It has been a long time since I posted a story.
The Neigh Sayer
Sir Doodah was burying acorns in the yard. He always buried them by a tree so he could remember where they were when he needed to find them. On this day, he came upon a tree that went straight up and did not have a single branch. “How unusual!” he thought. It was smooth, and smelled like nothing he had smelled before. “Humm, no bark, smells funny, goes straight up, hummm. I must see what is at the top.” So, Sir Doodah climbed up the funny looking “tree.” When he reached the top, he heard a very loud HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! At the top, there seemed to be just one long, thin, branch going on forever! Sir Doodah stepped cautiously out onto the thin branch. It seemed very strong and did not sag at all. He ventured out a few more steps. He looked up. There was nothing but blue sky. He looked down. There was the ground a long way below. He did not know how to turn around and go back to the tree trunk he had climbed up. He had no choice but to go on to where the long, thin branch would take him. Sir Doodah ran along the thin branch for what seemed like a long time. At last he came to another “tree” that looked just like the one he had climbed up to get in this predicament, but the thin branch went on and on. He decided to climb down this “tree” and think a while. Sir Doodah looked up at the thin, long branch that was going on and on, and he looked at the thin, long branch he had just been on. He had a hunch that, if he were to continue on the thin branch, eventually, he would come to another one of these strange “trees.” He climbed back up and took the next branch and, sure enough, there was another “tree” at the end and another branch going on and on. This was some discovery! He could not wait to get back home and tell Mr. Hoy T. Toity and Mr. A. A. Corn of his discovery! This was big! Really big. Mr. Hoy T. Toity was just emptying his hands of all the acorns he had gathered when Sir Doodah hurried up and slapped him on the back, “I have found it! The High Way to the rest of the wide world! I have found it! I have found it! I have found it!” Mr. Hoy T. Toity’s acorns flew from his hands all over the ground. “Found what?” he finally managed to yell. “Look at all my hard work lying on the ground! Help me pick them up and tell me what you are talking about!” Sir Doodah began gathering up the acorns and then he threw them into the air and yelled, “IT, IT, I have found the High Way!” He was laughing and dancing around Mr. Hoy T. Toity.
“Perhaps you better show me this High Way you are so excited about, before I lose all my acorns,” said Mr. Hoy T. Toity.
Sir Doodah took Mr. Hoy T. Toity to the “tree with no bark” and led him up and onto the thin, long branch.
“See? It goes on and on, and every little way, there is another one of these trees, and then it just goes on and on some more and then there is another tree.”
Mr. Hoy T. Toity understood right away what a good thing the High Way was. No cats, no dogs, no snakes, and you could go a long way to look for acorns. He patted Sir Doodah on the back and told him, “This is the greatest discovery of the year. We must tell all the others.”
But Sir Doodah had another idea.
“What if I stay at one of these trees where a squirrel would go up, and you stay at the one they would come down, and the other squirrels have to give me two acorns when they go on the High Way and they have to give you two acorns when they want to come back on the High way?”
Mr. Hoy T. Toity said, with a sly grin, “What a good idea! We won’t have to look for acorns ourselves at all!”
The two enterprising squirrels told every squirrel they saw about the High Way and collected two acorns from each squirrel going and returning on the High Way until they had so many acorns that they did not need any more for the winter. So, they let two other squirrels take their places and the same thing happened to them. Soon every squirrel had had a turn to collect two acorns from the travelers on the High Way and so everyone was ready for winter.
Over the road, in the wild land of Lester’s Field, lived one lone horse. She had been registered long ago by her owners as “Southern Star,” but she preferred to be called by the name her mother had given her when she was born: Maudie.
Maudie had grown up with the children of Lester’s Field. They used to come each day after school, bringing carrots and apples. They loved to brush her beautiful silver-grey coat and climb on her back for a good long chase through the pastures and woods. Those were the happy times. Now, all the children had grown up and moved away to other places. The old Judge Lester had died and his widow was spending more and more time in their other home on the island. She had hired a man to come and give Maudie her sweet feed every day, but he was busy and did not have much time to stay and talk. He always rubbed her nose and said, “Good afternoon, Maudie. Have a good feed!” Then he drove away. Maudie had been put out to pasture.
