It was only a month before Will's 19th birthday. He was in the last year of his apprenticeship. Will knew that he would be setting out on his own in just over a year. He didn't think about that much. A year was still a long time.
In just two months Halt and Lady Pauline would be married. All the wedding preparations were going on. Everyone at the castle was very busy. It was going to be a huge wedding. Halt was spending a lot of time at the castle with Pauline, helping prepare the wedding. This meant that Will was responsible for much of the upkeep of Redmont Fief. Halt didn't like leaving Will to do all the work but he knew it was good practice for the fifth-year apprentice to have most of the responsibility in the fief but with someone there as backup if things went wrong.
Will was still practicing all his skills every spare moment that he had. He knew he had to pass his exam if he was to get his silver Oakleaf.
He was also practicing something new. The Mandola. He had decided that he wanted to learn a musical instrument. As it turns out, he was quite good at it. Halt was not pleased with this development. He was not musically inclined and was commonly heard to say when asked if Will was a good player or not; "I don't know if he is good or not. One cat screeching sounds the same as another cat screeching to me."
Will took Halts grumpy manner in his stride. He knew by now that Halt would be grumpy and he just had to ignore him. Will could already play 'Sunshine Lady', Annalie Dancing', 'Old Joe Smoke' and 'Cabin in the Trees'.
One day, Will was busy shooting at the targets that were situated around the cabin. Halt was sitting on the veranda reading through some reports. Suddenly, Will had a great idea. What if he made a parody on one of his songs? What would he do it about and which song? As he shot, he pondered this. Then it came to him! 'Old Joe Smoke' could become 'Greybeard Halt'!
As he thought of that, Will got momentarily distracted and his arrow flew wide of the target. Halt glanced up.
"Gorlog's beard, Will! What was that!?"
"Sorry Halt. I had a good idea and got distracted."
"Don't do it again. What was your idea? It had to be pretty good if it made you miss the target."
Will paused. "I can't tell you Halt. It is a secret."
Halt raised one eyebrow and went back to reading his reports. Will heaved and inward sigh of relief. Halt wasn't going to make him tell his idea. Will got the feeling that Halt wouldn't like his new song.
That evening while Halt was at the castle, Will got to work on his song. It was harder than he thought! He sat there for two hours before he got the first verse and Chorus done.
Greybeard Halt is a friend of mine
He lives on Redmont's hill
Greybeard Halt never took a bath
And they say He never will!
Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt
Fare thee well, I say
Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt
I'll see you on your way!
Will grinned. It had been a good night's work.
Will worked on the song over the next two weeks. He had got the song all the way through.
Greybeard Halt is a friend of mine
He lives on Redmont's hill
Greybeard Halt never took a bath
And they say He never will!
Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt
Fare thee well, I say
Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt
I'll see you on your way!
Greybeard Halt, he lost a bet
He lost his winter coat
When winter comes, Halt stays warm
By sleeping 'mongst the goats.
Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt
Fare thee well, I say
Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt
I'll see you on your way.
Greybeard Halt, he lives with goats
That's what I've heard tell
He hasn't changed his socks for years
But the goats don't mind the smell!
Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt
Fare thee well, I say
Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt
I'll see you on your way
Greybeard Halt is a fighting man
I've heard common talk
That Greybeard Halt, he cuts his hair
With a carving knife and fork!
Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt
Fare thee well, I say
Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt
I'll see you on your way
Will was very proud with his song. He thought, "Halt will not be back for a while yet. I can play it through one more time to make sure it is all correct."
He started playing and singing. As he did so, Halt walked up. He heard Will singing what he thought was Old Joe Smoke. Then he paused. Could he hear, Greybeard Halt? Yes that is what he heard!
Halt stopped to listen. He waited until Will had finished the whole song and then he opened the door. Halt had to suppress a laugh when he saw Will jump.
"Did I just hear a whole song about Greybeard Halt?" asked Halt.
Will looked very guilty. "Yeeesss..." he said hesitantly.
Halt's eyebrows drew together into a dark frown. "Tree! Now!" he barked at Will.
Will ran. He might be nearly nineteen but when Halt was angry, that was not the time to argue.
Poor Will had to spend the night in a cold, uncomfortable tree. Halt didn't let him down until the next morning. When he came down, Will apologised to Halt.
"Don't ever sing that song again." Halt growled.
"I won't," promised Will. But in the back of his mind, Will knew that what Halt didn't know, wouldn't hurt him! He would sing that song plenty of times in the future!