§= a quote from Lloyd Alexander's "The Book of Three"
Zira and The Book of Mouse
And the Voyage in Taran's Pocket
I, Zira am a noble mouse whose journey across the sea has brought me here, to Prydain. As I go into the forest, I run for days, living like a real mouse. This gives me time to think about things that I want to think about,
And things that I don't want to think about...
Epilogue
It has been a long time, since my voyages with Crispin, Son of Lord Furnival. Yet it still haunts me. I tend to think about Crispin, Troth, and the Thief family, and I wonder about what their lives are like. Yet also, I think about the mice and people that have passed on, like Bear and David, God bless their souls, but mostly I think about David, and his noble sacrifice to save my life. He still is with me, and I miss him dearly. Yet, a mouse dies only once, and there is no one left to protect me. It is only me and the dark woods of Prydain.
Chapter I- Llyan of Mona
I awoke with a jolt, as a low growl occurs outside of my tree-hole house. I hear scratching and snarling as I scurry to the opening, and as I look down, I notice that the source of the sound is no other than a wildcat! I scream and scurry to the back of the tree-hole, hoping it doesn't kill me. Unfortunately, the cat caught my scent and was alerted to my presence. The cat clambered up the tree to the entrance of the hole where I could clearly look into its murderous yellow eyes, how they were locked into a ready-to-kill focus. It let out a deafening snarl that could scare the hair off a rat (they don't scare easily), yet I stood firm, gripping the tree wall with all my strength. Then, it lost the focus in its eyes and the focus turned into curiosity. I, stunned could barely squeak out, "a-a-are y-ou-u g-g-goin-g-g t-to k-kil-l m-me-e?"
The cat shook its head and said, "No! Normally I kill the mice and creatures that are afraid and jump out of their holes, but it seems like you are not afraid." I had never spoken to a wildcat, so I didn't know what to say. I then thought back to my lessons at the Mouse Academy, where we were taught edacity. Confident, I then said, "Who might you be?" the Cat chuckled and said,
"I am Llyan of Mona, yet you can call me Ly," Ly then added, "And who might you be?" I was hesitant, yet I replied, "I am Zira of Stromford, England"
"England," Ly remarked, "Is far, far away from Prydain, and it's certainly a long, long journey for a little mouse like you, Zira. Come now, I believe you want to go somewhere?"
I slowly walked over to the front of the hole- for I still was not sure about the intentions of Ly, would she kill me the minute I come to her? Or would she fulfill her word and take me to where I wanted to go? I had only one choice, I had to come to her.
I decided to climb on Llyan's back, for it would be harder for her to slay a poor mouse like me on her own back. She then asked, "Where to, my new friend Zira?" Wow, she called me a "New friend"! Maybe I won't be slaughtered and turned into a stew after all. I thought for a little while, and I made up my mind- I would go to the nearest populated village and find a new pocket. So, I asked Ly where I could find a village:
"To the nearest village, I guess" I began
"Why? I don't think that Caer Dallben is a suitable place for a mouse." Llyan replied
"I am looking for a pocket to live in." I said, regretting saying such.
"Pockets are everywhere, Zira." Ly stated
"But the person who owns it matters." I countered
"What type of person do you like to live with?" Ly said with a hint of sarcasm in her eyes
"A boy, maybe 13,14 years of age, not too tall (I needed to be able to escape without hurting myself) and who has an interesting life." I stated
"That is very specific, but I think I have a good match for you. His name is Taran; he's an assistant pig-keeper in Caer Dallben- he's the only boy fitting your preferences for leagues." Ly said.
So, it was decided. I was to go to Caer Dallben and find this "Taran" to hopefully live with and not get killed the first day. Ly's back was very broad, and I was very tired (for I had just woken up), so I fell asleep dreaming about this boy that me and my unusual friend were going to find.
After a day or so, we came upon the very small village of Caer Dallben. It was not much of a village, more of a large homestead; there was only a large house, a shack, a blacksmith, a small pig-house, and a pig-yard with one pale pig. When we arrived, there was a clatter coming from the blacksmith. We came near the window and we saw a boy, whose hair was brown as the packed-earth floor, and a bald man whose head reflected sunlight. All of the sudden, a man who was very old came into the room and spoke so soft that I and Ly could not hear what he said. Ly then whispered to me. "that's the boy, Taran." This Taran was perfect, but he was missing something- a pocket.
I then noticed a small waist-satchel that looked fairly empty, and I believe I saw a hole in the side. I knew that this new traveling home would be a mansion compared to the small pocket of Crispin's. I do indeed wonder what happened to Crispin- did he ever get to the land of ice? Or did he go somewhere else where there was no government. My thinking was interrupted by Ly pouncing into the tall grass that surrounded the village, nearly throwing me off her back. I then knew why she did- the three people walked out of the blacksmith and went towards the large homestead, speaking of very boring stuff. Ly then began to skulk through the grasses where my visual of them was disrupted. I noticed that her head was a little higher than her back, so I climbed up onto her head and began to watch the trio of Prydanish walking towards the large, one story house that I now could tell that the siding was poorly placed and was starting to fall off. When they went inside, Ly and I went to a window to see what was going on. "I don't want to be seen, Zira, so I'm going to go back in the grass," Ly said. "But you can go up the window and watch what they are doing." So, I decided to go to the window and look in to watch Taran.
When I got to the windowsill, the bald man had already left, but Taran was still there. He was sitting near the window where I was. I could clearly get a view of him, even though his back was facing me. He had dark, earth-colored hair that was messily cut, and his garment was stained with dirt and other things that I could not identify. When he took a glance to the left, I could see one of his rust-colored eyes. I definitely knew that he was the one I would have my new adventures with. After he glanced, he stood up very slowly, as if he didn't want to get caught by anyone. He skulked across the room, closing in on a large, old tome. He reached out to grab it, but then his jumped back like something just bit him. The very old man, who was asleep at the time, then said without opening his eyes, "You had better see Coll about a lotion for those hands. Otherwise, I shouldn't be surprised if they blistered." § I indeed wondered who this "Coll" was. As Taran went out of the house, I scurried back to Ly to tell her what happened.
"Well you should find this 'Coll' you speak of, since you ask me." Ly said after telling her what happened. So, I did. I followed Taran, who was already almost to a vegetable garden where the bald man was tending to the crop. Taran went in and began to talk to the bald man, so I assumed that he was "Coll". They then went over to a stable, which I followed them to. Coll then put a weird paste on Taran's hands. Coll then began to scold Taran, who was complaining about his life and wanting an adventure. Coll was saying that Taran wasn't ready and should stay to his job- being an Assistant Pig-keeper. They began to argue, but they were interrupted by a loud buzzing.
"The bees!" Taran exclaimed "they're swarming!"
"It is not their time," cried Coll "There is something amiss" §
The black cloud of bees flew up skyward, while the chickens tried to fly away. Both of them raced to the chicken run, trying to catch them, but it was too late- the chickens were already gone. The commotion was intense. I knew I should run back to Ly, so I did. I climbed upon her back and we were off- we went around the village and dashed into the woods, but we did not go too far, for I still wanted to climb in Taran's satchel.