A May Day I Will Always Remember - 2

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A May Day I Will Always Remember
Part 2

by Dru

Part 2 of 3

When I woke I found myself on the couch in Aunt Irma’s living room. It appeared to be late afternoon. My mom and Aunt Irma were sitting at the kitchen table with Anna. As I sat up Mom looked over and said, “Good afternoon sleepy head I thought you were going to sleep the day away.”

I rubbed some of the sleep from my eyes and mumbled something incoherent.

Anna came over to the couch and pulled me up. “Finally, you’re awake. My friends Helen and Ingrid want to meet you. We are supposed to go over to Helen’s house to meet them. It is time to leave.”

Aunt Irma admonished Anna to be patient. “Give your cousin time to wake up. It won’t kill you if you are a few minutes late. You’ll have plenty of time to do whatever it is you want to do. We are going to have dinner with Uncle Emil and Aunt Edna in town at the Jungfrau tonight so you can either come back here or meet us in town.”

Anna thought for a few seconds, “We’ll just meet you in town. We can walk there from Helen’s.”

I turned to Anna, “Give me a couple minutes. I want to go upstairs and wash my face. I’ll be right back down.”

My mom stopped me as I headed up the stairs. “Honey, do you mind if I come up and see your room?”

“Sure Mom, come on.”

I led the way upstairs and pointed Mom towards my room while I went into the bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face. I took a washcloth and wiped the back of my neck with the cold water to try and wake myself up. I washed my hands and then headed back to my room.

“Honey, would you put on a nicer outfit for tonight?” asked Mom.

Reluctantly I agreed and went through my closet to find something I could wear. As I was doing that I turned and asked Mom, “What was that all about today? I almost felt like I was involved in some ancient ritual or something.”

Mom sat there for a moment and started to say something, then paused and finally said, “As I told you it is part of the Walpurgisnacht and May Day Festival and as visitors we were included in the ceremony. Tradition dictates that eight past Queens of May shall select a child to participate in the Ceremony which begins the Festival. The ceremony only takes place every fourth year or leap year. Only the Queens of May who were crowned Queens during a leap year may participate in the Ceremony. No one else knows of the existence of the Grotto, the statute or the Kurhaus. The Ceremony is to take place ten days before Walpurgisnacht, or April 20th. The child who is chosen must either be a child or grandchild of a Queen of May or a Maypole Princess.”

I interrupted, “But Mom if you were there and you participated in the Ceremony that means you had to be a Queen of May. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes it is Honey.”

“Why didn’t you or Grandma say anything back in Wisconsin when we talked about all of this? Why didn’t you say anything about the Ceremony? You know all that stuff was pretty scary especially since I didn’t have any idea what was going on. Oh, and by the way, what was in those bottles that I drank? Is it a drug or some type of potion?”

“Slow down dear. First of all, Grandma and I didn’t know you were going to be chosen to be the participant in the Ceremony. That didn’t happen until last night. I did not expect you to be selected as the participant and I had no idea I would be selected to participate either. No one is allowed to discuss the Ceremony with the child ahead of time except for the type of conversation we had in the car. Part of the Ceremony is to see if the child selected can handle the stress and tension of the situation. You did and I am very proud of you for being so calm. The only thing in the bottles is water from the spring which flows from the cave at the May Pole site. So no, it is not a secret potion or anything.”

“Okay, I accept what you are telling me, but how did just plain water change the color of the statute and how did the stones change colors? And what is the deal with that really weird light show?”

“I don’t know. It is a Ceremony which has been passed down through the generations. It was discontinued for a period of time in the early 1800’s. I understand that it was started up again after the fire of 1829. Some of the Villager’s believed that since the May Pole had been stolen and the Church survived that the Village needed to make sure that the May Pole could not be stolen and the Ceremony and the Walpurgisnacht and May Day Festival was resurrected. Other than that I can’t tell you a lot. I do have to remind you, which is the reason I came up here, is that you cannot tell Anna or anyone else about the Ceremony. You can say we went to Heiligkreuz but nothing about the Ceremony. Okay?”

“I understand Mom.”

