KRIKKIT’S SHOES : D’ARRAGON PROPHECY

“I can’t stand here all day. Mother will be back from shopping very soon now and she will be cross if she thinks I went out.” Krikkit spoke the words aloud, this time comforted by the sound of her own voice. She had to find her way back home and out of this dream somehow.

Looking ahead, she saw a wall made out of huge stones, plants creeping through them and trailing down to the ground. Fearful that the shoes would begin their continuous movement again, Krikkit took a careful step toward the wall.

The shoes seemed quite normal now. As she continued toward the wall, she discovered a sign attached to a huge old tree. She read aloud the word that was printed on it. The letters were bold and black. She read aloud, carefully pronouncing each letter, “D’Arragon.” That, simply, was all it said. Krikkit repeated the name again silently, the words seeming magical to her. “I wonder if that’s the name of a place over this wall.”

Two seconds later, she was on the other side of the wall, curiosity having won out. She brushed the dust off her brightly colored skirt and looked around her with great interest and expectation. Forgotten for the moment were her worries about the disappearance of her home. Here was something exciting and new. A sense of adventure swept over her.

The new shoes made a clattering sound on the stone path she stumbled upon, shattering the silence with their sharp echo. The wind grew stronger as she moved along, sweeping her hair this way and that, tossing her skirt vigorously around her. Krikkit peered into the distance ahead. Where were the people who lived in this mysterious place?

She breathed in the strong fragrance that filled the air, feeling just a tiny bit dizzy as she did so. Stone benches and tables were scattered throughout the grounds. Fragrant beds of flowers and shrubs were everywhere. Branches of the huge trees, burdened with leaves and blossoms, swept the ground in places.

A narrow little stream wound its way around the trees and bushes and disappeared into the distance. It was so hard to believe she had been doing her usual Saturday morning chores not that long ago. It felt so distant and far away.

“D’Arragon. D’Arragon.”

Krikkit whispered the words, half expecting to see the place appear. It sounded cool and mysterious, she decided, like something from one of her magical books. She sat on the closest stone bench, gazing at the shiny black shoes and wondered how they had brought her to such a place. Slowly her eyelids began to droop in sudden weariness. “I will just take a short nap before I continue this adventure.”

She lay down on the bench, the sun being the only blanket she needed. Faint whispers of wind blew round her head and it wasn’t long until she was fast asleep, forgetting everything around her.

The voice, deep and melodious, close to her ear, brought Krikkit back to her surroundings almost as quickly as she had left them.

“Don’t you know that you are trespassing, child. Outsiders are forbidden here.”

Krikkit opened her eyes and looked quickly around, realizing she was not in her own bed. She turned her head toward the voice that had awakened her. As her eyes came to rest on a large animal, the young girl swiftly stood up. Massive golden horns curled on either side of its head. Its coat was a deep shade of chocolate brown with a mane hanging from its chest, almost to the ground.

Krikkit stared at the animal, feeling drawn to look deeply into the large eyes which were black as coal and flecked with gold. Feeling somewhat frightened by the very size of the animal, Krikkit backed away, looking again for the person who had awakened her.

The child decided she must have been dreaming when she discovered no one there at all. Feeling a bit uneasy, Krikkit decided to forget about her nap and continue her walk, hoping to find someone who would direct her back home again. “I will never get home unless I find someone who can show me the way. My house is not where I left it!”

“Where did you leave it?”

Krikkit jumped when she heard the same voice

again. Her brown eyes darting everywhere, she still could see no one besides the large brown animal.

“Where did you come from and how did you get here?”

It took Krikkit a few minutes to realize it was the animal who was speaking to her. She stared, thinking that in view of what had already happened to her, she shouldn’t feel at all surprised.

“How can you speak? You are an animal!”

“At this moment I am an animal. In fact, I am a ram.”

The voice was the same one she had heard earlier. However, she had never until this moment, heard any animal speak, although she knew they did in books.

“You don’t have to feel afraid, little girl. It is not in my plan of things to cause you any harm. I merely want to know why you are here. You are trespassing and you should be on your way back to wherever you came from.”

The voice was not in the least frightening. The ram stood before the child, tall and broad. Its head held proudly erect, its very stance seemed to demand an answer.

“I really don’t know how I got here. I just got here. One minute I was in my house and then I was here.” Krikkit felt helpless to explain her entry into this strange place. She shrugged her shoulders, knowing her story was hard to believe.

The large brown ram questioned her further. “And where is your house?

“Back there,” said Krikkit, pointing behind her.

“I have been there many times and have never seen a house,” replied the ram.

Krikkit went on to tell the ram that when she did her Saturday chores, she discovered the box with the shoes under her bed. He said nothing as she described in detail what had happened from the moment she put them on her feet. When she finished her tale, she was not certain that the animal believed her. She knew how strange the whole story sounded.

“And your house just disappeared?”

“Right! One minute it was there and the next it was gone!”

The ram was silent, looking as if it was trying to understand the tale this girl related since she was found fast asleep on the stone bench.

“That’s an odd story indeed,” was all it said.

“Can you help me find my way home, again? I’m sure my mother will worry when she gets back from shopping and finds that I’m not there.”

“I cannot make any promises to locate your house until I investigate these circumstances you have described. Those are a very mysterious pair of shoes, one of a kind to be sure!” the ram declared.

Having come to that conclusion herself, Krikkit could only stare at them and nod her head. Moving at last, the large ram stood beside her and, for the first time since she arrived, Krikkit felt she was not alone in her unusual adventure.

“For the time being, it is best that you come with me.”

For the second time she nodded, knowing there was nothing else for her to do. She had not the faintest inkling where she would end up.