Eat, Bray, Love, Episode 10

Piper still had his donkey head as we approached the Bridge of Stonebows, as the gaffers and gammers of Buckland call the Brandywine Bridge. Suddenly Piper stopped in his tracks, and began coughing as he had at breakfast on that fateful morning. Rusty looked at me questioningly, but I smiled and nodded; I'd seen this behavior before. Piper coughed and coughed, then began to wheeze. Finally, lo and behold, he changed. His ears shrank, his muzzle shrank, the coarse donkey hair disappeared. He was my Piper again!

"I would nae have believed it if I ain't seen it meself!" exclaimed Rusty.

I hugged and kissed Piper so hard that Rusty had to pull me away. "Let the poor lad breathe!" he said with a laugh.

Without a word Piper took me by the hand and led me to the middle of the bridge, then motioned for us to join him on the ledge. I'm not keen on heights but I joined him without hesitation. Piper gave me a look, winked, then reached into his pouch of coins and pulled out a silver penny. "For luck!" he said, then tossed it into the Brandywine. I don't know if I'd ever been happier except, perhaps, on our wedding day.

We stopped for a meal at the Golden Perch Inn. We ate fried trout and taters, washed down with a pint of Old Withywindle. Piper had two pints. He said he'd never tasted anything so good.

After a large Golden Perch breakfast the next morning we began our trip home. My Piper was back, and everything was right in the Shire.

-The End-