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14. Lucy’s Reward

Welcome to Ballyyahoo. I’m Lucy. If this is your first visit you won’t know that this is where I tell my stories about life in Ballyyahoo, as well as my search for the witch of Ballyyahoo. The best place to start reading any story is the beginning so click here to go to the beginning of the stories.

THE STORY SO FAR

I have been looking after the Raggy Rabbit for Miss Parrot when he disappeared. Just when I had almost given up it turned out that Miss Parrot had taken him to visit the other Miss Parrot in hospital.

After all that investigating and worrying I’d been doing I was hoping Miss Parrot might have given me a present for minding Raggy – even though she never, ever does. My mum says you shouldn’t expect presents for everything you do and she’s right – especially when it comes to Miss Parrot.

So I was really surprised when she did give me a present. But it wasn’t a good present. It wasn’t even a not too bad present, it was a terrible present! Probably the worst present I ever got – apart from the time that eejit Gerry Mac from down the road gave me a stinking, maggoty old fish head he found on the beach.

BITTER LEMON

No, Miss Parrot’s present was even worse than a stinking, maggoty old fish head – it was a lemon! A big yellow bitter lemon! She said it was the one she’d been going to squeeze on her mackerel and that she didn’t need it since Micko the mackerel didn’t bring her any fish and she had to have beans on toast instead.

To be honest I wasn’t going to take the lemon off her. I didn’t want it but my mum was standing behind Miss Parrot with that look on her face, the warning look, it was a grade 2 warning look as well, so I knew I had to take the lemon.

After Miss Parrot was gone I was in a bit of a mood. I stayed up in my room so I could have a decent sulk in peace. By the time my mum called me for tea I’d had a fairly good sulk and I was feeling better. I was looking forward to fish-pie and banana and ice cream. The fish-pie was lovely but when we got to afters, instead of nice little circles of banana on my plate there was just one big bitter lemon.

SECRETS

My mum couldn’t keep the grin off her face when she said ‘eat up Lucy, don’t you know a lemon a day will keep the witches away?’

She thought she was very funny but you know what? I’ve got a secret and I wasn’t going to tell anyone yet, but it’s very hard to keep a secret when all you got for afters was a big sour lemon so I’ll tell you what happened.

As you know I’ve been following Biddy because I suspect she just might be a witch. Mostly she just did very ordinary things like go to Seanie Kelly’s shop or go walking down near the beach.

But one day she took a fast left turn into a wild and rocky meadow just beyond the Witchy Woods and then I saw her climb up these very suspicious and witchy looking steps.

If you wondering why I think they’re witchy looking steps it’s because when you get to the top of them there is nothing there – unless whatever is there is invisible!  Now who else but a witch would build steps to nowhere?

Lucy's reward. Image of stonestepsI watched her standing at the very top of the steps for a while and I was just about to take a photograph of her when all of a sudden  Biddy-the-maybe-Witch turned round and looked me right in the eye. Her face was so close to mine that I could see the mascara on her eyelashes. I was just wondering if witches wore mascara when Biddy put her hand on my shoulder and asked me:

“What in the name of the Banshee from Ballyyahoo Bog are you following me for, young one?” she snapped.

I’ll tell you what happened next very soon – so bye for now!

Lucy

 

 

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