One Scene: The Dragon's Fire

 

Faerie House: Neighbours - Chapter 1

 

 Dog, Hedgehog and Rabbit worked and played through the early spring days. There were things to show Rabbit, like Tutankhamen, Nefertiti, the carved stick, and the painted stones. Rabbit had never seen shells or a sand dollar before. No one could explain how those got to the faerie house. Rabbit also loved to hear about the faerie house friends in Winnipeg. Life in a drawer had not offered Rabbit much in the way of diverse experiences and this was all beyond the wildest imaginings. 

As the days got warmer, first Frog, then the turtles, T1 and T2, came out of hibernation. If they were surprised to find a new friend in their company, they did not show it. There may have been an inquiring look that passed between T1 and Hedgehog; T1 was satisfied when Hedgehog smiled and nodded. 

Rabbit fit in easily to the pattern of living they all established, which is to say that Rabbit listened well, had some good ideas and best of all, had a great sense of humour. Rabbit told a hilarious story about Hedgehog coming out of hibernation humming polka tunes.    

When Frog saw Dog’s accordion, Frog, often thought of as a bit of a curmudgeon, commented with an expression of pleasure, “There will be lots of fun evenings around the fire this summer!” 

Frog’s first object was to assess the state of food stocks and to discuss menu ideas with T2. Both of them had been dreaming about recipes while they hibernated. Needless to say, the pantry was pretty bare and everyone was given an assignment of what they should fetch. 

 Dog was eager to get the garden under way and wanted to discuss priorities for the garden space. One day when all the friends were sitting in front of the faerie house, Dog had an opportunity to ask.

“Can we talk about what to plant in the garden this year?” 

“Definitely carrots,” said Hedgehog.

“I would really like some parsley,” said T2. “There are some Mediterranean dishes I would like to try. And also some cilantro if there is room.” 

“Have you seen the garden space?” asked Dog. “I am worried that it has been overtaken.”

 “Overtaken?” said Frog, “By whom?”

“Not by whom, exactly,” said Dog, “but, by what. There is quite a bit of vegetation growing under our tree now.”

Dog, T1 and Rabbit went down to the patio to have a look. It was somewhat overgrown too.

“The greenery is lovely. It does add so much to the yard,"  said T1, “but we should be able to see the garden from here.”

  T1 went to the garden space and realized it was a better place for hiding than for growing. Oh my. 

 “We’ll just have to find another place,” said T1, starting to lead the group through the green growth. 

 They came to a clear spot a little farther from the faerie house. 

“This looks good,” said Rabbit. 

“The soil looks healthy and there is lots of space,” said Dog. 

“I think we have our site,” said T1. “I feel quite satisfied with this." 

The three friends discussed some logistics on their way back up to the faerie house. As you can imagine, this hike was easier for Dog and Rabbit than for T1. 

 “The first thing we will need,"  said T1, “is a fence.”

“What are we keeping out?” asked Rabbit. “Surely not rabbits!” 

 “Oh, please don’t take offence,"  stammered T1. “It’s more about keeping organized. There will be a big opening so no creature will be kept out. Our garden feeds anyone who needs to stop there. I am pretty sure that I have just the thing that will work, if you can help me.” 

T1 looked through some boxes in storage until the right thing was found: some lace scavenged from who knows where. 

“Now we need some sticks,” said T1. “Where’s Dog?”

Dog is always the one to ask if sticks are needed. Hedgehog helped with sewing the lace around the sticks. It took a team effort to get the lace fence down to the new garden spot. 

 T1 had a pretty good idea of how things should go. Perhaps you remember T1’s leadership for the Eid celebration. Fence building was a bit like that. T1 had a very clear idea about what should go where. 

 With co-operation and energy, T1, Dog and Rabbit got the fence put up. 

“This will be great for protecting the new plants from wind,” said Dog, “I wondered why we needed it, but I can see now that it will be a good thing.” 

There had been many discussions about what would go into the garden this year. All the seeds had been acquired. The gardeners were ready to plant.  

 “I will get sticks to mark the rows, “ said Dog.

“Excellent,” said T1. “That will be very helpful because before things come up, it is hard to tell where the rows are.” 

Rabbit took this all in. Rabbit had never planted a garden before. 

 It didn’t take very long for the garden to be planted: carrots, squash, parsley, tomatoes, a few potatoes and beans. There wasn’t room for cilantro, although one of the friends may just have “forgotten” those seeds. You either love cilantro or…..you don’t. 

 T1 went to get the sprinkler and hose.

Rabbit continued to find the whole process fascinating.

“I have only ever eaten carrots, never grown them,” said Rabbit. “I am surprised by how small the seeds are!” 

 Even the sprinkler was a wonder. T1, Dog and Rabbit stood back to watch the garden be watered.

