This book is a collection of events I saw or heard.

Actually, my wife forced me to write this book. I believed that folklore must be told over a bonfire in the dead of night, and never written. She, nonetheless, said that people will never know the truth if it stayed that way.

Word of mouth changes throughout generations, and one day, the truth will be hidden.

So, here I am.

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Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there was a little girl that lived by a farm, with her parents. There was a beautiful pond with crystal clear water which sparkled in the sun. It was right behind the horse pastures, and the little girl hung by there everyday. One day she saw a baby goose by the pond, scared and alone.

"Hi there, little fella!" She said, "My name is Cassie. What's yours?"

Squeek!

"Oh! Your name is Goose. That's a lovely name." She beamed at the cute animal and scooped it in her arms.

"You have an interesting way of speaking," she said.

The animal could not speak. Animals do not talk.

Cassie yapped on and on with the creature. With every squeak of the goose she laughed and laughed, as if the world's funniest joke was being told. The little goose understood nothing she said.

Cassie was five years old.

~~~

"Hey Goose! I saw this new dress the seamstress made and I just had to get us matching pairs," Cassie, now 16 years old, was a budding flower that all the young males in the town were enchanted with. However, there was one issue...

"Oh. My. Gramcrackers. You look gorgeous!" She squealed at the now adult goose donned in an expensive ball gown. The goose, clueless, shook the oversized clothing off and scampered off to its favourite corner in the bedroom.

"I get it, not your style. Don't worry, we'll find the perfect fit one day, I just know it."

Someone knocked on her door.

"Cominngg!" She ran to the door and swung it open. Her parents stood there, worriedly looking at her.

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"Ah...Cassie, the other girls in the village are having tea this evening by the river up North. Would you like to join them?" Her mother said, tentative.

"Goose is already taking me by the pond to swim. Sorry mom," Cassie said. Cassie's mother's eyes turned watery as she exploded in tears.

"Where did we go wrong, dear?" She said, mid-tears. Her husband sighed.

"Cassie," he said, "You will soon be an adult. You'll have to go out in the big, wide world, and even get a husband. Your mother and I are worried about your future given your....habits."

Cassie widened her eyes.

"Habits?"

~~~

"Oh Goose! You shouldn't have! This is the best birthday ever! I should know, I've had 49 birthdays already," Cassie chuckled at her own joke.

The goose dropped a random twig stuck on its wing by her feet. She leaned forward on her rocking chair and lovingly took up the stick then wrapped it in a napkin.

"I'll treasure it forever. I actually had this bonnet made for you, but I didn't know how to go about giving it. Now is as good as ever," Cassie wrapped a Victorian bonnet around the goose's head.

She stared at it in awe. "I think....we finally found your perfect fit."

Bang! Bang!

Cassie heard a violent knock coming from the front door. Slowly getting up, she walked past mounds of fabric and wooden mannequins towards the door.

"Oh, Mrs. Hawkins, you came early. Thank goodness I finished your dress on time," Cassie said.

"Good morning Ms. Dower, yes. I figured I would come here before I sent my children off to school," Mrs. Hawkins said.

Cassie handed Mrs. Hawkins her dress, neatly folded and wrapped with a cloth.

"Thank you so much Ms. Dower. I'll give you the full payment now. It would be an insult to your skills if I am to check if there are any issues. I dare say you are the best seamstress in the world."

"Thank you," Cassie beamed, her face blushing.

Mrs. Hawkins left, and Cassie turned towards the goose and smiled. "It's just you and me Goose. Who needs a husband and kids when I can have you? Did you see the bags under Mrs. Hawkin's eyes?" Cassie laughed, her voice filling the everpresent silence of her house.

~~~

Cassie coughed and wheezed, her shriveled hands grabbing the edge of her bedsheets. She laid there, unable to move. The goose was at the edge of the bed, sitting and picking its feathers.

"Goose," her voice was hoarse,"Thank you for staying by my side all my life. You're the bestest friend I could ever hope to have. Thank you..."

She stared at the ceiling of her room. Her cloudy eyes dimmed by the second.

"...Thank you."

On the seventy-fifth year, sixth month and fifth day since meeting the little duck by the pond, Cassie drew her last breath.

The goose stopped picking it's feathers. Awareness grew in its eyes. It looked around, as if seeing the world for the first time. It's body began to swell, and it exploded into a curtain of feathers.

As the curtain of feathers fell, it revealed a naked, fair young maiden that looked to be five years old. She had snow white hair and pitch black eyes. She looked around the room with wonder.

She eventually saw the elderly lady on the bed. Stepping towards her, her inexperienced body lost balance then fell flat on her face. She dragged her body onto the side of the bed, then gazed at the old lady.

Recognition bloomed in her expression and, slowly, tears flowed from her eyes as she stared, unmoving, at the dead body.

The maiden sat there for seventy five years, six months and five days. Dust coated everything, including the maiden and the now bones of Cassie.

She got up, slowly, and dressed herself in the last dress Cassie made for her.

It was a perfect fit.

To complete the outfit, she donned one of the bonnets Cassie made. The human-looking creature, with dainty yet firm steps, left the compound, and never looked back.

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