Miss Peabody woke one morning, with two Labrador dogs, the colour of creamed honey, licking her face. Their tails were wagging furiously. 'Oh, you naughty dogs,' she murmured, wincing slightly while still half asleep.
The end of summer weather outside was sultry. Dry leaves rustled as a breeze blew stronger, the loneliness of it, sighing through apple boughs in her garden. For Miss Peabody loved growing and eating apples, big red juicy ones, crisp and crunchy, that ripened in the autumn. Overhead, large puffy, dark blue clouds were gathering, as she gazed sleepily out of her bedroom window. It looked and felt like a storm was brewing. It had been quite a warm and dry summer, most of the time. She much preferred the coolness of autumn, even winter had its good points, its charm when it snowed.
Miss Peabody particularly loved the snow, as she would delight in watching it fall, slowly mounting up in her garden, its whiteness when the sun shone, causing it to glisten and sparkle, like jewels scattered on a lake. The snow could be fine and dry when it was very cold, but at other times, it would fall in large puffy flakes, that fluttered down slowly and sat on the end of her nose. This always made her laugh. She wore glasses and the snow would often block her vision, when she wished they were equipped with tiny windscreen wipers to brush it away.
Miss Peabody lived alone, in a small thatched cottage, vaguely in the centre of England, apart from her two playful dogs. She was a retired schoolteacher and now wrote children's books that sold well. She had enjoyed teaching children, finding each and every one having their own imagination in some form or another. She would sometimes ask if the children wanted to share what they thought, which was great inspiration for her books.
From time to time during the winter, snow would fall and she, not being very old as yet, loved to walk in it, kicking it into the air, watching it scatter around her feet. It always looked pretty when the sun shone. Her two Labrador dogs, Molly and Mindy, accompanied her everywhere. The snow in winter was always a joy to them, as they bounded playfully between the trees, when it fell throughout the woodlands; and everywhere else for that matter. They would bark, chasing each other through the trees, biting at large puffy white flakes, drifting slowly to the ground from grey clouds overhead. Miss Peabody would laugh, trying in vain to call them to attention, but failing. Molly and Mindy would pretend to squabble, ending up rolling around, getting utterly covered in snow, until they suddenly stopped still, shook themselves, then continued with their game.
She thought many times of her dilemma whenever it snowed, the temperature low, air sharp and frosty. Sometimes it was so cold, icicles would form, hanging from the thatched roof of her cottage.
It was at those times, Miss Peabody's imagination would get the better of her, when her mind always drifted to a far off land made completely of ice. She couldn't help it! The people living there, were well able to cope with the cold, as they were not ordinary people like she was. They had no dogs like Molly and Mindy, but a type of moose with horns instead. These animals were strong, hardy and very amiable, almost pets. Instead of cars, the moose pulled a sled, gliding over ice and snow with great ease. Their houses were made of ice too, living a strange imaginary existence. Fish were caught and eaten by digging deep down into the snow and ice, where they knew underneath, fish swam freely. These people, with Miss Peabody's imagination, were very special, always kind and considerate to each other, always happy, sharing what little they had and never squabbled amongst themselves.
A prince ruled their kingdom. Although he lived in a tall castle built of ice, a moat filled with snow surrounding it - he was like one of them, never to judge another, never to be cross and impatient when things went wrong. A prince who often spent time with his people. Together on special occasions, they would magically light a bonfire and join in eating and making merry.
Suddenly, a storm broke outside. Thunder boomed loudly, causing Molly and Mindy to bark briefly. 'Hush you two. It's only thunder, probably a brief storm, that's all. Nothing for you to worry yourselves about!' Miss Peabody was wide awake now. Getting out of bed, she heard rain starting to fall, but upon her roof, being built of a special thatching straw grown only in summer and very thick, it was fairly quiet.
She flapped her hands, so her dogs knew it was time they left they vacated her room, to join her in the kitchen for breakfast. At that moment, rain was falling heavier, splashing against some of the windows as the wind grew stronger.
Another crash of thunder sounded. 'Oh dear', Miss Peabody uttered to the dogs. She always fed them first, as they were more lively than ever first thing in the morning. She placed some food in each of their bowls, which was instantly gobbled up. 'That's not good for you,' she remarked, shaking her head slightly and frowning at them. 'You should eat more slowly, as it would be far better for your digestion,' she retorted, waving a finger in their direction. But they just looked up at her, wagging their tails, expectant.
Still frowning, shaking her head and muttering to herself, Miss Peabody paced the kitchen preparing her breakfast. She continued muttering about her dogs a short while, for she loved and cared for them dearly. They were great company to her and looked after things in the house, trying to help wherever they thought necessary, but often making things far worse.
'Oh my, oh my,' exclaimed Miss Peabody, as lightning and thunder were heard directly overhead. She never really fancied storms, nor did the dogs. They barked when they heard thunder in particular. Miss Peabody knew the storms would eventually pass though, the air often fresher and calmer afterwards, the garden receiving a good soaking, saving her the trouble when it was unusually dry.
Soon summer passed into autumn, when the leaves on her apple trees changed colour, turning from green to yellow and rich red, before floating down, littering the ground below. The autumn nights would grow darker, earlier in the evenings, than in summer. Sometimes there were mists shrouding the garden, causing trees to look ghostlike and mysterious in the quietness of the countryside. The days would slowly become colder, as winter was not far away. Frost appeared on the tips of plants and trees, all around her garden and beyond. Small spider webs formed and hung in the hedgerows, lace-like after a dewy night.
