Winning Goatherd Attacked by French Troops!

Maurice Bouchet, the French-born goatherd who won the recent Gruaerhimmel Fair "Best in Show" award for his prize goat Louise, has apparently been attacked at his small farm by a small party of French troops. Details are sketchy at this time, but it is believed that a group of 4 French musketeers attempted to kidnap Maurice as he was leading his herd to a nearby lake. An alert patrol of the Borderers is believed to have come to his aid, assisted apparently by a 70 year old woman who was gathering mushrooms nearby, and is reported to have downed one of the Musketeers with a blow to the head from her mushroom-filled bucket while he was engaged in an argument with Bouchet.

If details prove to be as initially reported, this would represent the second incursion of French troops into Hesse-Engelburg in recent months. Down at the SiebenZiegen in, speculation runs that perhaps the first party intercepted was after Herr Bouchet as well. Alte Ludwig, famed talebearer, disagrees, holding forth that the Frenchmen were in fact after some of Hesse-Engleburg's prize goats, in a move to counter the clear advantage these fine goats have given the principality in the production of cheese.