“No, thank you,” Trom assured him. “We Shamrogues are in our element here. It feels so good be in such close contact with nature. Let’s march on.”
“And look at these ants. They seem to be going our way,” Sona remarked, and picked up one of the tiny insects. It circled the palm of her right hand and then turned to face her angrily.
“I think you’ve made a big mistake,” Gorum advised. “You shouldn’t go around interfering with others as they go about their business. They might not like it at all.”
Sona smiled. “And how are you on this nice day?” she inquired of the ant in its own language. “Are you well?”
“Mind your own business, you overgrown strawberry!” the ant replied. “Put me down or I’ll nip your nose off. The cheek of you, making me lose my place in the food queue!”
Without saying a word, she placed him back on the ground. Not all creatures were as pleasant as she thought they might be. The ant scurried to regain a spot in the moving line and bustled his way into the queue.
“Let that be a lesson to you,” Croga said.
“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed Glic, slapping Sona playfully on the back.
“See if you can find me,” he called, and dived headlong into the undergrowth at the side of the track.
The children and the Shamrogues laughed and took off after their little friend. Soon they were on a narrow track that sloped down to a stream, which flowed into a shady glen.
“OOOOVER…HEEERE!” Glic called, daring the others to find him.
Because of his size, it was impossible for the other Shamrogues to see him as he took advantage of the tall ferns, shrubs and grasses.
Niamh, Sinéad and Conor could easily see where Glic was, because he disturbed the undergrowth each time he moved.
“There! There!” Niamh said, pointing excitedly. “Let’s get him!”
Without thinking, she ran as fast as she could down the slope. Conor and Sinéad looked after her, and then at the remaining Shamrogues at their feet.
“I know what you’re thinking, I bet,” Gorum said, peering upwards while shielding his eyes from the glinting sunlight that was coming through the foliage in shafts.
“I’d say you do,” Conor agreed. “That sister of ours forgets things very quickly. Her plan to stick to this track was short-lived.”
“Serves her right if she gets lost. Then she can find her own way back to the car!” Sinéad added in a bossy voice.
“I do hate hide and seek, anyway,” Croga said, and folded her arms. “It’s only for children.”
“It’s a great way to see the forest and have fun at the same time,” Sona enthused.
Croga was about to reply, but Trom raised a hand for silence. “All this bickering will have to…” The leader of the Shamrogues was prevented from finishing his sentence.
“EEYYAAA….AAAAAAAGH!” Niamh’s chilling screams ripped through the trees from the glade below.
Conor and Sinéad were terror stricken. They should have been looking out for their young sister instead of finding fault with her. Now it sounded like something terrible was happening to her.
Another piercing scream rent the air. They scrambled in its direction, their hearts beating louder in their chests than pounding drums.
Trom motioned to his fellow Shamrogues with outstretched arms. “Action! Magic! Quickly!” he commanded.
The four grabbed hold of each other’s hands. No sooner had they done so than they vanished in a swirling mist of dazzling colours that looked for all the world like a rapidly fading rainbow.
Conor and Sinéad stumbled, fell, rolled, picked themselves up again, and ran on even faster than before. They were charging for a hazel thicket, from where they could hear Niamh. They raced along the banks of the stream and entered through a gap in the tangle of hazel stems.
What met their eyes astonished them and they stopped dead in their tracks, their lungs bursting for air. At the same moment, like a whirlwind from the sky above, Trom, Croga, Gorum and Sona landed with a thud in the centre of a carpet of bright yellow primroses.
Niamh stood at one side, unharmed, and laughed her head off as Glic entertained her with his magic.
The cheeky Shamrogue wiggled his tiny fingers at arm’s length at a monstrous primrose that jigged and danced to order. Firstly up and then down, from side to side, then back into the ground only to zoom up again, weaving to and fro for all it was worth.
The others were too amazed to speak, as the flower performed its rhythmic dance and almost hypnotised them.
But then it was Trom’s turn to show his magical powers:
Listen here, friend Earth and Soil.
