As they came to the edge of the woods, Aggie stopped the cart
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As they came out of the woods, the girls caught their first glimpse of Aggie's home. Aggie lived on a farm. They'd heard the expression, "the grass is greener on the other side," but without a doubt, the grass on Aggie's farm was the greenest. They could see several animals grazing in on it. In addition, there was a granary, an orchard, a windmill, a pond that formed by the creek, heck, Aggie had everything.
"It's so pretty," said Ella.
"Why, thank you, Ella," replied Aggie, "I've worked hard to keep this place going. The last for years have been quite hard, but we've survived."
"Then more power to you," chimed Areida.
The cart headed up the driveway and made its way into the shed, at which point, Aggie tapped the seat with her walking stick again and said, "Whoa, now!" and the cart came to a stop.
"Well, hop out girls."
PING!
Ella threw herself out of the seat and into a nearby pile of hay. Aggie looked surprised. To make Ella seem less weird, Areida leapt out of her seat as well.
"Good heavens," stated Aggie, "Are you girls alright?"
Ella got up and turned back to Aggie.
"I'm fine," she said, smiling nervously.
"Me, too," added Areida.
"I-I like to goof around."
Aggie didn't seem to be buying it, but nodded anyway.
"Alright," she said, "Just brush yourselves off, and I'll show you the farmhouse."
PING!
Areida brushed the dirt out of her dress. With an unnatural robotic behavior, Ella dusted herself off, until she was spotless. Aggie continued to eye Ella suspiciously. The girls followed Aggie out of the shed.
Outside, the group was confronted by a pair of elves. Ella and Areida were a bit surprised.
"Top of the day to ya, Mrs. Mac," said the taller of the two elves.
"Hello, Elric," she replied.
"Well, we've just finished the southeast acre, and we're ready to call it a day."
"Well, before you leave, would you mind unloading the cart and taking everything down to the storage cellar."
"We'd be glad to, ma'am," announced Elric, "Won't we, Bob?" He elbowed the shorter elf beside him.
"Wha? Oh, yeah, sure Mrs. Mac," said the younger elf, whose mind seemed to be elsewhere.
"Thank you. Oh, by the way boys," Aggie motioned to Ella and Areida, "This is Ella of Frell and Areida of Ayorthia. Girls, this is Elric of Evergreen and his nephew, Bob."
Both girls nodded politely. "How do you do?" said Ella.
"Delighted," replied Elric.
Aggie continued. "Elric runs the day-to-day operations on the farm when I'm not around, and Bob, well, Bob does whatever his uncle tells him to do, isn't that right, Bob?"
Bob smiled, sarcastically, and gave a thumbs-up. Then, he and his uncle headed into the barn to unload the supplies.
"So, you have elves working on your farm," Arieda said, noticing the elves, scurrying about the farm.
"There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" asked Aggie.
"No, of course not," Areida responded, "It's just that in the city, elves are only allowed to sing and dance."
"Yes, well, the humans have put a lot of restrictions on what many non-human species can do. Most elves like sing and dancing, but many of them feel like they can do more. So, I told the elves if they wanted jobs, they could come work for me on my farm."
"Cool," said Ella, "So is it just elves?"
"Well, there's also some…"
"Mrs. McPhiney?" a deep voice spoke up from behind them.
Turning around, the three found themselves confronted by three, eight-foot-tall ogres with war clubs. The girls screamed and hid behind Aggie.
"Oh, it's alright, girls," she reassured them. "Hello Nish," she said to the head ogre.
"We pulled the stump out," Nish continued, "Do we get our sheep?"
Aggie thought for a second, then responded, "Go find Valeria, and she'll get you your sheep. And thanks again, boys." The girls hurried off as Aggie walked away.
"You have ogres here, too?" exclaimed Areida.
"Only for the big stuff."
"And they eat sheep?" asked Ella.
"It's how I pay them. They prefer humans, but I'm not going to feed them humans. Besides, I convinced them that sheep meat was healthier."
Aggie led the girls towards the farmhouse. She was leaning against her walking stick for support.
Just then, Aggie stopped and turned to the girls.
"Before we go any further, girls," she said, "I have a favor to ask."
Ella and Areida listened, intently.
"I have some rather unusual animals on my farm. Please don't laugh at them."
PING!
"We won't," said Ella.
