Cousins -- Fiction; Prince Edward Island -- Fiction; Storytellers -- Fiction
“I hate to dream of being chased because I can never run,” said Sara
Ray with a shiver. “I just stand rooted to the ground--and see it
coming--and can’t stir. It don’t sound much written out, but it’s awful
to go through. I’m sure I hope I’ll never dream Peg Bowen chases me.
I’ll die if I do.”
“I wonder what Peg Bowen would really do to a fellow if she caught him,”
speculated Dan.
“Peg Bowen doesn’t need to catch you to do things to you,” said Peter
ominously. “She can put ill-luck on you just by looking at you--and she
will if you offend her.”
“I don’t believe that,” said the Story Girl airily.
“Don’t you? All right, then! Last summer she called at Lem Hill’s in
Markdale, and he told her to clear out or he’d set the dog on her. Peg
cleared out, and she went across his pasture, muttering to herself and
throwing her arms round. And next day his very best cow took sick and
died. How do you account for that?”
“It might have happened anyhow,” said the Story Girl--somewhat less
assuredly, though.
“It might. But I’d just as soon Peg Bowen didn’t look at MY cows,” said
Peter.
“As if you had any cows!” giggled Felicity.
“I’m going to have cows some day,” said Peter, flushing. “I don’t mean
to be a hired boy all my life. I’ll have a farm of my own and cows and
everything. You’ll see if I won’t.”
“I dreamed last night that we opened the blue chest,” said the Story
Girl, “and all the things were there--the blue china candlestick--only
it was brass in the dream--and the fruit basket with the apple on
it, and the wedding dress, and the embroidered petticoat. And we were
laughing, and trying the things on, and having such fun. And Rachel Ward
herself came and looked at us--so sad and reproachful--and we all felt
ashamed, and I began to cry, and woke up crying.”
“I dreamed last night that Felix was thin,” said Peter, laughing. “He
did look so queer. His clothes just hung loose, and he was going round
trying to hold them on.”
Everybody thought this was funny, except Felix. He would not speak to
Peter for two days because of it. Felicity also got into trouble because
of her dreams. One night she woke up, having just had a very exciting
dream; but she went to sleep again, and in the morning she could not
remember the dream at all. Felicity determined she would never let
another dream get away from her in such a fashion; and the next time she
wakened in the night--having dreamed that she was dead and buried--she
promptly arose, lighted a candle, and proceeded to write the dream down
then and there. While so employed she contrived to upset the candle and
set fire to her nightgown--a brand-new one, trimmed with any quantity
of crocheted lace. A huge hole was burned in it, and when Aunt Janet
discovered it she lifted up her voice with no uncertain sound.
Felicity had never received a sharper scolding. But she took it very
philosophically. She was used to her mother’s bitter tongue, and she was
not unduly sensitive.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account