The Wee Free Men

Who was Granny Aching? People would start asking that now. And the answer was: what Granny Aching was, was there. She was always there. It seemed that the lives of all the Achings revolved around Granny Aching. Down in the village decisions were made, things were done, life went on in the knowledge that in her old wheeled shepherding hut on the hills Granny Aching was there, watching.

And she was the silence of the hills. Perhaps that's why she liked Tiffany, in her awkward, hesitant way. Her older sisters chattered, and Granny didn't like noise. Tiffany didn't make noise when she was up at the hut. She just loved being there. She'd watch the buzzards, and listen to the noise of the silence.

It did have a noise, up there. Sounds, voices, animal noises floating up onto the downs, somehow made the silence deep and complex. And Granny Aching wrapped this silence around herself and made room inside it for Tiffany. It was always too busy on the farm. There were a lot of people with a lot to do. There wasn't enough time for silence. There wasn't time for listening. But Granny Aching was silent and listened all the time.

'What?' said Tiffany, blinking.

'You just said "Granny Aching listened to me all the time",' said Miss Tick.

Tiffany swallowed. 'I think my grandmother was slightly a witch,' she said, with a touch of pride.

'Really? How do you know?'

'Well, witches can curse people, right?' said Tiffany.

'So it is said,' said Miss Tick, diplomatically.

'Well, my father said Granny Aching cussed the sky blue,' said Tiffany.

Miss Tick coughed. 'Well, cussing, now, cussing isn't like genuine cursing. Cussing's more like dang and botheration and darned and drat, you know? Cursing is more on the lines of "I hope your nose explodes and your ears go flying away."'

'I think Granny's cussing was a bit more than that,' said Tiffany, in a very definite voice. 'And she talked to her dogs.'

'And what kind of things did she say to them?' said Miss Tick.

'Oh, things like come by and away to me and that'll do,' said Tiffany. They always did what she told them.'

'But those are just sheepdog commands,' said Miss Tick, dismissively. 'That's not exactly witchcraft.'

'Well, that still makes them familiars, doesn't it?' Tiffany retorted, feeling annoyed. 'Witches have animals they can talk to, called familiars. Like your toad there.'

'I'm not familiar,' said a voice from among the paper flowers. 'I'm just slightly presumptuous.'

'And she knew about all kinds of herbs,' Tiffany persisted. Granny Aching was going to be a witch even if Tiffany had to argue all day. 'She could cure anything. My father said she could make a shepherd's pie stand up and baa.' Tiffany lowered her voice. 'She could bring lambs back to life...'

You hardly ever saw Granny Aching indoors in the spring and summer. She spent most of the year sleeping in the old wheeled hut, which could be dragged across the downs after the flocks. But the first time Tiffany could remember seeing the old woman in the farmhouse, she was kneeling in front of the fire, putting a dead lamb in the big black oven.