The Goose Who Survived Christmas(Clair B M Oldfield) THE GOOSE WHO SURVIVED CHRISTMAS


Featherdale Farm was in a beautiful place. Lush green fields by the side of a river. Griselda loved it. It was home. Sometimes she waddled around in the sun and much of the time she sheltered from the rain and wind or made prints in the snow. She had friends of course who shared Featherdale. It was almost perfect.

However, one of the seasons was called Christmas and it was considered an exciting time. Many of her friends thought so as they went off to places for this holiday season but it seemed to Griselda that they didn’t come back again. She wondered why. Fortunately she had managed to stay at Featherdale. She missed her friends but later others joined her in the sun by the river, it wasn’t quite the same but it would have to do for now.

Griselda went about her business and then once again the days got shorter and the weather colder and a familiar excitement descended on Featherdale. Fairy lights went up on a lovely big tree that appeared in the courtyard. A sign went up on the farm gate. Griselda wished that she could read it. She wondered who else around the farm may be able to read it to her and the winter mystery would then be explained. Griselda set off on an adventure. She would find someone to read the notice to her but suddenly the farm seemed a very big place. Where could she start? Who could she ask for help?

She caught up with the chickens first in the pen near the barn, perhaps the Rooster could read? He could certainly speak very loudly and wake everyone up in the mornings. He looked pityingly at Griselda.

“Cocka doodaldoo you don’t want to know about Christmas” he crowed to her “Hide away like you always do, you’re so small Griselda they may
not find you.”

He wouldn’t tell her what the sign said or where some of her friends had gone.

“I don’t think you can read either” said Griselda in annoyance.
“I’ll find someone else to help me”

She waddled off. She had just spotted Colin. He was the farm cat and he could be vicious, especially if you were a rat.

Griselda wasn’t a rat so she went to speak to Colin. He was having a wash in a patch of sunshine on top of a pile of yellow hay. Griselda called up to him. She made him jump and he nearly fell off his hay. He tried looking haughty to cover his embarrassment and pretended not to see Griselda. She asked him if he was excited by the cold winter months too. He shrugged and wiped his whiskers and licked his lips.

“I get lots of tasty treats at Christmas and plum pudding too if I like, but I wouldn’t want to be you; I should run Griselda and hope they don’t catch you. You’re lucky to be so small”.

He didn’t tell her either what the sign said, or why he had more treats at Christmas time. It was getting more and more mysterious but she needed to know why the Rooster and the Cat thought she did the right thing in hiding away. If Christmas was such a nice time of the year why did she need to worry about it? It must have something to do with the sign on the gate, but what?

Bob was chasing his tail in the courtyard. he thought it would be fun to cock his leg up at the lighted tree. It was a prickly tree and smelled differently to the old oak tree in the large pasture. He liked unusual smells. As he sniffed around he thought he could smell someone else close by. Griselda cleared her throat. She was a bit nervous as Bob was a very large dog. He had the biggest teeth Griselda had ever seen but she had heard that he was a little on the dopey side so she drew herself up to her full height and addressed Bob asking him what he thought of Christmas and if he would read the sign on the gate to her. He barked excitedly.

“I get presents at Christmas, last year I had a tartan coat and a
a new collar, but I wouldn’t stay around here if I were you, they
might catch you and take you away. There were some people here
yesterday, wanting to buy eggs and other things”.

Bob seemed to hesitate when he said “other things” or was it just Griselda’s imagination?

“Run Griselda” said Bob “You don’t want to know what the sign says”.
Bob barred his teeth and Griselda thought that running was a good idea!
She was beginning to get a little afraid. What was it about Christmas that the others wouldn’t tell her?

Griselda carried on. She would go up to the meadow where the Ayrshire cows grazed. They were very friendly and used to company. They often let walkers tickle their fringes. They would be very helpful.

The youngest calf was Daisy, she was so pretty and Griselda gazed up at her in admiration and said.

“How do you like Christmas Daisy, do you get treats?”

