After a rainy morning in late March, Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) went for their daily inspection round of the damp witch’s forest. Along the way, they met with a group of squirrels, a group of starlings and a group of snails, after which they had a chat with Barney the barn owl. He remembered that centuries ago, there used to be special names for all specific groups of animals, but now all these names have been forgotten. Then Falke asked whether he was really sure that all these names had been lost for good. Barney gave it a deep thought, and then he said that ‘mayybee … maybe there is a chance that the owls of Snowdonia have preserved these ancient names’. And Barney proposed to fly to that place, which left the witches elated. Hekske uttered a size reduction spell and both (now pocket-sized) girls jumped on the back of Barney, who flew away in Western direction. After a long flight over the North Sea on the wings of the owl, a pod of porpoises showed them the way to the island of Albion. And on top of the white cliffs on the coast, the visitors were immediately spotted by a watch of nightingales, who showed them the way to Snowdonia. On the edge of the forest, a murmuration of starlings took over and guided their guests to the hollow willow tree. Barney, Hekske and Falke entered the tree through a small hole, but after entering they found themselves in the middle of a vast chamber which was full with owls. This was obviously the parliament of owls and its eldest member (a venerable eagle-owl) welcomed their visitors, and enquired what was the purpose of their quest. Hekske explained that they were seeking the names of all specific groups of animals. Upon hearing this request, the eyes of the eagle-owl lit up and he started to smile. He showed his visitors the way to a secret library, where they found a very old and dusty book. The eagle-owl explained that this was the original book of St-Albans, written in the 15th century and one of the oldest printed books of Albion (and the oldest English book written by a woman). Hekske and Falke cautiously opened the age-old book and browsed to the chapter about ‘The Companies of Beasties and Fowlies’. And there they found the list of all groups of animals … a gaggle of geese, a bike of bees, an unkindness of ravens, a murder of crows, a conspiracy of rooks, a skulk of foxes, a business of ferrets …
This book was a real treasure which left the witches breathless. The rest of the day, Hekske, Falke and Barney memorized over 100 different group names, after which they said goodbye to the parliament of owls and flew back to their home forest in Flanders. And after a long flight they got a warm welcome by a group of coots … and now they could reveal that they were actually a ‘covert’ of coots …


Connect with artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/eve1-lyn

Mastered by Isaque Solaris
https://soundcloud.com/isaque-solaris

Photo credits : Chase D’animulls

And if you want to find out more about the book of St-Albans :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5rcbUqiZKI&t=616s

Witchtape #145 | Guest Witch : Eve Lyn

Witches are the guardians of the forests.  We're not evil or dark, just a bit shy.  And even surprisingly sweet and kind... as long as you respect the forest.

Art project of Hekske ('Little Witch' in my native Flemish language).
Founded on the 22nd of January 2017

Avatar and wallpaper by Ironika (Irina Alexandrovna)

Witchtape #145 | Guest Witch : Eve Lyn

Hekske ❋ The Magic Witchtapes