Free The Coming of the Unicorn by Duncan Williamson Page B

leave old Grandmother for a little while and we’ll travel with Mary and the bull.
    But as usual, when people travel, Mary got tired and Mary got hungry. She was so hungry and so tired. She came to a large tree at the end of the forest. She put her back to the tree and she sat down so exhausted she couldn’t go another step. So hungry, so tired, so exhausted after travelling so many, many miles she couldn’t go another step!
    When the bull came up, it put its head right beside Mary and it spoke to her. It said, “Mary.”
    Mary just… she said, “You can speak to me?”
    And the bull said, “Yes, Mary, I can speak to you. I didn’t want to speak to you before but I want to speak to you now. You have run away with me. You have saved my life. Your grandmother got me. You took care of me and now it’s up to me to take care of you! What would, what is it that you would like?”
    “Oh,” Mary says, “little bull, if you really can talk to me and do any wonderful thing… I’m hungry and I’m tired. I’m hungry – I need something to eat!”
    “Look in my ear!” says the bull. And Mary looked in the ear and there in the bull’s ear was a wee bit o’ cloth.
    “Pull it out!” said the bull. And Mary pulled the wee bit o’cloth out.
    “Put it on the ground!” says the bull. And Mary put it on the ground. Lo and behold, when the cloth was spread on the ground, there was the most beautiful things in the world to eat that Mary could ask for. There were sweetmeats, there was food, there was everything that Mary could ask for – fruit, vegetables, meat, everything. And the bull just stood there with his head nodding.
    And Mary said, “Is this for me?”
    And the bull said, “Eat to your heart’s content, Mary.” It shook its head there, it never said another word.
    So, Mary sat and she ate and she ate. She ate fruit and vegetables, she ate meat till she was so full she couldn’t go another bite. She wondered to herself, why is this happening to me? Is this my bull?
    And the bull said, “Are you finished, Mary?”
    And she says, “Yes, I’ve had a lovely session. I’ve had everything I need to eat.”
    “Well,” he said, “throw the crumbs on the ground and put the cloth back in my ear!” And Mary threw the crumbs on the ground. She finished and put the cloth back in the ear.
    “Now,” says the bull, “put your arm round my neck and we’ll go on wir way!”
    So, Mary put her arm round the bull’s neck and they walked on and they walked on, for hours and hours, till at last they came to the end of the forest. There was no more forest. There was an open plain and grass growing as high as the bull’s feet. Mary and the bull made their way through it. When lo and behold, they came to a cliff-face, a great cliff, and there was no passage. They couldn’t get by no way in the world.
    And Mary said, “We can’t walk through the rocks. We’ve got to go this way.”
    And the bull says, “No, Mary, we’ll go this way. Follow me!” And Mary followed the bull. He said, “If you’re feart, hold on tomy tail.” And they came to a narrow passage in the rocks. Mary gripped the bull’s tail. And the bull went on and on and Mary’s holding on to his tail when they pass through a narrow passage. Lo and behold when they came to the end of the passage there was a great valley. And the bull stopped.
    Mary said to the bull, “Why are you stopping?”
    And the bull turned round. He says to Mary, “Look, Mary Rushiecoats, you must remember; Mary, listen to what I tell you and do what I say. Have no fear! But if anything ever happens, don’t have fear, just listen to me and do what I tell you!”
    Mary walked up. She put her hand round the bull’s neck and they walked forward. But they hadn’t walked more than two yards when, lo and behold, right before them was the greatest, biggest, ugliest looking ogre they ever saw in their life. He’s standing there right before them!
    And he said, “Where are you