Glenda and a Knotty Problem.

[Palustris]

Glenda solves a knotty problem.

Early one fine morning, Glenda the Wendle wended her way through Feggy Wood. She was going to visit her old friends, Walter and Wilfred. They were the oldest Wendles, and she had not seen them for some time. They lived at the far end of Feggy Wood, near to where it opened out into fields. Walter and Wilfred were twins and looked exactly the same as each other.


Wilfred said that he liked living there as he could look across to the Wood where he had lived for so many years after being blown across the fields in a gale.

Glenda had brought him back when she had gone across the fields to rescue her friend Brenda, who had also been blown across the fields.

If you are wondering why they had to be rescued, you need to know that most Wendles find it impossible to go out into the open fields. They have to have branches over their heads. Glenda was probably the only Wendle who did not mind being out in the open without trees overhead.

On this particular morning she went around the edge of the Dampling Fen. Her friend Bob the Fenwangler lived next to the Black Pool in the middle of the Fen. She could have gone to visit him, but she knew that then she would never have got to call on Walter and Wilfred until much later. As she got closer, she began to hear a very strange noise.

A tummy crawler came slathering down the path.
"Hello," said Glenda.

A tummy crawler.

"Can't stop," said the tummy crawler. "That is the most terrifying sound I have ever heard." As quickly as it had arrived, it disappeared down the path.

Before Glenda could take another step, a tiny squeaker scuttled down the path. "Hello," said Glenda. "

A scared tiny squeaker.

"Can't stop," said the tiny squeaker. "That is the most terrifying sound I have ever heard." With that, it too disappeared down the path.
Glenda scratched her head. The noise was certainly odd, but it did not sound scary. The next creature to arrive was a budger.

"Hello," said Glenda.

"Hello," said the budger. "Can you hear that awful noise?"

The budger.

Glenda nodded. "Yes. I wonder what it is."

The budger shook its head. "I have no idea, and I am not going back along the path to find out, just in case."

"Well," said Glenda. "I think I will go and look. My friends live not far from here. I will see if they know what it is."

"Take care then," said the budger as it went on its way.

The noise got louder as Glenda walked along the path. It sounded more like someone or something in pain rather than anything else. She turned around a bend and found herself looking at two elderly Wendles.

Walter and Wilfred.

It was Walter and Wilfred. The noise was coming from one of the Wendles. When they saw Glenda, the one making the noise stopped and took a deep breath.

"Hello, Glenda," he said weakly.

"Hello, er, er, Wilfred," said Glenda.

"That's Walter," sniffed the other Wendle. "I'm Wilfred."

"Sorry," said Glenda. "No one can tell you two apart, you know. What is the matter? Why is Walter making such a strange noise?"

"I have a bad case of the knots," said Walter. "And it is very, very painful."

"The knots?" asked a puzzled Glenda.

Walter nodded and cried out in pain.

"The knots," said Wilfred. "He is covered in them." Glenda looked closely at Walter. He was indeed covered in lumps. There was even one on the top of his head.

Walter was covered in lumps.

Glenda took a step back. "What are they?" she asked nervously.

"Thems is knots," said Wilfred. "Don't worry, they are not catching. It is something that happens sometimes to very old Wendles. You youngsters won't get them until you get as old as Walter and I."

"Is there any way of getting rid of them?" asked Glenda.

"We don't know," said Wilfred. "We were trying to get to talk to Gertie the Green Wendle. She seems to know a lot of old Wendle things."

Glenda nodded. "She helped me with the sap suckers."

"The trouble is," went on Wilfred, "Walter has knots on the bottom of his feet, so walking is very painful. That is why he was moaning."

"That is a problem," said Glenda. Then she added brightly. "I will go and find Gertie for you and ask for her help."

"What did she say?" asked Walter. "I remember when these trees were nothing but saplings, and young Wendles spoke clearly, not mumbling all the time."

"You go," said Wilfred. "I will try to explain to him. He has knots in his ears."

Glenda wended her way to the edge of the Dark trees. There was a telltale bird sitting on a branch.

A telltale bird.

"Good morning," said Glenda. "Would you please go and tell Gertie that Glenda is here and needs to speak to her as soon as possible?"

"Certainly," said the bird, and it flew off into the Dark trees.

It did not take long for Gertie to arrive. "Good morning, Glenda. How can I help you?"

