The oldest street in the Old Town of Horsmarlonerpool is called Pepperpot Street. It’s so old, that people have forgotten why it’s called Pepperpot Street. Some say that long, long ago, it’s where you could buy spices like pepper, and some say its because whenever you walk down it, you sneeze.
But even through Wilson and his sister Kennedy DID sneeze whenever they walked down the street, they were sure that it was because of the spices.
Every Sunday, the Horsmarlonerpool market is set up right along Pepperpot Street. It starts down near the Twisty Bridge, and runs all the way up to Castle Earnose. Down at the river end there are fruits and vegetables that the farmers bring in, and then you get to breads that the bakers make, and honey that that the beekeepers make, and then there’s lots and lots of plants that the gardeners bring in, and then - right the centre of the market, where it crosses Candlesmoke Lane - next to the statue of Kirkland Muffin - there’s a big area where you can sit and have breakfast and listen to music.
Wilson and Kennedy were just about old enough to go to the market by themselves, and their favourite thing to do was buy the things on Daddy’s list first - that was normally just some bread, some honey and some apples - and then sit in the food area and spend their pocket money on their own breakfast. Cinnamon buns covered in chocolate, or, if they’d saved up enough, rice pudding and marshmallow.
They need their energy, because now the fruit and the plants and the breakfast were out of the way, it was time to explore their favourite bit of the market - the stranger bit of the market.
You see up here was the quieter and windier part of the market, where orange and purple sheets hung across the narrow road, and monkeys ran around under the stalls picking up bits of breakfast that people had dropped, and sleeping donkeys rested or read the newspaper.
You could still buy spices up at this end of the market, and not just pepper. There was baskets of purple juniper berries, red saffron, dried lime leaves, truffle salt and fennel pollen.
It was a loud concert of smells. Blasts of this, blasts of that, wafts that were sweet, wafts that made your eyes run, aromas that make your nose tickle and stinks that made you screw up your eyes.
With every step, it got stranger, and stranger and stranger.
And today, there was a stall that neither Kennedy or Wilson had seen before. It had a crooked table, a candle that burned with a green flame, and a small collection of jewels. Under a very old purple awning was the owner, an man with a beard that reached down to his yellow shoes.
“Anything of interest to you?” asked the old man.
“Oh, nothing, thanks,” said Wilson. “We’ve got our bread and honey and apples, and that’s all that was on the list.”
“On the list?” said the old man from behind his beard. “You follow a list?”
“Well yes, of course!” said Kennedy.
“Why?”
Well Kennedy thought this was rather obvious and the man must be a bit silly, “well, so we don’t forget anything that Daddy wants.”
“But how can he know what he wants,” said the old man. “If he doesn’t come and look for himself?”
Wilson knew the answer to that. “Because he remembers,” he told the old man. “He always has the same things, and he remembers what they are, and writes them down on the list.”
“Oh I see!” said the old man. “I understand! He’s boring!”
Kennedy and Wilson looked at each other. “Boring! Our Daddy isn’t boring! He just likes the same foods.”
“Oh I see,” said the man, and opened a very old book, and began to read to himself.
Well Kennedy and Wilson were about to move on and explore further, but Kennedy didn’t like anyone making fun of her Daddy. She and Wilson loved their Daddy.
“He’s not boring,” she said. “That’s very rude. It’s okay to like bread and honey and apples, and he does lots of other interesting things. He builds his own boats and puts small engines in them and sails them on the lake. He lets us paint them.”
“And in winter,” said Wilson, “in the winter when there was a storm and a tree blew into the roof, he got up there and fixed it all by himself in the middle of a hurricane so we wouldn’t get a wet house.”
“He’s not boring, he’s very, very brave.”
The old man nodded slowly. “I see. It’s obvious that you love your Daddy very much. Would you give him a present for me?”
The old man produced a tiny packet of bright red herbs. “It’s saffron,” he said. “For his cooking. Perhaps he’ll like it?”
Kennedy looked at Wilson, and then at the old man. “I’m sorry, we can’t take it. We’re not allowed to take things from strangers. I’m sorry.”
“But it’s not for you. It’s for your Daddy.”
“Even so,” said Wilson. “Thank you for your generosity. But if you want to give that to our Daddy, I’ll ask him if he’ll come and see you. That’s what we’ve been taught. Good bye.”
Wilson and Kennedy nodded and turned. But as they were walking away, the old man said “Not even a treat for Daffles?”
The bother and sister stopped and looked at each other. How on EARTH could he know that their dog was called Daffles?
“How did you know that? How did you know the name of our dog?” demanded Kennedy.
The old man scratched his cheek and raised the brim of his old hat.
Wait a minute, thought Kennedy. I know those eyes…
She ran towards the old man. “Wait!” said Wilson and chased after her. She got to the old man first and lifted the old hat right off his head. And his hair wasn’t long and grey, underneath it was well cut and light brown.
“Daddy!” said Kennedy.
“Hello you two,” said Daddy.
Wilson couldn’t believe his eyes! “What ARE you doing here?”
“Well I just wanted to check that you two were behaving yourself, and sticking to the rules I taught you!” said Daddy. “Well done!”
“Sorry if we went up to the strange bit of the market after buying the bread and honey and apples,” said Kennedy.
“Oh, nonsense! Why do you think I knew where to find you?” said Daddy. “This is the best bit of the market. It’s my favourite!”
“But I thought you only liked bread and honey and apples?” said Wilson.
“Oh, for my lunch, yes,” said Daddy. “But only after a really good explore. Seeing new things is what makes life so exciting. Adventures are wonderful, and you should have as many as you can. Just always be safe, just like you’ve shown me you can be. Come on, let’s get some cinnamon buns from Candlesmoke Street. We’ll save the bread and honey for later.”
Wilson and Kennedy walked off, past the monkeys and under the orange and purple sheets, with their Daddy. He was certainly full of surprises, and never, ever boring.
