Song: the reapers of Kettle Ridge
Up on the ridge the wind is high,
The wheat is gold against the sky.
Cut it low and tie it tight,
And bring it home before the night.

Bend your back and sing the song,
The day is hot, the row is long.
Cut it low and tie it tight,
And bring it home before the night.

The wind has got Tam's hat again,
It rolls along the beetroot lane.
"Pip, fetch the hat!" And Pip will run,
A hundred times in wind and sun.

Sheaf by sheaf and row by row,
Down to the windmill off we go.
Bread for Vell and bread for the sea,
Bread for you and bread for me.
Cut it low and tie it tight,
And bring it home before the night.

(Sung on Kettle Ridge when the wheat comes in. Everyone shouts the line about the hat. Tam says it only happened twice.)
%%
Song: beetroot day
Pull, pull, the beetroot is deep,
Red as a fox and round as a sheep.
Shake off the dirt and throw it in,
One for the pot and one for the bin.

Red hands, red hands,
Wash them in the trough.
Red hands, red hands,
Mother, it won't come off!

Pull, pull, and fill the cart,
Soup for the winter, seed for the start.
Leaves for the pigs, and the rest to sell
At the market cross in Three Wells.

Red hands, red hands,
Wash them in the trough.
Red hands, red hands,
Mother, it won't come off!

Pull, pull, the sun is low,
One more row and home we go.
Red in the soup and red in the sky,
Red on my hands till the week goes by.

Red hands, red hands,
Wash them in the trough.
Red hands, red hands,
Mother, it won't come off!

(A children's song from Kettle Ridge. The last "red hands" is shouted as loud as you can.)
%%
Song: the miners' walk home
Put down the pick and pick up the lamp,
The stone is cold and the tunnel is damp.
Count the crew and count them true:
Twelve went down and twelve come through.

Up from the deep, up from the stone,
The lamp goes first and we go home.

Copper in the cart and coal in the sack,
Iron on my shoulder and dust on my back.
Clank takes the heaviest load up the hill.
It never complains, and it never will.

Up from the deep, up from the stone,
The lamp goes first and we go home.

Past the iron and past the coal,
Past the spring in the dripping hole,
Up the ladder, rung by rung,
Up to the air with a dusty tongue.

Up from the deep, up from the stone,
The lamp goes first and we go home.

Soup on the fire and bread on the plate,
A cat on the step and a child at the gate.
Count the crew and count them true:
Twelve went down and twelve came through.

Up from the deep, up from the stone,
The lamp goes first and we go home.

(Sung at Copperhold at the end of the day. Hesk says it is too slow. He sings it anyway, louder than anyone.)
%%
Song: down to the Deep Works
Morning bell, morning bell,
Fill the lamp and fill it well.
Down we go, down we go,
To the Deep Works far below.

First comes coal, as black as night,
Then comes copper, orange and bright,
Then comes iron, speckled and grey,
Then comes lapis, blue as the day,
And last the deep stone, hard and cold,
With redstone, amethyst and a little gold.

Torch on the right as you go down,
Follow them back to Copperhold town.

Mind the gravel over your head,
Mind the lava, slow and red,
Mind the spiders where the dark is deep,
Mind the drop where the shaft is steep.

Torch on the right as you go down,
Follow them back to Copperhold town.

Morning bell, morning bell,
Fill the lamp and fill it well.
Down we go, down we go,
To the Deep Works far below.

(Every child in Copperhold can sing the order of the stone. The torch rule is the first thing a new miner learns.)
%%
Song: the Saltreach rowing song
Pull and lean, and pull and lean,
The sea is grey, the boat is green.
Out past the harbor wall we go,
All together, strong and slow.

Who will row?
We will row!
Where do we go?
Where the fish go!
When do we eat?
When the nets are full!
Pull, Saltreach, pull!

Corin built her plank by plank,
She never leaked and she never sank.
Oak for her ribs and spruce for her sides,
She rides the waves and she rides the tides.

Pull and lean, the fog comes down,
Pull for the lamp of Saltreach town.
The cats sit waiting on the quay,
One fish for them and the rest for me.

Who will row?
We will row!
Where do we go?
Home we go!
When do we eat?
When the boat is tied!
Pull, Saltreach, pull!

(One rower calls and the rest answer. Every crew in Saltreach sings that its own boat never sank. Corin says they are all right.)
%%
Song: the net menders
Over and under, and pull it tight,
We mend the nets by the window light.
A hole as big as a hand, they say,
And all the fish will swim away.

Over and under, knot by knot,
Marit is the fastest knotter we've got.
She mends a net and she tells a tale
Of a cod as big as a boat with a sail.

Over and under, the cat comes too,
She sleeps on the net, as cats will do.
We lift her off and she comes right back
And curls on the next one, by the sack.

Over and under, the light is gone,
Light the lamp and we carry on.
Tomorrow the boats go out to sea
With a net from Marit and a net from me.