Daisy told Griselda that she could stay in the warm barn all winter if she wanted to and that she sometimes did get the odd treat at Christmas. She thought Griselda would have a lovely time too and didn’t know why she was so concerned. Daisy suggested Griselda wait until dusk and ask the wise owl what the sign on the gate said. Griselda thought this was a good idea but meanwhile she would call and see Naomi the horse in the next meadow. She might know how to read. She’d been to such a lot of horse shows in her time and must have had to read the rules before she galloped around those jumps. Griselda waddled off towards Naomi. She was in a chatty mood and seemed to know all about Christmas. Naomi was a very posh horse and when she spoke to Griselda she had a clipped, old-fashioned BBC accent.

“Hurumph” began Naomi “Christmas is a lovely time of year for humans” she told Griselda. “They have presents and special food” she lowered her voice and waved a hoof towards the next field. “See those turkeys” she said “they get eaten for Christmas.” She lifted her head and showed all her teeth in a hearty grin, and then she seemed to remember something and looked down at Griselda. “Better run Griselda, they’ve been known to cook a goose, and you don’t want to be Fois Gras.” Naomi laughed again at her last remark as Griselda looked so horrified.
“Duvet” went on Naomi “Why do you think the farm is called Featherdale”? she asked Griselda. “Because they use goose feathers to put in duvets, ha ha ha” Laughed Naomi.

Griselda was beginning to think that Naomi had been in the beer tent at her latest show and had one too many sherry’s or even too many pony nuts. How could she think it was funny? And what in the world was Fois Gras?

Griselda moved on. The pigs were wallowing in the mud near their sty and grunting. Griselda thought they were getting fatter. She thought she would ask what they thought of Christmas time.

“What’s Christmas” said Ophie the black spot
“I think you’ve made it up Griselda. I haven’t seen it anywhere,
does it fly or can it grunt like this”?
Ophie went on to do an enormous grunt that alarmed Griselda and echoed around the farm. Ham-let the Tamworth pig did a very loud trump. Griselda decided to move on again.
“These silly pigs don’t know anything”.

Then she saw woolly by the side of the dry stone wall, she bleated a greeting when she saw Griselda approaching and the little goose thought she might get some sense out of this lovely white sheep.

“How are you” said Griselda
“Woolly” said Woolly
“What do you get for Christmas” Griselda asked her
“Woollies” said Woolly and then laughed out loud at her own joke.

Griselda sighed. She was getting nowhere.

The owl! She needed to speak to the owl desperately. It was dusk now so it must be time for him to start searching for voles. She would waddle towards the woods and wait there until she heard his call. She waited for a while and it started to rain, she sheltered under a tree until suddenly she heard him and shouted. Griselda had lovely snow white down so she was easy to see in the dark.
“Twitter woo at your service” said Twitter.
“I’m so clever the humans named a social web site after me,
What can I do for you today?”
“I’m not interested in spiders” said Griselda
“I just want to know what the sign on the farm gate says and why
I need to run away at Christmas”
“Ahh” said Twitter “That’s a difficult one”
“But I thought you were so clever and that you could read”? said Griselda.
“Of course I can read” said Twitter
“Wise owl aren’t I? Famous owl aren’t I”?
“Anyway Griselda I don’t think you need to worry about it anymore,
you’re a very small goose and you’ve been all around the farm – it’s a very big farm, you’ve been away from your field by the river for quite a long time. There’s a new sign on the gate now.”

Griselda thought Twitter was being annoying and not telling her what she wanted to know. The he suddenly said “Follow me” and she waddled along by his side as he flew just above her and just above the big new sign on the gate and he read out the charges for a visit with the animals and some of the items sold in the café.

“New people own Featherdale now” he told her. “It’s an open farm for children to visit and learn about animals. School parties will come and see you Griselda, won’t that be fun”?

Griselda felt suddenly very happy, she agreed that it would be such fun.

“Of course” went on Twitter “the owners will still have to sell some eggs and milk and perhaps wool but all your friends will have a safe
home here forever whether it’s Christmas time or not. “The children will enjoy sitting in the café eating ice cream in the summer and talking to you”.

Griselda waddled back to her friends by the river; she could hear the sheep bleating on the hillside.

Peace reigned at Featherdale and the animals were happy, especially Griselda, who often volunteered to be picked up and cuddled by the children who visited. She remained firm friends with Twitter who often flew into the barn to pass on any gossip.

Featherdale farm is in a beautiful place. Be sure to visit the Peak District where you’ll find Griselda and all her friends.


THE END

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