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How far does the river run?
The shepherdess has always wondered.
Along by the side of the field, she knows. She’s followed it all the way, through the valley filled with rocks, and down to the dusty red road. A knight, she knows, once walked that way. He was handsome, she’s been told, and his armour gleamed in the sun, but he didn’t stay for long. He left her mother before the moon changed. She never knew his name.
How far does the river run?
One day another knight came by.
“Where do you travel?” the girl asked and he looked at her and smiled.
“Into the sun and the stars,” he said.
His armour gleamed too. But this shepherdess did not notice his smile.
How far does the river run?
“Will you take me with you?” she asked. He looked her up and down and she shook her head.
“I’m not beautiful,” she said. “And I don’t want a knight of my own. But I want to know where the river runs,”
The knight raised an eyebrow.
“Stay at home, little yeoman,” he said. “You have sheep to tend to, and the river runs far away,”
How far does the river run?
The shepherdess went home that night and dreamed of the sun and the stars. The next day she followed the river again, through the valley filled with rocks and down to the dusty red road. She crossed the road and followed the river through the blasted trees and down to the crossroads with the pile of silver stones at its heart.
That day a second knight came by.
“Where do you travel?” the girl asked and he looked at her and smiled.
“Through death and thunder,” he said.
He was handsome and his eyes were bright. But the shepherdess did not notice his smile.
How far does the river run?
“Will you take you with me?” she asked. He looked at her worn clothes and she shook her head.
“I know I’m poor and I know I’m dirty. But I want to know where the river runs,”
The knight raised an eyebrow.
“You’ll get hurt, little yeoman,” he said. “No one has taught you to wield a sword and the river runs to battle,”
How far does the river run?
The shepherdess went home that night and dreamed of death and thunder. The next day she followed the river again, through the valley filled with rocks and down to the dusty red road. She crossed the road and followed the river through the blasted trees and down to the crossroads with the pile of silver stones at its heart, and took the path where the river ran to the sun.
And she kept walking, until she found a knight, heading likewise.
This time she didn’t ask, but followed him instead.
“Don’t you have sheep to tend?” he asked her curiously.
“They have grass to eat,” she said firmly.
“Aren’t you afraid you’ll get hurt?” he asked, even more curiously.
“If I bleed, I’ll mend,” she said, even more firmly.
The knight looked at her, and after a while he smiled and handed her a dagger.
How far does the river run?
The shepherdess hasn’t reached the end yet.