Mary Lamb A Tangled Web

By Frances T. Botham

I think I have this mischievous delinquent creature that lives inside me and constantly begs me and taunts me to go astray. I know that my wild inner creature will always be with me, a part of who I am, but maybe I will eventually be able to control her. Who knows? Worse, maybe she will take over and then what will happen next?

Oh, by the way, did I introduce myself? I’m Mary Lamb.

And now the new adventure begins. Samantha-Anne and I are going back to Maze. We are going to sedate my mother and no this will not harm her and then we’ll ride on the backs of two bat-like creatures to begin our travels. What happens next? Turn the page to find out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frances T. Botham
• Release date: Jan 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370807314

Frances T. Botham

Frances grew up on a farm located miles from other families. She spent much of her time playing in the bush and talking to the animals. Squirrels, rabbits, birds and particularly mice became her best friends. Amidst all this wild beauty, this little girl imagined undiscovered worlds and fascinating inhabitants. She was certain that a whole civilization existed far beneath the surface of the earth. She conjured up a fabulous environment, a unique people and great adventures. Long into her adult life, that part of her childhood stayed with her until one day she decided to write it all down and bring it to life to share with others. That was the beginning, with the first book, "Follow That Mouse" opening the world of Maze to readers of all ages.

Book preview

MARY LAMB – A TANGLED WEB

INTRODUCTION

Mary tiptoed to the bed and slowly leaned over her mother.  She could see her lips parted ever so slightly.  She put her hand out for Samantha-Anne to climb on, placing the little mouse in front of her mother’s mouth. In that moment, Ruth’s eyes fluttered open and she opened her mouth in astonishment at the sight of the mouse, wearing a long coat, standing on Mary’s hand directly in front of her face. She started to exclaim something or to scream, when in that instant, Samantha-Anne leaped forward and threw the silver ball between her open lips. 

Ruth’s eyes opened wide for an instant and she gasped before falling back on her pillow into a deep sleep.  Mary leaned forward and looked at her mother’s face.  She whispered to Samantha-Anne, She looks sound asleep.

Samantha-Anne nodded, speaking out loud "She’ll sleep soundly and not waken for at least twelve hours.  We have to hurry.  We haven’t got a minute to waste and we have a long way to go.  Come on, Mary.  We have to leave right now. Our ride is waiting outside your bedroom window.

CHAPTER ONE – INTO THE FURY

Mary ran to the bedroom window.  Samantha-Anne jumped up on the window sill, unfurling a parchment scroll.  Cramo cramee crami crambus crambee cramblo! An eerie electrifying crackling noise was followed by a loud popping sound.  Mary faintly uttered an oh.

In the next moment, she experienced the sensation of falling and dropping, feeling her whole being slipping on a wild downward slide.  Shutting her eyes tightly, she mentally held on with all her might.

The falling and dropping sensation abruptly stopped.  She exhaled loudly, opening her eyes.  Her body had diminished to the tiny mouse-size of Samantha-Anne.

Samantha-Anne grabbed Mary’s hand in a frantic rush to scurry out the open window onto the roof of the back porch. Two large black bats perched on the roof in front of them, slowly furling and unfurling their wings.

    Samantha-Anne squeaked hurried introductions.  Mary, this is your ride. Please meet Zi. The bat turned his head towards Mary and barely nodded.  Mary looked at him with strange familiarity.

And this is Yas. Samantha-Anne pointed towards the other bat.

We have to go.  There is no time to waste. Yas boomed in a deep resonant voice.   

Mary intuitively climbed onto Zi’s back and Samantha-Anne climbed on Yas.  Samantha-Anne hollered Hang on, Mary at the precise moment that both bats glided upward off the roof, with a seemingly effortless fluttering of their wings.

Mary gasped at the motion, hanging on tightly, while the bats rose higher and higher, all the time gliding and swooping.

Wow! I’m flying! Mary’s excitement at the prospect of flying dissipated the fear she would have normally felt traveling at such great speed far above the ground. Her inherent terror of heights seemed to have evaporated. 

Trees were barely visible in the darkening night, with the only light provided by a full moon, partially hidden by rapidly moving dark clouds.  One moment there was light from the moon, and the next moment total darkness closed in.  Mary shuddered at the all encompassing blackness that intermittently blocked the moonlight. She had always feared the dark, or perhaps it was the unknown.

A high-pitched deafening screech broke the air at the instant that Mary felt the impact on the bat.  She thought that Zi had collided with something, while she desperately struggled to retain her hold on his back.  The bat screamed as it plummeted downward.  Mary lost her grip and fell.  The blood curdling wail she heard was emanating from her own lips.

Her plunge halted abruptly. She bounced up and down like a rag doll. 

Miraculously, she had fallen directly into a stand of small trees, catching her coveralls on one of the branches. The branch held tight, tossing Mary back and forth in its grip.  Mary screamed at the top of her lungs. She struggled wildly to free herself from this extraordinary trap that had stopped her drop to imminent death. 

Abruptly, the branch snapped with a bang, dropping Mary to the ground with a heavy thud.  She lay there breathless and bruised and battered. Moaning in agony, Mary struggled to pull herself up into a sitting position.  She stared around in a disoriented state.

  Oh, I’m so sore.  I hurt so much all over. I want my Mommy! I’m scared. Mary sobbed and babbled out loud.

Blood oozed from scratches on her face and hands. She could barely move as she struggled to use her battered legs. 

I must get up.  I’ve got to go home.  Mary staggered to her feet, wobbling in her attempt to walk. She tumbled face forward, and lay there on the ground with her face in the dirt.  She didn’t move for several minutes until she finally mustered enough strength to drag herself to her feet. 

Her hair stuck out in wild disarray. Rivulets of blood and muck ran down her face and dripped onto her frayed coveralls.  Mary wildly gaped around in stunned confusion. 

