Witchette Polinella

            A strange journey it was after the two boys agreed to travel onwards together. Wump, as he had now elected to be called, knew so little about the world outside of the forest, and he spoke in such a muddled way that his never-ending stream of questions became quite tiresome. On top of all that he insisted on hearing his name with each reply. "Where will the river go thinks you?" he would say.

            "To the sea."

            "To the sea, what?"

            "To the sea, WUMP!" Moon would emphasise with a fat popping sound.

            "Yes!" Wump would respond, delighted. "What is the sea? Me dad did tell I but I forgetted it now."

            Moon wasn't always listening properly. He was still fascinated by the sight of this oddity of a forest child. Sometimes he had to pinch himself to believe that a journey on a wagon with his father's friend, Crumwin Shnort, had now turned into a considerable adventure through a very large forest with a little brown grub of a boy who asked lots of daft questions. There were times when Moon felt he had to avoid the answers as well. He didn't intend to lie about why he was going to Great Cousin Minskit's house, but he was too wary by far to speak of the things that Crumwin had confided about his father.

            Moon found himself trusting Wump as a forest guide, however. For a long time he followed on behind, continuing the route close to downward twists of the stream. Then without even being aware at first, because Wump was talking so much, he was being led away to the right. They picked their way up and over a ridge where loose boulders had been swallowed by carpets of lush moss. At no time did Moon question or doubt his companion's ability to find the river.

                 Eventually the way turned into a very steep descent - it was such a gradient in fact that they could not walk straight downhill but had to make lots of snaking turns. Further and further from the direction of the stream they seemed to be heading, until they reached a large boulder at the edge of a small grassy hollow. "Look!" exclaimed Wump as he pointed to something on the rock. "I did do that!" Moon saw a sort of triangle, an arrowhead shape perhaps, carved quite deep into the surface, pointing down and to their left. "Come! This way," he beckoned.

            The sun was getting quite low in the sky when the sound of rushing water met the boy's ears again. They were still descending quite steeply. The undergrowth was tall. The air was sticky. "Are we near the stream again?" asked Moon eventually.

            "Stream finish - river now," was Wump's rather confusing reply…

 

Away from the noise, Wump stopped, sniffed the air and said, "best us finds good shelter. It'll be dark afore us knows it."

            Moon shook his head in disbelief. "You can tell that by sniffing can you?"

            "No, you can tell it's getting dark because the sun do change colour and fall low in the sky."

            Moon sniggered.

            "But us had better find good shelter because there be a proper big storm coming I reckons."

            "How can you tell?"

            "The air does sniff of big sky light."

            For a moment Moon displayed an expression of complete confusion, but then it clicked. "Ah you mean lightning."

            "When there be a big light what does come into the sky and tis followed by tremendous noise." Just to emphasise the point, Wump followed that with an imitation of crashing thunder.

            Moon sniffed the air. He wasn't sure, but Wump could have a point. There was a distinguishable electric tangy taste to the warm evening air.

                 "Wonder what that be," said Wump pointing a muddy brown finger at a tiny something on the river bank way off in the distance. Moon strained to see what could be so interesting. Then he also picked up a tiny glimmer of bright redness. It was a little smudge of such vibrant colour that it lit up the green of the forest near to where the river disappeared from view. "Come on!" he said, "Let's take a look.

            The two boys exchanged different ideas about what such a bright red thing could be, as they gradually got closer to it. "I think it's a boat," said Moon eventually getting a correct guess.

            "Oh," said Wump.

            "Only a small boat I think. It looks…yes it's on dry land and it has been turned upside down. They probably did that to empty any water that might have found its way into it."

            "Oh," said Wump.

            Moon stopped and turned to face his leather-clad companion. "You don't know what a boat is do you?" Wump's mouth opened to say something. "And before you answer - let me tell you that you cannot eat a boat."

            "Wump smiled. For Moon it was a wonderful moment, because a Wump smile was still a rare thing indeed. "I don’t really knows what a boat is, but I reckons it must be what that red thing be over there. I knows I can't eats a thing like that, but anyhows I weren't going to be asking that. You said they turned it downside down or downup side down or something to let the water out."

