A week with Peter 2/17

Jennifer Jane parked her broom in the doorway of the George and Dragons just beside Sir George’s suit of armour. Then as they walked across to the fair, she spoke of his adventures with dragons and in her own world and how he now told stories for a living that no one in the village believed.

“They’re all perfectly true of course. It might be rather fun if you would tell the customers a little about your world. Even George might find some of that hard to believe.”

They walked rather quickly through the large tents, which mostly contained cakes, jam and vegetables for various classes of competition. To Jennifer Jane it was all very ordinary.

Peter found the vegetables especially interesting. He’d never seen them ‘raw’ before. There was so little open space in his world that all food had to be processed in factories and wasn’t grown naturally at all.

Jennifer Jane dragged him away from a huge display of potatoes and across the field to the games area. She’d spotted a small tent in one corner. ‘Have your fortune told by Madam Esmerelda.’ That explained why she hadn’t been in her usual position outside the Witches’ Home.

Presumably Dulcibella would be somewhere nearby. She was quite right. Dulce was outside the tent trying to persuade the passing crowds to “Invest in the knowledge of the future.” It was quite the longest speech Jennifer Jane had ever heard her make.

Jennifer Jane approached and explained that she hadn’t any of the money used in this world.

Esmerelda put her head out of the tent opening. “That’s all right dearie, nobody’s paying us any way, we haven’t had a customer all day.”

“Yers, ‘sright!”

Jennifer Jane and Peter followed Esme back into the tent. The witch sat down behind her table and removed a cloth covering a crystal ball.

“I see many adventures in other worlds,” she intoned in her most impressive manner. “You come from far away and have the ability to help common folk with their day to day problems. You will befriend dragons and learn the mysteries of witchcraft.”

Jennifer Jane tried hard not to laugh. Esme was only saying things that were common knowledge in the village.

Esmerelda was still droning on, when suddenly her voice changed. “’Ere that’s not right, me crystal’s gone all cloudy. Ooer, looks like you’re in for a spot of bother love, er, that is the future holds dangers for you and your companion. Danger in far away places. Danger from witches, I can see no more, the vision has faded.”

Jennifer Jane giggled and got up to leave.

“Seriously love,” said Esme, “most of it is just a con for the rubes, but there actually was a warning for you, so just you be careful now”

Jennifer Jane promised and almost immediately forgot about it. The children wandered across to a tall wooden machine that was being looked after by the foreman of the woodyard. A large sign ‘Try your strength’ was at the head of quite a long queue of village men. A very large wooden mallet had been provided to strike a peg set at the bottom of the machine. If the peg was hit hard enough, it moved a slider vertically upwards and rang a bell.

One or two of the stronger looking woodsmen were able to get the slider about three quarters of the way up but no one managed to hit the bell while she watched.

Peter and Jennifer Jane took their places in the queue.