by Nell McGrath
2004 Sense of Mischief winner
18 - 40 age group
Callum Murdo tried water first, but it spread the stain out paler but bigger on Granny MacDonald's hooky mat. Then he tried soap, which made bubbles and smelled of roses but didn't shift the stain. Then he tried toothpaste, until the whole of Granny's second best bedroom smelled minty fresh, but the rug still showed a pinkish blotch in the middle where Callum Murdo had spilled his paint.
Callum Murdo wasn't supposed to paint in the second best bedroom, but he had been making a secret birthday card for Granny MacDonald. The card said Happy Birthday! in blue best-handwriting with red flowers around it. When she saw the blotch Granny MacDonald would say, "CALLUM MURDO MACDONALD!" in a big fierce voice. Callum Murdo decided to run away.
He ran fast. He ran across the back garden, through the back gate, and down Granny MacDonald's lane. He ran past Dr. MacLeod on his lunchtime rounds, and ducked under Mrs. MacGregor's washing. He ran across the rough ground at the back of Callanish village, right up the hill and only stopped, out of breath, when he reached the stones.
Callum Murdo knew the Callanish stones very well. He had visited them every single day of his summer holiday. He had run round them and timed himself with Grandpa's old stopwatch. He had measured the distance in Callum-steps between one stone and the next. But today he lay down in the middle of the circle with his arms and legs stretched out like the time he made snow angels in January.
"What shall I do?" said Callum Murdo, softly. The wind blew cold over his face.
"What shall I, what shall I, what shall I do?" sang Callum Murdo, and the clouds flew fast across the sky.
"What shall I, shall I, shall I, what shall I do?" shouted Callum Murdo, in the style of M.C. Coolest, his favourite pop star. The wind, surprisingly, stopped very suddenly, and the sky, even more surprisingly, went as black as Granny MacDonald's Sunday coat. Callum Murdo sat up straight. He was scared. He was nearly as scared as he had been when he dropped paint on Granny's hooky mat, but not quite.
"About what?" said a voice. It was a big deep voice like Mr. McSporran who sang bass in the church choir. Callum Murdo stayed very still, and shut his eyes tight.
The voice repeated itself.
"Who are you?" said Callum Murdo.
"I," said the voice, "am Finbar the Chief Druid. And who are you?"
"Callum Murdo MacDonald, 4, Bell Close, Inverness," said Callum Murdo, just as his Mum had taught him. He would have said his telephone number, but had forgotten it in the excitement.
"I see," said Finbar the Chief Druid. "And what shall you do about what?"
Someone had lit a torch, and Callum Murdo could make out a figure beside the biggest stone, the one that was exactly sixteen Callum steps from the middle of the circle. Callum Murdo stood up. He stood right up tall and explained the whole problem of the pinkish blotch, and the water, and the soap, and the minty-fresh toothpaste, and Granny MacDonald's Birthday Tea.
Finbar the Chief Druid nodded under his great black hood.
"Oh, dear," he said. "I can see that you have a problem."
"My Granny'll be as mad as March," said Callum Murdo.
"Indeed,' said Finbar the Chief Druid.
"I wish I could make the mat all better," said Callum Murdo.
"Well, of course," said Finbar the Chief Druid.
"What shall I do?" said Callum Murdo, to himself.
"Would you please excuse me?" said Finbar the Chief Druid, very politely, and he spread his arms out wide. Other black figures stepped from behind their stones, and gathered round in a great black huddle.
"Goodness me," said Callum Murdo, but no-one heard.
The Druids huddled for a very long time, and spoke very quietly to each other in deep bass voices. Sometimes they turned to look at Callum Murdo. Finbar the Chief Druid coughed, gravely.
"Callum Murdo MacDonald," he said. "The Council of Druids hereby decrees that the pinkish blotch was no more than an Unfortunate Accident, and has therefore decided to help you."
"Thank-you," said Callum Murdo, politely.
"The Druid Council," continued Finbar the Chief Druid, "knows a spell for the removal of pinkish blotches."
"Cool!" said Callum Murdo.
A little boy stepped out from behind the littlest stone, and walked right up to Callum Murdo. He unrolled a scroll, and read:
Item 1: A handful of grass from the stone circle.
("That's easy," said Callum Murdo.
"Yes," said the Littlest Druid.)
Item 2: One small earthworm.
("That's easy," said Callum Murdo.
"A bit messy, though," said the Littlest Druid.)
Item 3: A cup of water from Loch Seaforth.
("That's tricky," said Callum Murdo.
"Not at all," said the Littlest Druid. "I have some in my backpack.")
Item 4: The blue tail feather of the Ikky Hoo bird.
("The which bird?" said Callum Murdo.
"The Ikky Hoo bird," said the Littlest Druid. "Do pay attention.")
The above to be made into a paste and applied to any pinkish blotch for guaranteed complete removal.
The Littlest Druid rolled up his scroll and grinned.
"Callum Murdo MacDonald," said Finbar the Chief Druid, in a very grand voice, "You are answered." And he turned around to go.
Callum Murdo shuffled from foot to foot.
"Excuse me, Sir," he said. "But I don't know what an Ikky Hoo bird looks like, or how to find it!"
Callum Murdo had never seen such a big steep hill, and when he stood at the bottom and tried to see the top, he thought he might topple over backwards. He was nearly as scared as he had been when he spilled paint on Granny MacDonald's hooky mat, but not quite.
"The thing is," said the Littlest Druid, "that the Ikky Hoo bird lives on the highest mountain in all the High Hebrides."
"Oh," said Callum Murdo.
"The other thing is," said the Littlest Druid, determined to get all his bad news out at once, "that you can't see the Ikky Hoo bird, because it's sky coloured underneath and mountain coloured on the top."
