[Child of the 7th Age]

Edmund

Edmund did exactly as he was instructed, leading Tom over to a small penned enclosure on the northern facade of the Inn that he and Ban had fixed up several weeks before as a place to bring the wounded animals they collected. There was even a sturdy wooden crate or two mounted on stilts that could be used as makeshift rabbit hutches.

Edmund found one stout stick for Tom and picked up another for himself; then the hobbit and the boy lifted the snorting piglets out of the wagon and down onto the ground. Working together, they drove the animals into the enclosure, afterwards stopping to latch and bolt the gate and make sure the pigs had plenty of hay and water.

A few minutes later and they had found a home for the chickens in a coop adjacent to the stables where the Innkeeper already maintained a clutch of hens for purposes of providing fresh morning eggs. The cow was led inside the stable and given a stall next to one of the horses, since evening was approaching and it would soon be time for milking, while Tom herded the sheep and goats down to the corral where the children usually played at recess.

Edmund stopped to sink his fingers into the thick woolly coat of one of the sheep and slid his head down on the animal's back offering him a hug. But, other than that, the boy worked hard and did not even think once about teasing Tom for only being a hobbit.

The other hobbits had unloaded the onions and turnips and lugged the bushels into one of the storage closets in the Inn. The only thing still left on the wagon was the family of three rabbits. Tom gestured to Edmund to climb up into the back of the cart one last time and bring the animals over to the pen. Edmund brought the three rabbits over, then stood fascinated staring into the hutch and admiring the soft silken coats with their black and white patches. The small bunny looked up at him with round brown eyes and tilted an ear down with his paw almost as if he was saying hello and tipping his hat out of respect. The boy had seen coneys from across the field, but never before had he stood so close to one, able to sink his chubby fingers into the soft shadow coats, to admire the uplifted powder puff of a tail and watch the nose that wiggled in all directions.

Edmund's heart sank to his toes. Why, this was even better than squirrels, and that was saying a lot!

The young lad waved goodbye to Tom and the other hobbits, thinking that perhaps his punishment would not be too hard to bear, at least if he could manage some way to help take care of these animals as well as mending holes in the hedge. And Berilac had actually asked him to bring his squirrel along. Who knows, he pondered, there might be a badger or two in the hedge who was sick and needed a friend to rescue him. Edmund went back inside the Inn in a far better mood than he'd been in for some time.

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That evening at the supper table, Edmund told his mother all about unloading the wagon. Although Andreth had seen everything with her own eyes, she encouraged Edmund to elaborate his tale, listening intently and asking questions. Dinner drew to a close and a yawning Edmund was sent off towards his bed, tired from a harder day of work than any he'd known in a while.

Just as Andreth was tucking in her son under the blankets, he looked up at her with wide eyes and asked, "The bunnies, mommie. Can I keep them in my room, so they can be friends with squirrel?" Edmund glanced over towards the cage where the tiny animal was curled up asleep.

Andreth hesitated, but then responded, "No, I don't think that's a good idea. It's best we leave them outside in the pen." She bent down and blew out the candle, shutting the door behind her..

Edmund rolled over and tried to sleep, but all he could think of was those soft, sweet conies. As realization began creeping into his mind, he sat bolt upright and sprinted down the corridor towards the parlor where his mother still sat doing her mending with a sock stretched out over the mouth of a wooden cup.

She glanced up from her work and asked Edmund why he had gotten out of bed. He bustled up to his mother and buried his head affectionately on her lap and spoke in a trembling voice, "Mommie, are you going to cook those bunnies in a stew?"

Andreth blanched, wondering what to say. There was no sense lying to the lad, but neither did she want to hurt his feelings. "Edmund, you know how hungry people are. Many are not so lucky as we are to have the wonderful dinners that Cook prepares. I expect those conies will be with us for a while, but I can't lie to you. If the bandits attack and people are hungry, we may need to add rabbit stew to the menu."

The little lad blanched white as he heard the final sentence of doom proclaimed on his family of friends. Edmund was used to seeing chickens and pigs slaughtered and the hunters who brought in the carcasses of deer, but a bunny was another matter altogether. Who could eat something with such a cute wriggling nose? His face registered strong disapproval.

Edmund said nothing as his mother herded him back to bed, just as he'd done for the piglets earlier that day. But once the door was shut, he began feverishly plotting to rescue his friends. For the first time that week, Edmund realized that he could not do the whole thing on his own. He almost wished that he hadn't quarrelled with the other children in his class. Those big lads probably would not help him. He would need to come up with another idea. With that thought sealed in his mind, the lad fell asleep dreaming of a world filled with bunnies, badgers, and creatures with soft, thick coats and bright eyes.

[ November 14, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]