At that moment Anna yelled up the stairs for me to hurry up. I hugged Mom, grabbed a jacket, and we both went back downstairs. I said goodbye to Mom and Aunt Irma and left with Anna.

As we walked to Helen’s house which was also on Schulhausstrasse, we talked as best we could about our days. I asked Anna about school. She was glad she was done with school and was ready for a break. I told her we had gone to Heiligkreuz. She told me she was happy she was in school because she found everything about Heiligkreuz boring. I thought, ‘she doesn’t know Heiligkreuz like I do, or she would have a different opinion.’ I just agreed with her.

We arrived at Helen’s in about five to ten minutes. I was introduced to Helen and Ingrid. Helen’s mom, Mrs. Schmid was there and we said hello to her. Helen took the three of us up to her room so they could get to know me. She put some music on and we talked as much as we could. Helen’s and Ingrid’s English was about the same as Anna’s. Helen might have been a little better. However, between the four of us we made our selves understood pretty well. The three girls were a lot of fun. But, just like with Mom and Aunt Irma when they started talking fast all I could do was nod.

Helen and Ingrid were in the same grade as Anna. Helen had reddish brown hair which was tightly curled and appeared to be hard to control. She was fairly pretty with pale green eyes. She was about the same height as me which made her about 5’-5”. Ingrid had dark brown hair which hung straight down to her low back. Her eyes were a light blue almost gray in color. She had a long nose and strong cheekbones. She was really skinny and tall, about 5’-8”, but I thought she would grow up to be attractive.

We got caught up talking. Ingrid’s mom called for her to come home. Anna and I realized that it was time to go to the restaurant. Anna called her mom and asked if she and her dad could pick up the three of us, drop Ingrid off at home and then take us to the Jungfrau. She agreed and we waited for Uncle Henry and Aunt Irma to arrive.

It was a fun time with Uncle Emil, Aunt Edna and their sons. Unfortunately Chris was there but since I sat between Mom and Anna he couldn’t bother me too much. I found out that Uncle Emil and Aunt Edna lived south of town and owned a farm. They had a small heard of dairy cattle and Brad and Chris had helped with the milking. Uncle Emil had taken Dad and the boys around the area showing them different things. I really didn’t listen too closely as my mind was still going over all the things that had happened that day. Dinner lasted until almost 10:00 and we then went our separate ways.

I spent Saturday with Anna, Helen and Ingrid exploring Schá¼pfheim. At that time it had a population of around 2,500 people. As we would walk down the street or go into the various shops I was introduced to many people, mostly women. Several of the older women commented between themselves when I was introduced. I again couldn’t understand what was said. However, one time I heard one of the women say the name Helga. I asked Anna what she said. Anna told me that she thinks you look like your Grandma Helga did when she was your age. The lady looked at Anna and shook her head. We continued our exploration of the town.

On Sunday we went to church and then got together at Emil’s and Edna’s for Sunday dinner. I got to talk with Dad for the first time and we exchanged stories of our experiences. We talked about going fishing or hiking up one of the lower mountains. That sounded fun to me and I was looking forward to it. Anna and I took a walk after lunch up into the hills above the farm. It was very pretty and I found the rock formations amazing.

The next couple days were spent hanging out with Anna, Helen and Ingrid. Mom was with Aunt Irma and Andrea most of the time. I was really starting to enjoy my vacation.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

The problem started on the 25th of April. It had rained the night before and late in the morning Anna and I were walking over to Helen’s house. We were almost there when a truck came along and as I tried to get out of the way I slipped on the grass by the side of the road and fell down into the ditch which was filled with muddy water. Anna wasn’t any help as she stood on the edge of the road laughing. I finally picked myself up out of the cold water and climbed up out of the ditch. Anna couldn’t help herself and continued laughing. Soon I was also laughing. Since we were almost to Helen’s house we went on to her place instead of back to Anna’s house.