(Sung by the net menders on the quay at Saltreach. Children learn the knot from the song: over, under, pull it tight.)
%%
Song: the relay keepers
Lamp on the tower, word on the wind,
Pass it along to the next, my friend.
I never saw you, you never saw me,
But we talk every night from the snow to the sea.

Pass it on, pass it on,
Keep the lamp till the night is gone.
Pass it on, pass it on,
No word is lost while the lamp is on.

Northpoint is cold and Northpoint is far,
Up where the foxes and the long nights are.
Mira sends weather, Mira sends jokes,
And "Send more coal!" through the snow and the smoke.

Pass it on, pass it on,
Keep the lamp till the night is gone.

The price of wheat and the price of wool,
"The boats are in" and "The barn is full,"
"Come home for the fair" and "The lambs are here,"
And down at Vell the clerks write it clear.

If you keep a tower alone on a hill
And the night is long and the wind is shrill,
Look down the line where the lamps all shine:
Someone is waving. Wave back. You are fine.

Pass it on, pass it on,
Keep the lamp till the night is gone.
Pass it on, pass it on,
No word is lost while the lamp is on.

(The relay keepers' song. On the longest night, every keeper flashes the first line to the next tower, all the way from Northpoint.)
%%
Song: the Long Road
I put on my boots at the start of the day,
I took the Long Road and I walked away.
Past Ambrook apples and the mill pond still,
Past Three Wells market, up to Vell on the hill,
Past Kettle Ridge where the windmills turn,
Down to Lowmarsh where the frogs sing in turn,
And on to Saltreach and the wide grey sea,
And nobody there had heard of me.

Walk on, walk on, the road is long,
Walk on, walk on, and sing a song.
The road goes out from every home,
And the same road brings you home.

Some go north to Copperhold,
Where the hills are full of copper and cold.
Some go further, to Northpoint snow,
Where the lamps are lit and the white foxes go.

I turned around at the edge of the sea,
And the Long Road said, "Come back with me."
Past Lowmarsh frogs and the Kettle Ridge mill,
Past Vell and the Archive deep in the hill,
Past Three Wells market and Ambrook trees,
Home to my door, and the cat on my knees.

Walk on, walk on, the road is long,
Walk on, walk on, and sing a song.
The road goes out from every home,
And the same road brings you home.

(Travelers sing this at every inn on the Long Road. The last verse names the towns the other way round. Children love to catch you out.)
%%
Song: Pell's cart
Here comes Pell with the squeaky wheel,
Pell will make you a very good deal.
What have you got, Pell? What have you got?
"Something for everyone, and a lot!"

Honey from Ambrook, sweet and gold,
Copper pots from Copperhold,
Salt fish from Saltreach, reeds from the marsh,
And wool hats for the north, where the wind is harsh.

What have you got, Pell? What have you got?
"Something for everyone, and a lot!"

Here comes Pell with the news as well:
Who is to marry and what did not sell,
Whose cow got out and whose roof fell in.
Pell knows it all, with a great big grin.

What have you heard, Pell? What have you heard?
"Everything! Every single word!"

There goes Pell with the squeaky wheel,
Down the Long Road for another deal.
Oil that wheel, Pell! Oil that wheel!
"Next time," says Pell. That is the deal.

(Children at Three Wells sing this when Pell's cart comes in. Pell pretends not to hear. The wheel still squeaks.)
%%
Song: the apple pickers
Up the ladder, into the tree,
One for the basket and one for me.
Up the ladder, into the green,
The reddest apples you've ever seen.

One for the basket, one for the horse,
One for the barrel, and one for me, of course.

Mind the bees, they will not mind you,
They have their own work to do.
Mind the branch, it bends and sways,
This old tree has seen better days.

One for the basket, one for the horse,
One for the barrel, and one for me, of course.

One fell into the mill pond, plop!
And all the fish came up to the top.
One fell down on Grandpa's head.
"That one is mine," Grandpa said.

One for the basket, one for the horse,
One for the barrel, and one for me, of course.

When the baskets are full and the sun is red,
Apples and honey and bread, then bed.

(Sung in the Ambrook orchards at picking time. The horse is old Carrot, who pulls the apple cart. His ears go up at his line.)
%%
Song: the beekeeper's hum
Little bees, little bees, out of the hive,
The flowers are open, the orchard's alive.
Go to the poppy, go to the rose,
Go wherever the dandelion grows.

Hum, little bees, in the Ambrook trees,
Give me a jar and I'll leave you in peace.

A little smoke and a gentle hand,
You don't mind me, you understand.
I take a little, I leave you plenty:
One comb for me, and for you, twenty.

Hum, little bees, in the Ambrook trees,
Give me a jar and I'll leave you in peace.

Honey for winter, when the snow is deep,
Honey for children who cannot sleep,
Honey for the baker, honey for the fair,
And a spoon for me, if there's some to spare.

