He pointed at them with his wooden spoon. ‘Xarifa,’ he whispered, ‘is it full of polecats?’ Paddy Pig rolled on the ground with laughing. ‘Where is the Pigmy Elephant?’ ‘That’s a secret,’ said Jenny Ferret. ‘Here, Iky Shepster, help me to tidy up. Xarifa will be busy all morning combing out those tangles.’
‘My! what a mop of hair.’
So then began the brushing of the hair of Tuppenny, which became a daily task. At first there were pulls and twitches and squeaks; even some hopeless tangles which had to be snipped out with Xarifa’s small scissors. But after it was combed through it was easily kept in order. The brushing became a pleasure to the two little barbers. Tuppenny combed in front, and Xarifa brushed behind. Whenever the brushing stopped, Tuppenny looked over his shoulder, and discovered that Xarifa had fallen fast asleep.
She told him stories to keep herself awake; and she answered his many questions. ‘Who plays the fiddle, Xarifa?’ ‘Paddy Pig; Sandy plays the bag-pipes; and each of them does step dancing. Paddy Pig dances jigs, and Sandy dances reels; and all of us do country dances. No, no, I am not too old and fat!’ said Xarifa, laughing. ‘I can dance “Hunsdon House”, and I can dance a minuet with Belinda Woodmouse. Perhaps we may be dancing this evening; but there is not much room in the quarry. We will soon be moving on again.’ ‘Do we always move in the night, Xarifa? Oh! oh! that hurts!’ ‘I shall have to snip it Tuppenny, give me my scissors. When we travel along the high roads we usually move in the dark; because the roads are deserted at night; very few of the Big Folk are stirring.’ ‘Would they chase us Xarifa?’ ‘No, indeed! they cannot see us, while we carry fern seed in our pockets.’ ‘I have not got a pocket.’ ‘It will be easy to plait a little packet of fern seed into your hair, like Pony Billy’s. He carries one in his mane, in a plait that we call a witch’s stirrup. But he once had an adventure when he lost his fern seed.’ ‘I did not lose it. It was stolen for mischief,’ said Pony William with a snort; he was grazing near them. ‘Anyway he was not invisible; he had no fern seed; so the Big Folk could see him. Now Tuppenny sit still, while I finish brushing your hair, and you shall hear the story. Only you must understand that I did not see it happen. I do not travel with the circus in winter weather. I go to live with the Oakmen.’ ‘Who are they, Xarifa?’ ‘One thing at a time. Hold your head still and listen.’
Chapter 4
Pony Billy in the Pound
It happened one winter there was a long spell of snow. The circus company was camping in a lonely barn. During real hard weather they usually preferred accessible places, near farms and villages; but this snowstorm had caught them unexpectedly. Indeed, the little caravan itself was fast in a snow-drift under a hedge. The tilt-cart had been dragged up to the barn, and the baggage had been carried inside.
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