Lachlan let them stew for almost a month. To help stave off the worry of invasion, the whole Abbey spent their time preparing. With the combined numbers of the Gousim, Skipper's crew, and the Redwallers and Chummers that had volunteered, the Abbey had a sizable defense force. The maids, mums, Dibbuns and old ones practiced drills, so even the smallest toddler knew to find an adult to take them to the cellars if the bells tolled an alarm.
Though they were sure to come out better for it, the practicing and drill and preparation didn't help ward off doubts and worry.
Tolus, Barid and Armarie still persisted in following Tallulah; to keep them safely close to her, she'd donned an apron and tied the strings to their wrists. When they'd kept accidentally untying the bow behind her back, she'd decided to skip the apron and had gotten a long strip of cloth to to tie them in a line, then tied the end to her own wrist.
So they sat among her and a few other Singermaids, watching as they cut apart sheets and rolled them up into bandages. Not too far down Cavern Hole, most the Chummers were building arrows, spears and javelins.
As she worked, Tallulah told the young ones stories to keep her three 'ducklings' entertained. They'd never heard her stories; they were riveted. The other Singers had quickly joined in, singing songs to help fill out the story, to make it come alive. The effect was breathtaking; they'd soon dubbed the method "story-singing."
The were currently working on the tale of John Henry. Tallulah's scissors snipped through the sheet as she explained, "John Henry was the biggest creature alive- probably the strongest one, too. He was a slave, but earned his freedom through a big battle. When he was free, he vowed "Never again"."
Sitting next to her, Rhea set aside a neat roll of strips, continuing the story while Tallulah took a breath. "And with that, his wife had his chains forged into a hammer, which she gave to him on their wedding day. Oh,you'd've thought he'd gotten his freedom all over again. And he told her, "I will die with this hammer in my hand."
Mrue, rolling a wad of linen strips, took up the story."Well, they went off to find a place to build their home. Land was being given away, if only a beast would help build a path to it. But when John and his wife got to it, all the worker-beasts were worn out, and about to give up and loose that land."
Tallulah told the story a while longer, then let the others take over with a song. They smacked rudders and pounded footpaws, imitating the pounding of working hammers. Kramer sang out, fiddling with a spearhead.
"John Henry, John Henry, John Henry was a powerful man.'"
Kelp's voice was a little deeper. "'Born with a hammer.""
Kale's voice was a few steps lower. "A ten pound hammer,'"
Junn's voice came out like a foghorn. "A twenny-pound hammer in his hand,'"
Chasel began the next verse, his voice swinging and alive. "'Well I heard John's mama liked to sew by night, so he pulled down the moon for a little bit of light.'"
"'It took a lot of cookin' to keep John fed,'" an otter in the back sang, the mole next to him finishing in the deepest voice, "'Ten pounds of bacon and eight loads of bread.'"
"'The rows he plowed were so wide indeed,'" Lukas threw a finished javelin to Kale,passing the song to him as he did. "'The seeds he sowed the ground had to feed.'"
Coda gathered a tied-up bundle of arrows to take a pile. "'His hammer hit the earth which such a mighty blow, ev'rything he planted would just pop and grow!'"
All the Chummers and the Singermaids sang the next chorus together.
"'John Henry,
John Henry,
John Henry was a powerful man.
Born with a hammer,
Born with a hammer,
Born with a hammer right in his ha-'"
Just as their voices began the dissonance that would've become a harmony, the sudden discordant clanging of bells came through the walls, sounding out a warning and call to arms.
"We're under attack!" One of the Chummers shouted.
The Singermaids gasped and a few screamed. The rest of the Chummers started shouting and running for the exit, grabbing weapons they'd finished before they left to do battle.
The maids abandoned the bandages. Rhea and Cae helped Tallulah by grabbing hold of Barid and Armarie, then they all jointly ran to the Great Hall, where all the women, children and old ones would take refuge in the cellars.
Before she ran off with the other maids, Mrue found her way through the chaos and grabbed Coda by his arm, making sure he could see and hear her. "Don't you dare die, Coda."
He stooped and kissed her cheek, whispering a promise into her ear. "I won't." Then they squeezed each other in a last embrace and let go, running off their separate ways.
The song is from Disney's animated short "John Henry"