The trees, massive giants towering far above her, swayed and creaked in the wind.  An all enveloping blackness closed in whenever the clouds covered the moon.  Mary didn’t have a clue about the location of her home.

What am I going to do? Oh, I’m in big trouble. I’ll never find my way out of this swamp.

Mary attempted walking with no direction in mind.  Her diminished size impeded every step she tried to take.  She slipped into muddy holes up to her waist. She had to scratch and crawl her way out.  The smallest branch greatly blocked her path.  She had to exert every ounce of energy to pull her battered body up and over, or to slither around or underneath. Only a short distance of travel sapped all of Mary’s strength.

She plopped exhausted to the ground. The bush around her was so dark that she could barely see.  When the clouds cleared away from the moon, shadows of trees and bushes became evident.  The trees appeared enormously large and particularly ominous as they swayed back and forth in the wind. 

Outlines of bushes and shrubs began to take on the shapes of frightening creatures in Mary’s eyes.  She stared around in terror. 

I must find my way home.  Oh my, how am I going to change back into my normal size without Samantha-Anne?  I think I’m going to die here. I wonder what happened to Zi.  Please don’t let him be dead!

Distraught, Mary lay in the wet vegetation talking out loud.  I need Samantha-Anne.  Sam.  Where are you? Sam, where are you.  Mary hollered at the top of her lungs.

A snapping of branches, indicative of something approaching, silenced Mary.  She lay there for a moment, listening.  The movement seemed to be coming closer.  Mary could sense a pause in the motion. She heard a weird sniffing sound and a strange voice.

I’m hungry.  I’m so hungry.  I think I detect the scent of something delicious.  Oh, yes! What a delicious aroma. I can almost taste it.  It’s warm-blooded and it’s tiny.  Yum, yum! Where are you little critter?  Don’t be afraid of me.  Come, on.  Show your self.

The realization that she was no bigger than a mouse propelled Mary off the ground. She realized that this was a hunting creature searching for food and worse, she was the food it smelled.  She scrambled to the base of a barely visible large tree nearby, and crawled into a crevice at the base of the tree.  She pulled mud and sodden mosses around her, silently waiting. 

Her breath caught in her throat.  The fleeting moonlight illuminated a monstrous-sized orange-furred beast, anxiously sniffing the ground towards the direction where Mary was hiding.  The animal was so large in comparison to Mary, that at first she didn’t recognize it as a fox at all, but rather as some gigantic creature. 

Mary froze in her hiding spot.  The fox persisted, following Mary’s trail and heading toward the exact area where she was hiding.  Mary knew that in a matter of minutes she would be dragged out and eaten.

I’ve been bad, she said to herself.  This is what happens to bad people. 

A frantic tugging on the back of Mary’s shirt from above made her glance up.  Come on, give me your hand and climb up.  Quickly, now!

The fox was already busily scratching at the roots directly in front of Mary’s hiding place. Come out you delightful little morsel.  Come to me.  I won’t hurt you.  I promise.

She grasped a hairy clawed hand, or perhaps paw, grabbed the tree bark with the other, and with all the energy she could muster, pulled her aching body up into pitch blackness. Feeling around blindly, she realized that she had moved up inside the tree.

Come up higher. Quickly, now.  Give me your hand.  Mary clutched the clawed hand again and felt herself being guided and pulled further up the interior of the tree. 

All the while, she could hear the fox frantically scratching and loudly sniffing at the base of the tree. Come on out.  I won’t hurt you.  Just let me see you.  Come to me.

Mary’s rescuer stopped and pulled her into an area that seemed to be larger. We can stay here. It’s safe as long as we don’t go outside until morning. And we have to be very quiet. 

Mary sat down on a soft floor.  She felt around her, wondering where she was and what she had sunk into on the floor.  It felt like the softest down. 

Wow! That was a close call!  I think that he wanted to eat me! You just saved my life!  Who are you? It sure was lucky that you came along when you did! My name is Mary Lamb.  Who are you?

Please don’t speak so loudly.  We must whisper very quietly to be safe.  My name is ARR. And I’ve heard about you, Mary Lamb.

ARR!  What kind of name is that?  I’ve never heard of anyone with a name like that! And your hand is very hairy.  Do you have hair all over you?

It’s ARR, spelt ARR. And, yes, I do have hair all over me.  A squirrel would look pretty silly with no hair, don’t you think?

"Oh!  Oh, my!  Thank goodness you are here and can talk to me. I like squirrels, you know.  I just never talked to one before. But I can’t stay here until morning, because my mother will wake up then and I won’t be there and I have to change back into my normal size before I can go home.

That means I have to find my friend, Sam, very soon. She’s a mouse, you know.  But I don’t know how to find her."  Mary began to sniffle. 

Oh, for goodness sake! Don’t start crying now.

But what am I going to do?  My mother will be frantic if I’m not there when she wakes up. Mary began sobbing loudly.

Stop it!  Stop it, right now!  You’ll be heard and we’ll be in danger for our lives.  Stop it!

A silenced Mary stared at a sliver of light in the side of the tree. Can we climb up any higher without going outside?  Maybe, if I could peek outside, I could see what’s going on out there.

You can climb up further if you want to, but I’m not coming with you.  If you want to put yourself at risk, go ahead.

How can I find my way up without you?  Won’t you at least take me to a spot where I could see outside? Then you can leave me there. Okay?  Please?

You’re making far too much noise.  Be quiet and give me your hand. Mary grabbed ARR’s paw and the arduous climb began.  She slipped and scrambled to hang on to the rough protrusions in the decaying wood.  After what seemed like an eternity, ARR stopped.  Here we are." 

Breathless, Mary sank down to rest.  "Wow that