Chapter 5 – The Blacksmith
Nutt left Ladyship, deciding that it was probably not a good idea to question her further. Distract yourself, he said to himself – do other things to keep your mind from thinking about the book.
He wandered into the courtyard. The blacksmith was busy at his forge.
Ah, this looks interesting, thought Nutt – and a probably a good distraction from the book. He neared the blacksmith, who looked up from his forge, and then gave Nutt a slightly forced smile, "Good day to you," he said.
"Good day," said Nutt politely, "might I enquire as to what you are doing?"
The blacksmith nodded slightly, "You might indeed," he said, "right now, I'm making horseshoes. Would you like to watch me for a while?"
"Yes, very much," replied Nutt, inching closer, and momentarily forgetting about the book.
"Ah, good," said the blacksmith, "see how the metal is heated in the forge, so that I can make horseshoes out of the molten metal." He demonstrated, placing the metal into the furnace. Nutt watched, fascinated, as the metal changed colour, due to the heat of the forge.
"Now I shape them, using these," the blacksmith explained, indicating his hammer and tongs. He demonstrated his work, the ringing noise echoing as he forged the metal into the required shape. He held up the horseshoe that he had just made, allowing Nutt to examine the slowly cooling object. "Don't touch it yet," he warned, "it's still very hot. It will cool down, though, and then it can be put on a horse.
"I would like to see that," said Nutt, "I would like to see a horse being shoed."
"Well, that's easy enough to arrange," said the blacksmith, "just wait a moment." With that, he went into his workshop. Nutt examined the forge for a moment, as he waited for the blacksmith to return. He took a step closer - this really was fascinating, he decided - and a chance to learn more, thereby earning worth.
The blacksmith returned, holding four horseshoes, "I made these yesterday," he said, "so they're nice and cool now. Come with me," he added. With that, he made his way towards the stables, Nutt following close behind.
As they both entered the stables, the horses seemed to become agitated, neighing, stamping, and chewing at their beds, while giving the two of them frightened glances. "Is there something wrong with them?" Nutt asked anxiously.
The blacksmith looked down at Nutt for a moment, and bit his lip. Then turned his attention back to the frightened horses, "Well, they've not seen, nor smelled, you before," he said cautiously. Nutt watched the blacksmith intently, almost certain that he was choosing his words with a great deal of care. The blacksmith turned his full attention back to Nutt for a moment, giving him an uncertain smile, before indicating the horses with a vague wave of his hand, "And they can get a bit agitated, when they smell someone unfamiliar," he explained.
Nutt looked carefully every line, every wrinkle, of the blacksmith's face. He is not lying, he thought, and he gave the horses a quick glance, where he saw that they were now stamping their feet in an agitated sort of way. Nutt went back to examining the blacksmith's face – but he is not telling the whole truth, either. Still, that is his right, I suppose. A craftsman is entitled to keep his trade secrets, after all.
Then he silently, patiently, watched as the blacksmith shoed a large brown horse. After he had attached the second shoe, Nutt said: "May I attach one now?"
The blacksmith bit his lip once more, a sure sign that he was uncertain or worried about something. Nutt hoped that he had not made a faux pas in asking that question.
"Well, now," said the blacksmith, after an awkward pause, "like I said, the horses are not exactly used to you, not in the way that they are used to me. They might not be happy with you getting too close to them."
"I understand," said Nutt, "but I really would like to try to shoe a horse."
"Well, I suppose it can't hurt for you to try," the blacksmith said, although he suddenly looked very uncomfortable.
Carefully, Nutt took a step towards the horse, and the blacksmith wordlessly handed him a horseshoe.
The horse snorted, and rolled his eyes in panic. He tried to bolt, just as Nutt tried to place a very gentle hand on his flank. Nutt shook his head, sighed, and handed the horseshoe back to the blacksmith, who took it, and gave him a slightly apologetic smile.
"Ah, don't feel bad about that," he said, "you've got to have the knack, with horses. They don't like change, and they're not used to your scent. Just watch," he added.
Nutt obeyed, watching as the blacksmith finished shoeing the horse. Although Nutt found watching this interesting, he still wanted to try doing it for himself. "So, it's my scent that frightens them?" he asked.
"Yeah, horses can be sensitive to new scents," replied the blacksmith.
"So, if I change my scent, I might be able to shoe a horse?" Nutt persisted.
The blacksmith was silent for a while, watching Nutt uncertainly. "That…might be possible," he said eventually.
Nutt bowed ever so slightly, "Thank you for showing me this," he said, "I have learned a lot, and now have a lot to think about."
"Eh, no problem, anytime," said the blacksmith, giving Nutt a friendly wave as he left him to his work.
Right, thought Nutt, I have now gained knowledge, gained worth. Now I will return to the library, to learn more. Not to look at that chained book, of course, but to find books on scent, to learn about ways to disguise my scent, so that I am able to shoe a horse, to earn worth that way. And, smiling to himself, he returned to Ladyship's library.