Curious Sir Samuel and the Suspicious Stranger

The lunchtime sun beat down on Sir Samuel as he sat and ate a meat pie. Old Lady Elsie had given it to him as he passed by on his way to report his lack of spider-slaying to Farmer Gerald. Sir Samuel drooled when the cinnamon-tinged smoky-sweet scent hit his nose before he even saw the stall where Elsie sold them. Lifting his arm to take another bite, his stewpot shield shifted to tap his elbow, and he gazed across the busy village square at Farmer Gerald’s stall. Waves of color filled the stands the farmer had placed on the counter, a veritable rainbow of fruits and veggies.

A plop on Sir Samuel’s thigh caught his attention, and he looked down. A dollop of meat filling sat soaking into his pant leg. He glanced at the meat pie in his right hand, thick brown sauce oozing from the cave the fallen bit had created.

He jammed the last of it into his mouth, wearing a satisfied smile. The hot filling scorched his tongue, gums, and the roof of his mouth. Immediate regret sounded distress bells in his head. He wheezed in and out of his gaping mouth to try and cool the volcano of erupting flavors. Finally, after finding a hurried but steady chew-breathe-chew rhythm, he managed to swallow the rest of his meat pie. After he finished, he plucked the fallen filling from his pant leg. He looked around to make sure nobody noticed and popped it into his mouth.

As he savored the final sumptuous bite, an unfamiliar stranger approached Farmer Gerald’s stall. The stranger carried a package wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine, which he set on Farmer Gerald’s counter. Curious Sir Samuel leaned forward as if the additional six inches would make up for the distance of some thirty feet and he’d miraculously hear the conversation. It didn’t work, of course, so he stood up and walked that way.

He arrived in time to hear the last bit of the conversation.

“I hope she enjoys it.” The Suspicious Stranger’s voice held hints of a distant accent. He wore soft, brightly colored clothing made of an unusual thin and shiny blue material with gold accents. Sir Samuel’s head spun with ideas about where the suspicious stranger purchased such luxurious clothing.

“I hope she does as well.”

Sir Samuel couldn’t read Farmer Gerald’s tone. It held notes of humor and resignation rolled together.

The stranger bowed a bit, his hand floating out in a flourish to bid Farmer Gerald goodbye, and he walked away at a languid pace. Curious Sir Samuel watched the Suspicious Stranger in the dandy finery wander among the market stalls, appraising this and that item before moving on to the next one.

“G’day, Sam, glad your back.” Farmer Gerald’s voice brightened when he greeted Sir Samuel. “Is the spider dead?” Humor rested just beneath the surface of his question.

“Hiya, Mr. Farmer Gerald. Or, rather, good day to you as well, sir.”

Farmer Gerald let loose a chuckle.

Sir Samuel waited a moment before he replied. “I, uh, didn’t kill the spider, sir. We had a talk, and she told me that she hunted the rats.” Sir Samuel tented his fingers together, patting one set of pads against the other. “She said that without her to keep their numbers in check, they might overrun your farm!” Sir Samuel’s voice wavered and rose in pitch.

“Spoke with the spider, huh?” Farmer Gerald gave Sir Samuel the look. He’d received the look from quite a few of the villagers as he told them the things that happened to him. He got the feeling that maybe they didn’t believe him.

“Yes, sir, and she prefers she to it, just so you know. She did say she’d be sure not to bother you. She’ll keep killing the rats, she seems plenty happy doing that, and she’ll mind her own business otherwise.”

Farmer Gerald stared at Sir Samuel for a moment. “Well, I certainly can’t be paying you a silver for a job left undone, now can I?”

“I s’pose not.” Sir Samuel slid his foot across the packed earth of the market square, gouging its smooth surface, and gazed downward.

“Nothing says I can’t hire you for a different job, though, right?”

Sir Samuel didn’t dare to hope that Farmer Gerald meant what he said. He searched the older man’s weathered face for the truth.

Farmer Gerald leaned his forearm on the counter of his stall, leveling his serious, twinkling gaze at Sir Samuel. “This is a very secret and sacred quest, not fit for just any knight. It requires the courage to keep from being overly curious. You must take this package to Lady Elsie’s daughter, Mindy, at the edge of town. You can’t open it, and you have to protect it at all costs. Do you think you can do that?”

Sir Samuel considered Farmer Gerald’s words. “I’m the bravest knight in the village. If I can’t do it, nobody can!” He let his boast ring in the air for a few seconds. “I’ll still get the single silver, right?”

Farmer Gerald grinned and nodded. “Mindy already knows to pay one silver for the delivery. You can just keep it.”

Sir Samuel’s mouth widened in a huge smile, and he took the package from the counter. “I’ll have it delivered in no time!” he hollered as he rushed away from the stall.

He stopped when he reached the spot where he’d been eating before. The well-dressed Suspicious Stranger sat eating his own meat pie on a planter near Lady Elsie’s stall. His legs were crossed at the knee with a cloth napkin spread over his lap to protect it from falling nuggets of meaty filling. Sir Samuel stared suspiciously while admiring the man’s wise choice of lap protection.