"Oh," said Callum Murdo.
The Littlest Druid pulled a big soft cushion from his backpack, put it on his head, and tied it with string in a neat bow under his chin. He took another one (Is that a magic Druid bag? thought Callum Murdo. What a lot of things it carries!) and gave it to Callum Murdo.
"The other thing is," said the Littlest Druid, "that the Ikky Hoo bird has a very sharp beak indeed."
Callum Murdo tied the cushion to his head, nervously, and he and the Littlest Druid began to climb.
The Littlest Druid climbed fast, using tiny holes in the rock to pull himself up by his finger ends and little stones to push himself up by his toe ends. By the time they reached the top, Callum Murdo was ever so tired.
"Lunchtime!" said the Littlest Druid, and pulled two bread buns, some cheese, a jar of honey, some water, two goblets and a couple of folding chairs from his Druid backpack. They were just finishing their lunch, and Callum Murdo was explaining the specialness of Crunchy Peanut Butter to the Littlest Druid, when a loud shriek made all the hairs on Callum Murdo's ginger head stand right up on end. The Littlest Druid leapt up. He looked up into the sky, and down onto the mountain.
"Hmm," said the Littlest Druid.
Callum Murdo looked up into the sky and down onto the mountain, but he couldn't see anything at all.
"Look for a patch of sky that's particularly skyish," said the Littlest Druid. "And look for a patch of mountain more mountainish than usual, and then you've found the Ikky Hoo bird."
They lay down on the mountainside, and waited. Callum Murdo wondered whether Granny MacDonald had already seen the pinkish blotch. He wondered whether the Littlest Druid might like to come to Granny's Birthday Tea and be his Summer Friend. He started to ask, but the Littlest Druid put his finger to his lips.
"Shh!" said the Littlest Druid, and he pointed to a patch of especially heatherish heather.
"Are you ready?" whispered the Littlest Druid.
Callum Murdo nodded.
"GO!" said the Littlest Druid, and when Callum Murdo looked up he saw a very skyish patch of sky, and he knew that he had to run Very Fast Indeed.
"Ow!" shouted Callum Murdo, as the Ikky Hoo bird pecked at the cushion on his head.
"Owl Ow!" shouted the Littlest Druid, as the claws of the Ikky Hoo bird scratched at his shoulder.
"Owl Owl Owl" shouted Callum Murdo, as the great skyish wings of the Ikky Hoo bird flapped at his face, but he managed to grab a handful of tail and steal a blue feather
"Run!" shouted the Littlest Druid. "Quick! Run!"
The Ikky Hoo was still pecking away, and it hurt a lot, even through the cushion. Callum Murdo ran very fast, right to the mountain's edge. He was scared. He was quite as scared as he had been when he dropped paint on Granny MacDonald's hooky mat. And at the very edge of the mountain, the Littlest Druid grabbed at Callum Murdo's hand and jumped.
"Ah!" said Callum Murdo, as the shriek of the angry Ikky Hoo faded away into the distance. "I should have known you'd have a parachute in your backpack!"
The Council of Druids stood blackly in the Cal1anish circle, and the Littlest Druid consulted his list.
"Handful of grass?" he said.
"Check!" said Callum Murdo.
"Small earthworm?' he said.
"Check!" said Callum Murdo.
"Cup of Loch Seaforth water?' he said.
"Check!" said Callum Murdo.
"Ikky Hoo feather?' he said.
"Check!" said Callum Murdo.
"Callum Murdo MacDonald," said Finbar the Chief Druid, "Good luck with your pinkish blotch." And the wind, surprisingly, blew cold against his cheek, and the Druids, even more surprisingly, vanished, and Callum Murdo picked up his grass, his earthworm (in ajar), his Loch Seaforth water, and his Ikky Hoo feather, and ran back to Granny MacDonald's. He ran down the hill, under Mrs. MacGregor's washing and down Granny's lane.
"Hello, Callum Murdo!" shouted Dr. MacLeod, back from his afternoon rounds, and so surprised Callum Murdo that he tripped and fell, and the water spilled, and the earthworm jar broke, and the blue Ikky Hoo feather floated over Granny's rooftop and far away.
Callum Murdo hobbled down the lane and through the back garden and into the kitchen of Granny MacDonald's cottage. His knee was bleeding, and he was all dirty with mud and grass and blue birthday card paint. He was trying not to cry.
"Goodness gracious!" said Granny MacDonald.
And Callum Murdo told her all about it. He told her about the surprise birthday card and the red paint, the water and the rose-scented soap, the minty-fresh toothpaste and the pinkish blotch, and the Druids, and all of the ingredients needed for pinkish blotch removal. He told her about Dr. MacLeod and the trip and the spilled water and the blue tail feather of the Ikky Hoo bird with the Very Sharp Beak.
Granny MacDonald said, "The which bird?'"
"The Ikky Hoo bird," said Callum Murdo. "It's ever so fierce."
"Hmmh!" said Granny MacDonald. "Well, that's hardly surprising if every little boy who makes a pinkish blotch goes stealing the poor thing's feathers, is it?"
"No, Granny," said Callum Murdo, sadly.
"Come on in and have tea," said Granny MacDonald. "This is Donal, Mrs. MacGregor's grandson, here for the holidays."
"Hello!" said Donal the Littlest Druid, all stripy t-shirt and freckles and no black robes at all, and he winked a great big secret Druid wink.
"Truth is," said Granny MacDonald, "I never liked that hooky mat anyway."
And she smiled. "Birthday Cake?"
Read the other winning stories:
| Trollett Towers | Mel | The Magic Place |
Callum Murdo MacDonald and the Pinkish Blotch is © Nell McGrath 2004
Reproduced here by permission of Nell McGrath, who asserts her moral right to be identified as the author of this work.