WHISKED AWAY

 

The other evening, just before supper, Primrose and I went out to play in the moonlight at the bottom of the garden. 

We rummaged around in our old garden shed, looking for something interesting to have fun with. Tucked away in a corner was an old-fashioned broom made from twigs and thatch, and with a stout handle. 

We dragged it outside and started sweeping the yard. As fast as we swept the leaves into heaps, they moved off and jived around in circles, being sucked up into the air. 

Each time we stopped sweeping, they collapsed to lie flat on the ground. Something strange was going on. We both took a good look at the broom. 

Sable, our black cat, appeared and said, “You had better be careful of that.” 

How come she was talking? She never had before. 

We both had a hold of the broom and suddenly we were flying, hanging on for dear life. 

Sable had hopped on, too. “I better come along just to make sure you are both ok. Climb aboard for the flight of your life.” 

A first, we flew in a straight line, giving us time to get used to our adventure, flying silently through the by-now-dark sky. 

Looking down, we could see the street lights shining brightly and some of the houses in the neighbourhood all lit up. 

We could see our house; thank goodness it was not time to go in, or Mum and Dad would be wondering where we were. 

Sable sensed our anxiety and said, “They will never know about this adventure.” 

I tapped Primrose on the shoulder, “Sable is talking again; it’s almost unbelievable.” 

“But she is, I can hear her, too,” she whispered back. 

“We will have to treat her with more respect in future.” 

At that moment, we took off at an incredible speed, swooping up and down. Once we got the hang of it, we laughed out loud; it was a fantastic ride. 

Then we slowed and levelled off over a very dark wood with just a light or two showing. Suddenly, there was a fluttering of wings and a big owl joined us on the broom. 

“You won’t mind me having a rest for a while, will you? It looks as though we are going to have a busy night. Don’t look so surprised. I have been keeping a watchful eye on both of you as you have been growing up. The Woodland Committee thought you could be trusted with a night-time adventure. This was just the right time, as the witches are so busy at Halloween.” 

Primrose and I wondered what would happen next as we hung onto the broom. 

We suddenly dropped and started screaming, “We are going to crash, we are going to crash.” 

“No you’re not,” said Sable calmly. 

“Enjoy the ride.” 

We levelled off again and Mr Owl called out, “Just be ready to duck; now!” 

We flew into a tunnel and disturbed a colony of bats who protested in high-pitched squeaks. 

Two landed on the broom, thanking Mr Owl for the wake-up call. 

“It was very stormy today and we had a lie-in before going to work. We better start or we will be in trouble when the witch gets back.” 

As they flew off, there was a loud, scary, squawking noise, with flapping of wings, as a big crow landed and gave us the once over. 

“How do you like the world from here?” 

They just did not know what to say: a crow talking! It was almost too much for them. 

The crow said, “Remember this night when you went on a fabulous flight meeting some of the creatures of the night. Then, when you are grown, you can tell this story at Halloween to a family of your own.” 

2024 © Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Photo: Pixabay License