The Chronicles of Widget (Phoenix Rising)

by Angela Timms

  The goat stood silently for a little while. “I cannot. I have a lot to do today.”

  Abigail began to cry. The tears fell down her face and dripped onto her dress. The satin was easily marked by the tears and at any other time she would have been very, very upset. Today she didn’t notice. Her hands were over her face and she was crying and crying.

  The goat just watched her. “You can cry all you like. I am a goat. I was a goat and I always will be a goat. So I can’t help you. I have goat things to do.”

  Abigail looked at the goat in horror. “Then why are you here?”

  The goat thought about that one. “I’m here because I live here. I walk this way often and I look at the things on the table and wonder what they are for. You have taken them. I don’t know if you should or if you did it because you could. That could be good or bad for you. For me it doesn’t matter, I just live here but they were things seen by many people so that they are gone, that is not good for me. Don’t go and explode or do anything like that. The witch may well come and turn you into something for taking them if she likes them too.”

  Abigail looked horrified. “I’m a child, you can’t talk to me like that. I have been grabbed by a plant, dragged to a strange land and now I need to find my way home. In all the stories the heroine comes to a strange land, finds the things she needs, saves the world and then finds her way home with the thanks of the people in the world she was taken to.” She took a breath.

  The goat looked at her in earnest. “You said you were a princess. Princesses have responsibilities as they have to grow up to be queens and rulers. That is a very serious thing to have to do. They don’t have time for fun and they certainly do not lie and steal. You are nothing but a common thief and a beggar or you should be. You can put fine clothes on but you are still a nasty girl. You have come to where I live and taken things that do not belong to you.”

  Abigail’s eyes got wider and wider. “How dare you talk to me like that!”

  The goat shook his head. “I can talk to you any way I choose and there isn’t anything you can do about it.”

  Abigail stamped her foot again.

  The goat seemed to grin. “You’d make a good goat.”

  Abigail got even more angry. “Why would I want to be a goat?”

  The goat wagged its tail. “You had better stop there. You have already proved yourself to be rude. Don’t add to it by insulting me. Just because I can’t take you home doesn’t mean that I’m a bad goat. You have turned up here. You have stolen. You have insulted a local and you now expect me to do something I cannot do just because you want me to? Grow up child. Or at least be a child. Children are supposed to be good at this sort of thing. You are just nasty about it and I wouldn’t be if I were you. You are trapped somewhere far from your home with nowhere to go and no idea about how to get home. To find out how to get home, if there is a way, you are going to have to ask and investigate. Or is there no way home? I’m a goat, I can’t tell you, before you ask or are rude to me again.”

  Abigail looked at the empty table. “Do you think I should put them back? I’ve read stories where someone finds things that they need and they are magical.”

  The goat bowed its head. “Do you think they are magical? Why do you think they were there?”

  Abigail actually scratched her head. It fascinated her as she hadn’t done anything like this before, but she had seen people in films do it. Then she hadn’t been trapped somewhere that she couldn’t get home from, without her parents, before either. “Well I think they must be or they wouldn’t be there. I think they were there so that I can find my way home. That is what happens in stories isn’t it? If you need to find something it will be there for you.”

  The little goat itched its back leg with its teeth. “You are assuming a lot. Firstly that you are important enough for anyone to leave something like that for you. Secondly that it isn’t just a load of junk someone left to be spiritual and then forgot about it so didn’t come back.”

  Abigail suddenly felt very small and very alone. “In the stories I have read when someone goes to a place like this in the way I came here then they find things that will get them home. There is a short adventure and then it is all over.”

  The goat was listening with interest. “Why do you say that it won’t be like that? Life is interesting. It is like looking for a blade of grass in a field that is tasty. There are many experiences you must experience to be who you are and to enjoy the good ones. Most importantly it teaches you to be you.

  I might help you. I might not. If I don’t help you then you’ll work it out somehow or you’ll have to learn to live here. If you are nasty then nobody is going to take you in so you will starve and freeze in the winter. It is nearly winter here so if I were you I’d be nice to people.”

  Abigail stood in silence and looked at the little goat. She put her hand in her pocket and felt the little bag of things she had taken. Her hand then involuntarily moved to the necklace she had taken. “I didn’t think, I just picked them up as I thought they were relevant. What should I do with them?”

  The small goat looked around. “Well they aren’t yours but they have been there a very long time. Perhaps they were put there for you. There is no way of knowing. You found them but they weren’t lost. That is the difference between finding something and stealing something I suppose. Stealing is bad as someone will be very unhappy that the stolen item is gone. I, like many other people, look at those things quite often. We will miss them so although they do not belong to us, they are in a way ours. There is no reason why those things will help you to get home. I am sure if you are prepared to put them back when you have finished that I and my friends wouldn’t mind you borrowing them.”

  Abigail thought for a while. “Well, if your friends came along and helped me to get home they will make sure that I put the things back. Can I meet your friends?”

  The small goat thought about it. “Yes, I will ask them. Come with me. You don’t seem to have anything else to do at the moment.”

