The White Horse of Zennor by Michael Morpurgo

Author:Michael Morpurgo [Morpurgo, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Egmont
Published: 2011-09-17T04:00:00+00:00

Months later Sam was hauling in his nets off Wicca Pool. The fishing had been poor and he expected his nets to be empty once again. But as he began hauling it was clear he had struck it rich and his heart rose in anticipation of a full catch at last. It took all his strength to pull the net up through the water. His arms ached as he strained to find the reserves he would need to haul it in. He had stopped hauling for a moment to regain his strength, his feet braced on the deck against the pitch and toss of the boat, when he heard a voice behind him.

‘Sam,’ it said, quietly.

He turned instantly, a chill of fear creeping up his spine. It was William Tregerthen, his head and shoulders showing above the gunwale of the boat.

‘Billy?’ said Sam. ‘Billy Tregerthen? Is it you, dear lad? Are you real, Billy? Is it really you?’ William smiled at him to reassure him. ‘I’ve not had a drink since the day you died, Billy, honest I haven’t. Told myself I never would again, not after what I did to you.’ He screwed up his eyes. ‘No,’ he said, ‘I must be dreaming. You’re dead and drowned. I know you are.’

‘I’m not dead and I’m not drowned, Sam,’ William said. ‘I’m living with the seals where I belong. You were right, Sam, right all along. I can swim like a seal, and I live like a seal. You can’t limp in the water, Sam.’

‘Are you really alive, dear lad?’ said Sam. ‘After all this time? You weren’t drowned like they said?’

‘I’m alive, Sam, and I want you to let your nets down,’ William said. ‘There’s one of my seals caught up in it and there’s no fish there I promise you. Let them down, Sam, please, before you hurt him.’

Sam let the nets go gently hand over hand until the weight was gone.

‘Thank you Sam,’ said William. ‘You’re a kind man, the only kind man I’ve ever known. Will you do something more for me?’ Sam nodded, quite unable to speak any more. ‘Will you tell my mother that I’m happy and well, that all her stories were true, and that she must never be sad. Tell her all is well with me. Promise?’

‘Course,’ Sam whispered. ‘Course I will, dear lad.’

And then as suddenly as he had appeared, William was gone. Sam called out to him again and again. He wanted confirmation, he wanted to be sure his eyes had not been deceiving him. But the sea around him was empty and he never saw him again.

William’s mother was feeding the hens as she did every morning after the men had left the house. She saw Sam coming down the lane towards the house and turned away. It would be more sympathy and she had had enough of that since William died. But Sam called after her and so she had to turn to face him. They spoke together

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