The Voyage of the Caterpillar

Chapter 6: Hermy

Inside the sibling's house, Trixie, Patil, and I were setting the table for dinner. It had been many hours since we had read the letter that Hermy the Traveller was coming to visit the farm, and the sun was beginning to set.

"I sure hope he'll make it here before dark," Patil said, placing several plates on the table.

"You believe in Hermy's tales of monsters too?" I asked her.

"Once you hear them, there's no way you can't believe them." Trixie nodded.

Kingsly walked through the door. "Hello, my sister and my lovely guests!" he smiled.

"How were the fields, brother?" Patil asked.

"A fresh new harvest of herbs!" Kingsly announced, placing a bundle of green herbs on the table.

"Fantastic!" Patil exclaimed. "We can have some more tea tonight!"

"I hope I'm not disturbing anything," a strange voice came from outside. There was only one insect that voice could belong to...

"Hermy! Come in, my freind!" Kingsly called.

Hermy walked through the door. He was a lean, athletic looking caterpillar with horns that curled slightly inward and shorter hair than most hairy caterpillars. He had a pack made from leaves on his back, which I assumed must carry treasure and knickknacks from his travels.

"Hermy! We just finished setting the table for dinner!" Patil smiled. "Please, all of you, have a seat!"

Hermy took a seat at the head of the table. "And who might we have here? Trixie, resident of hazelnut tree number five? It's been a while!" He said.

"Hermy!" Trixie grinned. "Good to see you! Although I'm not a resident of hazelnut tree number five anymore."

"What happened?" Hermy asked her.

"I'm a traveling caterpillar now. I'm going to help Fletcher find a new home." She smiled at me. I blushed.

"And are you the Fletcher that Trixie speaks of?" Hermy turned to me.

I nodded in response. "I'm Fletcher."

"Fletcher ended up far from home... Somehow." Trixie told Hermy. "So he's staying at the farm temporarily before we go off to find a new home."

"Ah, I understand," Hermy nodded. "Now, you'll never guess where I've been!"

"Time for another story, Hermy?" Patil asked. She was carrying a tray of leaf wraps. "Enjoy, everyone!" She said, placing the tray on the table. I took a leaf wrap amd began to eat.

"Patil, these aren't stories, you know I've seen these things with my own eyes!" Hermy said in between mouthfuls of his dinner.

"Well, let's hear it!" Trixie encouraged.

"Okay, so I finally made it to the edge of the forest!" Hermy started.

"Really? What's it like there?" I asked.

"Never mind what it's like there Fletcher, it's what I saw there that mattered!"

"What did you see? What did you see?" Trixie was practically jumping out of her seat.

"A few miles away from the edge of the forest, about a few days of a walk for a caterpillar..."

"Go on!" Kingsly smiled.

"A huge structure! Humans must have made it! It sits high on a cliff overlooking a lake, and it towers abone everything else! It was amazing! I heard from a few earthworms that lived in the area that humans call it a 'castle.'"

"Really? Wow!" I exclaimed.

"But there's more! Apparently there are lots of human children that stay in the castle during the winter. And the earthworms told me that thees humans aren't just humans.. They call themselves 'wizards!'"

"Wizards? Are these like the monsters that you told of in most of your tales?" Patil asked.

"Oh, no!" Hermy responded. "They look just like humans, just they wear funny outfits called 'robes.' And they can supposivly do magic! As in, poof! Make a caterpillar dissapear in a matter of seconds!"

"That's amazing Hermy!" Trixie exclaimed. "I really want to meet one of these wizards. Are they nice?"

"Well Trix, the earthworms said the majority of them are friendly, although some can be quite agressive. It's definetly a risk." Hermy told her.

"I don't think I'll be trying anytime soon, though." Trixie responded.

"Well, it's amazing what a caterpillar can do! Journey to the edge of the wilderness and back!" Kingsly nodded. "Patil, is the tea ready?"

"All ready!" Patil told her brother from where she was preparing acorn cups filled with the heavenly substance. She crawled back over to the table and handed us each a cup. "Now you should all sleep soundly tonight, because I used a special herb blend in here!" Patil told us with a smile.

"Thank you, Patil!" Hermy said and took his cup.

"Thanks," I gave an awkward smile.

"Don't worry, I'll finish the dishes. All of you can go right off to bed!" Patil nodded. "Go along! Goodnight, Hermy, Trixie, and Fletcher!"

The three of us walked out of the house, across the clearing, and into the barn. I walked over to my bed and curled up woth my cup of tea, and Trixie did the same. Hermy set his backpack down before curling up.

"Hermy," Trixie asked with a yawn, "What's it like to travel?"

"Its amazing. You'll never want to stay in one place again." He told her.

"But don't you feel a little lonely sometimes?" I questioned.

"You're right, Fletcher. Sometimes I do get a little lonely. But I've been traveling for so long, I'm used to it now." He sighed. "We should turn out the lights now. Goodnight!"

Trixie blew out the torches in the room and crawled back into her bed. Then as soon as she heard Hermy snoring, she whispered to me, "Tomorrow, Fletcher. Tomorrow we leave for a new life. Are you ready?"

"I hope so, I whispered back and smiled. I was happy that Trixie was coming with me, wherever the road ahead lead to.