  Abigail smiled and wiped her tears. “Thank you.”

  The little goat wagged its tail. “That’s better.”. 2

  They set off and the carpet seemed to go on forever. Step after step they walked and all the time Abigail was trying to think of what to do. The small goat skipped along. Sometimes jumping sideways, sometimes skipping around and coming back to stand beside her.

  He looked up at her, his dark eyes bright. “The first friend we are going to see is the grey bear. He may or may not help you.”

  The carpet had become green and less flat. There were mounds in the carpet and on one of these mounds a stick poked through the pile. As they walked further more sticks pushed through the carpet and these sticks became trees. The carpet became grass. Abigail wasn’t totally sure when the carpet had become grass but it had.

  The small goat stopped. It then bleated very loudly. The goat waited and then there was a growl in the distance.

  The small grey bear walked slowly into the clearing where they were standing. He stood up on his back legs and then sat down and looked at them. “Well, is this lunch?”

  The small goat made a sniffing noise. “No, this is a person who is stuck here. She just appeared. She is irritating and I’d rather she didn’t stay in our world or there will be trouble. Can you help me to get rid of her?”

  Abigail glared at the goat who looked up at her. She saw him wink and then she understood so she stood very still and waited.

  The grey bear wiggled his nose and sniffed the air. “I don’t seem to have much else to do at the moment.”

  The goat wagged his tail. “She has taken the things from the table. Before you get cross, like I did, listen. She thinks she needs them to get her home. So I’m going along with her to make sure she doesn’t steal our things and only uses them. Do you want to come along too?”

  The bear growled. “You took the things? That was nasty. But if you are prepared to only borrow them then that is a
little more fair. I would go with you but I have to finish a job first. If you help me, I will help you.”

  Abigail was about to speak but the goat stamped on her foot. She looked down and was too busy rubbing her foot to answer.

  The goat tilted his head. “So, what is this job you would like help with?”

  The bear smiled. “My shelter is leaking and I keep getting wet. I would like to fix it before I go anywhere.”

  The goat looked at Abigail. “Would you help?”

  Abigail stopped hopping and glaring at the goat and nodded.

  The shelter was between three trees. It was a ramshackle mix of bits of wood balanced together and most of it had fallen down. Abigail looked at it. “You need string to fix this. Do you have string?”

  The bear looked down. “I don’t have that sort of thing. I am a bear.”

  Abigail stuck her lip out. “You have built a house so you are not an average bear.”

  The bear laughed. “Well I am.”

  Abigail smiled. “I forget that I am not home. Where I live bears do not speak and goats do not speak either. I can help you to make your house stand up.”

  She took the necklace from around her neck. It was on a leather thong and as she untied it she realized she had quite a long piece of thong.

  Carefully she took the planks and sticks down and found some that were the same length, the longest ones. She piled half of them up like a teepee and then tied them firmly at the top with the thong so that they made a firm structure. She left a long piece hanging. She then took the boards and put them around the poles. She then picked up the other half of the long poles and dug them into the ground and pulled their tops up to where the other sticks were tied and tied the lot together. The result was a stronger structure big enough for the bear to go inside. Just like the tent she and her friend Jenny had built in Jenny’s garden.

  The bear went straight in and sat down. He looked around and pushed the walls carefully with his paws before giving it a harder shove.

  The walls held firm, the wind kept out and the bear smiled. “This will give me a lovely place to spend my winter sleep. Thank you. I will now help you.”

  The little grey bear fell in with them and they walked on.

  Abigail looked around. The trees wore their autumn colours, golds and browns and the ground was now covered in them. She hadn’t noticed that happening but it had. The leaves crunched under her feet and the air smelt chilled and damp. The rich smell of the loam filled her nose and as the wind blew she wished she had a coat. The little goat was right, she was going to have a cold winter if she couldn’t get home.

  She reached into the bag and took out the things. The bear and goat looked over her arm to see what was there. “An interesting collection and I’ve absolutely no idea what to do with them.”

  The little goat looked up at her. “Well like with the string, you never know what anything is useful for. Or they may not be useful at all. They may just be the reason why we are coming with you. For now let us just enjoy the journey.”

  The woodland was a glorious array of oranges, browns and burnt ochre. It stretched as far as they could see but they couldn’t see too far because of the bushes which held onto their fading leaves as well. Their glorious last blast of colour was their farewell to the year. The cleansing fire before the bursting buds of spring.

  Abigail hadn’t thought about it before. She had never noticed the trees changing colour or the way the wind moved them. She hadn’t noticed the crunch as her feet stepped on the piles of drying leaves.

  The sounds and the scents of the forest filled her senses. It confused her and excited her at the same time. She was miles from home but she didn’t feel afraid.

  The little goat trotted beside her. The grey bear on her other side and they wandered through the woodland not really knowing where they were going but hoping that it was the right direction.

  The woodland opened into a rolling pasture which led down to a bubbling and swirling river. The water danced and bounced over the rocks in its way. It was wide, about ten feet at its narrowest. The river wasn’t deep and it was clear as crystal. The current wasn’t too strong so they were able to step into it.