When winter arrived, her imagination would run wild once more. In fact, it was not always in winter, did she think of that far off land, but also during other seasons of the year. She often wondered why this happened - a bit of a dilemma for her, until she suddenly smiled to herself, realizing how much she loved the winters, even the ice was never a problem to her. The crisp white, newness of snow lying on everything in sight, sparkling in winter sunshine, or making everything light and bright in the middle of a long, dark, winter. It captured her imagination, exhilarated and stimulated it, until she just had to write things down in a new story. All the fresh new thoughts roaming in her active mind. Miss Peabody would think of her land of ice, a very long way away, for it was only in her imagination, and no one else's. But nonetheless, it persisted. She wondered what triggered it off, thinking perhaps it was something to do with her childhood. She had been brought up in a warm country and only experienced ice and snow in her later years. This fascinated and indulged her senses, so much so, that it almost became an obsession.
Winter in England, was a season when a few berries still clung to holly bushes. Many plants died off or went to sleep under a snowy blanket, only to awaken when the spring arrived and days became warmer once more. The high banks or hedgerows beside English country lanes, were sometimes piled with snow, the wind causing it to drift across the roadside or fields. When you walked in it, you had to step over or through it, the drifts became so high! Piles of fluffy snow were kicked to and fro into the air. Her two dogs delighted in it, playfully barking as they bounded this way and that. In the fields, snow would lie untouched over hillocks and small valleys, ice forming beside the small stream at the bottom.
Then the wind would blow the powdery flakes into mounds. Miss Peabody's dogs, Molly and Mindy, loved scattering them, as they walked and played excitedly along the quiet country lanes and over fields. They all walked daily, squeezed through gaps in bare hedgerows, hopped over five bar wooden gates, crossed fields of white if it had been snowing heavily, where never a soul had been before. They always made fresh tracks in the snow, delighting if the sun shone after a good fall, causing it to glisten brightly. The thick snow would become icy on the surface after a freezing night, crunching underfoot the next day traipsing through it, boots becoming white, snow sticking to the soles.
Pheasants would call out as they swooped low over the fields, in a passing fog, before returning to the woodland below her cottage. At times they would wander through her garden, where the dogs would bark playfully at them. They'd flap their wings squawking, before departing to a more peaceful scene elsewhere.
As soon as Miss Peabody was well into experiencing a cold winter, her thoughts immediately turned to her imaginary land, ruled by its prince. It was entirely constructed of ice, magical with its castle built high upon a hill, the walls gleaming, appearing endless as they disappeared into a silvery mist in the distance. There were conical shaped rooms built on the corners of the castle, reaching to the sky, bridges crossing the snow-filled moat, that looked as if they were made of sugar crystals.
The prince lived in a smaller room of the castle, for he wanted to appear ordinary to his people, not wanting to put on airs and graces. He was tall and quietly charming, owning a large sled pulled by a moose, often helping his people fish below the ice and only kept what he needed for his own use. He was a much liked prince.
One very icy day in that far off land, a stranger appeared in the midst of its people. He had wandered from afar, stumbling upon this beautiful village made entirely of ice, in search of a gracious lady he had always cared for. The folk of the village had not heard nor seen the lady he spoke of. At least, they didn't think so. Instead, they all shook their heads, looking from one to another in wonderment. They thought the stranger might feel rather out of place in their icy existence and were not keen to encourage him to stay. Hoping he would soon wander off further seeking his lady friend, they turned slowly, not wanting to put their backs to him as it would appear rude and impolite, returned to what they had been doing before the stranger had appeared.
But the stranger didn't wander off, but persisted for some time, becoming bewildered as to what to do next.
Just at that moment the prince happened to be passing the stranger. He paused, asking the stranger the reason for his visit to their land. The stranger explained his reason, giving his name, while the prince listened thoughtfully, patiently biding his time. Then, when the stranger had finished his explanation, to his sadness, learned that the prince had once married the lady he still cared for. Gently he was told, that some time ago, after becoming lost, the lady had wandered amongst them. She had stayed, managing to exist in their land, married the prince, but unexpectedly, died suddenly one day. The last word on her lips at the moment of her death, was that of the stranger, but the prince knew not at that time, to whom she referred.
The stranger left saddened, but satisfied he had learned the whereabouts of this lady, her end being a happy and perhaps peaceful one as far as he was concerned.
Many things happened in that far off land of ice, an imaginary existence that appeared only in the mind of Miss Peabody. She couldn't help it after all. It never entirely left her, but became quite a dilemma really, appearing at the oddest of times and often when it was most inconvenient!
Although she hoped the world would always be a satisfactory place in which to live, she would sometimes revert back in her thoughts to that special place of ice, where the people were pleasant, never to anger or squabble amongst themselves, for they saw no reason in it, being very patient indeed.
Suddenly a dog barked. Miss Peabody put down whatever she was doing, shook her head slightly, leant down and patted both Molly and Minty lovingly. Her mind had been a very long way off, where a prince lived, sharing a strange land built only of ice. 'My goodness! she exclaimed out aloud. 'What a dilemma! I must have been dreaming or something. All these thoughts about a castle so high, it reached the sky. And people living in ice houses, that caught fish under the snow, a moose animal that pulled a sled. Whatever next!'
She glanced out of a window at the snowy scene outside, her dogs wagging their tails, hoping for a walk. 'Oh alright then,' she smiled. 'You win!' Looking down at their expectant faces, she gathered their leads after donning her coat and scarf. Together they scampered through the front door, almost tripping over each as they went. Miss Peabody laughed as Molly and Mindy bounded past her.
The morning sun sparkled on the snow, air sharp with winter's frost. As they passed below the overhanging thatched roof, an icicle plopped down onto the snow at Miss Peabody's feet. She smiled again, thinking of her very special imaginary world, as the three of them wandered off down the snow-covered garden, feet making fresh tracks as they went.
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