"Good morning," said Glenda, and she quickly explained about Walter.

"Ah," said Gertie, thoughtfully. "I have not seen anyone with knots since my grandfather had them. That was back in the days when the whole of the land was covered in trees and Wendles could roam as far as they wanted without ever having to go out in the open."

"But do you know how to cure them?" asked Glenda.

Gertie nodded. "I think so. We need a double handful of knitbone leaves, about the same number of woundwort stems, some willow bark, and marshmallow roots to bind them all together. Where is Walter now?"

"He is near where he and Wilfred live. He was finding it too painful to walk," explained Glenda.

"Well, he is going to have to make his way here. Once we have made the lotion, we will have to cover him in white birch bark bandages. He will have to stay here out of sight for at least three days with the bandages on," said Gertie. "He will have to drink lots of willow bark tea."

"I have quite a bit of willow bark left over from when I had the sap suckers," said Glenda. "But I don't know where to find knitbone or woundwort. I don't remember ever seeing them in Feggy Wood.

"Marshmallow grows in Dampling Fen, and the treechewers could make the birch bark bandages for us," said Gertie. "But as you say, finding the other things is not going to be easy."

"I will get some help and see if we can carry Walter to the Dark Wood," said Gertie. "You go and see if you can find anyone who knows where knitbone and woundwort grow."

Glenda wended her way through Feggy Wood. She came to Dampling Fen. Felix the thumbfinger guided her along the path to the Black Pool. Bob the Fenwangler was at home with Marcie the Mossmummer.

Bob and Marcie.

Quickly, Glenda explained about Walter.

Bob said that there was plenty of marshmallow growing in the fen and that he would dig up some roots for her.

Marcie said, "I think that there used to be knitbone and woundwort growing in Big Wood, where we used to live. I will ask my brothers."

Marty and Morry Mossmummer agreed that there used to be both those plants growing in Big Wood.

Marty offered to take Glenda. "I would go on my own if I could," he explained, "but Mossmummers find it almost impossible to cross open fields where there is no moss to hide in."

"But you came across the open fields to get here," said Glenda. "

Marty nodded. "That was at night, and I don’t think you want to wait until then, and in any case, I am not sure I could find those plants in the dark."

Glenda and Marty set off. They followed the hedges until they came to Big Wood.

Marty led the way. "They used to grow on the edge of our old home," he said. Sure enough, there was a big patch of knitbone just waiting to be picked. The woundwort was on the other side of the dried-up fen.

Knitbone.

Marty looked around and sighed. "I miss this place," he said. "It is sad that the water went away and the moss dried up." He shook himself. "Ah well, we had better get back to Feggy Wood. Perhaps one day we will be able to move back here again.

Woundwort.

Back in Feggy Wood, Glenda collected the marshmallow roots and mashed them together with the knitbone leaves and the woundwort stems. She added a handful of powdered willow bark. She took the green mess to the Dark trees. The tell-tale bird fetched Gertie. "We managed to carry Walter here," she said with a grin. "He complained all the way."

"This is the lotion you need," said Glenda.

"We still need some birch bark bandages," said Gertie.

"I will go and talk to the tree-chewers," said Glenda.

A tree chewer.

The tree chewer was only too happy to strip the bark from a silver birch to make bandages.

Glenda made her way back to the Dark trees. Gertie was waiting for her. Together, they gently rubbed the lotion all over Walter's knots.

He complained the whole time. Then they bandaged him from head to toe.

Walter was wrapped in bandages.

"How long will he have to keep the bandages on?" Glenda asked.

"Until the knots have gone, " said Gertie. "I have left the one on top of his head so we can see if the lotion is working. It is going to take at least three days, I think."

Glenda wended her way home.

As Gertie thought, three days later a tell tale bird came and said that the knot on Walter's head had gone, so it was time to remove the bandages.

Glenda watched with interest as Walter was unwrapped. His fur was green from the lotion, but all the knots had gone.

Gertie sniffed. "He needs a bath."

Walter was not pleased, but he was given no choice. He was washed from head to ankle. They kept his feet dry just in case there was such a thing as catching collywobbles from wet feet.

"No wonder he's deaf," said Gertie, as she washed his ears. "There is enough dirt in here to make a garden."

"You don't need to shout," said Walter. "I ain't deaf."