The bodies of the horses were all a-quiver with
fright. The most pathetic of all was the sheep-dog. He kept his tail
between his legs and crawled on the ground.
As the creatures reached the summit and filed past the Wood-nymph, the
dean saw her lower her pine torch over one and another of them.
Every time this happened the wild beasts broke into exultant roars,
particularly when the Wood-nymph indicated a cow or some other large
creature. The animal that saw the torch turned toward it, uttered a
frightful cry, as if it had received a knife thrust in its flesh. Herd
upon herd followed, without a break in the line of procession. It was
the same with all.
Then the dean understood the meaning of what he saw. He had heard that
the animals assembled on Black's Ridge every New Year's Eve that the
Wood-nymph might mark out which of the tame beasts would that year be
eaten by the wild beasts. It was terrible! He thought of the farmers
who had so much love for their creatures.
"They would risk their own lives rather than let their cattle be
doomed by the Wood-nymph," the dean thought.
The last herd to come was the dean's own, from the rectory farm. He
heard the sound of his bell cow a long way off. The horse, too, must
have heard it, for he began to shake in every limb and was bathed in
sweat.
Pages:
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251