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"Whoa! That wind’s a bit
brisk, isn’t it, Bonnie?" Bruce called, barely heard above the gale force
winds that were blowing the butterflies south. "I don’t think we’re making
much headway. In fact, I think we’re being blow back towards
Stirlingshire."
Bonnie put her hand over
her eyes, trying to stop the rain from running into them. "I think you’re
right. Maybe we’d better land. This is a waste of time to try to fly. It
must be gale force nine. My wings feel so tattered and whipped around,"
Bonnie said, looking at her pink wings.
They flew down and landed
among a forest of tall pines. "At least the wind isn’t blowing us to
bits," Bruce called, still having to shout to be heard. The pines bent
back and forth, creaking and groaning. Pine needles fell to the ground,
being hurled by the wind. "Ouch!" cried Bruce as a pine needle poked his
body. "Let’s hide in this hollow tree," shouted.
The two butterflies crawled
inside the dead tree. "That’s much better. At least we can speak without
shouting," Bonnie said. "Look at my wings, will you? They’re nearly
shredded." She rubbed and stroked them, trying to pull them back together.
"Mine aren’t much better,"
Bruce sighed. "I wonder where we landed?"
"We’ll not know until this
wind dies down. I saw a river though, just before we landed."
"It must be the Teith
River. I think we’re near Doune," Bruce said.
"What? We were all the way
to Braemar? Are you telling me the wind blew us down to Doune? That’s a
long way, Bruce!" Bonnie said, surprised at his announcement.
"Well, since we’re here,
perhaps we can visit the castle, once the wind stops, of course. In the
meantime, I suggest a nap."
They snuggled up in the log
and slept. When they woke up, a few hours later, the wind had stopped
blowing and the rain had let up. "This is much better," Bonnie said. "Just
smell the woods. It’s a grand smell." She took a deep breath. "Now,
where’s that castle?"
"Follow me. If my
calculations are right, it should be about a mile away. Come on," Bruce
called. They fluttered out of the tree and through the forest. They soon
came to a meadow and left the trees behind them. "It’s quite hilly in this
area, isn’t it?"
"Yes, but isn’t the heather
lovely? There’s the river. What did you call it? The river Teeth, as in
choppers?" Bonnie laughed.
"Yes, Teith, but not the
kind you chew with, silly, Bonnie. Up ahead; there’s the castle. See it?"
Bruce pointed.
"It’s beautiful. The
flowers are lovely too. Delightful. I see some primroses and violets!"
Bonnie grinned.
"We should visit the castle
first and then eat. It’s a big castle and there’s not that much daylight
left," Bruce noted.
They flew towards the stone
walls. Bonnie was fluttering around. "EEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!" she screamed at
the top of her lungs.
"What’s the matter?" Bruce
said, flying towards her. She was sitting on a ledge on top of the castle.
"What is THAT?" she gasped,
pointing down.
Bruce looked over the edge.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKK!" he screamed too. "Yikes! It’s ugly and
frightening. It’s a monster."
Bonnie took a few breaths.
She calmed down. "Bruce, there is no such thing as a monster. I’ll have a
look." She bravely flapped her wings and fluttered down. "It’s a
gargoyle," she laughed. "What on earth were we afraid of. It’s kind of
cute, actually."
Bruce flew down. "Why,
you’re right. It is a gargoyle. Look at the water gushing out of its
mouth. It must be a waterspout too. Someone carved this out of stone.
Isn’t it amazing, ugly, but amazing."
They flew around the
gargoyle for a while, darting in and out of the water flowing out of its
open mouth. "We’ve seen the castle, Bruce. Can we eat now?" Bonnie
quizzed.
"I think we’ll find better
flowers, tastier ones, in town. Can you wait?" he asked.
"Yes, I suppose," Bonnie
sighed.
They flew into the town.
"This is quite picturesque. There’s an old church with its tower and
graveyard down there and look at that; as usual in these old villages and
towns, there’s a Mercat Cross in the center. I believe this town once had
a sheep and cattle industry, maybe even held fairs."
"I like fairs," Bonnie
said. "What are those pistols on the sides of the cross?" Bonnie asked.
"There also used to be a
pistol industry. Doune Pistols were quite a popular thing and worth a lot
of money today because there are so few left," Bruce explained.
"What an interesting town.
I’m almost glad we were blown over here. I’d have never known all this
otherwise. Oh, what a lovely bridge," she noticed.
"That’s the River Teith
again. Bonnie, this is really nice here, but we need to head out. The
sun’s setting soon and with all this rain, it’s going to be cold tonight."
"Let’s go," Bonnie said and
they flew off to find a safe, warm place to spend the night.
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