When Helen’s mom saw me she took me straight to the bathroom and told me to undress. I wasn’t going to undress with her in the room with me. She told me she would wait outside and would then give me some dry clothes to change into once I had washed the mud off me. I used the basin to wash my body and hair to get the dirt out. Then there was a knock on the door and Anna handed me some clothes. These weren’t jeans and a tee shirt like I had been wearing. Instead it was a skirt and a blouse. I tried to tell Anna that I was not wearing a dress, but she said in broken English that was all there was to wear until my clothes were cleaned. So reluctantly I pulled on the panties and a tee shirt that had narrow straps on the top. I learned later they call it a camisole. I put the blouse on. It was really girly. It was light purple and had embroidery on the cuffs and the collar. I pulled the skirt up and zipped up the zipper. It fit pretty well, but I didn’t like having my legs uncovered. The skirt went down to just past my knees. It was a medium blue and there was some type of pattern in dark blue around the bottom of the skirt. There was a pair of knee high white socks but I didn’t put them on.

When I came out of the bathroom Anna and Helen grabbed me by my arms and shoved me into Helen’s room. There they proceeded to braid my hair into a single braid at the back. They tied purple and blue ribbons at the top of the braid that hung down to just past my shoulders. Helen took the socks and put them on my feet followed by some black girly shoes. I protested, but Anna pointed out that it was all they had and we had to get to the Festival soon. As I stood up Helen took a white apron and tied it around my waist. I was stunned. I don’t wear dresses. We were interrupted by Helen’s mom calling us down to lunch.

We had a nice lunch with Helen’s mom. She and the girls were talking excitedly which meant that I couldn’t understand what they were saying. I think I was kind of in my own little world trying to figure out I had gotten into this mess and more importantly how I was going to get out of it. After lunch I was given a large kitchen apron to put over my clothes and I helped Anna’s mom clean up the lunch dishes. While I was doing this Anna and Helen disappeared. I didn’t realize they were gone until I heard them coming back down the wooden steps from upstairs.

As I turned around I was surprised to see them in outfits like I was wearing. Anna and Helen were dressed exactly like I was except their clothes were different colors. Anna wore a rust colored skirt with dark brown trim. Her blouse was a beige-gold color with dark brown embroidery. Helen was wearing a green skirt with yellow trim on the bottom with a yellow blouse with green embroidery. I noticed that the apron’s also had matching embroidery along the bottom edge. They pulled me over in front of a full length mirror. I think I almost fainted. Standing there were three young Swiss maidens. There was a knock on the front door and there stood Ingrid dressed identically but with a red skirt and pink blouse. I remembered the eight points of the pedestal and the eight lights in the cupola and recognized that together the four of us represented the eight colors of the May Pole Festival.

I was forced to walk with the three girls and Helen’s and Ingrid’s mothers into town and to the Town Park. I recognized some of my relatives and ladies to whom I had been introduced to over the past several days. It seemed that everyone knew that I was Grandma Helga’s grandchild and simply smiled or nodded at me.

I tried to stay behind Anna, Ingrid and Helen, but soon found myself along with over fifty girls on the stage in the park. I had no idea what was going on. It seemed like almost all the women in town were present. Many were dressed in traditional Swiss costumes. At the back of the crowd I saw my Mom, Aunt Edna, Aunt Irma and Andrea. I immediately stepped behind Ingrid who was taller than me because I didn’t want my mom to see me in a dress.

Then one of the older ladies stepped up onto the stage and started to line up all of the girls. I tried to move away, but Anna grabbed one of my arms and Helen grabbed the other and forced me to follow Ingrid to the end of the line. Something was said in German that I didn’t understand and the line started to move. The girl at the front of the line moved off the stage and wound through the crowd. We all followed her in a single line. As the line moved forward I notice that all of the girls, although wearing different styles of dresses, were dressed in the same color combinations as the four of us. After winding her way through the crowd, the girl leading the line climbed the stairs back onto the stage, walked to the back of the stage, turned and then walked to the front of the stage where she stopped and then moved off to one side. The next girl did the same thing but moved to the other side of the stage. This was repeated over and over again. When the line of girls almost filled the stage they took two steps backwards and then a new line formed in front. This continued until it was my turn. Ingrid walked forward and I tried to run away only to be pushed forward by Anna. I had no choice but to follow Ingrid and Helen then followed me. This left Anna to bring up the rear. It also meant that the four of us were in the middle of the stage right in front of our mothers. I looked down expecting to see a surprised look on my mother’s face, but she was smiling up and me with what looked like tears of happiness in her eyes.

