The Adventures of Horace Tidwiddler by jlee smith (book suggestions txt) 📕

In almost a whisper he said, “I am Sierra Blanco The Great. I know all and I see all. I will answer all your questions. I will take questions from the audience now.” A young girl in the front stood and said, “I have a question. Will I meet my true love”” Sierra Blanco looked at her and said, “No, you have already met him.” She giggled and sat back down and held the hand of the young boy beside her. A young woman stood and asked, “Will my baby be a boy or a girl?” Sierra Blanco the Great looked at her for a moment then said, “It will be a strong baby boy.” A young man stood and asked, “Will my Bessie have a bull or a heifer?” A strong bull was the reply. Questions of this nature continued for several minutes. After a while a voice from the crowd asked, “What do you see in the future? Tell us what you see.” The wizard studied for a moment, raised his hands to the sky and said, “I see a great fire in a city to the west, many people will perish. I see a great rain will fall to the east and many crops will fail. I see a sickness will befall another city far to the west. there are things I see.” The crowd fell silent. Then a voice from the crowd asked, “What do you see for our city?” Sierra Blanco The Great studied for a moment, closed his eyes as if consulting the Gods, then said, “Prosperity and long life for all.” A great cheer went up from the crowd. Just at this moment a loud explosion came from the center stage, a cloud of white smoke appeared and Sierra Blanco the Great was gone. A great applause arose from the audience as the announcer entered the stage to say the show was over and thanked all for coming.
Horace was sitting on the grass with his mouth open, his eyes as big as saucers. He could not believe what he had just witnessed. He turned to Aunt Matt and said, “How does he do that?” She looked at Horace for a moment, shook her head and said, “You know, you really are a country bumpkin aren’t you?” As they were walking back to the wagon she said, “Let me explain something. He saw the young girl with that boy so what do you think he was going to say? The woman who ask about the baby, the man who asked about the cow, all these answers he gave, he had a fifty percent change of being
right. Plus he will be a long way from here before the truth is known anyway. Now granted, I don’t know about the other things he said, but I bet there is a trick there somewhere.”
Later that night, Horace was sitting by the fire having coffee when Bruno walked over and sat down. He said, “How did you like the show?” Horace looked at Bruno for a long time, handed him a cup of coffee and said, “There is something I need to know and I hope you will tell me.” Bruno said, “Sure, what is it?” Horace said, “How does he predict the future?” Bruno choked on his coffee, laughed and said “Pigeons.” Horace said, “What do you mean pigeons?” “You know, carrier pigeons. We get news from all over the country by carrier pigeons.” Bruno then had to explain how this worked as Horace had never even heard of carrier pigeons. He explained that the events that Blanco had foretold had actually already occurred and that the news had not had time to arrive in this city yet. He said that when the news did arrive everyone will say how wonderful Sierra Blanco the Great really was. He laughed and said, “Ain’t it a hoot?” Horace looked at Bruno with a cold stare and said, “What about the white smoke and the appearing and disappearing?” Bruno looked at Horace and said, “Gun powder and a trap door.” Bruno said, “Horace, you look like someone told you that they had just killed the Tooth Fairy. Sorry, but that’s the way he does it.” Bruno said, “Night Horace” and walked back to his wagon. Horace went to sleep that night feeling like he had lost something but he was not quite sure what it was. Aunt Matt was to tell him later it was a little bit of his innocence.
The next morning when Horace awoke he had a question he wanted answered. He looked over at Aunt Matt who was still asleep and said, “Who the heck is the Tooth Fairy?” He did not like having to ask such a silly question, but he needed some answers. Aunt Matt looked at him with a question of her own, “Who?” “The Tooth Fairy,” he said, “the dang Tooth Fairy?” Aunt Matt sat up and looked at Horace for a long moment then said, “For heavens sake, the sun is not even up yet. What’s wrong with you?” She rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Horace would have none of it. He said, “No, I’m serious, who is this person?” She sat up, rubbed her eyes and said, “Horace, you are unbelievable. Why would you ask such a question?” Horace told Aunt Matt about the statement Bruno had made the night before. She looked at Horace, smiled and said “Son, you sometimes even amaze me. Bruno was just trying to say he was sorry but the truth is just the truth, even if it’s hard to accept, that’s all he was trying to say.” She then explained who the Tooth Fairy was.. Horace said he had never heard such a bunch of bull and could not imagine anyone believing in such a thing. She looked at Horace, smiled and said, “Do you see now?” He blushed and said, “I think so.” Then he said, “let’s just forget we had this conversation.”
They were sitting around the fire having coffee the next morning when Bruno and Blanco walked up and said, “Good morning.” Aunt Matt could see Bruno was sorry about the night before and that he wished had had not told Horace about Blanco and how he performed his magical tricks. Horace looked up and said, “Morning.” They sat in silence for a few moments then Bruno looked at Horace and in a very low voice said, “If you want, tonight I will show you some real magic.” Horace looked at Bruno and said, “Promise?” Bruno said, “Promise.”


CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - A LONG, LONG JOURNEY

News arrived later that morning that the town militia was victorious and had captured all of the slavers and set the captives free. There was great joy in Mottlee when this news was received. All of the captured were turned over to the King's men and would be dealt with according to the law of the land. When Horace heard the news he realized that now he could safely venture outside the city. He asked Abbasonn if they could go now as he wanted to find the gypsy man called Ulee as soon as possible. Plans were made and Horace, Aunt Matt and Abbasonn set out on the final stage of a long journey. It was decided that Bentaub and Durant would stay with the wagons and watch Dylan while the others were gone. Horace was walking beside Abbasonn when he turned and said, "Thank you friend, without you this would have never been possible." Abbasonn said, "My young friend, don't get your hopes up, we are not there yet." Horace was to remember these wise words later.
It was mid afternoon when they approached the little farm house, An old man was setting on a rock whittling on a piece of wood as they approached. He looked up, smiled and said, "Welcome, I have been expecting you." Horace said, "You have, for how long?" "Oh, I guess the better part of seventeen years", he replied. "I knew one day you would come in search of your brother. Welcome to our home." Horace was surprised at how much he was taken by the little old man. He was not quite sure what he had expected, but this was surely not it. Horace looked at the old man and said, "Is my brother here?" The old man looked back at Horace and shook his head and said, "No, he has been gone for almost two years now." Horace could not speak for a moment, then in a small voice, he said, "Is he ok?" The old man saw the hurt in Horace's eyes and quickly said, "I'm sorry, he is at the University in Budapest studying. He wants to be a teacher." Horace felt a great relief flood over himself as he had feared the worst. The old man stood and extended his hand to Abbasonn saying, "Forgive me Sir, I am the gypsy Ulee, you are most welcome to my home." Abbasonn smiled and took his hand in friendship. Horace turned and said, "This is our dearest friend and most wonderful traveling companion Aunt Matt." She smiled and bowed. Ulee said, "I have been told of your friend and she is also most welcome." Aunt Matt told Horace later that this was the finest introduction she had ever received, and she wanted to thank him for it, He blushed and said, "Your welcome."
Ulee invited them in for coffee and cakes. He told them that his wife Mardia had gone to market and would not be back until late afternoon. He said she would be so sorry to have missed seeing Horace. Ulee made Horace promise that he would come back when she was there. He sat at the table across from Horace and stared for a moment then he said, "It's hard to believe you are not my son Morris because you are truly identical. When I saw you walking up a moment ago, I knew exactly who you were, who you had to be." Horace had so many questions to ask, he did not know where to start. The first thing out of his mouth was, "Does he know about me?" Ulee said, "Absolutely! There has never been any secrets about his birth. He has always hoped some day you two would meet." Horace asked, "How far away is Budapest?" Abbasonn looked at Horace and in a quiet voice said, "A very long way."
For want of something to say, Horace asked, "What kind of teacher is he going to be?" Ulee replied, "Music, he wants to teach music." The words of the old gypsy in the wagon with the Tarot cards came back to Horace, he looked at Aunt Matt with his eyes wide., She looked at Horace, shrugged her shoulders and very quietly said, "Horse feathers."
Ulee stood and said to them all, "Come outside, I want to show you something."
Outside and to the left of the little house was a large stump of an old oak tree. As Horace
approached it, he noticed something different. The wood was bright yellow in color. Ulee