Hold this plant until and when
It no longer tries this day to spoil,
And keep it safe to grow again…
No sooner had the bearded leader completed the chant than the flower completely vanished back into the ground.
Niamh suddenly ceased laughing and peered around. Never in her entire life had she witnessed such a weird spectacle. Her eyes were wide and she wore a bemused expression. The others now understood as Glic looked sheepishly at them all.
“I was only playing a little prank on Niamh, and I’m afraid I got…sort of carried away. But the primrose appeared so beautiful and sweet scented that I wanted it to be the size of a giant. I’m sorry it frightened her, but then she seemed to be enjoying its antics. Sorry. I’ll try and use my magic more sensibly in future…”
“Well….” Trom hesitated. “Hmmmmm….” He tugged reflectively at a bushy eyebrow and then put a finger to his lips. The leader was deciding the issue. “You have frightened not only Niamh, but all of us. However, since you realise your mistake, we’ll let the matter rest.”
“Can we leave now?” Niamh asked. “I’m really okay. So why don’t we continue our exploring?”
“Yes, please. We still have plenty to see,” Sona insisted. “The hour is not gone yet.”
“Perhaps we should consider returning,” Gorum said. “I’m having bad feelings that I cannot explain. And they’ve something to do with that stream next to us.” His nose twitched as he sniffed the air and his face appeared to become a deeper blue than it usually was. “CHAA…HAAA…HAAA… TTIIIISHOOOO!” he sneezed and almost fell over with the effort.
“Someone’s catching a cold,” Sinéad said to the others. “We’ll get out of here and have a stroll in the sun.”
Heading slowly and silently back along the stream towards the clearing where they had planted the tree, they came to a deep pond, fed by the water that tumbled over a boulder-strewn weir. Here, Gorum sneezed even louder than before. At the same moment, lots of bubbles frothed to the surface of the pond and a sleek-headed creature poked its head out of the water.
“YIK. YIK. YIKKER…!” she called in surprise at seeing the children and the tiny Shamrogues.
She would have dived out of sight again but for her endless curiosity. Children she had watched many times in the past, and in many places, but creatures coloured such as these… she had not seen anything like them before!
Gorum’s sneeze had prevented everyone from hearing the “YIKKER” of the animal. But now, as she bobbed in the water, they heard the gentle splashing and turned around to see what was causing it.
“An otter!” Conor exclaimed, startled. “They’re shy, but this one doesn’t seem to be bothered with us being here.”
The Shamrogues stepped nearer to the stream’s edge.
“That’s what I smelled,” Gorum said, feeling uneasy. “A wild animal who loves water as much as I do.”
“Harump!” Trom said.
“Beautiful,” Niamh exhaled. “What a cute creature to be able to float like that on it’s back. And look, it’s holding a pine cone between its front paws.”
“Hello, shiny creature,” Sona said. “We’re Shamrogues, and these children are our friends. Conor says you are an otter, but do you have a name we can call you by?”
“TukTuk,” the animal replied shyly. “I
’ve just arrived from across the great wide water that’s salty and not clear and fresh like this pond. I intend to make my home here.”
“Why?” Gorum asked warily. “Why should you move from where you lived and were probably born? Were you driven out because you did something wrong? There is an evil aura about you. I can smell it.”
“I have never been involved in a single bad deed. It is humans who have put this aura on me and I have nothing to be ashamed of. You insult me.”
The otter disappeared beneath the surface. Trom recalled her. “We intend no mischief, TukTuk. Gorum is simply being over cautious for our sakes. Please forgive him.”
There was a slight ripple on the water, then a little splash, and she reappeared. “Very well,” she sighed. “I have a brief tale to tell, if you will listen. Sit and rest yourselves awhile.”
The Shamrogues and the children did as they were bid, although Conor, Niamh and Sinéad didn’t understand otter language.
As Sona conversed with TukTuk, Trom told them what the otter was saying.
