uncle Fraser tell me to bring a jacket’ I said to Ben. ‘The weather’s hot.’

Ben smiled. ‘The weather’s warm now, but it can change very quickly.’

We decided to pick some raspberries. There were some growing near a small wood and we picked lots. Then we saw blackcurrants so we went into the wood and Idris followed us. The blackcurrants were big and delicious.

‘Did I tell you I saw a unicorn’ I said to Ben as we walked along a little path.

Ben laughed. ‘Unicorns don’t exist.’

‘That’s what I thought, but Uncle Fraser said that a shepherd saw one here a hundred years ago. There’s a legend, he says, but we need to speak to old Mrs McTagerty.’

Ben turned and looked at me. ‘You want to speak to Dolores McTagerty? Do you know who she is?’

‘No,’ I said eating some more blackcurrants. We went down another path.

‘Some folk say she is a witch. She lives in ‘The Blackhouse’. It’s the croft on the headland down by the beach. She doesn’t come to the village very often. Mr Mackie, who owns the grocer’s in the village, takes her food.’

‘Why do the villagers think she is a witch’ I asked.

‘Because the wild animals come to her. Eagles fly down and sit on her hand, the red deer come to her door for food and so do the seals.’

‘That doesn’t mean that she is a witch,’ I said.

‘Well, you can’t go to her house alone. I’ll come with you.’ Ben said and then he stopped and looked up at the sky.

A cold wind blew and the blue sky was now grey.

‘We must go back,’ said Ben and he put Idris in his pocket. We turned round, but the mist came down. The white mist swirled all around and we couldn’t see the path in front of us. We were lost!

‘Walk slowly and hold my hand,’ said Ben.

It was very cold and soon our hair was wet. Thank goodness I had my jacket!

Ben had a small torch and whistle tied on his jacket, but we were far from any houses and crofts. No one heard our calls.

We walked on until suddenly there was a noise. It came from behind a tall tree.

‘What was that’ cried Ben shining his torch, but I knew.

Just in front of us, in the circle of torch light, stood the silvery-white unicorn. It bowed its head and looked at me with its dark eyes. It called softly.

‘It’s the unicorn,’ I said to Ben. ‘It wants to show us the way home, but then you don’t believe in unicorns.’

Ben smiled, ‘I didn’t, but I do now. Let’s follow it.’

We could see the silvery-white unicorn clearly as we followed it through the wood. Slowly and patiently it led us across the fields to White Heather Cottage. The lights were on and as we walked through the gate the unicorn turned and looked at me. Then it galloped away across the heather.

Uncle Fraser opened the door. His face was pale. ‘Thank goodness you’re home.’