Rare rehearsal film of the Beatles performing Hey Jude

The Shasta Caper, Chapter Sixty-Six, Part One

                 Chapter Sixty-Six, Part One

The rest of their journey was relatively uneventful. 

Mother Elephant recovered several days later with the tender care of Nanny, who it turned out was a quite capable nurse among her many other talents. She never left the Mother Elephant for a moment, making sure she was warm enough, sometimes even using her own body for extra heat, though the baby elephants usually closed in to add warmth as well.

It was quite a site to Samuel and Jimbo as they watched that last morning. 

Robin and Smarn were off scouting for the best path back to their home, which was also where  they wanted to go.

When Samuel told Robin about Lady Marantha his eyes lit up. "Oh her!" 

Smarn smiled. "Smarn!"

Robin glowered at him. "You lovesick puppy!"

Smarn grinned.

Robin eyed Jimbo, who had this look on his face. "Everyone loves her. They can't help it, she has a charm on her."

"Charm?" Jimbo demanded. "No one is charmed!"

"Little do you know, oh tall one." Robin replied, even though he was as tall as Jimbo.

Jimbo looked flustered a moment. "Tell  me how then!"

"Do you not believe in the goodness of the One Light?"

Jimbo rolled his eyes. "There we go with all the hocus pocus, spiritual mumbo jumbo again."

Robin looked at Samuel. "Is he always like this?"

"Pretty much." Samuel agreed, winking at Jimbo, who gave him a disgusted look, then walked away, pretending to go looking for food.

"He's in love with the Mommy and the daughter, I take it." Robin commented, as he and Samuel watched Nanny hugging the Mother Elephant, who put her trunk around Nanny's neck and hugged her back.

"Aren't you?" Samuel asked, a hint of amusement in his eye.

"I suppose." Robin said, a touch of sadness in his voice and eyes. "There was one like her once I cared for quite deeply. We came here after the War of the Roses saw the defeat of good King Richard."

"I don't remember him thought of as a good king." Samuel remarked.

"You wouldn't. Those times were rife with the hand of the church, which rewrote history to whichever way it served it. Hence, I becoming a legend to your world, when I was quite real."

"You're that...Robin Hood!" Jimbo exclaimed, having come back with a handful of odd fruit.

"Exactly. And the love of my life was none other than..."

"Maid Marion." Jimbo jumped in with, looking excited for the first time in days.

"My heart and soul."

Robin touched his heart, then wiped at his eyes. The memories were burning his heart once more. Though he was not one to look back, but instead forward, these moments of remembrance were bringing up old pains. He would have to speak to Methusaleh about it, to see if there were something he could do to heal that wound, which it obviously still was, in his heart.

He took a deep breath, then looked up. "Ah, your young friend looks ready to take a journey!"

Nanny joined them. She took Robin's hand and squeezed it. "I wanted to thank you again for rescuing  us."