Hum, little bees, in the Ambrook trees,
Give me a jar and I'll leave you in peace.

(Ama, the beekeeper at Ambrook, hums this at the hives. She says a bee that hears a hum will not sting. Nobody has asked the bees.)
%%
Song: the frogs of Lowmarsh
Frogs in the reeds and frogs in the mud,
Frogs on the log and frogs in the flood.
Green frog, white frog, orange frog too,
Which little frog is looking at you?

Croak, croak, the water is slow,
Croak, croak, the reeds will grow.
Croak, croak, the night is near,
The frogs of Lowmarsh are singing here.

I put on my boot, and what did I find?
A frog in my boot! And he did not mind.
I put on my hat, and what did I see?
A frog on the brim, looking down at me.

Croak, croak, the water is slow,
Croak, croak, the reeds will grow.

Out in the boat when the sun goes down,
The frogs are louder than all the town.
Wren says hush, and Moss stands still,
And the frogs sing on, as they always will.

Croak, croak, the night is near,
The frogs of Lowmarsh are singing here.

(A Lowmarsh children's song. You croak between the lines. The old folk say the frogs croak back, and they do.)
%%
Song: shearing day
Hold her still and hold her near,
Snip the wool from tail to ear.
Snip, snip, the wool falls white,
The sheep jumps up and runs off light.

Eat your grass and grow it back,
Next year you will fill a sack.

White for a blanket, soft and deep,
Black for a hat, from the old black sheep,
Grey for a coat for the Northpoint snow,
Brown for the miners who work below.

Eat your grass and grow it back,
Next year you will fill a sack.

Wash it and comb it and spin it fine,
Hang it to dry on the long wash line.
Dye it with flowers, red and blue,
A scarf for me and a scarf for you.

Eat your grass and grow it back,
Next year you will fill a sack.

(Sung at shearing time on the hill farms. The sheep do not like the song. They do not like the shearing either.)
%%
Song: the tutor's drill
Wake, little mind, you know nothing yet,
And that is no shame and no regret.
I show you wheat, I show it again,
A hundred times, and you'll know it then.

Again, again, the same again,
Wrong is how a mind begins.
Again, again, and once again,
A little less wrong, and then again.

Farm and store, and fetch and come,
Stay and build, and haul and home.
Eight good words for a mind to know,
I say them fast and I say them slow.

Again, again, the same again,
Wrong is how a mind begins.

Never send an untested mind
Out to the fields, or you will find
The seed in the well and the hoe in the hay,
And the sheep all fetched and carried away.

Again, again, the same again,
Wrong is how a mind begins.
Be patient, mind, and patient, me:
A mind is what it was taught to be.

(Nessa sings this at Vell while she drills new crystals. The minds do not hear it. She says the song is for the tutor's patience, not for the mind.)
%%
Song: Clank, copper feet
Clank, clank, copper feet,
Walking down the Copperhold street.
Carry the coal and carry the stone,
Clank, clank, carry it home.

Clank knows haul and Clank knows home,
Clank knows copper and coal and stone.
Everything Clank knows, it was taught.
It was wrong, and wrong, and then it was not.

Clank, clank, at the door,
Mud on the step and mud on the floor.
"Wipe your feet!" says Hesk, and then
Clank wipes them, and wipes them again.

Clank, clank, will you play?
Clank has a cart to haul today.
Clank, clank, copper feet,
Walking home down the Copperhold street.

(Copperhold children sing this when Clank comes by with the ore carts. Clank does not stop. Once it waited at the corner until they had finished.)
%%
Song: the clerks of Vell
Copy it once and copy it clean,
File it next to where the last has been.
Blot it, and you start again.
Oren is watching your ink and your pen.

Into the hill and into the stone,
Every word has a place of its own.
Shelf on shelf and light by light,
We will keep everything we write.

Here is a letter from Northpoint snow,
Here is a price list from long ago,
Here is a song that a child wrote down,
Here is a notice from Three Wells town.

Mark the year from the founding day,
Then put it on the shelf to stay.
No word is too small for the hill to keep,
Not a recipe, not a lost sheep.

Into the hill and into the stone,
Every word has a place of its own.
Shelf on shelf and light by light,
We will keep everything we write.

(The copy clerks' song at the Archive at Vell. Oren hums it too, but quietly. He says singing makes blots.)
%%
Song: the Three Wells fair
Ring the bell at the crossroads, ring it loud,
Here comes a cart and here comes a crowd.
From the ridge and the marsh and the hill and the sea,
Everyone comes to the fair, and so do we.

One well for the horses, one well for the town,
One well for the wishes you whisper down.

Pumpkins as big as a sitting cow,
Pie for the winner, so take a bow.
Melon in slices and honey in jars,
Dance round the wells till you see the stars.

One well for the horses, one well for the town,
One well for the wishes you whisper down.

