The Homecoming

LongBeard the gnome was sitting peacefully on his red and white toadstool, smoking his harmless herbacco pipe.

Suddenly his friend ShortBeard tugged at his toe. “Hey, LongBeard,” called ShortBeard, would you mind helping me interpret the dream I had last night?”

“Of course not,” LongBeard laughed. “Come on up and tell me the most important words from your dream.” ShortBeard hopped up onto the toadstool and gave LongBeard the list of words which he had prepared in advance. “Happy, bread, cover, face, sailing, smell, coat, harbour,” LongBeard read. He sat back, closed his eyes for a few minutes and then said, “ShortBeard, here is the story that will help you understand your dream:”

She stood on the porch peering out at the vast expanse of the sea in front of her. Butterflies danced in her stomach and a soft smile played on her face.

Her man was coming home today. After weeks of sailing at sea, their captain had at last given the sailors permission to return to their families for a short break.

She had woken early to bake his favourite bread. Lovingly she had spread butter over the crust to keep it soft and moist. The she had covered it with a tea cloth to keep it clean and fresh, ready to be cut when he arrived home.

The smell of freshly baked break always added a touch of homeliness to the happy reunion, which she was looking forward to.

As these pleasant thoughts drifted through her mind, she turned to fetch her coat from the house.

It was time to head down to the harbour.

It was time to meet her man.

Original dream words: lead, dry, remains, happy, remote, pony, snatch

Acknowledgements: dreamblazer, naval warfare, clumpsyclipart

Death of an Innocent

LongBeard the gnome and his friend Pippo were sitting on a rock, dangling their feet in the cool water of the stream. Pippo was looking a bit wistful, so LongBeard asked in his gentle way, “Are you all right, my friend?” Pippo sighed. “I had a strange dream last night and woke up in a rather melancholic state.” “Is there anything I can do to help you?” LongBeard enquired. “Perhaps if I could tell you about my dream it might help me to understand it better…” Pippo replied. LongBeard nodded and waited patiently, giving Pippo the space to decide what he wanted to do.

Then Pippo sat up straight and said, “Yes, LongBeard, I think it might be a good idea if you could use your dream interpretation skills to help me. “In that case,” LongBeard replied, “just give me the most important words from your dream.” Pippo took a large leaf, scribbled on it with a twig and gave the list to LongBeard. LongBeard looked at the words, closed his eyes for a few minutes and then said, “Pippo, here is the story which will help you to understand your dream:”

“Rewind that section again please,” said the policeman.

The group of policemen and women listened to the whirring of the machine as the constable pressed the rewind button. “There, stop!” said the policeman. In stunned silence the group watched the scene again, trying to see what had caused the usually calm and reliable horse to go berserk and throw the mounted policeman from his back.

They watched the horse rear and plunge, as if being attacked by someone or something they couldn’t see. The whites of his eyes were showing, his nostrils flaring, as he fled through the crowd, trampling people who weren’t alert to the danger and who didn’t move away in time.

At last the horse seemed to spot an opportunity to exit, jumped over the temporary police barricade and disappeared from view into the adjacent park.

The camera returned to the thrown policeman who was lying very still, his one leg bent at an odd angle. Within moments a colleague was attending to him. “My horse,” he whispered, “someone jabbed him. Please find him and help him…”

“Rewind the tape again,” said the policeman back in the room, “but further back this time.” The young constable obliged. Again the group watched in silence. “There it is!” someone exclaimed, “there’s the jab!”

The video was stopped, rewound and played forward in slow motion. Finally they could all see it clearly – as the mounted policemen formed the guard around the King’s carriage they were very close to the spectators. Quick as a flash a man was glimpsed lifting his hand and sticking something into the one horse’s right flank.

The horse jerked and his rider looked to the right, straight into the face of a smiling man who triumphantly dangled a syringe in the air before moving back and disappearing into the crowd.

The video whirred and clicked, and a photo of the culprit was shown on a side screen. The young constable knew what was required and automatically pressed the button which would send the photo to all the police stations in the area, including the printing department. It wouldn’t take the efficient police force long to catch the man.

“Bugger,” whispered the policeman, “what was that all about?” “Probably jealousy and revenge,” replied an older policeman. “I recognise that lad. He applied to the mounted police force but wasn’t accepted due to his violent nature and harsh ways of working with horses.”

“How is the horse?” asked a young policewoman. “What happened to him?” “Sad news,” replied the older policeman. “He was found dead in the park. An autopsy showed that he had been injected with deadly snake venom.”

“Oh, how awful!” exclaimed the policewoman, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Yes,” replied the older man. “We are relieved that the rider suffered no more than a broken leg and that none of the spectators were seriously hurt, but the death of an innocent, reliable and trusting companion will be hard for his rider to deal with.”

“It’s like losing a good friend,” he whispered.

Dream words: rewind, berserk, people, death, opportunity, exit, relieved.

Acknowledgement: dreamblazer, uk student life