Sir Samuel noticed that he’d rushed off in the wrong direction and casually (obviously, really) sauntered back the way he’d come. He turned down the nearest side road toward Mindy’s home.

He peered down at the package. It’d been carefully wrapped in brown paper, the ends folded neatly and stamped with sealing wax. A crest of a bird in flight adorned the seal. The tied twine sprang into a neat bow on top.

He wondered what could possibly be inside.

Farmer Gerald had warned him about his curiosity, but there couldn’t be anything wrong with a guess or two, right?

The road bent with a gentle curve as it led toward the village outskirts. Sir Samuel held the package in both hands as he meandered his way past several squat buildings along either side. He remembered the fine clothing adorning the Suspicious Stranger and considered that the man might be a wizard.

Perhaps the box held a powerful artifact. Something magical that would help Mindy become an expert enchantress. Sir Samuel grinned. It would certainly be nice to have an enchanter right here in the village. Maybe she’d enchant his equipment for him.

Hopeful, he looked ahead. The road’s gentle curve straightened, and he noticed the Suspicious Stranger step out of the Winding Watchmaker shop just ahead. Sir Samuel was certain he’d spotted the man back in the market. There was no way he could have finished the meat pie and gotten to this shop before Sir Samuel reached it, was there?

The man noticed Sir Samuel and nodded his head in greeting. Sir Samuel, wary of the intentions of this dandy-looking Suspicious Stranger, merely gaped at him. The man’s brows quirked up in curiosity as he studied the package in Sir Samuel’s hands.

Sir Samuel’s own brows darted up in alarm. That look must be a sign the box contained something perilous! Otherwise, why would this man find it curious he carried it to its destination?

What if it contained a spirit trapped inside?

Sir Samuel’s skin began to crawl.

Maybe it wasn’t what Mindy ordered at all but a trap of some sort!

He recalled, quite vaguely, a story his grandmother had told him once. It had been about a woman who had a box, and contained inside were all the ills of the world. She’d opened it, and that’s why bad things happened in the world today.

Sweat burst onto his palms.

Could this be a box just like that one?

Sir Samuel tucked the package in the crook of his elbow to protect it from prying eyes. He held it close to his side, his stewpot shield acting as a further barrier to looky-loos. If it was dangerous, maybe he shouldn’t give it to Mindy after all. Maybe she expected it to have a bowl or some other dish inside, but on opening it, some sort of poison dart or gas might leak out and hurt her.

He considered unwrapping it right here and now, just to be certain it was safe for Mindy. He might even be able to let her know that he checked it for spirits, traps, and all the evils of the world before he brought it to her.

“Oh, Sam, good day!” Mindy’s voice broke through his considerations like a tonic for his soul. His eyes swept up, matching the rising blush in his cheeks. Good thing she wasn’t an enchantress quite yet. She might have read his thoughts about opening up her parcel.

“G-good day, Miss Mindy!” He finally sputtered out.

“What brings you across town from your mum’s?”

Sir Samuel’s eyes flicked from her long brown hair to the bracelets that jingled on her wrist as she waved. She had bright blue eyes and an easy smile that soothed his embarrassment. Her outfit today was a pretty soft green dress adorned with embroidered red and blue flowers. She loved to hand-stitch embroidery for folk around the village.

The package probably held extra sewing supplies, right?

“Mr. Farmer Gerald asked me to bring this to you.” His reply leapt from his mouth in a simple, sheepish tone.

She approached him, her easy smile still on her lips, and reached out for the package. “I’m so glad they came.” She sounded delighted, her voice like a music box’s tinkles in the air.

Sir Samuel handed the box over and watched as she set it down on the low wall that ran the length of her yard. She slid a pair of shears from a cleverly hidden pocket of her dress and clipped the twine. That done, she carefully opened the sealed ends of the paper.

Shiny red-lacquered wood nearly glowed in the full light of the sun after she exposed the box inside. She eased it open, biting her lip in anticipation. Her smile got even bigger and brighter, something Sir Samuel wouldn’t have believed possible.

“Come see!” Her voice pealed with excitement, and she beckoned Sir Samuel closer.

He stepped forward and looked inside.

Wax paper held small button-shaped butter cookies. He tilted his head in rapidly growing confusion.

“These are special cookies from a bakery in the city. They’re so good! Try one!” She lifted a single cookie from the box and handed it to Sir Samuel.

His fears falling away, he gladly accepted and popped it in his mouth. It crumbled first and then melted into sugar and lemon. Sir Samuel had never had any cookie confection as delicious as this one.

Once he finished it, he looked at Miss Mindy gratefully. “I’ve never tasted anything like that! So good! Thank you!”

“No problem. Gerald asked for a silver for delivery, so I guess you get it, huh?”

Sir Samuel nodded emphatically and watched as she reached in her pocket and fished out a shiny silver coin. She dropped it in his hand.

“Bye, Sam. Thanks again!”

“Bye, Miss Mindy. Enjoy your cookies!”

Sir Samuel’s huge smile lit up the entire village as he walked home that day.

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