onsdag den 24. april 2019

Words for Wednesday - The Beginnings 4

In April Messymimi is supplying us with prompts at her Meanderings.
This week's prompts are:



introduce
bawdy
insidious
outgoing
labourer
polite


and/or

hall
conscious
ad hoc
sign
yarn
share


I only used half  the prompts today. Maybe the other half of them will follow later. 
I continue the story about Susan's first visit to Unicorn Farm. 
And yes, there's a bit missing.
It is now later, very late in the afternoon the same day.
I don't know how to write out the missing scenes yet. I remember it, I see it clearly in my mind's eye, but the words turn out wrong or not at all every time I try.


The young witch who had distributed the cards, rose and introduced herself as Martine from Norway: "Everyone with blue charts come with me and Torben. You can't overlook him," she added and smiled at the tall man, who bowed politely and joined her. Meanwhile, the yellow team had disappeared from the hall following Tahti and Taavi, and Susan had not noticed where they went. She decided to keep a better eye on Torben and the blue ones, but then Gilvi got up. His weathered face lit up, and he reached out to Thora: "We two," he said slowly, "are Gilvi and Thora from Iceland, and we will ask everyone with a green schedule to follow us. And also you, Knud, you are so far the only one with a black chart." They went to the front of the wardrobe, where six piles of T-shirts lay in neat plies,  red, green, blue, yellow, black and purple. Thora jogged her hand into the stack of green T-shirts, they hovered over the heads around them, and everyone caught a T-shirt in mid-air. Gilvi got the top black T-shirt up and flying with a single finger, and it hovered neatly over Knud.
"Gee," Gilvi said and wiped his forehead. "I have exercised more magic today than the last ten years put together."
Thora looked at him with an outgoing smile and told him it was good for him. Then the two magicians went through a small door in the side of the building, and all the green children followed them into the sunshine, Susan was amazed to see how low in the sky the sun was already. They went all the way to the fence that separated the Unicorn farm from the rest of the island. There Gilvi and Thora sat on two big tree stumps, the children settled on the fallen trees and Thora said: "Before you go home today, you must have found the material for your magic wand. Now go to the fence and find a tree or a bush that appeals to you. When you are sure it is right, put your hand on the tree and call Gilvi or me. Give yourself some time and stay on this side of the trees."
Susan and the other wizards apprentices went to the trees. "It's funny," said a short-haired boy, "it's as if all the trees are different."
"Yes," said Knud, "there are no two of the same. Imagine that there are so many different trees." They went up and down the row of trees. Susan became conscious of the fact that as she moved round the tree; only on the Farm side of course, the tree changed in appearance from a wintry look tree with bare branches to one with buds leaping out. When you were closest to the farm, the tree was in its summer suit, and further on, fruits grew on the tree, the leaves turned yellow or brown and fell off, and finally it was wintery again. Very reasonable, she thought. There were trees that were beautiful with flowers, some had wonderful fruits, and some were definitely at their best in the autumn. Other children also discovered the magic of the season, and soon they all shared the secret.
Susan took her time. She saw the other children one by one putting a hand on the trunk and calling for Gilvi or Thora. She saw Thora questioning the girl with the pigtails, shaking her head and sending her off again. Suddenly a tree caught her eyes. Here from the spring side it was like a sumptuous delicate cloud. She leaned her head a little further to the left and the flowers turned into pink buds on the bare branches. If she walked a little to the right, the petals fell into close drives around her and beautiful green leaves unfolded. She continued to the right, anxious to see which fruits the tree might have, but the leaves just turned shining yellow  and fell off without Susan noticing a single fruit. It overwhelmed Susan. All that beauty just to be beautiful. She went closer to the tree and saw the bark. Everywhere the dark brown bark was full of reddish scales that looked like little smiles. Susan smiled herself and laid her hand against the bark. Then she stood still. She could feel the song of the tree - that was the word that came into her mind. She could sense how it was to bloom so overwhelmingly. There was also a tone of sadness in the song, a longing to bear fruit. Susan wanted to give the tree a hug and tell it that it brought as much joy with its beauty as other trees with their fruit. She saw Thora passing by and gave her a sign.
"Did you hear the tree's song?" Thora asked gently. Susan just nodded, she didn't want to say anything at all and let go of the quiet music from the tree.
"Japanese cherry," Thora stated. "Pretty, but hard to make fruitful. Lovely and pliable. It's a good choice, my girl. ... Let me see ... are your parents tall?"
Susan nodded, but Thora's questioning eyes forced her to reply with words: "My father is probably as tall as Torben, almost two meters, and my mother is also tall, taller than most ladies. None of them are fat" she added hesitantly.
"Good!" Thora swung her magic wand, and a branch high up in the tree detached itself and fell straight into Susan's outstretched hand. "Bring it with you everywhere until we meet again tomorrow," Thora admonished. "And by everywhere, I mean everywhere! Even to the toilet, and into bed, and while eating. Will this be hard for you?"
Susan shook her head: "I often have sticks or stones or small animals in my pockets. The only problem is my little sister, she always wants to have what I have."
"Ahh, a completely normal little sister," Thora said smiling, "she will probably not be a problem today. She has experienced a lot."