Mayor Dace makes a speech every year.
It is very long and nobody can hear.
He waves his hat and the music starts,
And the drums go bump like the wheels of carts.

One well for the horses, one well for the town,
One well for the wishes you whisper down.

Home in the dark with a sleepy head,
A slice of pie, and straight to bed.

(The fair song of Three Wells. On the last night, everyone whispers a wish into the third well. Nobody tells what they wished.)
%%
Song: keep the torches lit
Torch on the gate and torch on the wall,
Torch by the door and torch in the hall.
Keep the torches lit, my dear,
And nothing in the night comes near.

The zombie walks with a groan and a moan,
He wants your supper, he wants your home.
The skeleton rattles, the skeleton creaks,
He shoots at the moon for weeks and weeks.

Keep the torches lit, my dear,
And nothing in the night comes near.

The spider climbs the side of the barn
With eight red eyes and legs like yarn.
The creeper is green and makes no sound,
Then it hisses, and the shed is all over the ground.

Keep the torches lit, my dear,
And nothing in the night comes near.

A stick and a lump of coal, that's all,
To make a torch for the garden wall.

Keep the torches lit, my dear,
And nothing in the night comes near.

(Everyone knows this one. Mothers sing it at bedtime, miners sing it underground, and relay keepers sing it on the stairs.)
%%
Song: the waymarks
Waymark, waymark, standing still,
Which way to Vell on the hill?
"Follow the clerks with their inky hands,
Up to the hill where the Archive stands."

Waymark, waymark, grey and old,
Which way to Copperhold?
"Follow the carts that are heavy with ore,
Then walk a bit further, and then some more."

Waymark, waymark, by the trees,
Which way to Ambrook? "Follow the bees."
Waymark, waymark, which way to the sea?
"Follow the smell of the fish," said the stone to me.

Waymark, waymark, which way to Three Wells?
"Any road at all," the waymark tells.
"Sooner or later, whatever you do,
Every road goes there, and so will you."

Waymark, waymark, which way is home?
The waymark said nothing. It is only a stone.
But I turned around, and I knew the way,
And I was home by the end of the day.

(Children on the Long Road ask every waymark the way. The grown folk answer for the stones, in a deep and stony voice.)
%%
Song: the supper round
Pass the bread and pass the salt,
If the soup is cold, it is not my fault.
Pass the potatoes, piled up high,
Pass the honey, and pass the pie.

Thank the hands that sowed the wheat,
Thank the hands that milled it fine,
Thank the hands that baked the bread,
And thank the hands that pass it down the line.

Pass the fish from the Saltreach sea,
Pass the carrots, two for me,
Pass the beetroot soup so red,
And leave the cat, she has been fed.

Thank the hands that sowed the wheat,
Thank the hands that milled it fine,
Thank the hands that baked the bread,
And thank the hands that pass it down the line.

(A table song. One half of the table sings "pass" while the other half sings "thank the hands". It is very loud.)
%%
Lullaby: snow at Northpoint
Sleep now, sleep now, the snow is deep,
The white foxes curl in their tails to sleep.
The wind is loud, but the walls are stone,
The fire is warm, and you're not alone.

Sleep, sleep, the night is long,
The lamp is lit and the walls are strong.

Lantern climbs the tower stair,
The lamp is lit, and the keeper is there.
It sends a word to the south tonight:
"All is well," in a little light.

Sleep, sleep, the night is long,
The lamp is lit and the walls are strong.

The rabbits are white and the snow is white,
And the stars are white in the long, long night.
The sun is slow, but the sun will come.
Sleep, little one. Sleep, little one.

Sleep, sleep, the night is long,
The lamp is lit and the walls are strong.

(Sung at Northpoint in the long nights. The keepers say the snow falls softer while somebody sings.)
%%
Lullaby: the boats are in
The boats are in, the ropes are tied,
The sea rolls over on its side.
The nets are hung, the fish are sold,
Come in, little one, out of the cold.

Up and down the water goes,
Up and down, and then it slows.

The fish are asleep at the bottom of the sea,
The squid are asleep, and so you should be.
Down at the shipyard the hammers are still,
And the new boat sleeps at the foot of the hill.

Up and down the water goes,
Up and down, and then it slows.

(A Saltreach lullaby. You rock the cradle slowly, the way a boat rocks in the harbor.)
%%
Lullaby: the windmill
Round goes the windmill, round goes the wind,
Round goes the night till the morning comes in.
Creak goes the sail and creak goes the beam,
Creak goes the cradle, and off to a dream.

The wheat is asleep in the big brown sack,
The cat is asleep on the top of the stack,
The hens are asleep in the coop, all ten,
And tomorrow they'll wake and be noisy again.

Round goes the windmill, round goes the wind,
Round goes the night till the morning comes in.

(Sung on Kettle Ridge, where the windmills creak all night. They say a Kettle Ridge baby will not sleep anywhere quiet.)
%%
Lullaby: under the hill
Hush now, hush now, the lamp is low,
Your mother is down where the miners go.
She cuts the copper, she cuts the coal,
With her crew of twelve in the deep dark hole.

