Skibbereen
February 1847
DAN WAS FROZEN TO THE BONE. THERE HAD BEEN A FEW MORE SNOW flurries during the day and he had got damp doing his rounds. Returning home, he was glad of the warmth of the fire and the plate of comforting beef stew with dumplings. Henrietta, with her hair softly curled and pinned up, looked more beautiful than ever as she served him some tea.
‘Dada, we have a big surprise for you!’ announced Fanny once he had eaten.
Young Daniel grinned. ‘We made it all ourselves.’
Henrietta smiled but would give him no clue as to what they were up to.
To tell the truth, Dan was exhausted. After an awful day he would have liked nothing better than to stretch and relax in the armchair undisturbed, but he could see from his young son’s eyes that he was bursting with excitement.
‘Very well, what is it?’ he asked, curious.
‘You have to come upstairs to see it,’ coaxed Ellen, pulling him by the hand. ‘We have been working on it all day.’
‘For days,’ Daniel added.
‘It was a secret,’ whispered Harriet as Dan followed them upstairs as they trooped to the nursery.
Henrietta said nothing as she bounced Margaret up and down on her hip.
‘You and Mama are to sit in those two chairs where you can watch the show.’
He laughed. ‘What is it?’
‘You are invited to the amazing, daring and delightful Donovan Puppet Show,’ declared Ellen, pulling back a sheet to reveal a large, home-made puppet theatre.
‘Henry and Jerrie made most of it,’ said Ellen, beaming at her older brothers.
‘And we all made the puppets and painted them,’ added Harriet proudly. ‘The show will start in two minutes, Father, so do please sit down.’
‘They have been working on it these past few days,’ whispered Henrietta.
Her eyes shone as the young puppeteers disappeared behind the tall, red-and-yellow striped box. The curtains were pulled back to reveal the painted cardboard figures of Cinderella and her two ugly sisters. Ellen did the voice of Cinderella, and Fanny and Harriet used thin sticks to move the ugly sisters.
It was a wondrous show and even young Daniel managed to operate and move a few figures … A dog, a cat, and a jiggling glass slipper.
Entranced, Dan watched and listened to the children having fun as the snow fell outside. He, Henrietta and Margaret gave a huge round of applause as Cinderella and her prince took a final bow.
A few minutes later, Dan was roped in with Jerrie to help tell a variation of the story. This time the dog took to barking at the ugly sisters, and was the one who found Cinderella’s lost slipper. It was a long time since Dan had laughed quite so much or had such fun, and he chased the children to bed with the promise of a story.
‘Only a happy one, Dada,’ reminded Fanny as he tucked her into bed.
‘Once upon a time …’ Dan began.