Tales From the Glades of Ballymore (14 page)

Before I leave, I feel a need to communicate with you, the future residents of Ballymore.  Thus this letter.  Ballymore is a special and rare place.  We have learned the value of caring for each other as a family, but those traditions are always threatened by change.  I fear that the values that we share may be lost in the future.  I beseech you to understand and cherish what we have.

There is an ancient Biblical Law that, if followed, ensures a more worthwhile life for each of us.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

That is the essence of Ballymore.  Do not forsake it.

So, I leave you with this letter and a puzzle.  Many of us contributed to the creation of it, and it is my hope that all of the current residents will participate in solving it.  The solution to the puzzle will lead you to a gift from all of us.

In the highest cave in The Hills, three feet below a flat rock, ten feet from the entrance: a box.

Your Humble Servant,

Cyrus Owl

Midsummer’s Eve, 1801

Bartholomew stared at the letter.

“What does it mean, Bartholomew?”

“You have found something very important.  Cyrus Owl and the residents who lived here in 1801 have left this letter and a gift for us to find.  This is amazing!  However, I need some time to think it over.  I would appreciate it if you do not mention the letter to anyone else.”

“I won’t,” she answered.  “Do you think we’ll be able to find the gift?”

“Yes, I think we will, but The Hills are a long way away.  Also, it is likely that this is only the first step in finding the gift.  Amazing!” he said again.

He paused.

“You still look a little out of breath.  Can I offer you some tea?”

“I’m just so excited.  Yes, thank you.  That would be nice.  This is quite unbelievable isn’t it?” she said.

“Yes, it is, and I think it will be very important for Ballymore,” he replied.

“Well, I’ll leave everything for you to decide.  I know you’ll do what’s right.”

“Thank you, Petunia.”

After the tea she returned to her garden, and Bartholomew continued to ponder the letter.  He knew Ballymore had existed for a long time but didn’t know how long.  He was impressed with the caring and foresight that Cyrus Owl had shown.  It felt good to make this connection with the distant past.  It also felt mysterious.  He decided to tell everyone about the letter at the Midsummer’s Eve celebration.  Shortly thereafter, he would begin to organize the puzzle hunt.  There is never a dull moment, he thought.

Reginald Rabbit was responsible for making the sails for the boat.  Bartholomew had given him detailed sketches.  There were three sails, one mainsail and two foresails.  The largest was about fifteen feet high.  He ordered a lightweight canvas material, and it had already been delivered.  The widest piece that the swans could carry was three feet.  Reginald would have to cut and sew the material together to create the large sizes needed.  That was not an unusual practice in sail-making, but it was the first time he would be doing it.

A special heavy duty thread was to be used.  His sewing machines were not powerful enough to handle the thread, so the sewing would have to be done by paw (hand).

Rhonda was in charge of the dyeing.  She gathered the ingredients necessary to make a large quantity of dark red dye.  It was primarily cranberry juice.

 It was early June, and the weather was perfect for working outdoors.  Reginald spread the canvas pieces on the ground near the flower garden.  He made three separate groups.  Then, with a pencil and measuring tape, he outlined the shapes of the sails on the canvas.

Shortly after he began, a bumblebee flew by and landed on a fence post not far from Reginald.  Three more bees followed the first.  They lined up on the post, left to right, and looked at the canvas pieces.  Reginald knew something about bees and noticed that the four bees were queens.  In all likelihood, they were from Rhonda’s garden.

Reginald acknowledged them but continued working.  Every now and then, the bees would leave the fence post and hover over a piece of canvas for a while.  They certainly were showing interest in the project.

At the end of the day, the bees left and flew back to their nests.  They returned the following days and continued to watch as the sail-making progressed.  Reginald thought that was interesting but had no idea what their purpose was.  As we shall see later, the bees did have a purpose in mind.

Reginald continued cutting and sewing.  Rhonda helped, also.  After three days the sails were finished and ready for dyeing.  This operation required the whole Rabbit family and more.  The neighboring Squirrel family (Sedgewick, Sofie, Shane, and Seely) was recruited to help.

First, the sails needed to be stretched out flat on the ground.  The mainsail looked something like a large tilted rectangle.  The other two were smaller triangles.  The nine animals surrounded one of the triangular sails, grabbed its edges, and pulled.  Then, Reginald pulled one corner over a peg he had pushed in the ground.  The other two corners were also pegged.  Everyone took a small paint brush and soaked the sail with the dark red dye.  That went pretty well.  They did the same to the mainsail.

Then, they began dyeing the remaining triangular sail.  As they were finishing, Rhonda saw that one edge was not flat on the ground.  She asked the squirrels if they could straighten it.  The four squirrels lined up and yanked on the edge.  It moved a little.  “Just a little more, please,” Rhonda requested.  One more yank.  Splang!  Flap!

The far corner slipped off its peg and flew towards them.  It didn’t reach them, but the dye did.  Splat!  Splat!  Splat!  Splat!  Four bewildered, cranberry-colored squirrels stood there dripping dark red.  The rabbits tried not to laugh.  

Then, Shane licked his lips and yelled, “Hey, this stuff tastes good.”

The others licked their lips and completely agreed.  A lot of licking followed.  It was the most delicious bath the children had ever had.  Their parents felt the same but wouldn’t admit it.  After licking, the squirrels were still pretty sticky, so they went down to the water and took a quick dip.  With some shaking and more licking, they were “bright eyed and bushy tailed” again.