* * *

Inside the barn they pulled their own clothes from the pegs and hung the wizard's clothes. The other three groups had also come back and it was crowded. But soon everyone was dressed. Gilvi smiled, and a clear sound like a bell made everyone silent. Then he said: "We'll meet again tomorrow. Blue and green teams meet at the straw bales out front. Yellow team in the barn. Purple team and the three red apprentices meet in the kitchen. It's down behind the little door there," he said, pointing to the right under the hayloft, from whence Tahti and Taavi had come returned with the chairs. Then he swung his magic wand over the apprentices and said: "Skiljast maul" He added some words that Susan didn't understand "Það er okkur fyrst!" But the Icelandic children understood and went with him and Thora. They walked together into the sunshine in the courtyard and disappeared.
Taavi gently called: "Ja sitten meitä!" and a few children went with him and Taahti out of the barn and disappeared between two golden straw bales.
The witch from the Carl Larsson painting said, "Vår tur." Most of the boys Susan had been together with, Helge and the smiling girls ran after her out through the small door Helge had come in through the same morning.
"Oss fra nord!" shouted the pirate clad black man and ran in front of his little flock out in the courtyard. Here they took each other's hands and disappeared into thin air.
"Og oss fra sør!" said Martine, shaking her golden hair so that the sun flashed from it. She and her little flock disappeared between the trees.
"Then we're the only ones left," Torben said. You just have to return the same way you came this morning. Do you remember? The two flower power girls nodded and went for the trees. The girl with the pig tails and her two siblings looked doubtful at each other.
"Hey," Susan said to her own surprise.  "Don't you live along the paved road, in the small yellow house? Then we can go home together." She was completely stunned at her own courage, but Torben smiled at her. "Well, you just get off, we'll meet tomorrow. It's best we don't all leave together. I'll wait here with Knud, David and Sara until you're gone."
Susan resolutely took the small girl with pigtails by the hand, she smiled up at her, and together they went to the entrance formed by a large, old willow-tree bending over a hazel bush. As they walked through the fence, Susan again felt the same buzzing feeling, she had felt as she slipped through the hole that morning.
"My name is Susan."
"Heidi," said the girl with the pig tails,
"Lis ... Tage ..." said the two big ones simultaneously. and began laughing. Susan had not been able to understand what any of them had said.
"These two ...," Heidi moaned, "they are twins, they always do everything at the same time. They are Tage and Lis."
Smiling and trampling on each other's long shadows they ran home through the green fields.

11 kommentarer:

  1. I love the idea of trees holding all the seasons at once. In a way, it's true in real life because they have the potential for all seasons. But to be able to see all of it at once would be lovely.

    SvarSlet
    Svar
    1. It's magic! And yes the magic of trees and seasons is lovely.

      Slet
  2. The ents (and the entwives) are some of my favourite fictional characters (and the ones I would most like to meet). Hearing the tree song is such an evocative idea.
    I am seriously loving this and in the fullness of time when you publish I will have to buy a copy.

    SvarSlet
    Svar
    1. The ents are so very fascinating, to be a tree would be nice.
      If ever I get to publish this book, I'll send you a copy, you better start studying Danish ;)

      Slet
    2. Being able to read your book is a serious incentive to learn Danish.

      Slet
  3. The trees sing -- that's a fabulous description.

    SvarSlet
  4. Thank you. As Elephant's Child suspect, I was influenced by Ents and entwives. I'm sure they sing.

    SvarSlet
  5. I guess the tree picking is their way of picking a wand? I like trees being of importance to people and also trees having their own song.

    you have listed yellow twice with the t-shirt colors, though not a big deal.

    sadly, I don't know any danish...

    have a lovely day.

    SvarSlet
    Svar
    1. Yes, wand making in the Nordic wizards' school, I would like to hear the singing myself.
      Thanks for correction. I read through this passage twice, thinking something was fishy. Spell checker did not help, you did :)

      Slet
  6. All this translating and editing in English do indeed help me realize that I can't translate passages, that are not yet finished to some degree. Fuzzy, sketchy or foggy passages in Danish turn meaningless when I try to translate them. Thus showing me the weak spots in my writings. This is a great eye opener, and an exercise I would recommend every writer knowing a second language.

    SvarSlet

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I am grateful for all comments, and try to reply meaningfully to all of them.