Sleep in the house on the side of the hill.
The hill is deep, and the hill is still.

She will be home by the time you wake,
With a shining stone for you to take,
A bit of amethyst, purple and bright,
To keep on the shelf by your bed at night.

Sleep in the house on the side of the hill.
The hill is deep, and the hill is still.

And if you wake in the dark and cry,
The cat will come, and so will I.

Sleep in the house on the side of the hill.
The hill is deep, and the hill is still.

(A Copperhold lullaby. Every child there has a little shelf of stones from the Deep Works.)
%%
Lament: old Patch
Patch, old Patch, with the white round his eye,
Went after a fox when the moon was high.
We called at the gate and we called through the chill,
We called in the morning. We call for him still.

Leave the gate open a little way,
Leave the bowl full, in case he should stray
Home on a night when the fire is low.
Patch, old Patch, where did you go?

Maybe he lives by the Long Road now,
With an innkeeper's children and a brown cow.
They throw him sticks and he brings them back,
He sleeps by their fire on an old grain sack.

Leave the gate open a little way,
Leave the bowl full, in case he should stray
Home on a night when the fire is low.
Patch, old Patch, where did you go?

If you walk the Long Road, as travelers do,
And a dog with a white patch walks with you,
Give him some bread, and scratch his ear,
And tell him: Patch, we are all well here.

(Written down for the archive by Bel of Three Wells. She says Patch was her grandmother's dog at Lowmarsh, and that this is a true song.)
%%
Counting rhyme: ten red apples
Ten red apples on the Ambrook tree,
One for the horse, and nine for me.
Nine red apples, shiny and fine,
One for the pig, and eight are mine.
Eight red apples, round and even,
One for Pell, and that leaves seven.
Seven red apples, one fell, plop!
Into the mill pond. Six on top.
Six red apples, one for the cook,
Five are left, so come and look.
Five red apples, one for Gran,
Four are left in the apple pan.
Four red apples, one for the fox,
Three are left in the apple box.
Three red apples, one for my friend,
Two are left, but that's not the end.
Two red apples, one for you,
One is left, and the day is through.
One red apple, what shall I do?
Cut it in half and share it with you.
No red apples on the Ambrook tree.
Wait for next year, and then we'll see.

(A counting rhyme from Ambrook. Little ones hold up ten fingers and put one down at every apple.)
%%
Rhymes: choosing who is it
Copper, iron, coal and clay,
Who will be the zombie today?
Gold and redstone, lapis blue,
The zombie, the zombie, the zombie is you!

Wheat and beetroot, carrot, potato,
Pumpkin, melon, out you go!

Vell and Kettle Ridge, Lowmarsh, Saltreach by the sea,
Copperhold, Northpoint, Three Wells, Ambrook tree,
Eight towns on the Long Road, round and round,
You are the one the road has found!

These choose who is it in Zombies and Torches. The one who is it is the zombie. The zombie walks slowly with both arms out and groans. Everyone else runs. If you touch a torch post, you are safe while you count to five. If the zombie catches you, you are a zombie too. The last one caught is the winner and says the rhyme next time.

(Zombies are not allowed to run. Every small zombie runs anyway.)
%%
Skipping rhymes: the school yard
Keeper, keeper, up on the tower,
How many lamps can you light in an hour?
One, two, three, four, five, six...

Down in the Deep Works, dark and cold,
How many carts of copper and gold?
Ten, twenty, thirty, forty...

Mud in Lowmarsh, mud in my shoe,
How many frogs are looking at you?
One frog, two frogs, three frogs, four...

(Skipping rhymes from the school yard at Three Wells. You skip and count until you trip. Bel holds the record for the tower rhyme: one hundred and twelve lamps.)
%%
Clapping rhyme: Mayor Dace's rules
Mayor Dace made a rule:
No running at the market and no frogs at school,
No pigs on the notice board, no cats in the wells,
And nobody, nobody rings the fair bells!

Who rang the bells?
Who rang the bells?
Who rang the bells at the fair last year?
Mayor Dace! Mayor Dace!
He rang them, and he stood right here!

Mayor Dace made a rule:
No goats in the hall and no hats in school,
No apples thrown at the market stall,
And nobody, nobody writes on the wall!

Who wrote on the wall?
Who wrote on the wall?
Who wrote "Dace has a hat that is far too tall"?
Not me! Not me!
Not anybody at all!

(A clapping rhyme from Three Wells. Partners clap hands on every "rule". Mayor Dace says he has heard it, and that the part about the bells is not true. Everyone was there. It is true.)
%%
Tongue twisters: the school
Say each one three times, fast.

