"Er, listen, what I'd like to say is, er... Oh, let's go home and have a great feast to celebrate our friends' safe return!"
A resounding cheer split the air and everybeast crowded round to congratulate Tansy.
"I say, old thing, you'll make a jolly good Abbess if y'keep chuckin' out orders like that, wot!"
"Ah, 'tis right, an' as me ould mother used t'say, may yer shadow never grow less, an' it won't if y'keep it well fed!"
"Well done, young missie. Oops! I mean Mother Abbess, but when nobeast's listening I'll still call you Tansy and I hope you'll still call me Craklyn, your old pal!"
"Tansy pansy, wona h'Abbess mean? Ole Rollo call you muvver, heehee, you norra muvver, they hooj an' big like m'Auma!"
Wellwishers continued to flock round and shake Tansy's paw. She was very touched by Rollo's simple words.
“ If I had been choosing an Abbess, my choice would have been the same as Durral's. This is the best thing to happen to our Abbey in all of my seasons. Rule well, young Mother!"
Epilogue
Extract from the writings of Craklyn, Recorder of Redwall Abbey.
The harvest is in, let winter come, we are safe, happy and well supplied within these great walls. Our Mother Abbess wisely delayed homecoming celebrations until the fruits of autumn were safely stowed in our cellars and larders. Then we had a feast which lasted seven days and nights!
Redwall fare excelled itself; even the young ones will talk about that feast when they are old and grizzled. How could we go wrong with goodwife Teasel and two Friars to run the kitchens, Friar Higgle and old Friar Durral, happy to be doing what he always wished to do, cook! Such an array of pies, cakes, pastries, puddings and trifles you never did see. There were cheeses, breads, salads, turnovers, soups, stews and pasties, enough to feed a regiment.
Furlo Stump and Foremole said they served enough drinks to float a ship, and I believe them. They had every possible ale, cordial, tea, fruitcup and fizz the cellars could produce even one which I helped them make specially for the occasion, a mixture of rosehip, honey and strawberry that we called Tansywine.
The festivities shifted each evening from Great Hall to Cavern Hole, where the singing, dancing, reciting and music proved a delight to the eyes and ears of all. Mind you, some complained about Clecky's ballad. It was forty-seven verses long and dealt with his heroic adventures rescuing old Abbot Durral.
I am still learning the job of Recorder. My good friend Rollo is constantly guiding me, though now he spends a lot of his time with Brother Dormal. He likes to be in the orchard, gaining knowledge of fruit, plants and bees, and also he can nap whenever he pleases! Mother Abbess Tansy is like myself, still learning; she has Auma, Durral, Wullger and the elders of Redwall to help whenever she has need of them.
Oh, did I tell you? Viola bankvole has taken over from Sister Cicely in the sick bay. All of us were delighted when warm nettle broth was banished forever, but our joy was short-lived. Viola is sometimes a bit inventive with her seagoing experiences, so now we have to suffer seaweed and cockleshell potion. Both Viola and Cicely swear by it as a cure-all.
Log a Log and his shrews, and Skipper with his crew are going to stay the winter at Redwall. For the spring they have planned a Guosim-otter cruise aboard the ship Seaking, but they will have to endure Clecky's company. He has appointed himself Redwall Hare in charge of Nautical Activities and insists on being addressed as Captain Clecky. Outrageous as ever, it is his plan to cruise in search of seals, so that he can have long conversations with them. Gerul is sailing, too, as cookowl.
Foremole and Furlo Stump have recruited Arven, Diggum and Gurrbowl as trainee cellar-keepers. Abbess Tansy remarked to me only this morning that she did not envy them their task, training those three. Auma our great badger Mother seems to grow no older; she is planning on clearing out Fermald's attic and converting it into a den where the Abbey elders can rest and relax in comfort. What a pillar of strength and security she is to us all!
Corsairs and searats have not been seen around Mossflower coast in a while now, according to Plogg, Welko and Rangapaw. Durral told me that a female corsair ferret named Romsca befriended him and saved his life when he was captured by the big lizards. Sometimes he says that he dreams of her and the strange island beyond which the sun sets, a place of constant heat, never visited by winter. I wanted to hear more of the pine marten who ruled there, Emperor Ublaz of the Mad Eyes, but Durral says he is best forgotten. Leave it all to the long ago and far away, he says.
I am not used to writing with a quill pen, my paws get inkstained, so I am finishing writing for today. I must attend a meeting to plan the midwinter feast. Have you ever attended one? It takes place on Midwinter Eve. Oh yes, midwinter has an eve just like midsummer. Any self-respecting Redwaller could tell you when it is. Here is the notice I will pin on our gate at the pathside.
All who come in peace and friendship, stay,
On this the eve of cold midwinter's day.
Good food and drink and, best, good company,
Come share our hospitality for free.
Beneath the lanterns, sit and take your fill,
Sing and dance you may, with right goodwill,
With one condition, as Redwallers say,
If you enjoy it, call another day,
Summer, spring, 'most any time at all,
And find a welcome waiting at Redwall!
Craklyn squirrel, Recorder of Redwall Abbey in Mossflower country.