When we were all standing in four lines on the stage one of the older girls came forward. She was dressed in a white dress with black embroidery down the sides of the sleeves and on the plackets on the front of her blouse. She wore a black apron with a white pattern along the bottom hem. She also wore a straw hat with a wide brim. There was a black and white band around the cap part of it with black and white ribbons trailing down the back of the hat. She walked up and down the lines and pulled 15 other girls and me from the lines and directed us to the front left corner of the stage. The rest of the girls formed into two lines at the back of the stage. There were eighteen girls in each line.

The sixteen of us were lined up and then separated into groups of four. Not surprisingly, after all that had happened, I was with Ingrid, Anna and Helen. The four of us were directed to move to the front of the stage. Then we moved to the left side and the other three groups followed us and the four groups stood slightly apart from one another. I still had no idea what was going on. I tried to ask Anna and she told me to be quiet. After a few moments, each group was told to take a step forward and as each group did so, the crowd applauded.

Then four older women emerged from the crowd. Each was dressed in traditional Swiss style. Each woman’s outfit was of a different color. One was blue and violet, one brown and orange, one yellow and green and the last pink and red. Each carried a multicolored staff and a straw hat with ribbons which matched the color of their outfits. The women came onto the stage and walked up and down the line in which we stood. They then circled the line four times and then stopped in front of our group. The woman whose outfit matched mine stopped in front of me, as did the other women in front of Anna, Helen and Ingrid. Each woman handed the staff she held to one of us. They then took the straw hats and instead of placing them on our heads dropped it over our heads and allowed it to hang down our backs with the cord at our neck. Each woman then leaned forward and kissed each of our cheeks. The other three women then kissed the foreheads of Anna, Helen and Ingrid. The lady in front of me tipped my head down and kissed the top of my head.

The crowd and all the other girls started to applaud. The three girls were all jumping up and down and hugging one another and me. I was stunned as I had no idea what had happened. When things calmed down the four older ladies moved the four of us to the center of stage and the remaining girls formed two circles around four of us. The inner circle moved in a clockwise direction and the outer circle moved in a counter-clockwise direction. The crowd and girls began to sing a song that I didn’t recognize but which was very pretty. When the song ended the crowd again applauded and then began to disburse. Many of girls came and hugged the four of us. Our mothers, aunts and relatives came forward and embraced all of us. When my mom hugged me I asked her what was going on and she told me we would talk later.

There was a small reception and everyone had punch and sweet pastries. After an hour or so the party broke up and Aunt Irma, Mom, Anna and I headed to my Aunt Irma’s house. I kept asking what had happened and Mom said she would explain it later. When we got to Aunt Irma’s Mom and I went out to a bench by the garden to talk.

I wanted to ask Mom what had happened, but she asked the first question. “What are you doing in a dress, you don’t wear dresses.”

“Mom, it wasn’t my idea, I tried to get out of the way of a truck and fell into a ditch. All my clothes were wet and muddy and I didn’t have anything to wear. Helen’s mom told me there was nothing else for me to wear. I thought I would wear it for a while and wait for my clothes to be cleaned and then I would come home. I didn’t know we were going to whatever it was that took place. What was that anyway?”

“That my child was the selection process for the May Pole Princesses. You and your three friends are now the May Pole Princesses for this year’s May Day Celebration.”

“But, Mom, I don’t want to be a May Pole Princess. I was just following my friends. I tried to find out what was going on but they wouldn’t tell me what was going on. I can’t do this.”

“Unfortunately, you really don’t have a choice. It is a great honor in this community to be selected to be a May Pole Princess. You cannot refuse to participate. Once it is over we will go home and you can get on with your life, but you will do it, am I clear?”

“Yes Mom, I understand what you are saying, but can’t I switch with someone, please?”

“Remember that we are guests in this community. Your Grandmother and Grandfather were raised here and many of these people are family. You have to do it for both the tradition and the family. I’ll help you make it through it and then we’ll go home. Okay?”

