Imagine my fright when one morning, on the first day of term, I walked into my empty classroom before the kids arrived at school and found a single long black feather on my desk.
“Where had it come from?” I thought. “Why would someone leave such a sinister talisman for me to find?”
Hurriedly stuffing the creepy feather into the wheelie bin outside, I pushed the whirlpool of disturbing thoughts from my head.
The next day, when I discovered ANOTHER long black feather on my desk my heart skipped a beat.
The following day there was another and the next ANOTHER!
By this time Pinky was dribbling in morbid fear.
Someone had to be doing this deliberately. Someone was intentionally trying to rattle me and it was working! I racked my juddering brain… silently screaming…who? Who?
“Did anyone leave this feather on my desk?” I asked the class in a quavering voice. No one owned up. And anyway… a bunch of nine year olds would hardly be aware of the long-established significance of leaving a black feather for someone to find would they?
Come to think of it… what was the significance? Maybe it meant good luck?
I Googled it.
“What does it mean if you find a black feather on your doorstep?” was the closest search term I was able to discover. Terrified at the possible response I hesitated.
What if it said I was going to perish in a violent accident… or a gypsy had cursed me… or something even worse???
“It means a black bird dropped a feather outside your house.” Was the rational answer supplied by Yahoo Answers.
Phew! I thought. But then, my friend, I made my biggest mistake.
I scrolled down... and found this!
About 300 years ago, people believed that black crows were the sign of death, and that witches could transform into black crows to hide in places and easily curse people!
Bleeeeeaaghhhhhh!!!!!! Mummeeeeeeeee!Much to my immense relief it was eventually revealed the feathers were from a play costume we’d used the previous term.
“It means a black bird dropped a feather outside your house.” Was the rational answer supplied by Yahoo Answers.
Phew! I thought. But then, my friend, I made my biggest mistake.
I scrolled down... and found this!
About 300 years ago, people believed that black crows were the sign of death, and that witches could transform into black crows to hide in places and easily curse people!
Bleeeeeaaghhhhhh!!!!!! Mummeeeeeeeee!Much to my immense relief it was eventually revealed the feathers were from a play costume we’d used the previous term.
Betty, the scrupulous cleaner, who'd been finding them buried under things in the classroom had been innocently placing the menacing quills on my desk.
I admit... that was a good outcome... but I still hate crows.