  The water felt sharply cold around their ankles. It soaked their legs but it was a pleasant feeling, not a frightening one. They had to be careful as the rocks were very slippery. They had to hold onto each other and Abigail laughed as she nearly lost her footing. It wouldn’t be deadly to fall but it would certainly be wet and she did not want to be wet for the rest of the day.

  They stepped up onto the bank and dried their legs off as best as they could. They sat on the bank for a while and just watched the stream. Abigail could have told them she wanted to go on but actually she didn’t want to. She was very happy where she was.

  Finally she stood up. “Well I suppose we ought to head off.”

  The other two got up and they headed off along a track which had seen plenty of feet, hooves and paws over the years. It was dug down about a foot and the rolling countryside swooped away from it in all directions.

  They walked on and on and the autumnal sun warmed them as they walked. The sun was behind them and their shadows were getting longer. They walked and as they walked they saw a wooden cottage in the distance. As they got closer they saw that it had a sign outside. It was a little hotel for travelers.

  Abigail looked at the building nervously. “What do we do? We can’t stay out all night, we’ll have to get a room here.”

  She went first, the other two following closely behind. The door was old and slightly dusty from the road so when she knocked there was a slight cloud of dust which floated into the air and hung there momentarily like a collection of magical infinitely small fairies. Then the door opened and Abigail stepped backwards.

  There was a man at the door, a very big and very hairy man. He was a good six feet six and his head touched the door lintel. He had a huge bushy beard and huge bushy hair. His coat was a startling bright green and his boots a very bright orange. He smiled a huge beaming smile and opened the door further. “Good evening, do you want a room?”

  Abigail was lost for words. She smiled and nodded.

  The man looked down at her. “Well we are twenty Ildas a night. That would have to be in advance.”

  Abigail looked down at her wrist and pulled off her bracelet. She had been given it by her mother and she really liked it but they couldn’t sleep outside all night. She held it out to the man in the doorway. “Would this be enough of a payment?”

  The man looked at the bracelet and took it off of her. “Yes, that will be fine. I’ll show you all to your rooms.”

  Once they were sitting in Abigail’s room after being shown to their own and coming back to speak there was an uneasy silence. It was broken by the small goat. “Why did you give him your bracelet? You could have given him one of the things from the table.”

  Abigail rubbed her now empty wrist. “I gave him the bracelet because the things from the table are not mine to give. The bracelet is. It was a gift from my mother but I’d rather see her again than have some bracelet.”

  The little goat thought for a moment. “You have changed. That is good.”

  Abigail put her head on her pillow after her friends had gone to bed. The pillow was soft and plumped up. The mattress was equally soft and there was a huge feather quilt she could pull over herself. It was very heavy and it took her a while to get used to it.

  She lay in the coolness of the sheets and looked around the room. It was plain and there was a lot of wooden decoration in the room. The walls were paneled wood, the floor just boards. There was a single wardrobe which somehow seemed very intimidating and a perfect place to keep a monster. There was a table with a wooden bowl on it and a chair. Other than that there were no other furnishings.

  The goat had been shown to a stall downstairs and the bear had been shown to a room which was plain with only a bed in it. This was truly an interesting world, Abigail thought.
>
  As she drifted off to sleep she wondered if the act of sleeping would take her home. When she woke up in the morning still on the bed in the room she knew that it wouldn’t.

  She got up and there was an enormous breakfast waiting for her on the table in the dining room. The large man stood next to it and brought her a pot of tea. He brought her toast and when she had finished he cleared it all away. His voice seemed deeper than the night before. “Would you like something else?”

  Abigail smiled. “No thank you, I really enjoyed that and I can’t eat another thing. Where are my friends?”

  The man looked a little nervous. “They left in the night. They told me to tell you that they were going to continue on the journey and you can catch them up when you get there.”

  Abigail was really nervous now. She didn’t need to think about it. She knew that there was no way that they would have gone on without her. She bit her tongue to calm her nerves. “Do you serve lunch?”

  The man smiled. “Yes, today we do. We will have a roast dinner today. With all the trimmings.”

  Abigail tried really hard not to react and her head raced with thoughts. She knew she wouldn’t normally ask what type of meat so if she asked it would be suspicious. But she feared that the man would say goat meat.

  She got up and thanked the man and when she went outside she could see the footprints where they had arrived but there were no footprints for the goat and the bear leaving. So she went back to her room and listened very carefully. She couldn’t hear anything. So she started opening doors. She opened door after door until she opened one that made her stop in her tracks. The room was full of cages and the cages were full of animals. Two of the animals she recognized, her friends were in there in big cages with big padlocks.

  She stepped inside and took the key off of the hook. The floorboards were old and she knew they would creak. So she walked very carefully and unlocked their padlocks. She unlocked other padlocks as well and let everyone out. Everyone was about twenty to thirty animals of differing sizes. There were tigers, lions, kangaroos and all manner of animals which rushed out of the door and down the stairs.