“But what about Dad, Brad and Chris, what are we going to tell them and what are they going to say. I know Chris is going to make my life miserable. How can I face them, I don’t want to wear a dress.”

“I will deal with your father and brothers. You will continue to stay with Aunt Irma and Anna until the May Pole Festival. I will work with you to get you ready for the Festival. It will all be over on May 2nd. That is only a week away. I know you can make it.”

“Okay, but you know I don’t like this.”

“I know, but we’ll get through it. I love you.”

“I love you too Mom”

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

The next two days were spent with Mom and Aunt Irma explaining to Anna, Helen, Ingrid, and me what was involved in the days leading up to the Festival and the Festival itself. I spent most of the time in dresses and they explained in further detail what would happen at the Festival and what we would have to do. This was the time when the four of us got our girl lessons. We were instructed as to how we were to walk, how to curtsey, how we were to act and what we were to say. Thursday and Friday were very long days.

Whenever the four of us went anywhere either alone or together we had to be dressed in “our colors” and had to have the hat around our neck and carry the staff. I didn’t see my Dad or brothers during this time. My mom would go back to Uncle Emil’s at night but I would stay with Anna.

The celebration really started on Saturday the 28th. There was to be a large banquet in the Town Hall followed by dancing and of course drinking. In the afternoon Anna and I were taken by our mothers into town and to the “das Friseurgeschá¤ft” or hairdressers. We met Helen, Ingrid and their mothers there. Much to my consternation my hair was going to be done. I tried convincing Mom that it wasn’t necessary.

“Mom, what are we doing here?”

“We have to get yours and the other girls’ hair done for the dinner tonight.”

“Can’t I just wear a ponytail like I normally do?”

“No you can’t, you have to follow custom. All four of you will have similar hairstyles. Now I don’t want to hear anymore complaining. Am I clear?”

“Yes Mom you are clear.”

So at the end of the afternoon I had a new hair style. It still came down to my shoulders but I now had bangs. I hate bangs. Mom thought it was cute. All I knew is that I now had bangs. My hair was in a single braid as it was on Wednesday, but there were blue and violet ribbons weaved into the braid and hung down to my butt. My fingernails and toenails were also painted lavender. Why did they have to paint my toes I always wear socks. No one was ever going to see my toes. I was just glad that my friends back in Wisconsin couldn’t see me. I would never live it down. Only a girly girl would do this.

I wore a dark purple skirt with a pattern of some type on the bottom 10 inches of the skirt in light purple. I wore a light blue long sleeved blouse with dark blue embroidery down the sleeves and on the collar. I wore a vest over the blouse. The front of the vest was dark blue and the back was light purple. There was light purple and blue embroidery on the front of the vest. I again wore thin knee high socks but these had a band of light purple around the top. I wore a traditional white silk apron which stopped just above the pattern on the bottom of my skirt. My straw hat hung down on my back with the ribbons intertwining with the ribbons in my hair. I carried my staff. Purple and blue ribbons had been added to the staff and hung down from the top of the staff. Of course the other three May Pole Princesses’ outfits were the same only in different colors.

That night the Town Hall was packed. The dinner in the Town Hall was for all the participants in the festival and their families, town dignitaries and past Queens. There were other celebrations going on around town and in the Town Park. The four of us had to be part of the procession going into the Town Hall. It started at the river and then wound through the Town Park and ended at the Town Hall. Last year’s Queen of May and her court led the way. They were followed by this year’s five prospective queens. The four of us followed them. As we entered the hall, we were greeted by the Mayor and eight of the past Queens. All of the announcements were in German and I just followed what my three friends did.

The Queen and her court were presented. Again the Queen was in black and white and wore her straw hat on her head. The four members of her court were in a two toned outfits similar to ours. They all wore blouse and skirts with a vest over the top. The embroidery on the vests was very intricate and unlike ours covered the entire vest. All four wore straw hats like the four of us had. They curtsied to the Mayor and the past Queens. And moved to the head table where the Queen sat in the center with two of her court to each side of her.

