The boys were all there: Huw Parry with his bow and arrows, dressed in his Indian outfit, headdress and all, Gwyn Griffiths with his spud-gun, Owen Davies with some firecrackers and matches he nicked from his brothers’ hidden hoard. And finally me, Billy Thomas, with my sling and small stones.
Venturing into the wood, we were determined to catch the small fox that had been causing all of us to be kept at home for the last few weeks. Gwyn told us all about it after overhearing his parents talking about it.
During the morning we managed to find three cats, two dogs and a dead rabbit in a snare. Owen freed it, saying he would take it home to his da’, as he liked a bit of rabbit. He might also be able to make himself a hat like Davy Crockett.
Spreading out we stalked anything that moved. A loud rustling from the overgrowth alerted us. All aiming our weapons, we fired. A devil rose up snorting and squealing. I swear it was as big as a cow. Legging it we scattered in different directions, as the large boar was well known for having a nasty temper. Owen dived behind a large tree, lit his firecracker and threw it at the charging boar. Startled it crashed back into the undergrowth, snorting as it ran.
Hearts racing, we decided to call it a day. As we emerged from the wood the local bobby was standing arms crossed, eyeing us sternly. We all tried to tell him that we were only trying to catch the small fox that everyone was afraid of. Smiling he explained that it wasn’t a small fox, it was a pandemic called small pox that was causing the problem and once we had been vaccinated we would be able to return to school. He took us all back to our homes. Mam looked as though she wasn’t sure whether to hug me or give a clip round the earhole. Gruffly she told me to get in the kitchen and eat my dinner.
Lovely story. 🤶