Post by Palustris on Jan 23, 2023 17:19:55 GMT 1
Glenda hears a bell.
Glenda the Wendle.
One early autumn morning, Glenda awoke with what she thought was a faint ringing in her ears. Now, as you know, Wendles have very good earsight. If you were to blindfold Glenda, she could still tell you exactly where she was in Feggy Wood, just from the sounds. Glenda could hear the grass and the trees growing.
She frowned and rubbed her ears. The ringing carried on. She nudged her boyfriend, Glen. He woke up, sniffed, and said. "Where is that ringing coming from? It is very annoying."
"Can you hear it too?" she asked. "I thought it was my ears."
"I could hear it," said Glen, "but not anymore. It seems to have stopped."
They both listened carefully. The tinkling noise had stopped. "That's better," said Glenda. Then, it began again.
"I am going to find out where that is coming from," said Glenda. She wondered if it was the Spoofler, but she did not say anything. She had promised not to tell anyone about that strange creature. Spooflers are usually invisible, but they do like to make noises.
If you hear a cow go "moo" when there are no cows about, that is a Spoofler. If you hear a sheep go 'Baa' when there are no sheep to be seen, that is a Spoofler. If you are wandering through the Wood and you hear strange rustlings, but cannot see anything there, then that is a Spoofler. They can make the noise of any animal, bird, or even the wind. That is what Spooflers do."
She helped herself to a handful of nuts and dried berries and set off through Feggy Wood, following the sound. It was not easy. The ringing kept stopping, so she had to wait for it to begin again. A squarrel was sitting by the side of the path, digging a hole for an acorn. "Hello," said Glenda.
A squarrel in Feggy Wood.
The squarrel sniffed and said, "Hello, please do not tell anyone where I am burying my acorns."
"I won't, " said Glenda "Can you hear a tinkling noise?"
The squarrel put its head on one side and listened. It nodded. "Yes. Now go away, please, and let me bury my acorns in peace."
Glenda wended her way through Feggy Wood. She found a budger grubbling in the soil. "Hello," she said.
"Hello," whiffled the budger. "These wurrums are really nice. Please don't tell anyone else where I found them."
"I won't," said Glenda. "Can you hear a tinkling noise?"
The budger grubbling in Feggy Wood.
The budger put its head on one side and listened. It nodded. "Yes. Please let me grubble for these worms in peace."
Glenda wended her way through Feggy Wood, following the tinkling noise. It was not easy as it kept stopping, so she had to stand still when that happened.
Soon she came to the hollow tree that was the home of the Spoofler.
"Hello," said Glenda. "It is only me." From inside the tree came the sound of a chacker bird. Then the spoofler popped its head out of the tree. "I hope you did not tell anyone about me," it said.
"I promised I wouldn't," said Glenda. "I just wondered if it was you making the ringing noise."
The spoofler shook its head. "No. "Now, please go away before someone comes and sees me."
The spoofler is usually invisible.
The ringing noise began again. Glenda wended her way through Feggy Wood, following the noise. It led her to the path to Dampling Fen.
"Hello," said Felix the Thumfinger as he tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hello," said Glenda.
"Hello," said Freda as she tapped Glenda on the other shoulder.
Freda and Felix Thumfinger guide visitors along the path to Dampling Fen. The only parts of them that you can see are their thumb and finger. They are always behind you, so there is no point in trying to see them.
Felix's thumb and fingers.
"Can you hear that ringing noise?" asked Glenda.
"Yes," said Freda. "But we do not know where it is coming from. Bob the Fenwangler might know."
Glenda wended her way along the path, guided by the Thumfingers. Bob was sitting at one of the tables by the Black Pool. Marcie the Mossmummer was with him. They were cutting up the chips, ready for any visitors who came to climb the Tower tree.
"Hello," said Glenda. "Hello," said Bob and Marcie.
"Can you hear that ringing noise?" Marcie asked. "It is very annoying."
Bob and Marcie.
"It seems to be coming from the very edge of Feggy Wood," said Bob. "We would go and look, but we are very busy. This time of year is when we get the most visitors to look at the lights."
Bob had made homes for the burnyflitters, and in return, they dangled their nightlights all around the Black Pool. It made a very pretty sight.
One of the burnyflitters.
"The ringing keeps stopping," said Marcie, "so it is hard to know where it is coming from."
Just then there was a strong gust of wind, and the ringing got louder while the wind blew. "I think it must be dangling from something, and when the wind dies down, it keeps still and the ringing stops," said Bob.
Glenda nodded. "I am going to find it and stop it if I can." She wended her way through Feggy Wood, following the noise. Soon she came to the very edge of Feggy Wood. There were fewer trees here and some bushes. Green fields began where the bushes stopped.
The wind dropped, and the ringing stopped. Glenda stood very still. A sunbeam came down between the trees, and something glinted silver in the light. The wind blew again, and the ringing started again. Glenda smiled. She knew exactly now where the sound had come from. She walked over to the bush and picked it up. It was a leather strap with a bell on it.
The leather strap with a bell.
The ringing stopped. From a nest high up in a nearby tree, a small furry head appeared. It was a long sleeper.
A long sleeper.
Long sleepers got their name not because they are long but because they spend most of their lives asleep. They wake up, eat as much as they can, and then go back to sleep again.
"Oh, " squeaked the long sleeper. "Thank-you, thank-you. That thing was keeping us awake, ringing all the time. It was very annoying. We need our sleep. We have eaten as much as we can, and now we really ought to curl up and snooze."
"I am glad I could help," said Glenda. "I could hear it all the way across Feggy Wood." The long sleeper gave a great, big yawn and went back inside its nest.
"Sleep tight," said Glenda. The long sleeper did not answer, it was already sleeping tight.
Glenda wended her way back through Feggy Wood, back to her own nest. She needed to carry on with collecting food for the winter. When she got home, she found that Glen was talking to a visitor. Sat outside the den was a sad looking furry purrer.
A sad looking furry purrer.
"Hello," said Glenda.
"Welcome back," said Glen. "The furry purrer needs your help."
The furry purrer nodded. "I was given a nice, shiny medal because I have caught so many little squeakers and big squeakers around the farm. I was out hunting last night in Feggy Wood, and somewhere I lost it. I really liked my medal, and I wondered if you would help me find it."
"What does it look like?" asked Glenda.
"It is a strap with a shiny thing dangling from it," the furry purrer told her.
Glenda brought out the leather strap that she had found by the long sleeper's nest. "Is this it?"
"Oh, yes, that's it," cried the furry purrer. "That's my medal."
"A medal?" said Glenda, feeling rather puzzled.
"Oh, yes. It has to be. I cannot think of anything else that it could be," said the furry purrer. "Please, can you fasten it around my neck for me?"
Glenda undid the strap and went to put it around the furry purrer's neck.
"Wait a second," it said. "Before you do that, can you do me a favour and fill the inside of the medal with mud? Only it makes so much noise that the squeakers can hear me coming and run away."
Glenda laughed and did as she was asked.