"Are you sure you want me to see them, McKinnon? Dreams are about as personal as you can get."
"There's no one else I'd trust them with. Besides, I know you'll be tactful. After all, you are a good witch, right?"
"Right. Okay, send them over and I'll do what I can. Some symbols are quite standard, but others will be unique to you. If you would break your dreams down into the major parts for me and indicate what the different things mean to you, it will make it easier to analyze them."
"Can you give me an example of what you mean?" McKinnon was all seriousness now.
"Okay. Suppose you dream of cows. Normally they represent self-indulgence, but since you work with them all the time, they could simply mean work to you. It's also quite important that you describe the setting, the people, colours, activities, whether you are observing or participating, how close you are to the action, the overall feeling the dream leaves you with, and any words, names or number that appear. Sort of like doing a homework assignment."
She threw another log on the fire and sat down again.
"Quite often the messages will be humorous. For example, if you were to dream of being given a new tooth brush with a small horse head on the bristle end, the message would be that you should beware of looking a gift horse in the mouth, probably in connection with dental care. Those are the kinds I like best, because I love puzzles."
McKinnon was laughing, amusement and scepticism both evident in his expression. "Do people really dream stuff like that, or are you putting me on?"
"They really do. I could even show it to you, because it's one of mine. Another time when I asked for a dream to explain a previous dream I couldn't figure out, I dreamed I was having my skull measured to see how thick it was. I woke up laughing and the rest of the dream gave me enough clues that I could figure out the first one."
"Would you show me some of your dreams? It sounds like a fair trade to me. Besides, if I read your dreams with your interpretations it will help me learn how to analyze mine.
"Maybe I will. I'd like to look them over before I give you any of them though. I have dreams going as far back as I can remember, but I didn't always write out interpretations. I usually read them over on Sundays from the past week to get some idea of where I'm going in my life, and if there's anything in particular I should or shouldn't be doing. I'll go through last week's dreams and put interpretations on them, then I'll send them to you. What's your mailing address?"