Granny Goody & The Hunted Soul
Granny goody was a stout old woman who lived over by the Clifford Water. She used to come to the Crowcomb Farmers Market to sell bits and pieces of her fine knitting and crocheting.
She had an old pony named Smart, cause he knew a thing or two -same as her.
They were both a gettin' old, so to get to the Market on time they had to start out in the wee small hours of the morning. They'd get up about 4 o'clock in the morning. Granny would gather her bits and put it in two big baskets with lids. The Baskets were loaded onto old Smart, one on each side. Then she'd get on herself, and off they'd go, well before the sun had ever lightened the sky. It took Smart a while to walk his old slow walk that far to the Market.
Well once she mistook the time. Forgot to wind the old clock and it stopped. So she got up and got Smart loaded, got herself on and off they went and it was all before Midnight.
Well, by the by, Granny Goody began to get sleepy. Old Smart, he was plodding his old slow way clop, clop, clop, and Granny began to nod. She wasn't a bit worried for didn't Smart know the way as well as she? Of course he did. So Granny Goody dozed.
She woke with a start. Something was wrong. Old Smart the pony was standing still in the middle of a field, and he was trembling with fear. Sweat behind his ears, his mane and tail fright stiff. Granny looked around, and all she could see was a little white rabbit hopping toward her. It was terrified, poor little rabbit and there comming behind it was the sound of hounds.
Granny felt sorry for the little rabbit. She forgot that white rabbits were often souls that had been cursed.
She got down off Smart picked up that rabbit, opened the lid of one of her baskets, plopped it in, closed the lid tight, and got back on Smart.
Granny Goody tried to get him to move but he wouldn't, nope not him. Knew a thing or two, Smart did, kept his head down and his eyes on the bit of grass at his hooves.
Well when Granny Goody saw what he was a doing she recollected what that white rabbit likely was and what those hounds a baying on it's trail likely were.
Quick as that she reached in the other basket for her kniting needles and yard and began to knit furious fast. Clickity, clickty, click those old iron needles went as the hounds got closer and closer, nor did she look up to see the Rider that was Master of that pack. Granny Goody never looked up at what was comming, no more did Smart, and the white rabbit was as quiet as quiet could be.
It was a fine black horse that clattered up. The hounds pressing close around, snuffling and growling and blowing glowing green breaths around poor Smart's hooves. But Smart never moved. He knowed a thing or two, he did.
A Dark Rider on his Black Horse, he all dressed in black, from foot to helm. All of them, hounds, horse and rider black as a starless midnight. All of them had horns and glowering, glowing red eyes, and the breath of all of them, if breath it was, glowed. The hounds tried to catch the eyes of Grany Goody or Smart. The Rider sat still as still as the death, only his riding crop tap,tap,tapping agian' his boot.
"Have you seen a rabbit go by?" asked the Rider in a deep hollow voice that echoed oddly in Granny Goodys head.
Well Granny Goody knew better than to answer him. So she knitted furious fast as her old hands could go and shook her old head wildly. She didn't lie at all either. Rabbit hadn't gone by; it was in the basket just where she'd put it.
The Hunt Master looked close at them for a long slice of forever, whip tap, tap, tapping his boot. Then sudden as a spark he spurred his horse and he and the whole Hunt went off toward the Wild Hills. Grany and Smart could hear the Hunters Horn and the Hounds baying on the back of the wind.
Then old Smart wasted no time getting on, he got up to a canter like he haddn't done in twenty years, and he never stopped either, till he came to the Roebuck Ford. Then he stopped flat, panting, square in the middle with the splashing water swirling about his hocks.
He knowed a thing or two did Smart. He knowed that nothing uncanny can harm you if you be in the middle of running water. Not warlocks, not divils, not goblins nor any evil thing, nothing, nothing at all.
Quick as a wink Granny Goody lifted the lid off that basket, and out came the most beautiful shining lady.
"Oh" she says, "how can I thank you? I was a witch and evil men cursed me when I died, to be a rabbit hunted by the devil and His Yeth Hounds until i could get behind them. You've saved my soul."
The beautiful lady gave Granny Goody and old Smart a luminous smile that lit the ford like sunshine and then she was gone.
Well Granny Goody and Smart made their way on into Crowcomb Town and when they arrived at the edge of town they heard the church clock striking 3 of the morning.
Granny Goody stopped Smart right there in the grass of the church yard and they both went to sleep. It had been a long hard night for old folks.
They both knew that the only thing that had saved them from that Divil and his Yeth hounds was that old Smart had been shod with iron horseshoes, and Granny had those iron knitting needles. For didn't everyone know that iron is a power again evil things that would harm ye? Like I said, they knowed a thing or two, did Granny Goody and old Smart. Yes they did.
Adapted from Kathern Briggs 2 volums set of British folk lore.
