Set Me As A Seal

About the Book

Raised by her father, Esther grew up at his side, helping to harvest the wild herbs, roots and flowers that he used in his work as an apothecary.  As the years pass, Esther has become a Master Apothecary in her own right.  After a brief illness, her father has died, leaving her a cabin, a loveable though obstinate donkey and his apothecary business.

Her aunt’s name is Deborah, which means “A Bee”.  Deborah is well named, and she lives up to the business end of her namesake with skillfully aimed barbs and criticism to those around her.  Since Esther can no longer take refuge behind her father, she finds that her aunt is a frequent caller, and she develops a hearty resentment of the woman.  In her exasperation, she misses an important fact.  Bees produce a wonderful thing: honey!

Her business keeps her occupied during the day, but in the evenings Esther is troubled by a sense of loneliness that she cannot assuage.  She begins to sit beneath a tree near her cabin in the evenings, and to sing a song that expresses all her lonely desire. Whenever she sings, she is annoyed at first to see a strange Shepherd appear, who leads his flock through the valley, passing near the hillock where she sits beneath the tree.  

The Shepherd appears to be kind and gentle toward his flock, but then Esther notices that he carries a heavy club, and that his hands are terribly scarred!  Suspicious, filled with aversion, she slips inside her cottage and closes the door behind her! It is enough that her feet are already scarred from the thorns and rocks in the wilderness where she must collect the herbage for her craft!  How would she ever explain wounds like these to Aunt Deborah, who believes that if only Esther could overcome her clumsiness, she could easily avoid injuring her feet in the first place?  Her criticism rings in Esther’s memory at the very thought.

“Honestly, Esther!” was her aunt’s constant complaint.  “How do you expect people to respect you as a perfumer if you can't keep your own skin in good condition?”

No, she will do well to avoid this Shepherd, who is so solitary and so scarred.

As the summer wears along, she becomes more comfortable with the Shepherd, and begins to understand that his scars are the result of the protection that he gives his flock.  His hands are no less powerful, however, and he rescues her from great danger more than once.  Captivated at last by love for him, she decides that she will follow him as he leads his sheep.  

Driven by drought, she purposes to follow him out of the valley and over the shoulder of a nearby mountain in search of herbs that have become withered and dry in her own area. Also upon the mountain trails are Esther’s dear friend, Abby; a company of other shepherds who are also leading their flocks to pasture on the green sides of the mountain, and a sinister thief.

What lessons await Esther on her journey, and how will she apply them when she returns at last to her valley?

About the Author

Joanna Horn resides in the Pacific Northwest, near Seattle. Joanna has over seven years of experience writing course material for a ministerial college. She has also written professional material within a corporate setting for five years, and has composed poetry most of her life. This is her first novel.