Hortensia was walking with glee through the amber leaves as they crunched and rustled beneath her feet. 'See Archibold, see how they are all mixed together at last, oak and beech, birch and ash, all in a huge mess of shape and colour', and with that she pounced on Archibold and pulled off his hat, he of course started chasing her and before they knew it, they found themselves very out of breath and right outside Aunt Mildred's front door!
Hortensia thumped the brass button knocker hidden under the ivy, 'I recognise that' said Archibold as he tried to stuff his curls back under his hat, 'what a great find that was - one of my first triumphs!' He had found the old jacket lying forgotten under a hedge at the side of the great field, 'the buttons were a great prize and I think that Aunt Mildred used every scrap of material to make coats and blankets - we were all a lot warmer that winter because it'. Hortensia was thinking out loud, 'I can't imagine why a human would leave such a precious thing behind?' Archibold winked at her as he whispered - 'love' in her ear.
'Humph' snorted Aunt Mildred as she opened the door, she of course had heard everything. Gnomes can hear a mouse fart from fifty paces so a whisper is practically a shout. 'Love indeed, get in here and start pulling!' Hortensia and Archibold rushed into Aunt Mildred's warm and steamy kitchen 'just in time, put on your aprons and start to pull when I say it is ready.'
Uncle Humperdinck smiled a sort of queasy smile, he had been helping since early morning and the strong smell of peppermint had begun to make him feel a bit sick. He was in charge of cutting the long ropes of pulled humbug mixture into the right size to make perfect sweets, so he was standing at one end of the kitchen table wielding an enormous pair of human nail scissors.
Aunt Mildred poured the hot mixture onto her marble pastry slab, she had carefully oiled the marble with walnut oil so that the incredibly sticky mixture just oozed as she gently spread it evenly with her best bread knife. 'Now my Dears start to pull...!' Hortensia and Archibold rushed to stretch and pull the mixture into long ropes, snip, snip went Uncle Humperdinck's scissors and soon there was a pile of Aunt Mildred's luminous, alluring and utterly essential mint humbugs.
It was a great honour to be allowed to help with the humbug pulling and Hortensia and Archibold did their best to work very hard indeed. Soon Aunt Mildred pronounced that all was well, and after a short wait whilst they cooled, the humbugs were carefully stored away in the safest place in the Forest - Aunt Mildred's pantry. ' Well done my Dears, well done - now who's for a cup of tea and a biscuit?' 'As long as it is not peppermint tea' groaned Uncle Humperdinck who had collapsed in his chair by the open window!
Monday 26 November 2012
Saturday 10 November 2012
Home at last.......
Archibold and Hortensia were sitting on a sunny bank, surrounded by golden leaves gently floating in the crisp air as they fell all around them in the clear morning light. They were out for their first morning walk together since Archibold had returned home. 'I am so glad to have you back', Hortensia was rocking Baby Harriet's basket with her foot to try to encourage her to have a little sleep, but of course Baby Harriet was having none of it and continued to stare happily at the luminous leaves glowing yellow against the clear blue morning sky. 'Such amazing adventures, imagine having to set up camp in a park, Oh Archibold, did you get all the planting done that you wanted to?'
Archibold grinned 'I more than did my bit, and quite frankly my Dear, next on Hector's list was roof, gutter and drainpipe planting - not really my cup of tea!' Hortensia laughed as Archibold explained, 'just now Hector will be leading the expedition out along the edge of a chimney or a perilous ledge, to plant a bit of ivy or a young sapling - I am better off leaving him to it!'
They set off arm and arm together with Baby Harriet snug in her basket on her mother's back, for Hortensia was eager to point out all the new things that had happened in the Forest since Archibold had been away. 'Such mushrooms Archibold, so many and such variety', Archibold unfurled a hessian sack from around his middle, and set to collecting fresh greens, some elder berries and of course, several large mushrooms. Soon the little sack on his back was bulging with delights as they set off home.
Hortensia had been very busy cleaning and polishing their winter home in the old Fir tree. All summer long they had revelled in the freedom and delights of their summer house high up in the oak tree, but now with the chill in the air and the evenings drawing in, it was definitely time to move back inside.
'Archibold, we just need to bring down the furniture and then we are done. We can move in this very evening!' So just as soon as they were back Archibold set up the pulley, and started lowering the bed and chairs and tables to his sled at the base of the tree, and then pushed and pulled the sled all the way to the Fir tree. 'Just leave them outside Archie, I want to polish them before we take them in.' Hortensia darted about with her duster and pot of beeswax, and soon the furniture gleamed and smelt delicious. 'Ready Darling', so with more than a little huffing and puffing they pulled and pushed the furniture into their home.
'Well, I think that deserves a cup of tea and some flapjacks,' said Archibold, truth to tell he was feeling rather done in, it had been a long walk home and as we all know, furniture moving can be very tiring. As the kettle boiled and Hortensia bustled about spreading butter and jam on toast and setting out cake and flapjacks, the sound of snoring started to echo all around, poor Archibold had collapsed in the rocking chair and was fast asleep.
Archibold grinned 'I more than did my bit, and quite frankly my Dear, next on Hector's list was roof, gutter and drainpipe planting - not really my cup of tea!' Hortensia laughed as Archibold explained, 'just now Hector will be leading the expedition out along the edge of a chimney or a perilous ledge, to plant a bit of ivy or a young sapling - I am better off leaving him to it!'
They set off arm and arm together with Baby Harriet snug in her basket on her mother's back, for Hortensia was eager to point out all the new things that had happened in the Forest since Archibold had been away. 'Such mushrooms Archibold, so many and such variety', Archibold unfurled a hessian sack from around his middle, and set to collecting fresh greens, some elder berries and of course, several large mushrooms. Soon the little sack on his back was bulging with delights as they set off home.
Hortensia had been very busy cleaning and polishing their winter home in the old Fir tree. All summer long they had revelled in the freedom and delights of their summer house high up in the oak tree, but now with the chill in the air and the evenings drawing in, it was definitely time to move back inside.
'Archibold, we just need to bring down the furniture and then we are done. We can move in this very evening!' So just as soon as they were back Archibold set up the pulley, and started lowering the bed and chairs and tables to his sled at the base of the tree, and then pushed and pulled the sled all the way to the Fir tree. 'Just leave them outside Archie, I want to polish them before we take them in.' Hortensia darted about with her duster and pot of beeswax, and soon the furniture gleamed and smelt delicious. 'Ready Darling', so with more than a little huffing and puffing they pulled and pushed the furniture into their home.
'Well, I think that deserves a cup of tea and some flapjacks,' said Archibold, truth to tell he was feeling rather done in, it had been a long walk home and as we all know, furniture moving can be very tiring. As the kettle boiled and Hortensia bustled about spreading butter and jam on toast and setting out cake and flapjacks, the sound of snoring started to echo all around, poor Archibold had collapsed in the rocking chair and was fast asleep.
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