The five young women who had been selected to be the Queen and her Court this year were all dressed in White. The Queen for this year would be selected on Monday as part of the Walpurgisnacht celebration. Their outfits were just like ours except everything was white, except their shoes and vest which were black. They were each introduced to the gathering and then curtsied to the Mayor and Past Queens and took their seats at the head table to the left of the Queen.

The four of us were then introduced individually. Ingrid was introduced first. She curtsied to the Mayor and then turned and curtsied to the past Queens. Two of the past Queens were dressed similarly. One wore a red under dress and a black pinafore with pink embroidery. The other wore a black under dress with a pink pinafore with red embroidery. They stepped forward. Each curtsied to Ingrid and then one at a time embraced her in a hug, kissed her on each cheek and then kissed her forehead. They then stepped back and Ingrid rejoined the three of us. This was repeated with Helen, then Anna and finally me. However, at the end instead of kissing me on the forehead the Queens did as had been done at Wednesday’s selection ceremony and pulled my head down and kissed me on the top of my head.

We then went to a head table and sat to the right of the Queen and her court. The fourteen of us were served first and then the rest of the hall. There were probably fifty other tables in the hall and everyone sat down to eat and drink.

After dinner a dance was held in the Town Park which overflowed into the surrounding streets. There was a band on the stage. The Queen danced the first dance with the town Mayor. After that the band played waltzes and polkas and the townspeople danced. As the May Pole Princesses the four of us were expected to dance if asked. I had never danced a waltz before. I had played at dancing a polka at one of my cousin’s weddings in Wisconsin when I was ten, but otherwise I was clueless. Fortunately, some of the training Mom and Aunt Irma had given us the last two days included how to curtsey, kneel in a long dress and some dance lessons. I still felt like a fish out of water and very awkward but I don’t think I made a fool out of myself.

Of course, my cousin (second cousin or something) Alfred came up to me and asked me to dance. I had been told I could not refuse anyone a dance, so I accepted. I looked over at my mom and dad and they were smiling. However, my brother Chris had a look which told me he had me now. It wasn’t that Chris and I didn’t get along. We got along pretty good, but he was the middle child and lorded that over me whenever he could. He also claimed that I was Mom’s favorite and that I got away with things he never could. Now he thought he had me where he wanted me.

All I could do was smile and concentrate on my dancing. I found that I ended up dancing most of the dances with many young men, boys, my uncles, great uncles and even my dad. It ended up being a good night, but I was definitely out of my element and Chris was always at the edge of the dance floor or dancing with one of the other girls. I knew I was going hear about this big time when I got back home. No matter what Mom or Dad said I knew one way or another Chris was going to make my life miserable. Brothers, especially like Chris, I could do without.

The night came to an end and my dad walked over and hugged me good night. He suggested that I get some sleep since the next couple days would not give me a lot of opportunity to rest. I hugged him back and couldn’t hold it in any longer. I started to lose it. “Dad I don’t know if I can do it. You know this isn’t me. Why do I have to do it? There are lots of girls who want this. I don’t. Can’t you talk to Mom and stop this? Please Dad, do this for me.”

“If I could you know I would. But, this is a different culture and you have been chosen. If you hadn’t gone on the stage you wouldn’t be in this position. I’m not trying to be difficult, but you got yourself into this and you’re going to have to get yourself out of it. I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but you are very pretty.”

“Dad! I don’t want to be a pretty girl.”

“Hey, it looked like you enjoyed yourself tonight. Did you enjoy any of it?”

“I guess I did a little. But Chris keeps smirking at me and I know he can’t wait to drop me in it after this is over. I can hear him and all his friends at home making me the butt of their jokes. I don’t want that to happen.”

“Your mom and I will make sure that won’t happen. After this is over with you can go back to like you were and this will be a story the family can keep to itself. I will make sure of it. Just stick with it for another couple of days and it will be over. Try to have fun and enjoy it as much as you can.”

“I will Dad and thanks for listening.” He hugged me good night and I went home with Aunt Irma, Uncle Henri, and Anna. Aunt Irma drove as I think Uncle Henri had had a little too much beer or schnapps — maybe both.