“Across the wide salt-water, there is a huge building with great bulky towers that never stops fouling the sky with smoke. And into the sea it empties a tainted substance that scours the ocean floor and destroys everything. Fish can no longer survive there and, if they do, they are not good to eat. That is why I attempted the great swim. To escape to a cleaner place where I might live my life out, though I have a feeling that may not be very long. Perhaps it has something to do with the aura you describe.” After telling them her story, TukTuk told them that she was feeling tired and wanted to rest.
The otter swam to the other side of the pond and walked into the bushes on the opposite bank. “Farewell!” she called.
“I knew something bothered me,” Gorum said.
“Let’s not discuss it now. We’ll move on and leave TukTuk in peace. We can speak at length later,” Trom declared.
They continued their stroll, their mood pensive as each of them became lost in their own thoughts.
“Music,” Conor remarked, breaking the spell, as another sound carried to them. “Somebody is playing the harmonica. I should know, I have one.”
“Deep in Coillduff Forest?” Trom asked, raising his bushy eyebrows.
“What’s an harn…amonicca?” Glic said excitedly.
“Quiet!” Trom hissed. “We’ll find out soon enough.”
“Be careful,” Gorum added softly.
The children and the Shamrogues followed an almost invisible trail through the undergrowth as the music became louder. The track came to an abrupt end in front of an overgrown patch of shrubbery growing on a steep bank on the side of a hill.
But the harmonica playing continued, as shrill and sharp as ever. The Shamrogues and the children stared about them, trying to figure out the strangeness of what they were hearing.
“I detect fire,” Croga muttered. And then: “It is somehow beneath that bush!”
“Easy now,” Trom advised. “Glic, slowly and without any noise, check that peculiar growth of greenery.”
Glic moved forward, half crouching, and went to the bush. Parting some leaves, he peered inside and almost stumbled with surprise.
“Woweeee!” he called in hushed tones to the others. “Look what I’ve discovered….”
Chapter Three
The Rock and Bone Man
Trom motioned with a wave of his hand for everyone to stay exactly where they were. Glic may have been too hasty in calling the group forward, and it was always sensible to check things first, just in case there was danger lurking in wait for them.
He stepped as silently as possible to where Glic crouched. The sight that met the leader’s eyes was extremely hard to believe. For, behind the camouflaged partition, there was a cavern which had been cut into the very steep bank of the hill. But stranger things were to meet his astonished gaze. A sudden shiver ran through his grey body as he saw where the lilting music came from.
The lone figure of a human sat in the cavern, swaying to the strains of the music he was playing on the harmonica. A smokeless fire, fuelled by white-hot embers of wood, glowed eerily in a low stone grate and cast waving shadows on the ceiling and walls. The harmonica glinted like a strip of fiery silver as its notes carried to the listeners.
Trom failed to notice the others join him, but by that time it was too late to take any action or even command them to get back. Gorum sneezed yet again.
“AAAATTISHOOO,” he roared, and began coughing uncontrollably. He tried to stop himself by gagging his mouth with shaking hands, but to no avail.
“Run for it,” Conor shouted, aware that their presence had been given away. “Grab the Shamrogues. Run and hide!”
He caught hold of Gorum and then Croga. Sinéad, as quick as a flash, took hold of Trom, while Niamh just managed to grab Sona and Glic before the figure rose from sitting cross-legged and stomped towards them.
They had no sooner taken refuge by hiding behind the trunks of tall trees than the thatched partition was thrown aside and the figure emerged into the sunlight.
“I know you’re there,” he said in a calm voice, though with a strange accent. “I’ve been expecting you. Come out before I’m forced to come and search for you. I mean you no harm.”
Conor stepped out bravely from his hiding place. He held Gorum and Croga behind his back. “I… I’m…” he stammered nervously, “I’m the only one here.”
“So it was you who sneezed and disturbed my harmonica playing?” the man asked.
Conor swallowed hard and found it difficult to speak.