As the girls passed the barn, the got a glimpse of Aggie's animals. And what a sight it was. Several of the chickens had only one leg. There was a horse that changed colors as it walked. There was a cow with two heads (one was a cow's head, the other was a bull's head). There were several furry, webbed-footed, duckbilled animals. And there were a pair of dogs with a thick layer of fur (almost like wool). One looked like it was pregnant.
Even if her curse hadn't prevented her from laughing, Ella wouldn't have laughed at the animals, although it would've taken some restraint. Areida tried not to laugh, but couldn't prevent a small snicker from getting out. She slapped her hands over her mouth and looked back at Aggie.
"I'm sorry!" she panicked, "I ju-ju-,"
Aggie smiled and put a reassuring hand on Areida's shoulder, calming her down.
"It's alright," she said, "I know I have some strange critters on my farm. The little ducks, we call them platypuses. They come from Australia, the land of odd creatures, and they're a unique mix of ducks, rodents, fish and reptiles. The cows, well, the cows are an unfortunate accident of birth. We call the bull Angus, and the cow Clarabelle. While they were still in their mother's womb, they somehow merged, and this is the result. On the plus side, there were no complications with their birth." Ella stepped forward to pet them, but Aggie stopped her with her walking stick. "I wouldn't get too close. Angus is very temperamental, and he's very protective of his sister." She pointed to the horse. "The horse's name is Charlie. Get it? Charlie Horse?" The girls giggled. "Charlie's rather easy to explain. There are certain pigments in the hairs of his coat that reflect certain rays of light. So when he walks, different shades of color are reflected, making him, truly, a horse of a different color." The girls giggled again.
Just then, the two wooly dogs approached.
"And who are these two?" asked Areida.
"Ah, these are my prized sheepdogs, Rex and Maddie."
"Sheepdogs?"
"In some countries, sheep are scarce. So, these dogs are valued for their wool-like fur. I just have them, because I thought they'd be an interesting addition to the farm."
Ella glanced at Maddie's belly again, and couldn't help asking.
"Is she pregnant?"
Aggie smiled and nodded. "Yes, she is. She's due any day now, and we're all excited for her." She leaned over and patted Maddie on the head. "Maddie's going to be a good mother, aren't you, girl?" Maddie barked in agreement.
"And what about the one-legged chickens?" asked Areida.
Aggie looked at the chickens hopping around, then looked back at the girls and chuckled.
"That's a very long story," she answered, "Maybe I'll tell you girls later."
Aggie led the girls into the farmhouse.
The first room the three entered with the kitchen. As the entered, they were greeted by the smell of warm apple pie baking in the oven. The kitchen was very well organized, but at the same time, there was a lot of stuff laying in neat, little piles all over the place. The walls were covered with pictures and wiccan trinkets.
As they looked around the room, Ella noticed an owl, perched on the wall.
"What a cute owl," Ella said, "Does he do anything magical, too?" She gently poked it in the stomach.
"What, what, what, what, what!" shouted the owl. He ruffled his feathers, angrily.
"Young lady, where are your manners? Didn't your mother tell you it's rude to touch people without their permission?"
The girls gaped in shock.
"He can talk," said Areida.
Aggie chuckled as she walked over.
"It's alright," she said to the owl, "Their with me. Girls, may I introduce my closest friend…"
"T.O. Socrates, at your service," interrupted the owl, as he bowed to the girls.
"What's the T.O. for?" asked Ella.
"The Owl," Aggie said, before Socrates could answer, "He uses the initials, because he thinks it makes him sound more intelligent." Socrates glared at her and ruffled his feathers. "He's an educated owl. We were actually classmates in college. He used to help me with my exams. He's been following me around ever since, making sure I stay out of trouble."
"Indeed," said Socrates, "And speaking of trouble, what happened to your leg?"
Aggie looked down at her leg, then back at Socrates. "An accident in the woods. If it weren't for these girls, I don't know what I would've done."
"Well, I'm glad you're alright, but who's going to about supper? The elves have already left, and there's no way you can work in your condition."
Aggie looked at the girls. "Would either of you mind if I asked you to get a few things from the barn and garden for supper? I can still cook it, I just need you girls to get for me."
Ella and Areida thought about it for a minute, then Ella answered for both of them, "If we must."
"Thank you, girls. Socrates will show you what you need to. In the meantime, I'm going to get myself some first aid." Aggie went upstairs. Ella and Areida followed Socrates outside to the garden.