I wasn’t able to sleep in the next morning as we had to go to church. There was a special church service to bless the Queen of May, her Court, the prospective Queens, and the May Pole Princesses or as some called us the Maids of the May Pole. The Minister had the four of us come to the front of the church and receive a special blessing. Of course this required another dress. Mine was of course violet and blue. It had a violet blouse under a sky blue pinafore dress. The pinafore had a square neckline that stopped just below the dark purple embroidery which covered the shoulders and upper chest of the blouse. There was also dark purple embroidery on the cuffs of the blouse. The pinafore flared out at the hips and went to just below my knees. I had to wear a small petticoat under the skirt and again the thin knee high socks, black shoes and white silk apron. The apron extended a couple inches below my skirt. The straw hat was hung on my back from my neck and I carried the staff. The three others were dressed the same, but in their colors.

Last year’s Queen was there with her court. She was surprisingly in black and white. Each of her court were in a two toned outfit similar to ours. The five young women who were the prospective Queens were all dressed in White. Their outfits were just like ours except again everything was white, except this time only their shoes were black.

The Queen and her court sat in chairs at the front of the church. The four of us sat in the first pew on the right side and the prospective Queens sat in the first pew on the left. Everything went okay except I saw my brother Chris smirking at me during the service. Apparently my dad saw it too and he said something to Chris. After that Chris looked straight ahead and didn’t look at me again. I found out later that Mom and Dad both told Chris and Brad that if they made fun of me they would find themselves in dresses. Oscar and Alfred kept looking at me but it was different. It was like they were checking me out. Oh yuck.

We were able to relax Sunday afternoon. Ingrid and Helen came over to Anna’s house and the four of us went for a walk up into the low hills. Of course we all were in skirts and blouses, had our hats hanging down our backs and carried our staffs. It was a peaceful afternoon and I found it very relaxing after the stress of the last couple days. I enjoyed seeing the spring flowers and the smell of the flowers and forest. It reminded me of when I went with Mom and Aunt Irma to Heiligreuz, but I didn’t mention anything to the other girls.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

To be Continued . . . .

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Comments

Thanks, Dru for your

Thanks, Dru for your explanation of the May Day celebration in Germany. My Father's family comes out of Bavarian Germany and I have seen old photos of my Great-GrandMother when she was a May Princess. Very cool and very pretty. J-Lynn

May Day Celebration

J-Lynn

As you will probably understand, I have taken great liberties with the May Pole celebration. I have tried to incorporate some truths, but most of it is fiction. But I am glad you enjoy it.

As always,

Dru

As always,

Dru

Magic is afoot

The truck incident was just tooo convenient so it is starting to look like there is actual working magic afoot, and not "mere" ritual. Or perhaps "destiny" at least. (Well, there's also the "magic" keyword in the story header :-) ). On the other hand, we don't know who drove the truck so we could retain an option for a non-miraculous explanation. Not that I'd care if there wasn't one :-)

Excellent writing, good foreshadowing and the right amount of clues. And I understand that this is Mother Dani telling her children after the fact, which is why we only get these occasional hints. The audience (her children, and, I hope, some of us) still have things to learn. A spellbinding yarn. The Swiss atmosphere and local color add a lot to the charm of the story.

- Moni

Story should have more categories

... for one. It will also fit into femdom, forced and stuck categories also.

I mean, really, why would you treat your guests that way - forcing a boy to dress in girl's clothing in public ? Forget about being afraid you would be rude to your hosts. The Germans had already violated the hospitality code, IMHO.

I am pretty sure I know what is coming for our protagonist and I do not know why he would be accepting of the outcome.

Kim

All will be revealed.

Enough said for now.

As always,

Dru

As always,

Dru

So Mom Did Go Through It...

That does change things a little, though I still think her role here is more "this is inevitable" than "let's force the issue".

I wonder how many generations did it before Helga. And it's starting to look as though Dani's son is fated to join the crowd in a few years. I'd have to look it up, but I don't think Dani is telling him this story -- just his older sisters. So it's likely that his sisters will know what he's in for, but he won't -- unlike Dani's brothers, who are totally in the dark here judging from Chris's reaction. (Or would the sisters tell him and give him the chance to run away? I guess I'm getting way ahead of myself.)

