| The house was
small and thatched with roses climbing up the front and
chickens clucking in the yard. Even though it wasn't very
grand or spacious it was lived in with pride. The path
was always swept clear, the garden was always in order
and every thing was respectable. The rooms were small and dark, often cramped, and not very well furnished. The furniture that was there was old and worn out and there was no money for replacing it. All around the house were fields, some with animals, others growing crops. There was also a small orchard at the back of the house that gave good fruit in the autumn. |
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| A old
golden mare could be seen ploughing the the fields,
tossing its golden mane. There was also a brown tabby,
and a dark brown dog who had a yellow patch over his left
eye. There was little room in the house for all its occupants, but somehow they managed, and somehow this house came to be called Golden Farm. It may be because of the golden haired children who lived in the house;it may be because of the golden animals; it may be because of the golden leaves that covered the ground in autumn, no body knows; but this is the story of the golden child who lived in the Golden Farm. |
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It was a crisp autumn day
and the leaves on the ground shone in the sun. Out on the
fields a boy worked with his father, ploughing the land
and harvesting the crops. It had not been such a good
year this year and it was with saddened faces that they
pulled out the meagre crops. Much of the corn had wilted and not much barley or wheat was left. The chickens, however, were prospering on the little food that they had, although the local fox was a problem. |
| Two
young girls skipped gaily through the fields carrying
bundles of food to their father and brother. Their hair
waved in the cold breeze , their tattered skirts swishing
through the grass. "Here you go, John," said Susanna, the younger of the two. "And here's one for you Father," added Anne. "Thank you, girls. Tell your mother we'll be back in a couple of hours." "Yes, Father." " You all right John?" asked his father, Nicholas, when the girls had gone. " Yeah, I'm all righ'," he sighed. "I'm a bit tired." "Well, you get back to the house. You done a good job today. I'll finish up here." John walked slowly back to the house, his feet aching in his tatty shoes. As he walked through the fields he watched the birds fly from tree to tree, looked up at the sky, and dreamed. John was always dreaming, he was that sort of boy. He often wondered what it would be like to be an actor . That was all he thought about. He wanted to be up on the stage where everyone could see him. He wanted to know what it felt like to become another character, to have everyone watching him, but for now he was here, living on the farm with his family. He approached the house and walked through the yard. As he walked up the path his chocolate coloured dog came bounding up to him, licking his face affectionately. "Hello boy. How are you? I hope you haven't been chasing Tabitha again," John asked suspiciously eyeing the rather ruffled looked cat, perched on the fence."Come on, let's go in." Boy and dog walked into the house followed by a brown and orange tabby cat. "I'm back!" he called. " What are you doing back so early?" asked his mother." I thought you were helping your father." " I felt tired so Pa sent me back." "All right, well you can help in the kitchen." The kitchen was small and stuffy from the cooking. In the corner sat two year old Thomas and four year old Lizzie. Anne and Susanna were peeling carrots. John picked up a knife and began to help. When supper was ready and Nicholas was home they all sat down to a modest meal of carrots, bread and chicken. After everyone had tucked in Nicholas began to speak. "Now, children, as you all know we are not doing very well at the moment and money is scarce. We are not getting much money from the farm so we need to get money from some place else. John, as you are oldest it would be best for you to travel to London and find some work." *** The next morning John stood outside in the cold morning air, his bag upon his back, wearing his old coat that he had been given when he was seven. Now he was twelve, the coat was far too small for him and the sleeves barely reached his elbows. All around him were his family, Anne, Susanna, Lizzie, his mother and father and Thomas who was crying. His father had arranged with a neighbouring farmer who was taking some goods to London to give John a ride. As the cart drew up to the house his mother and father hurriedly gave him a hug good bye and pushed some coins into his hand. "Good bye, John," whispered his mother, holding a hankerchief to her eyes. "Take care." "I'll send you some money," replied John with a nervous smile. John slowly got into the back of the cart feeling dazed. As he waved goodbye to his family he felt hot tears gather in his eyes. He pushed them away angrily. "Good bye," he called out and the cart started moving away from the house. The house now out of sight, John turned around to see the old farmer. "All righ' lad?" he asked in a gruff voice. " Yeah," John said quietly, looking down into his lap."Err, thanks for the lift," he mumbled. "Don' mention it, but you'll hav' ter' work." |
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| As the cart bumped
along the road John sat unhappily thinking of his family
and feeling home sick. As he moved to find a more
comfortable position to sit in he saw a familiar furry
face poke out from under neath the sacks.
"Pip!" he exclaimed."What are you doing
here?" The brown coloured dog barked mischievously back at him. Having Pip with him lightened his heart slightly. At least he had some one. It began to grow dark and the cart soon came to a stop at an old inn by the side of the road. |
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| A sombre looking lady took
the horses to some stables at the back of the house and
showed them to their rooms. Since John had to pay for his
room it was very small and dirty. The wall paper was
peeling off, the windows were cracked and it smelled of
dust and drink. In the corner lay one small bed, a small
bed side table and a broken chair: there was no other
furniture. John pulled off his jacket and shoes and dropped thankfully into the bed. John awoke the next morning feeling even more tired and rather disoriented. He wanted to be home with his mother and father, helping in the fields and playing in the house he had lived in all his life. Johns' back was aching from the hard bed, but then he was used to that as he had always slept on the floor. He hadn't had a very good sleep either because Pip had been had been whining all night and had kept waking him up. Now the sun was shining through the cracked window. John clambered out of bed and was greeted by and bouncy Pip. |
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| "Come on boy,
let's go," John said, patting him on the head. The
farmer, who was waiting for him at the bottom of the
stairs, thrust a piece if bread into his hand."Come
on," he said sharply. " Lots to do." They
walked out to the cart that was waiting for them ouside.
It was another long days' journey with little rest. As
twilight came they stopped at another inn. Morning came
and the journey began all over again. For many days they travelled, stopping only for sleep and to drop off goods at the villages en route. As the weather began to get colder and the days shorter, John became hungrier and tireder. As part of his payment for the lift John had to help with some if the work. He had to look after the horses, carry the goods through the village and other such chores. Life was hard. *** |
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| John
woke up in what he hoped would be last inn he would have
to stay in before he reached London. Pip jumped up beside
him, energetic as always, even in the early hours of the
morning. John quickly got dressed and went down to meet
the farmer. "It's a days' travel to London
now," he grunted. John was filled with excitement as the day went on. The air became less clean as they approached the city and the roads more busy as people travelled to and from London. John sat with Pip in the back, stroking his shaggy fur. John had no idea what to expect. He had lived on the farm all his life and did not know anything else. His parents had always lived there too, just as their parents before them. Johns' thoughts were broken by the farmers' growl. "All most there. See there it is," He pointed out the tall dark buildings that were ahead. The cart bumped along the path into the city. The streets were full of people carrying boxes and and carts carrying goods. Twilight was upon them and people were packing up for the night. The streets were noisy and dirtier than -John was used to. The people weren't as friendly either. Several times as they had been driving along had people pushed and shouted at them. The buildings were closely packed together and the streets were narrow and squashed. The cart stopped outside an old house with sign that said: INN ROOM FREE " Righ', off yer' get,"grunted the farmer " Er well, thanks," replied John timidly as he got off the cart, Pip behind him. "S'all righ'. Just be off with yer'," and with that he drove away.John looked up at the tall house that loomed above him. He was on his own. To Be Continued ... |
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