A barbed wire fence separated Maudie from the forty-seven red cows and one red bull that lived in Lester’s Field. Several of the red cows were quite nice. Maybelle, especially, came to visit with Maudie over the fence and talk about her calf … what a trial the little one was, and how she had a mind of her own. Maybelle was very proud of her calf.
Other than the cows, Maudie only talked with birds. The Crow came once a day when the hired man brought the sweet feed, and rambled on and on, mostly about a dog named Wooffer. Maudie would like to see a Wooffer. She had never seen one in her life. Yes, she would like to see a Wooffer…
But Maudie’s best friends were the Egrets. Her favorite was Ibie the Ibis. Ibie walked with Maudie everywhere. Sometimes she rode on Maudie’s back. They talked of all manner of things. Important things such as: “Why the grass is green?” “Where do the stars go during the day?” and other things of interest to them both.
One day, Maudie was talking with Ibie the Ibis and asked, “Have you ever seen a Wooffer?” Ibie flew down off Maudie’s back landed right in front of Maudie’s nose. “So, YOU have heard of a Wooffer, too?” he demanded.
Maudie said, “Yes, you mean there is such a thing? I heard something about it from the crow, but you know how he makes things up just to get some sweet feed.” Ibie had heard about Wooffer from the peacock and “the peacock tells the truth,” he said.
From that day on, Maudie and Ibie could think of nothing but finding Wooffer. They asked everyone they saw to tell them what they knew about Wooffer. When the crow came for the sweet feed, Maudie ask him to tell her everything he knew. Well, the crow did not know much, but he did know that Wooffer lived over the road and was not allowed to cross it.
It seemed hopeless for Maudie to see Wooffer. She could not get out of her fence … but Ibie could, and Ibie did. She flew over the road, and landed right by a tall pole where Mr. A.A. Corn was collecting two acorns from each squirrel who wanted to climb the pole. Ibie watched for a while and finally asked Mr. Corn what he was doing. Mr. Corn explained how a long branch ran off the top of the pole and connected to any number of other poles just like it.
“We call it The High Way,” explained Mr. Corn. “It is so much nicer than leaping from tree to tree to get anywhere.”
Ibie finally asked Mr. A.A. Corn to tell her about Wooffer. She explained about Maudie in Lester’s Field, and how they both had heard so many things about this Wooffer that they really wanted to know what a Wooffer was and all about him.
“Wooffer is a little dog that lives on this side of the road. He is a friend to all animals, big and small. But,” he added, he is not allowed to cross the road. I will use the High Way to go to Lester’s Field with you and tell you all about Wooffer.”
Mr. A. A. Corn climbed the strange tree and ran along the long thin branch until he came to Lester’s Field. He told Ibie and Maudie everything he knew about Wooffer. He left nothing out. (He was very fond of Wooffer, himself.)
Several days later, Wooffer’s mom went to get the mail out of the box by the road. Maudie and Ibie were close to the fence.
Maudie shouted, “Neigh!”
Ibie shouted “Bur!” Again and louder, “NEEIIGGHH!” and “BUURRR!”
Wooffer’s mom came up to the fence and stroked Maudie on the nose. She said a kind “Hello” to Ibie. “What is it you want to talk about?” she asked.
Well they both started to talk at once. But finally they got it all said. They wanted to talk to Wooffer. They wanted to be friends. Wooffer’s mom went across the road and picked Wooffer up in her arms and carried him over to the fence. She put him on the ground in front of Maudie and Ibie. Wooffer, Maudie and Ibie talked for a good long time while Wooffer’s mom waited close by. They talked of many things; of why the sky is blue, and if fish rain down from the clouds, and how flowers know what color they are.
Wooffer’s mom promised to bring Wooffer one time a week to the fence to visit with Maudie and Ibie. They were very happy and so was Wooffer. He did like a good discussion.
Love,
Betty
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