The big question now -- assuming everyone's right and the 13-year old Dani is male and will be changing into a fertile female as a consequence of the ceremony -- probably isn't how she'll like it; if both her mother and grandmother went through it and ended up delighted, there's probably something included that leaves the victim satisfied or even euphoric about it. I'm waiting to find out how the family and the folks in America who know Daniel handle it. Will their memories (and photos and personal documents) change? Personally, I'd rather they didn't, but...

Eric

Character Death

As some of you may remember from a few years ago (Santa's Dilemma), I think I will avoid issues about Character death, etc.

I may have to revise the final chapter - nah - well maybe - we'll see.

Thanks for commenting.

As always,

Dru

As always,

Dru

What I might not mind seeing ...

. is when he becomes a girl and they refuse to change her back, can't change her back or Mom gives some lame excuse, "Well grandmother and I were both boys and were happy to become women," or "Your were born a girl but magic was used to change you for your protection from a curse and now you are who you were supposed to be," or "it's your birthright," or "they misunderstood and changed you thinking you were TG but there is no way back," or even "I hated having all sons, I think you'll will make a great girl and it's for the best."

Whatever the reason, I would love it if he either fled right away or played along until she was 18 then packed a bag and left. She never contacts her family again, even takes out an injunction on them to never contact her for any reason. I hope, and the intro shows so, that she is happy in this life imposed on her but why should she thank those who “know-it-all” and decided it was better to carry out this grand deception? They couldn’t ask him/her?

I sincerely hope from hints in the intro that she is not perpetuating the same intrigue and deception on her son that her mom did to him/her. Or just maybe there is a kind and decent reason he has been made into a girl this strange and seemingly cruel way and we learn this was act of true love that the *victim* would have embraced openly if not for the terms of a curse or whatever which made that impossible. Maybe some of the ceremonies *tested* him/her and the magic determined she should be a woman? Maybe the transformed men make the best fertility priestesses, guardians of the village from danger, or healing arts sorceresses of all, even born women.

Charming story if a little far fetched regarding getting him in girl's clothing but then a lot of TG/magic/transformation stories have participants/conspirators excusing the bizarre circumstances that have the victim stuck in girls clothing as “it’s your fault,” or “we mustn’t upset the locals whom have taken us in to their hospitality,” and so on.

Very good, will you follow the path well trodden or create your own twist on the forced/tricked transformation thing? Like Randalynn and Karen_J I often have a hard time with forced or unsolicited transformations. It would seem logical that even if she comes to like it – I hope to god there is not mind tweaking/identity death in this transformation – the transformee should be angry with his/her transformers and at a minimum the bond of trust is broken and they drift apart. I just hate it when, out of left field, we learn that deep down inside the boy was TG and wanted to be a girl but that he/she had suppressed those thoughts since, say, stating school.

John in Wauwatosa

John in Wauwatosa

No, Dani Won't Flee...

Dani's telling the story years later and her daughters know their uncles (Dani's two brothers) and their grandmother (Dani's mother). So we know that this didn't break up the family, permanently at least.

Also, remember that Dani has been voluntarily doing things with her mother and grandmother rather than with her brothers. She told us that she used to help Helga with egg collecting on the farm while her brothers were doing more strenuous farm work, and on this trip, she'd followed her mother around rather than her father and brothers when they went for a trip around the lake -- though she'd have preferred to go with them, she didn't want to leave her mother alone. (And Dani's brothers have been shoving her around.) The net result is that both her mother and Grandma Helga see Dani in a feminine role that may be more coincidental than deliberate.

Eric

Tomboy?

This story is interesting in part because it is ambiguous. I’m posting this comment before reading the final part. On this site one might expect it to include a TG element. It may. But I hope the same ambiguity exists at the end of the next part

In any case, it has a fun read. Thanks for posting it.

DJ

May Day, May Day

This celebration is a call to alarm for one male participant.
What his brother might say, I suspect is the least of his problems

A good story, a different story, what does it have to hold?

JessieC

Jessica E. Connors

Jessica Connors