Part Two: Meg and Henry

"Wizards, wizards and mischievous elves. They're all part of this modern-day thinking, but I say to myself, 'Meg, I don't see none of 'em around here ready to sweep your floors or milk your cows'.

"I hear all this stuff and nonsense about potions and spells and magic to cure what ails ye, but I see none of it in my life.

"The chickens still walk all over the place and drop dead wherever they please. The pigs stay put because they can't get out of their pens, but I see no magic food for 'em.

"And the babies just keep on comin', too. If they're not cryin', they're eatin' or they're wantin' to eat. If they're not eatin', they're fightin' or startin' something to fight about. If they're not cryin' or eatin' or fightin', they got lice crawlin' all over their precious little heads. What's a poor woman to do?

"Henry's not here right now. Had to follow his dream, he said, and fight another war. He's so handsome in his armor. Even though he's already 28, he still looks good to me. Still had three or four good teeth when he left a couple of months ago. But it's probably just as well he's gone now, else I'd remember what's under that armor and there'd be another baby on the way.

"I'm hearin' all kinds of talk about another plague. What on Earth can I do if Henry's not here and the plague comes and we all die from it? I don't know if I can do all of it myself. The kids are too little and scrawny to be much help and I'm not the Meg of 14 who had the strength she was born with. Back then, little Meg could help build the house, take care of the animals, tend to the kids and still be fresh for a night of good lovin'. I can't be milkin' cows and churnin' butter and tendin' kids and sloppin' hogs and pluckin' chickens and diggin' graves at the same time anymore. I'm just too old for that much work these days.

"Maybe this war will be over soon and Henry can come home to help with some of these chores. Or maybe Merlin can cast one of his spells on this part of his beloved countryside.

Oh, just listen to me goin' on about all my hardships when I have no right. I have a dry dirt floor, sturdy stone walls and new thatch on the roof to protect me and my little ones. All this for us and my poor Henry out there fightin' this righteous religious war with his very life on the line every day.

"Still, sometimes I can't help wonderin' if God really put us here to keep nice dirt floors and fight religious wars . . .?"