Adventures

By Starfish Girl

Tue, 30 May 2023
  • 454 reads
6 comments
 

It sat, all alone, on the banks of ‘the great, grey, green, greasy Limpopo River’ (to steal a quote from Rudyard Kipling). A hat, a bush hat, a pristine bush hat. Quite at home in such a situation. But why was it there sans owner? Perhaps eaten by crocodiles (or should it be alligators on this South African river?). With a thigh bone eventually found when the creature was caught and destroyed. Maybe captured by natives and held up as a god(the true fate of all real Englishmen) with bush hat exchanged for a crown of teeth (human or animal difficult to tell). Or a simple mundane answer, a lost hat with ex owner currently suffering from heat stroke.

 

Let us now turn our attention to ‘this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England’ (another steal this time from Shakespeare). It sat all alone on the banks of the mighty River Severn.A hat, a bush hat, a pristine bush hat. Quite uncomfortable in such a situation, feeling it’s rightful place should be on the banks of the great grey etc etc. But what of its owner, could they be on a ride on the Severn bore with hat left behind, a wild swim with hat unnecessary, a Reggie Perrin escape with only the hat left as evidence. Or a hat put down in a moment of forgetfulness.

 

Two bush hats, each with a story but which can you believe and is any possible?

 

The Kipling quote is from The Just So Stories and this is from The Elephants Child. All stories well worth reading.

 

The Shakespeare is Richard ll.

Certificate 12
Other
Other Fiction

Comments

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

The intrigue of those stray items seen … the single shoe or sock, the sunglasses … Would be lovely to hear some answers to some of them! and how long should they be left in place or stuck on gate-posts in the hope of reclamation! and of course, have we left anything behind to intrigue future passers-by? Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Starfish Girl on

Thanks Rhiannon. Yes those items are intriguing.

This inspired by a writing class exercise. Given two hats, I got a bush hat and a top hat, write in 200 words! I began the top hat but much too long.

Lindy

Submitted by Tom Brown on

Yes it's “crocodile” in Africa I don't know the others, there are Australian too I think they are called “alligators”. They are the largest they are massive and the South American ones the smallest, Could be in India too? Of course there are no crocodiles in England only in the London Zoo.

They are terrifying as they sneak up on you there's s a traditional folk story I have a version here on Abc, the tragic story of "Mabalel" a great Chief's daughter.

By the way more people die of hippos than crocks but the animal that kills most people in Africa.

Wait for it ... mosquitoes. Keep well! Tom

 

Submitted by Tom Brown on

The tragic story of Mabalel

https://www.abctales.com/story/tom-brown/mabal%C3%AAl

 

 

Submitted by Starfish Girl on

Hi Tom

Thanks for sending the story, very poetic and lyrical.

Thanks also for reading and commenting. Have you read The Elephants Child by Rudyard Kipling?

I also read somewhere that more people are killed by coconuts than by crocs!

Lindy

Submitted by Tom Brown on

No I haven't read that but the Jungle Books I know as from a child. Great stories some animation films too. Thanks for the feedback on the story of Mabalel. How does a coconut kill you? Well if you sat under a tree long enough don't know? Or maybe if you ate hundreds of coconuts? Malaria is another story.

Keep well! Tom