While the squirrels were cleaning up, Reginald repegged the loose sail, and the rabbits put more dye on it.

“I think we’re done for today,” Reginald said.  “Let’s let them dry, and we’ll do the other sides tomorrow.”

The following day, the group assembled again and completed the dyeing.  All went well, but Shane was hoping for another cranberry bath.  The sails dried beautifully and were very impressive.  Reginald sent a message to the ducks that the sails were ready for transport to the cove.

The following morning, the ducks arrived with the raft.  Together, the ducks and rabbits were able to carry and load the sails.  The raft was just big enough.  The ducks pushed off from the dock and headed across the pond with their important cargo.

Bartholomew and the beavers were on the deck when the sails were delivered.  They were very pleased.  This was going to be the most beautiful boat in the world.  The mast and sails had been the main parts that remained to be completed.  With the sails finished, they could be assembled with beams and rigging.

The beavers helped the ducks unload the sails and placed them in a safe location.  Morris Muskrat’s cottage was only a short distance away, and he came down with tea and pastries for everyone.  After the snack the ducks left as they had other pickups and deliveries to make.

The dead trees had provided some very good wood for the boat.  However, the mast required the best possible piece, and the straightest tree was saved for that honor.  After two days of cutting and sanding, the new mast was ready for installation, perfectly straight and twenty feet long.  It tapered from a six-inch diameter at the base to four inches at the top.  It would be a delicate job moving the mast into position and securing it to the boat.

The mast was moved to the dock and placed parallel to the hull.  Bartholomew went to the hoist, turned the handle, and lowered the hook to the ground.  Burton connected the hook to the top of the mast, and Bartholomew slowly turned the hoist handle clockwise.  The mast end began to rise.  As it rose, its base slid along the dock.  The beavers made sure that it slid in a straight line, still parallel to the hull.  After about two minutes the mast stood straight up and resting on the dock.

“Great!” Burton said.

Next Bartholomew raised the mast higher until it cleared the side of the boat.  The beavers kept it from swinging and guided it to the center of the deck.  Now, Bartholomew lowered it through a hole they had cut in the deck.  The beavers pushed the base into a special fixture in the bottom of the hull.  Then, they secured it to the hull and deck.  For extra safety the top of the mast was tied to two trees.

The animals stood and gazed at their boat.  What a wonderful sight!

Bartholomew said, “This is an important accomplishment.  Thank you everybody.  Let’s take the rest of the day off, but please be back at 8 bongs tomorrow morning.”

The next morning, Bartholomew was the first to arrive, he thought.  When he walked over to the design plans table, he found he was not the first.  The same four queen bees were sitting next to the plans.  Bartholomew was not too surprised to see the bees because Reginald had told him about them.  Still, this was not something that happened everyday.

He said, “Good morning, Queens.  Welcome!”

Then, he began to look at the day’s schedule.  The bees didn’t move and continued to watch.

When the beavers got there, Bartholomew mentioned the bees to them.  They walked over to the table and stared at the bees.  The bees stared back at them.  When Bartholomew said, “Okay, let’s get to work,” the staring contest ended.  It was a tie.

The next three days were spent preparing the boat for the mounting of the sails.  That involved attaching beams, rigging, and other fixtures.  The parts were already made, and the hoist was a great help again.

The bees stayed and watched as the work progressed.  Occasionally, they flew around the boat in order to get a better view.  Each evening they flew back to their garden and returned in the morning.  Late on the third day, the rigging was complete.  Tomorrow, the sails!

In the morning, the sails were rolled up, lifted into place, and secured with ropes and ties.  Since they were to be operational, that meant that they had to raise, lower, and rotate.  Installing them proved easier than expected, and that task was completed by evening.  Each sail was raised, lowered, and rotated several times, and they performed perfectly.  They were then left in the lowered position.

Essentially, the boat was finished (except for some furniture, etc.) and ready for launch.

The team began the launch attempt the following day.  The plan called for making the dock very slippery with oil and sliding the boat into the water.  Earlier, the swans had brought a quantity of cooking oil.  The beavers spread a generous amount where the boat made contact with the dock.  They did the best they could to push it underneath.  Then, they placed planks on each side of the boat to keep it from tipping as it moved.

“Okay, good,” said Bartholomew.  “Now let’s get behind it, and try to push it into the water.”

Morris, Bartholomew, and the five beavers got behind the boat.

Bartholomew yelled, “Push!”

Nothing happened.

“Push!”

Nothing happened.

It wasn’t going to move.  There was too much weight and too much friction between the boat and the dock.  The bees were not impressed.

“Unfortunately, this is not going to work,” said Bartholomew.

Everyone was disappointed.

“I don’t know if it is strong enough, but let’s try to use the hoist to raise the boat off of the dock.  We can then dismantle the dock and lower the boat into the pond.”

There were openings in the railings along the sides of the deck.  They connected four ropes to these openings and ran them to the hook of the hoist.

Bartholomew went to the hoist handle and told everyone to stand well clear.  He turned it, and the ropes tightened.  He kept turning, and it became obvious that everything was straining.  The boat lifted slightly.  Snap!  Snap!  Snap!  Snap!  All four ropes snapped at the same time.  The ropes flew up into the air, and the boat went in the opposite direction.  It crashed onto the dock, cracking it in several places.  The good news was that the boat was now two inches closer to the water than before.  The bad news was that the dock was a mess, and this method had also failed.  At least, the boat was not damaged and was still held securely by the planks.  The bees were not impressed.