            "Upside down - I know I did," said Moon trying to make sense of it all.

            "Well who be they that you was referring to?"

            "Well I'm sure I don't know," Moon replied, "and I think I would prefer not to find out actually."

            "Do you think they lives in that old hut next to it?"

            Moon looked at Wump and then looked again to the uncertain shape of the upturned boat. At first there was nothing more to see, but then, just to the right of it, he saw the outline of a log hut peeping out of the forest. "Come on," Moon whispered with the air of a general advancing towards an enemy. "Let's get closer and see, but we'll have to keep quiet from now on."

            The boys crept along the forested shore towards the boat and the hut. They reached the place where trees had been cleared - where the boat with its bright red paint was upturned. The log hut sheltered in the shade at the edge of the forest. The boys crouched low. They looked at each other for advice. "Seems quiet enough," Moon whispered.

            "Don't think there be no-one abouts," Wump added.

            They waited a bit longer. Nothing moving except where a slight breeze rattled some leaves. "Boat like that could take us always to the sea," Wump remarked as they watched. Moon was rather shocked to hear that.

            "We couldn't take that."

            "Why not?"

             "Well it's not ours for one thing."

            "Don’t look like it's no-one else’s neither."

            "Come on! Forget that! Let's see what's going on in that hut."

            Moon edged around the right side where there were two shuttered windows. He strained to see through the cracks, but because it was now so late in the day it was impossible to make out anything that might be inside.

            Wump had moved around the left side to where there was a simple wooden door. It was locked, so he gave it an almighty shake that rattled the entire building. It gave Moon such a turn that he fell backwards. He ended up in a heap in the soft undergrowth beneath the trees.

            “What did you do that for?” complained Moon as he met up at the front again.

            “Tis shut up it is,” responded Wump.

            “Well that’s obvious,” retorted Moon as he brushed himself down. “It’s getting dark. What are we going to do now?”

            “Us best go to sleeps.”

            “Yes but where?”

            “Under this boat.” Wump had already bent low and pushed his fingers beneath the rim of the upturned boat. He puffed a bit and then raised it in one smooth movement to head height. He peered under it, stared at something for a few seconds, and then looked back at Moon with a horror struck face. He released the boat as if it had suddenly become red hot. It hit the grass with a dull thud, hiding from view the terrible thing that Wump had seen. His fear was contagious.

                 “What?” Moaned Moon. “What have you seen?”

            Wump backed away. “There be a little person under there.” His face was ashen. “Dead it is – dead like a dead thing. I think it’s what you call a bee bee or is it a bo bo or a bye bye? Something like that anyhows.”

            “Do you mean a baby?” Gasped Moon.

            “A baby – that’s it,” replied Wump, “under the boat - dead.”

            “I don’t believe it,” said Moon as he approached the boat from the other side. He started to lift it himself. He just managed to hide a smile as he saw what lay under it. He gave the boat a little shove so that it fell away the right way up, leaving a very life-like girl’s doll staring upwards from the grass.

            “Is that what you mean?” said Moon pointing at the flaxen-haired, blue-eyed doll. Wump nodded like a madman. Moon bent to pick it up.

                 “Urrrrgh! Don’t you go touching it,” Wump pleaded. “It’ll be all horrid and stinking and rotted and stuff.”

            Moon was enjoying himself. Hiding his emotions as best he could, he wrapped a finger around some of the doll’s hair and stood up so that the rest of it dangled. “No it’s all…”

            As he spoke, Wump went even whiter than before. His eyes seemed to grow larger, and before Moon had even finished his sentence, Wump fell backwards as stiff as a board in a dead faint.

            Moon returned his gaze to the doll. There was a length of straw-like hair hanging from his finger with a cute blue-eyed head attached to it – but that was all. On the grass lay the headless body that had become separated as he had lifted it. “Oh my goodness,” he spluttered. “Wump it’s okay. I’m really sorry Wump.”