Pell packs plump pumpkins past the pond.
Clank carries copper, coal and clay to Copperhold.
Frogs flop off foggy Lowmarsh logs.
Six slow sheep slip down the steep slope.
Busy bees buzz by the big brown barrel.
Lantern lit the late lamps, and the late lamps lit Lantern.
Deep stone, cheap stone, steep stone, sleep, stone.
Wren weeds the reeds, and the reeds need Wren.
A big black bucket of baked beetroot.

(From the school at Three Wells. Say the Lantern one three times with no slip, and Sorrel the teacher gives you a honey sweet. Nobody has had one yet.)
%%
Rhyme: Wren's remedies
A cut: wash it clean and wrap it tight,
And look at it again by morning light.
A burn: cold water, long and cool,
And never put fat on. That's the rule.
A bee sting: scrape it, do not squeeze,
And say you are sorry to the bees.
A cave spider's bite, from down below:
A cup of milk, and take it slow.
A sore throat: honey in something warm,
And stay inside, out of the storm.
A sprain: sit down and put it high,
And rest three days and let them go by.
A fever: water, rest in bed,
And a cool wet cloth upon the head.
A sad heart: a friend, a walk, a song.
And if you do not know what's wrong,
Do not guess. Send for Wren,
And Moss will carry her bag again.

(Wren of Lowmarsh taught this rhyme to the children. She says a rhyme is not a healer. If you are worried, come and find her.)
%%
Riddles: the Three Wells school
I have four arms and no hands. I wave all day on Kettle Ridge. I grind the wheat, but I never eat the bread. What am I?
Answer: a windmill.

I have three round mouths and no teeth. Horses drink from me, and so do you. What am I?
Answer: the wells at Three Wells.

I wake up knowing nothing. I am wrong, and wrong, and wrong, and then one day I am right. What am I?
Answer: an apprentice.

I am a stone that tells you where you are, but I have never been anywhere. What am I?
Answer: a waymark.

I talk all night with light. I talk to my brother on the next hill, and I have never seen his face. What am I?
Answer: a relay tower.

Many make me, and nobody sees them do it. I am sticky and gold, and I live in a jar. What am I?
Answer: honey.

(Written down by Bel of Three Wells for the archive. She made up the one about the waymark herself.)
%%
Riddles: the Copperhold miners
I am black and I sleep in the stone. Wake me with a pick and I will keep you warm. What am I?
Answer: coal.

I am orange when I am young and green when I am old. What am I?
Answer: copper.

I glow red when you touch me, and go dark again when you leave. What am I?
Answer: redstone.

I am purple, and I ring like a bell when you walk on me. What am I?
Answer: amethyst.

I am green and quiet. I say only one word, and the word is "sss". After that there is a hole. What am I?
Answer: a creeper.

I go down empty and come up full, all day long, and I never get tired. What am I?
Answer: Clank. (Some say the ore cart. Clank does not argue.)

(Hesk says miners' riddles are easy, because everything in the Deep Works is either stone or trouble.)
%%
Riddles: the Halfway Inn
I am heavy on the way to market and light on the way home. The purse is the other way round. What am I?
Answer: a merchant's cart.

I come to every supper at the inn and I never pay. What am I?
Answer: the inn cat.

What can you carry the whole length of the Long Road, and it weighs nothing at all?
Answer: a song. (Pell says news. Hobb the innkeeper says an empty belly.)

What gets shorter every time you walk on it, until you are home?
Answer: the road home.

I am full at night and empty in the morning, and I am always glad to see you. What am I?
Answer: the inn.

