Little Boy Of The Mountain A
The Little Boy of the Mountain
--A--
Once upon a time, long ago, there was a strange little boy that lived on the lower south-facing slopes of the great mountains that ran from east to west.
Tall were these mountains, and they were covered in white snow, and were often veiled in thick clouds in the stormy winters, yet the skies were clear and bright in the summer months, when warm winds blew up from the distant plains, and the tallest spire of the great peaks stood starkly, piercing the dark blue heavens.
The little boy lived with his father and mother in the upper reaches of the foothills, where these met the steep cliffs and crags of the main summits of the range.
Below them, forested valleys descended to the downlands, where little streams gathered together into greater rivers that eventually, it was said, fed the great inland sea far to the south.
The little boy loved his parents, and his home. He had some friends from distant farms, but the mountain life was rather solitary. This he did not begrudge however: his family farm was situated in a wonderful place of rolling slopes of green turf, big boulders to climb, and small caves to explore - and all this, the boy's little realm, was perched between the shear mountain peaks above, and stream-riven and waterfall-hewn valleys stretching below them. It had wonderful views, and healthy air. It was peaceful, and they had all their desire.
It was kine that the family ranched in the mountains - the deep green grass of the well-watered heights being much to their liking. They were bred over the years from great oxen of the mountains that were tamed by men of long ago. Twenty six head of cattle they had in total. Of the sires there was one older bull, two youngsters and two little male calves had recently been born. The wide span of the tall horns of the bull was magnificent. His father was very proud of them all, and the boy thought them handsome and friendly animals.
They also had many chickens, and these the boy liked less, for their noise made sleep after sunrise rather difficult.
Three bad-tempered goats they had too, and five more they planned to buy at the next opportunity - though hopefully these would be less gruff.
Rabbits also, they kept - a multitude - in an area craftily chosen by the boy's father, where the lay of the mountain rocks near to the house created a large enclave that could be fenced in with minimal work, and that provided a terrain of grass and rock overhangs for the rabbits to play within. He and his father had built little huts for them to retire to, or to escape to. Indeed the boy had become quite capable using his leather sling to loose stones at the roguish cliff-dwelling hawks and the occasional large crow that were tempted by the fluffy morsels and needed shooing away, for scarecrows proved ineffective as a deterrent.
Usually, the little boy spent his mornings with his dad in the fields above the house, minding the herd (which was not very large compared to some of the lowland farms, but just enough for one small family to manage alone). The mountain fields were wonderful places: a network of secret grasslands in the heights, hidden in alcoves in the folds of the mountain walls, and protected from the elements by large tumbled boulders and outcrops that acted as baffles against the winds.
In the afternoons the boy left his father and adventured in the wooded valleys below the house, usually to be back just before dark, when the frigid airs came down from the heights. There was a labyrinth of dappled paths and running streams, secret ponds and mysterious remnants of old stone constructions.
At certain times of year, he and his father went to the great market on the plains, and there bought and sold goods of the harvests, and traded cattle. All the men participated in the moot of the people, where the chieftain pronounced upon judgements and important matters were decided. At these times, his mother went to stay at the dwellings of her aunt's household above the valley to the east. This he thought strange, since his mum was full of good advice, and practical, and would have much to offer at the council debates. But that was not the way of it for the folk of the region. In other lands perhaps things were otherwise.
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