The Treasure Cave: sea tales of Tiptoes Lightly (10 page)

‘Bring my
fairest daughter to me,’ he commanded, and she was brought.

The daughter
of the King of the Sea saw how angry her father was and for the first time she
trembled before his throne.

‘What does
this mean?’ thundered the King, holding out the pearls in his hand.

His daughter
hung her head.

Then the King
ordered the pearls to be made into a necklace, a royal necklace fit for a
princess.

‘Never may you
take these pearls from around your neck,’ commanded the King of the Sea, as he
closed the golden clasp.

“Oh, this was
a pretty punishment, a pretty punishment indeed,” said Obaro, “for the pearls
were beautiful and the necklace rare and precious and royal. But forever was
the daughter reminded that she had disobeyed her father, the King of the Sea;
forever was her shame hung around her neck for all to see, and forever was she
reminded of the beautiful beach of golden sand in the world of men.”

“But how did
they get in this cave?” asked Tiptoes.

“That is
another tale,” said Obaro. “Another tale altogether, and I must go,” and he
closed his deep-set eyes and vanished.

Riding

After lunch
Farmer John asked if Tom and June would like to go horseback riding. This was a
silly question. Tom and June loved riding and even had their own pony back at
the farm.

“Can Tiptoes
come too?” asked June Berry.

“Of course she
can come,” said Farmer John. “I’m not sure these stables have fairy horses for
rent—but we can find out.”

So Tiptoes
came in the car with them and they drove up the coast for a few miles. They
turned in at a farm with a barn and corral beside the road. On the barn was a
sign: Lonely Horseshoe Stables. A tough looking lady in a jean jacket and
cowboy boots came out of the barn and greeted them.

“Y’all looking
fer a ride?” she asked, eyeing them over.

They nodded.

“Y’all look
like you know riding,” she said.

They nodded.

“Thought so,”
she said. “I’m Jo,” and she shook Farmer John’s hand.

“Well, com’mon
outa that there metal stallion and chuse yer mount,” she said.

“What about
our dog?” asked Farmer John out the window.

The lady
stopped and turned.

“He friendly?”

Farmer John
nodded.

“Got sense?”

Farmer John
nodded.

“Knows
horses?”

Farmer John
nodded.

“Obeys?”

Farmer John
nodded.

“He can mosey
along with us then,” said Jo, walking away.

“I have a
feeling that Jo won’t have any fairy horses,” said Farmer John.

“I don’t think
so either,” said June Berry.

“Me neither,”
laughed Tiptoes. “I’ll see you later,” and out the window she flew.

They got out
of the car and went into the barn. A row of stalls ran down either side. There
were horses in all of them. Farmer John chose a gentle looking mare, and Tom
and June chose pinto ponies with large brown patches.

“Them thar
pintos be right good,” said Jo, praising Tom and June’s choice.

“We have our
own pony,” said Tom. “His name’s Chiron. We ride him all the time—bareback
too.”

“Do ya now,”
said Jo. “And where do y’all keep yer pony?”

“At our farm,”
said Farmer John. “I’m a farmer.”

Jo looked him
up and down.

“Organic, I
bet,” she said.

Farmer John
nodded.

“Thought so,”
said Jo. “What kind?”

“Biodynamic,”
said Farmer John.

Jo raised her
eyebrows. “Figures,” she said. “I can tell a mile away.”

They helped Jo
saddle the horses and lead them outside. She boosted the kids onto their
ponies, then tightened the girths and adjusted the stirrups. Jo let them use
English saddles because that’s what they were used to. Off they went across the
road and down a trail towards the beach. The trail was narrow and lined with
trees and wound through a forest hung with old man’s beard. The sound of the
surf got louder and louder until at last they came out at the wide, sweeping
bay. On the horizon stood the lighthouse, and further north were the high
cliffs where the mountains ran into the sea. The beach was backed by sand dunes
and sea meadows that ran into the forest on the mountain sides. They rode down
to the beach and walked north for a while beside the crashing waves.

“Let’s see if
y’all can trot,” said Jo to Tom and June, and she set her horse at a trot.

Tom and June
easily kept their ponies abreast of her.

“How about a
canter,” said Jo and she clicked her tongue and went faster.

Tom and June
kicked their heels and their ponies kept up.

“Ready for a
gallop?” asked Jo, slapping the reins against her horse’s neck and taking off
like the wind. Tom and June were ready for her. They had been riding since they
were tiny and they stood up the stirrups and told their ponies to giddyup. Away
along the strand they raced, their hair blowing in the wind and the hooves
beneath them sending the wet sand flying.

Far behind,
Farmer John plodded along on his old grey mare.

Tiptoes
meets a Kite

Tiptoes
Lightly left Tom and June at the stables and followed a trail down to the sea.
She met an owl sleeping in a tree, but couldn’t wake him up. She saw a worm
crawling across the trail and told him to get under cover or for sure he’d be
eaten. She saw a mountain ash covered in red berries being mobbed by a flock of
robins. She found a deer stepping lightly through the trees and flicking his
ears.

Tiptoes left
the forest and went out onto the sea meadow. It sloped towards the sea and
turned into sand dunes as it met the shore. Overhead, a kite was flying, its
wings quickly beating the air whenever it hovered in one place. Tiptoes flew up
and hovered next to it, but it moved away across the meadow and hovered again.
Tiptoes followed.

“What are you
doing?” asked Tiptoes.

“Hunting,”
said the kite, his sharp eyes glinting.

“What for?”
asked Tiptoes.

“Mice,” said
the kite.

Just then
Tiptoes spotted a mouse running across the meadow below.

“I have a
mouse friend,” said Tiptoes, flying in front of the kite. “His name’s Jeremy
Mouse.”

“Jeremy
Mouse,” said the kite. “That sounds like a delicious name. Where is he?”

“At home,”
said Tiptoes, “far away at home.”

The kite
shifted downwind and Tiptoes followed. She saw that the mouse had stopped
running and was sitting outside its burrow. Suddenly the kite dived, but the
mouse whirled around and disappeared into his house. The kite screeched and flew
further along the meadow and Tiptoes followed again.

“Why are you
following me?” asked the kite.

“Just
chatting,” said Tiptoes.

“Go away,”
said the kite fiercely. “I’m hungry. I’m never in a good mood when I’m hungry,”
and he let out another screech and wheeled away in the wind.

Sister
Vive casts the Seeds from the fourth Fruit of the Tree of Life

The light was
dimming and the mist moving in when Farmer John and his children returned from
the riding stables. Jo had taken them for a longer ride than normal because no
one else was booked that day and the pinto ponies hadn’t been out in a while.
Then they helped her curry and comb the horses afterwards. When they got back
to the cottage they were starving.

“I’m
starving,” said June Berry.

“I’m starving,”
said Tom.

“I’m
starving,” said Farmer John.

“Woof-woof,”
barked Lucy and he pawed at his food bowl.

So they fed
Lucy, got back into the car and had supper at a pizza place in Summer’s Fort.
By the time they returned the mist was heavy and wet and the moon shone pale
and faint overhead. Farmer John lit the fire while Tom and June put on their
pjs and brushed their teeth.

When they got
to the living room Tiptoes was waiting for them. They snuggled up to their dad
and she asked what they wanted to hear about.