(The Halfway Inn keeps a riddle board by the fire. Get one right and your soup is free. The cat riddle has cost the inn a lot of soup.)
%%
Proverbs: the field and the kitchen
Sayings from the farms, as the old folk say them.
A wet field is a slow field.
One seed is a hope. A row of seeds is a supper.
Feed the soil and the soil feeds you.
Mud on the boots means bread on the table.
Rain on the ridge is mud in the marsh.
A full barn sleeps easy.
The fox counts the hens before the farmer does.
Bees do not argue with the rain.
Ask the beetroot if it is ready. It will not tell you, so pull one up.
The farmer who sings gets the same wheat and a better day.
The bread that waits is the bread that is best.
%%
Proverbs: the tutors
Sayings of the tutors at Vell. Nessa wrote them out for the new tutors.
A mind is what it was taught.
Never send an untested mind to the fields.
Wrong today, less wrong tomorrow.
Show it once, then show it a hundred times.
A dull drill makes a sharp mind.
An apprentice knows what you showed it, not what you meant.
If it learned the wrong thing, look at what you taught it.
A mind that has only seen wheat thinks everything is wheat.
Easy ones first, hard ones after.
Test it before you trust it.
Do not shout at a crystal. It does not help.
The tutor learns too.
%%
Proverbs: the road and the sea
Sayings of travelers and fishers.
The road is long, but it goes home too.
Sooner or later, everyone waters at Three Wells.
A slow cart gets there. A broken cart does not.
Oil the wheel before the hill, not on it.
Pack bread for two days and walk for one.
Ask the way of two people, and believe the one with muddy boots.
Never argue with a waymark.
A good song makes a short road.
The sea gives fish and takes nets.
When the fog is in, the boats stay in.
Count the crew going out, and count them coming in.
The sea is wide, but the harbor knows your name.
%%
Sayings: the weather
Weather sayings from all along the Long Road.
Fog on the marsh, sun by noon.
When the bees go home early, rain is coming.
When the frogs are loud, the rain is close.
When the windmills spin fast, bring in the washing.
When the foxes come down from the hills, snow is coming.
Snow at Northpoint in Leaffall means a long winter.
Rain in Reaping, short bread in Deepsnow.
Thunder in Blossom, few apples in Apple.
When the cat sleeps with her back to the fire, frost is coming.
A clear night, a cold morning.
When the zombies burn at dawn, the day will be dry.
In the Deep Works there is no weather, and the miners like it that way.
%%
Primer: the letters
A is for apple. Apples grow at Ambrook.
B is for bee. The bee makes honey.
C is for copper. Copper turns green when it is old.
D is for deep stone. The miners cut it in the Deep Works.
E is for emerald. We pay with emeralds at the market.
F is for fox. At Northpoint the fox is white.
G is for glass. Glass is made from sand.
H is for honey. Honey is sweet.
I is for iron. Iron makes a good pick.
J is for jar. Put the honey in the jar.
K is for Kettle Ridge. The windmills turn on Kettle Ridge.
L is for lamp. The lamp is lit on the relay tower.
M is for melon. Melon is best on a hot day.
N is for Northpoint. Northpoint is cold.
O is for oak. Oak makes a good boat.
P is for pumpkin. The biggest pumpkin wins at the fair.
Q is for quiet. Be quiet in the Archive.
R is for relay. The relay carries the word.
S is for sheep. The sheep gives wool.
T is for torch. Keep the torches lit.
U is for under. The miners work under the hill.
V is for Vell. The Archive is at Vell.
W is for wheat. Wheat makes bread.
X is for the crossroads. At Three Wells two roads cross like an X.
Y is for yarn. Yarn is spun from wool.
Z is for zombie. Keep the torches lit!
%%
Primer: the numbers
One sun in the sky.
Two hands to work with.
Three wells at Three Wells.
Four arms on a windmill.
Five fingers on a hand.
Six legs on a bee.
Seven hens in the yard.
Eight legs on a spider.
Nine eggs in the basket.
Ten toes in your boots.
Count by tens: ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, one hundred. A hundred is ten tens.
One and one make two. Two and two make four. Four and four make eight. Eight and eight make sixteen.
The Archive at Vell has about forty-one thousand records. Oren says counting them took him two winters.
%%
Primer: the months
There are twelve months in the year, and each month has thirty days. The year begins with Thaw.
Thaw is the first month. The ice breaks on the mill pond.
Sowing is the second month. We plant the wheat and the beetroot.
Blossom is the third month. The apple trees are white and pink.
Swarm is the fourth month. The bees fly out to find new homes.
Longday is the fifth month. The sun goes down late.
Melon is the sixth month. We eat melon on the step.
Reaping is the seventh month. The wheat comes in.
Apple is the eighth month. The apples come in, and there is the fair at Three Wells.
Leaffall is the ninth month. The leaves come down.
Frost is the tenth month. There is ice on the trough in the morning.
Longnight is the eleventh month. The sun goes down early, and every house lights one more torch.
Deepsnow is the twelfth month. We stay in and tell stories. Then it is Thaw again.
Say them like this:
Thaw and Sowing, Blossom, Swarm,
Longday, Melon, long and warm,
Reaping, Apple, Leaffall brown,
Frost and Longnight, Deepsnow down.
%%
Primer: the seasons
There are four seasons, and each season has three months.
Spring is Thaw, Sowing and Blossom. The snow goes, the lambs are born, and Ambrook is white with blossom.
Summer is Swarm, Longday and Melon. The days are long, the bees are busy, and children swim in the mill pond.