 About a week later they could start to see sprouts. It is hard to say who was more excited, Rabbit for the newness of the experience, or T1 who was pleased with the sprouts and also quietly hoped for some weeds. T1 very much looked forward to munching on them.   

Faerie House: Neighbours - Chapter 2

Even though the garden was planted, the spring weather was challenging.  There was lots of wind (good thing about the garden fence). There were downpours of rain (at one point there was a pond in the garden) and it just did not warm up. That is life at 53.5 degrees latitude. Even so, the friends were busy with activities indoors and out. 

Dog and Rabbit had the biggest range. One day on an explore, Dog found what would best be called a cave. Dog was sure it had not been there last year. You will remember that earlier in spring, Dog found a hole in the faerie house yard. A timid Rabbit came out of that hole.  This cave was a completely different sort of thing. It was much bigger than a hole an animal can dig. There was a big opening with plants growing over and around it. 

 Dog sniffed carefully, sat very still and looked around, then hightailed it back to the faerie house.

 “OH MY, OH MY,” Dog panted, swinging open the door, “Is everyone here?” 

A quick look around revealed only Frog and T2.

“Rabbit is out getting some groceries; Hedgehog and T1 are looking at the garden,” said Frog. “What’s up?”

“There is something very strange happening at the bottom of the yard - I FOUND A CAVE!” exclaimed Dog. 

Meanwhile, down in the garden, T1 and Hedgehog were satisfied with how things were growing.  T1 ate a few weeds. All the vegetables were up, growing as well as they could with the cool conditions. If the plants weren’t big, they were at least hardy. 

 Hedgehog had gone out of the garden area and came upon something surprising. Hedgehog saw some pink scat. Poop, that is. 

“How peculiar!” mumbled Hedgehog, and then louder, “T1, come have a look at  this.”

  T1 ambled over, insofar as a turtle ambles. When T1 saw the scat, T1 said, “This is what my shell is for,” and shrank inside it. 

“Oh T1,” said Hedgehog, “That won’t help. Let’s go tell the others.” 

  Trying to remain calm, the two friends made their way back to the faerie house as fast as they could move.

Frog and T2 had continued cooking. Dog had gone out to meet Rabbit and they were back at the faerie house by the time Hedgehog and T1 arrived. Then there was a moment of near pandemonium. 

“THERE’S A CAVE!” shouted Dog.

“We found pink scat!” Hedgehog and T1 said as loud as they could (their shouting is not very loud).

“Hold on here!” said Frog with a sense of authority. “One at a time please. Dog, you start.”

Dog told about finding the cave, how big the opening was, and also how pretty it was. 

Hedgehog and T1 told about finding the big pink scat. 

 Looking a bit worried, Frog said, “This all sounds serious, but we should not lose our heads. We live in a place that has always been safe and friendly for us.” Frog paused to think, then said, “First we will have some refreshments. The cookies are just out of the oven.” 

 T2 passed the cookies around. Eating gave everyone something to do while they calmed their nerves and thought about what to do. 

Dog spoke up, “I have a book about scat and a magnifying glass. Perhaps I could go and have a look at the scat and see if I can identify the species who could have made it.”

“That’s a good idea, Dog,” said Frog, “But I don’t want you to go alone. Perhaps Rabbit could go with you. If need be, you are both fast on your feet. Are you up for that Rabbit?” 

“Yes, I am,” said Rabbit, with a voice that did not sound full of confidence. 

“You will find it just a little bit beyond the garden,”  said T1, who was still tired from the hurried hike up to the faerie house.

 Dog and Rabbit headed out. The others huddled together and discussed again what had been seen. They tried to come up with pleasant hypotheses. 

 

  Dog and Rabbit found the scat quickly. Dog and Rabbit both have sensitive noses and, if anything, the scat smelled quite sweet. 

 

 Dog looked at it through the magnifying glass.

“I think I see ant legs,” said Dog. “I know I am to honour all living things, but  I cannot feel bad to have fewer ants in my proximity.” 

“I think it smells like flowers,” said Rabbit. 

 After making careful observations, they went back to the faerie house. Dog got out the Scat Book, and found the right page. 

“Well, well, well,” said Dog.

“What? What? What?” said all the others at once.

“Dragon,” said Dog. 

“DRAGON?” said all the others, with a hysterical tone.

Frog, once again took the lead and calmly said, “Tell us more. There are many kinds of dragons.”

“OK. It says that this dragon lives in gardens and eats ants and flowers. Rabbit was right about the flowers, and I have to say, that diet is quite a relief to me!”

All the friends felt the same.  

“Is there more?” asked T1.

 

“These dragons hide their caves with garden plants and go about peaceably.” 

 “Hallooo there! Would you be talking about me?” said a voice coming from what looked like a bergenia.  

 The bergenia leaf was pushed aside and a dragon appeared before the friends. 

“Well, I’ll be,”  said Frog. “If you are friendly, you are welcome here.”