Dancing for Danger: A Meggy Tale

"Run, Dan, run! This may be the most important hide-and-seek game of our lives."

Danny tumbled. Meggy scooped him up and carried him to the tunnel-like entrance in the hawthorn hedge. She pulled her brother's back to her chest and told him to cover his face with his hands so the thorns wouldn't scratch him. As they trembled there, a rush of footsteps padded by. The sound was too soft for a soldier's boots. Meggy prayed that the owner of the footsteps would soon find a place to hide. She felt something warm on her hands. Blood was trickling down Danny's bare legs where the thorns had scratched them. Still, the hurt was smaller than what they would suffer if the soldiers caught them.

Meggy and Dan escape the notice of the soldiers "this time" but their hedge school is destroyed and they must find another secret place to learn. The English have outlawed the education of Irish Catholics and if they are caught learning, it would mean big trouble for both the children and their families. Meggy and her classmates find another place to learn, but if the soldiers find them again, they may not be so lucky. This is the first of a set of charming stories told with an Irish lilt, a hint of laughter, and sense of high adventure.

Margot Griffin is a Fitzhenry and Whiteside author.

Visual artist P. John Burden is a classically trained Canadian and British subject. Burden's work includes original acrylic paintings, watercolor paintings, and traditional and modern artist's prints. His art is symbolic or surrealist, using representational skills from a lifetime of drawing, painting, and design. John Burden also illustrates books for all ages and has work in collections worldwide.