Autumn is Reaping, Apple and Leaffall. The wheat comes in, then the apples and the pumpkins. There is the fair at Three Wells.
Winter is Frost, Longnight and Deepsnow. At Northpoint the sun hardly comes up. We mend things and tell stories by the fire.
In the Deep Works there are no seasons. The miners say: down here it is always cold, always night, and always time to work.
%%
Primer: the colors
Red is beetroot. Red is a poppy. Red is the redstone in the deep.
Orange is new copper. Orange is a pumpkin. Orange is a fox.
Yellow is honey. Yellow is wheat at reaping. Yellow is a dandelion.
Green is an emerald. Green is old copper. Green is a creeper, so walk away.
Blue is lapis. Blue is the sea on a good day.
Purple is amethyst.
Pink is apple blossom. Pink is a pig.
Brown is Lowmarsh mud. Brown is an oak door. Brown is a good loaf.
White is wool. White is snow. White is the fox at Northpoint.
Grey is deep stone. Grey is the sea on a bad day.
Black is coal. Black is the night. Keep the torches lit.
%%
Primer: the towns
The Long Road joins all our towns. Learn them.
Vell is a hill town. The Archive is dug into the hill.
Kettle Ridge is a windy ridge with wheat, beetroot and windmills.
Lowmarsh is in the marsh, with reeds, frogs and slow water. Wren the healer lives there.
Saltreach is on the sea. It has fishing boats and a shipyard.
Copperhold is over the Deep Works, the great mine.
Northpoint is far in the cold north. Its relay tower is the farthest north of all.
Ambrook has apples, bees and a mill pond.
Three Wells is at the crossroads. It has the market, the notice board and the school. Three Wells is our town.
Now say them all: Vell, Kettle Ridge, Lowmarsh, Saltreach, Copperhold, Northpoint, Ambrook, Three Wells. Eight towns and one road.
%%
Primer: after dark
Rules for the little class.
Come home before dark.
Keep the torches lit.
If you hear a groan, it is a zombie. Zombies are slow. Walk inside and shut the door.
If you hear bones rattle, it is a skeleton. Skeletons have bows. Stay behind a wall.
If you see red eyes on a wall, it is a spider. Spiders climb. Go inside.
If you hear a hiss, it is a creeper. Step back, far and fast.
Creepers do not like cats. Keep a cat.
Skeletons do not like dogs. Keep a dog too.
In the morning the sun burns the zombies and the skeletons. Creepers do not mind the sun, so look before you go out.
Never go into the dark alone. Take a friend and a torch.
%%
Primer: questions about apprentices
What is an apprentice?
A helper made of copper and iron.
What can it do?
It can walk, carry, dig and tend.
What does it know when it wakes?
Nothing at all.
How does it learn?
A tutor teaches it with drills: the same kind of example, again and again.
Is it right the first time?
No. At first it is wrong. Each time it is wrong, it changes a little, and slowly it gets better.
Where is its mind?
In a crystal. Small minds ride inside the apprentice. Big minds live in the relay houses.
What do we do before we give it work?
We test it. Never send an untested mind to the fields.
What orders does it know?
Farm, store, fetch, come, stay, build, haul and home.
Is an apprentice clever?
A mind is what it was taught.
How should we treat an apprentice?
Kindly, like everyone who works beside us.
%%
Spelling list: the first class
Spelling list for the first class at Three Wells school. Learn ten words. Write each word three times, then read the line.
cat: The cat is on the wall.
hen: The hen has an egg.
pig: The pig is in the mud.
cow: The cow gives milk.
bee: The bee is on the flower.
sun: The sun is hot.
mud: There is mud at Lowmarsh.
well: We get water from the well.
bread: Bread is made from wheat.
torch: Keep the torches lit.
The test is on market day. Neat hands, please.
%%
Spelling list: the second class
Spelling list for the second class at Three Wells school. These are hard. Learn all eleven.
apprentice: The apprentice carries the sack.
archive: The Archive at Vell keeps everything we write.
emerald: I paid one emerald for the honey.
windmill: The windmill on Kettle Ridge turns all day.
deepslate: Deepslate is deep stone.
amethyst: Amethyst rings like a bell.
relay: The relay carries the word from tower to tower.
waymark: The waymark tells you the way.
crossroads: Three Wells is at the crossroads.
lantern: The lantern hangs by the door.
beetroot: Beetroot soup is red.
Remember: apprentice has two p's. Beetroot has two e's and two o's. The Archive at Vell has a big A.
(Bel got ten out of eleven. She spelled apprentice with one p. She says the second p does nothing.)
%%
Primer: what the animals give
The cow gives milk.
The sheep gives wool.
The hen gives eggs.
The bee gives honey.
The horse pulls the cart.
The dog keeps the skeletons away.
The cat keeps the creepers away.
The frog gives a song at night.
The fish give us supper.
The fox gives nothing and takes the eggs.
The rabbit gives nothing and takes the carrots.
The pig gives a lot of mud.
What do we give them? Wheat and hay, carrots and apples, clean water, a warm barn and a dry bed. Take care of them, and they will take care of you.
%%
Primer: first reader
Here is a cat. The cat is on the wall.
Here is a dog. The dog is at the gate.
The dog sees the cat. The cat sees the dog.
The cat stays on the wall.
Here is a cart. The cart is full of wheat.
The horse pulls the cart to the mill.
Here is an apprentice. It carries a sack of flour.
The sack is big. The apprentice does not mind.
Here is the baker. The baker makes bread.
Here is the bread. The bread is hot.
Here is the night. The night is dark.
Here is a torch. The torch is lit.
Good night, cat. Good night, dog. Good night, horse.
Good night, apprentice. Good night, Three Wells.