“No he didn’t,” Niamh said boldly. “It was me. I’m the person who made all the noise. Blame me!”
The big man grinned broadly and stuck his thumbs into the straps of the leather braces he was wearing. “Oh, I see…Are there any more of you who would like to take the blame? I mean, children who pop from behind trees usually have others to protect.”
Sinéad, who was carrying Trom in cupped hands in front of her, edged from behind a tree. She looked glumly at the ground in front of her. What trouble had the tree-planting and her birthday caused? They might never see their parents again. How could they possibly cope with this giant of a man if he decided to kidnap them? The situation was hopeless…
Then Trom whispered to her from his place of concealment. “This man you see in front of you is not bad. There is something very special about him. My magic tells me. Don’t be afraid. Trust him. His eyes spoke the truth when he said he would not harm you.”
Sinéad slowly let her eyes travel along the ground to where the man stood. She raised her head and took in what she saw. A pair of green Wellington boots. Tucked into them, a pair of baggy tweed trousers, and then a belt, over which brown leather braces aided it to hold the trousers up. Above that, a checked shirt of different shades of green. But the face was something else. Apart from sharp blue piercing eyes and a stubby nose, there was nothing to be seen except an over-grown red beard that merged with his hair, which was covered by a most spectacular bush hat. Dangling on thin strings from the wide brim were at least twenty plastic flies.
“Say ‘hello’,” Trom urged. “It will let your brother and sister know they should not be frightened to show a brave face. Anyway, you seem to have forgotten we’re magic and never let anything nasty happen to our friends.”
Sinéad took a step closer, but Conor was by her side before she could get any further.
“What are you at?” he muttered under his breath. “Make a break for it with Niamh and I’ll try to get him to chase me. He’s so heavy; he’d never catch me if I run uphill. Move when I say ‘Go’.”
Trom’s words had given Sinéad courage; she could hardly believe herself. “How are you?” she said to the man. “I’m Sinéad.”
The man broke into loud laughter. “I’m very well, thank you. My name is Mulligan. Welcome to my den!”
Niamh looked at her older sister and made a funny face by wrinkling her nose. Then she stared at Mulli
gan. “My sister is feeling ill. She gets a bit funny in the sun and faints a lot in the fresh air. We’d better be going. Our father and mother, and six big brothers will be looking for us. They’re just over the hill.”
Mulligan turned slightly and looked behind him to where his cavern was. He was silent for some seconds before facing them again.
“So be it, then. Off you go. You had better be on your way if all that gang will be looking for you. Perhaps I’ll see you all again sometime. G’day!”
He began to walk back to the cave.
“Hold on,” Sinéad said, following him before the others could prevent her from making a big mistake.
Mulligan paused. “What is it?”
“What do you mean by ‘expecting us’? How did you know we’d be in Coillduff Forest today? Tell us, please…”
Suddenly Niamh and Conor also wanted to know the answer to that question. They joined Sinéad.
Mulligan still did not turn. His shoulders seemed to heave, as though he was taking a great sigh, and his strong arms hung limply by his sides. His hands were in fists, and he opened them to rub the rough surface of his tweed trousers.
“What do you carry in your hands?” he asked quietly.
“Just some stones,” Niamh said. “Anyway, you can’t answer our question by asking us one.”
Mulligan slowly faced them. He smiled to reveal pearly-white teeth that could not remain completely hidden by his beard. “Show me those stones…. Please.”
Sinéad uncupped her hands to reveal the grey-white stone she held.
The big man peered closely at it for some time, and his eyes seemed to mist over as a look of recognition came into them. “Now the others,” he murmured.
Niamh glanced at Conor as he opened his hands. She followed suit, feeling that she was somehow betraying her friends, the Shamrogues.
Mulligan’s blue eyes scanned each hand in turn. “I knew you must have the creatures.” He slapped his knees and rotated several times before sitting unceremoniously on the ground. The plastic flies on his bush hat shook crazily and almost seemed to buzz in front of his face.
The Shamrogues Page 2