A Mid-Winters Night Visit (standard:fairy tales, 2879 words)
Author: Melazar	Added: Nov 20 2001	Views/Reads: 3544/2469	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Outside, he spied a sleigh with bells as it made its way down the narrow road. A warm tankard rose to his lips as he savored the rich cinnamon and apple flavors. He looked in the glass as he rolled the liquid around in his mouth and slowly allowed the exp

A smile crossed the old knights lips as he watched the snow falling
silently through his bedroom window. It was the first time in he didn't 
know how many years, he could remember watching snow fall without a 
sense of dread. 

Outside, he spied a sleigh with bells as it made its way down the narrow
road. A warm tankard rose to his lips as he savored the rich cinnamon 
and apple flavors. He looked in the glass as he rolled the liquid 
around in his mouth and slowly allowed the experience to bring back 
memories long ago buried beneath a hundred winter campaigns 

Ma was in the kitchen singing. She always did this when she was baking,
she said "The music helps get ya ready fer a treat." You could smell 
the vanilla and butter all through our small house. We were gonna have 
cookies, and maybe a cake! 

I loved this time of year, even though I couldn't go very far, or for
that matter, very often outside in the snow. It got rather deep in the 
mountains, and though ma didn't especially like the snow, da was here, 
and the garden too. She would never leave either. 

I didn't complain, much anyway. I could sit at the window for hours
watching the snow fall. Everything was so white and clean, almost like 
it was clearing away all the past months of the old year to prepare ya 
for a new one. Soon I would be twelve, almost a man! 

Ma said "Time enough to be a man later, enjoy being young while ya can.
Later, well...just enjoy it now." Mothers can be so funny sometimes. 

I saw the blacksmith walking through the snow to his forge across the
way, I waved. He smiled through his snow covered beard and waved back. 
His smile lasted only a moment as he returned to his task. I liked his 
beard, I will have one someday. It must be fun having it covered in 
snow. I'd stand all day and let it fall on mine so I could look at it 
and not even get my hands cold! 

I definitely smell sugar cookies this time! Sugar cookies meant it was
almost time for the mid-winter celebration. I loved sugar cookies, 
sugar was so hard to come by in winter. Ma always set some aside 
though, she said "Ya need a little somethin ta remind ya winter won't 
last forever." Of course it won't last forever, mothers can be so funny 
sometimes. 

My thoughts returned out the window. The smoke from the other houses
chimneys mingled with the snow as they both fought each other, one to 
fall, and the other to rise. The eddies they created were beautiful. It 
was cold enough that the snow didn't melt as the warm air hit it, just 
moved the flakes around in circles in the air. 

I heard a sound from outside. Bells. That would be the farmer bringing
in the days milk. I drank all ours earlier and now there would be none 
for the cookies and cake. My tummy rumbled letting me know it wanted 
more. I hoped ma didn't need it for cooking. I spotted him coming round 
the bend in his cart. He was funny, I liked him. Every other cart was 
pulled by big horses or wooly oxen, his was pulled by cows! 

I knew the cows names, one was Bessy, the other was Ropey Bell. Ropey
Bell was the one I heard. She had a rope and bell tied around her neck 
cause when she got loose and wandered about, she always forgot her way 
home, so he put a bell on her so she could always be found and brought 
home. Ma said she'd thought of doing that to me a time or two. Mothers 
are so funny sometimes. 

The farmer stopped his cart outside and waved for me to come outside. I
rushed and put on my coat and was out the door in a flash. Ropey Bell 
shook her bell at me as I approached. I went between the two large 
cows. They lowered their heads so I could scratch between their eyes, 
they liked that. As I stood there I saw the farmer was looking through 
something in his cart, this gave me time to look around some more. 

In the distance, I saw a curious sight. A man I'd never seen before was
just exiting my friend Joshua's house and getting into a cart, well, it 
was a sleigh, most folks used carts, they couldn't afford both. Looked 
like this one was pulled by big deer like the ones way up north, least 
ways they looked like them, only much bigger. The farmer was humming a 


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