Surprises Ahead | Barkskins

My mother was a witch. And I know that I said my favorite of her sayings was the one about the bloated monk who feared his vow of silence covered farts, but I didn't have a way with the phrase. I'm afraid that I'll word it wrong. Tell it another time, [inaudible]. The woods reward silence. It is in the silence we hear things not of this world. Now, I will show you. You must step very carefully. Here to here. Are you nervous of what you will find when you reach [inaudible]? Perhaps. Which means you [inaudible] as surprise as [inaudible]. [Gasps] Ah. [Laughs] It's fine. [Sighs] They are everywhere on [inaudible] this time of year. And there are mice, of course, many hawks, which also eat the mice but prefer to eat the snakes and sometimes get both.

There is also another creature, the [inaudible]. The child of my housekeeper, Mary. This is one of the surprises I will warn you of now. You have a housekeeper? I depend on her as she is a [inaudible] woman. And she may test you. She may throw curses at you. Then you must put her in her place. She has long since forgotten her place, I'm afraid. Come. I will tell you the story of the wasp that followed me for two days. Yes. I looked and saw--