The Tale of Oliver T. Horsephat -- Part 6

And now part six...  Tune in Friday for the thrilling conclusion...

The Tale of Oliver T. Horsephat -- Part 6

Mrs. Olive Treehousen for the first time in recorded history had told a Horsephat about their personal life.   She had crossed a line drawn many years ago.   She let her emotions take over her whole mind, body, and soul.  Oliver sat listening, stunned by this display.   Never before had he heard such information from a Treehousen.

Upon completion of her prognosis and desire to meet a gentler end, Mrs. Olive Treehousen took the first step towards a solution.   She asked, politely, that Oliver T. Horsephat, a member of the rival family, to end the curse that plagued her family.  He sat stunned by her request.  The proverbial ball bounced into his court.  For the first time in his life, he actually pitied a Treehousen.   And furthermore, he felt a twinge on his heart strings.   And to make matters even more exciting, from somewhere in the cosmos, Oliver T. Horsephat's first thought was to break these damned curses.   To make amends.  To clean the slate and start over.   For one very long moment, he saw into his future.

The name Oliver T. Horsephat would be credited with the discontinuance of an age old family curse.  A curse of unknown origin...  That one singular fact jumped up and tap-danced its way across his mind.  What was the origin of the curses?   This could be the salvation of the rivals.  The Treehousens and Horsephats endured these curses so long that, even when he inquired of Mrs. Olive Treehousen, neither knew the origin of them. 

Together, they would have to search for the beginning.  Someone, sometime, somewhere doomed their future.   Whoever that was now became the hunted.   Olive and Oliver both felt the answer to the riddle would be their salvation, not just for them but also their present and future families.