Dearest Diary

It's all O'Buttons fault, at least if you ask me!! He just had to be the one to carry the torch and of course Shamrocks and I let him. I mean he was the strongest one, but then of course he wanted to go first so the torch would be leading the way. Well, that was fine with us too, as we thought he knew where he was going. Typical man, wouldn't ask for directions so of course we ended up lost in the Irish countryside. Now this wouldn't have been so bad if had just admitted he was lost. I mean HOW big is Ireland? We couldn't be too lost, all we had to do was go in any direction and we would run into the ocean. It is an island after all.

Well lucky for us, there just happened to be a small pub where ever it was that we were. So we decided to go inside and cool off. It had been mighty hot riding around the countryside looking for Forty Shades Of Green. O'Buttons and I had a nice tankard of beer while Shamrocks looked at the menu. Finally deciding on some Irish stew, she ate and we drank. And then we drank some more. Pretty soon there was quite a crowd around us and most of the attention was centered on the torch that O'Buttons still had in his hand. To his credit, he hadn't put it down and since he held it in his left hand he hadn't put the beer down either. O'Buttons was in his element and to be sure, he could spin a fine tale. He told of the magical golden torch and that the leprechauns that had brought it down from the Gods on Mount Olympus, which was located over in far eastern Ireland. Everyone was listening as the tale got bigger and better. He told how we had been entrusted to get the torch to the Ireland racetrack because we had the fastest horses in all of Ireland, and that was the statement that did us in!

Lord Sharon, the horse that Shamrocks was riding, intrigued the locals. "Looks like he could be a fair runner", said one. That was all O' Buttons had to hear. I, mean this is Ireland - the land of emerald grasses, fast horses and tall tale spinners. So it wasn't long before he had us involved in a match race against one of the local lads and his dad's cart horse. The prize? The cart horse against - of all things - the torch!

As the lad went off to get his dad's cart horse, Shamrocks and I took O'Buttons into the corner and asked him just what kind of blarney this was? He looked sort of sheepish and told us it was all in good fun and that it was only a cart horse and we would win for sure. "And who is going to ride Lord Sharon," asked Shamrocks? "We do not have a jockey." "I will," said O'Buttons as he tottered (I think that’s what's known as the Irish Jig) towards the door. "Oh no", said Shamrocks, "he is my horse, I will ride." "But you don't like to go fast" said O'Buttons. "I will do what I have to do to save the torch," said Shamrocks, and out the door she went to get Lord Sharon ready.

"Now you've done it," I said. "If we lose, the whole world will be mad at us". "How can we lose - we have the magic torch," he said, as he slowly twirled around (more of the jig, I think) and as he twirled the torch came perilously close to setting the thatched roof on fire. Grabbing him by the arm I jigged him right out the door just in time to see the farmer's lad ride up on the cart horse.

With the locals standing around watching, we worked hard to keep our jaws from dropping. The cart horse looked suspiciously like Shergar. Did they ever find him? I think I know where he is - or was! At least long enough to leave some offspring behind. I looked at O'Buttons and asked what we were going to do now? If he was worried he never showed it. All he did was ask me to go get some carrots from our saddlebags. It’s a good thing Shamrocks feeds her horses lots of carrots. As we gathered close, to discuss riding options, he tied the carrots on to Shamrock's whip and told her she didn't have to hit Lord Sharon, just hold the whip in front of his nose so he could see them.

The rest is history. Lord Sharon ran the fastest race of his career and won by the length of a carrot, and the torch was safe for another day. We made O'Buttons buy a wagon and harness with the money he made betting and we continued down the road in a nice wagon filled with carrots, drawn by the new cart horse. The torch was put in a special holder so it would be safe, and wouldn't fall over - or go out. I drove the wagon as O'Buttons needed a nappy, and Shamrocks kept our horses close as she doled out the carrots one for ours and two for Lord Sharon as we made our way on towards The Ireland Racetrack.

Roys2