Never the Bed

Never the Bed

“Don’t you dare.That isn’t how we do things here. We don’t put hats on beds.”

I held onto my hat. The bedspread seemed clean enough. The bed was made.

“Well, then where do you propose I put my hat?” This is my special Stetson cowboy hat, it cost about $200.00. It needs a special landing place.

Josie looked about, pointed to a chair.

“Right there, you can put it there. Just not the bed, never the bed, hear?” With that statement, she left me alone in the room.

Stymied, I looked around the room. It was small with the bed, a chair, and a small chest of drawers. No closet, and just a small window. One picture on the wall was of some type of woodland scene.

So I put my hat on the chair, my boots under the bed, and laid on top of the bedspread. The trip was long, exhausting.

Emerging from that picture fairies flew to me. They hovered around my head, my feet. I felt as if I were floating. One spoke in my ear.

“Keep your hat off the bed.
Keep Evil Spirits from invading your head.
Mind you do what she said.
Keep your hat off the bed.”

Then the fairies flew back into the picture.

I woke to find my boots under the bed. But sitting on the chair, wearing my hat, was a wizened little man.

“Did ye hear the fairies?” he asked.

“Um, I, well …”

“Speak up, lad, I dunno have all day.” Small man came to me.

I sat up in bed. “Yes, yes I did.”

That hat flew to my head. “Good, see that your hat do not touch that bed, or I'll invade thy thoughts.” Mysterious man disappeared.

I cut my visit short, before the fairies returned.

W/C 300