Tolly and Mrs Oldknow. Geminidsext_195770May 23 2015, 18:10:13 UTC
"Look! Did you see it!" Tolly caught at Mrs Oldknow's hand, waving with his other.
"Yes. Oh -- and there's another!"
The shooting star streaked down the sky and vanished behind the dark bulk of the woods.
"There. That's one for each of us. So it's time to go back inside and get warm."
"Oh, Granny, can't we stay and watch for more?"
"Greedy for wishes? Wouldn't you rather have hot chocolate and roast the last of the chestnuts?"
Tolly paused, staring up into the sky. The stars -- thick, like smashed glass thrown onto dark velvet -- twinkled, but stayed steady in their appointed sphere.
"Well --"
"The moat has ice along its margins already. It'll be solid by morning. And if your toes are like mine, they must be frozen in your boots."
Tolly kicked, experimentally, at the stone edge of the raised platform. "What will Neptune do if the moat freezes solid?"
"Lie down in the mud at the very bottom and sleep. He's lived through a lot worse than this. Back in the 17th century it was so cold, some people call it the Little Ice Age. The Thames froze solid, several times, and they held frost fairs, with skating contests on the river, and oxen roasted on the banks to feed the crowds. And in Cambridge and St Neots, too. Skating was very new in England then; the Dutch brought it over and the King was fascinated by it, so of course it became very fashionable. Toby never cared for it, but Alexander was very good and he taught Linnet, though she wasn't supposed to be on the ice. Once we're indoors, I'll tell you the story of how Alexander entered the great skating race from Ely to Cambridge, for honour and glory and a piece of a fallen star."
"Yes. Oh -- and there's another!"
The shooting star streaked down the sky and vanished behind the dark bulk of the woods.
"There. That's one for each of us. So it's time to go back inside and get warm."
"Oh, Granny, can't we stay and watch for more?"
"Greedy for wishes? Wouldn't you rather have hot chocolate and roast the last of the chestnuts?"
Tolly paused, staring up into the sky. The stars -- thick, like smashed glass thrown onto dark velvet -- twinkled, but stayed steady in their appointed sphere.
"Well --"
"The moat has ice along its margins already. It'll be solid by morning. And if your toes are like mine, they must be frozen in your boots."
Tolly kicked, experimentally, at the stone edge of the raised platform. "What will Neptune do if the moat freezes solid?"
"Lie down in the mud at the very bottom and sleep. He's lived through a lot worse than this. Back in the 17th century it was so cold, some people call it the Little Ice Age. The Thames froze solid, several times, and they held frost fairs, with skating contests on the river, and oxen roasted on the banks to feed the crowds. And in Cambridge and St Neots, too. Skating was very new in England then; the Dutch brought it over and the King was fascinated by it, so of course it became very fashionable. Toby never cared for it, but Alexander was very good and he taught Linnet, though she wasn't supposed to be on the ice. Once we're indoors, I'll tell you the story of how Alexander entered the great skating race from Ely to Cambridge, for honour and glory and a piece of a fallen star."
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