theo.tammes

THE SECOND STORY BOOK

SEVEN HEDGEHOGS IN AN ORANGETREE AND OTHER STORIES

THEO TAMMES

GLASGOW

1995

Written in Glasgow, Scotland, 1995

edited and revised in Howmore, Isle of South Uist, Scotland, 2003

With great tanks to Eilidh!

Drawings by Eilidh Benedetti, Glasgow, 1996

©Copyright drawings by Eilidh Benedetti

Published by Riverhouse Publishers

TAO TAMMES

Casa Azul

Porto do Paul

Pernes

2000-500

Portugal

CONTENTS

Chapter one The mice in the giant´s breast page 3

Chapter two The prince and the blind lion page

Chapter three The man who became pregnant page

Chapter four The yellow dog and the seventeen chimney sweeps page

Chapter five The car and the shoe page

Chapter six Seven hedgehogs in an orange tree page

Chapter seven The rollabouts page

Chapter eight The little girl and the umbrella page

Chapter nine The mouse and the balloon page

Chapter ten Hothorns page

Chapter eleven The chickens in the palm tree, part one page

Chapter twelve The chickens in the palm tree, part two page

THE MICE IN THE GIANTS BREAST

Once upon a time there was a giant. I don't know if you have any idea how big the giant was, but I can tell you, he could have looked straight into my window, without standing on his toes. And I live three floors up. So you see, yes, he was quite tall. As all giants did once upon a time, this one lived in Ireland. Now that is some country! It is green and soft, there is lots of rain and sunshine, the light is amazing, and then the people.

The people of Ireland are great. They are all singers and dancers, musicians, artists, poets and story tellers. They love life and each other, and they simply love to drink. Our giant felt very much at home there and he had a great time. As with all giants, this one had something special. He had an empty space in his breast. Oh yes, an empty space.

There was nothing wrong with him, mind you! He had a heart and lungs and ribs and all these things, but he had an empty space as well. As things go, empty spaces become occupied sooner or later. Actually it was a mouse that found it one day. You know of course that mice just love dry, warm and safe places. Well, this mouse was just looking for such a space when she came across the giant.

At that moment in time the giant was fast asleep in his bed, after a night out, and the mouse just walked in through his nose. Went all the way down and found this perfect, nice and dry and soft place for her fami1y. She was delighted. Out she went again and got all her children, and children's children that she could find nearby and told them. Happily they all moved into the giant's breast. Gosh, the good life they had in there. Never wet, never cold, no danger at all.

Soon enough they found out they should only come and go when the giant was asleep, otherwise their tiny feet tickled him and he would start sneezing and get hiccups. And the mice didn’t like that.

Of course you know why? Yes, then their whole place in the giant’s breast would shake so violently that it wasn’t fun at all, it was more like being in a small boat on a wild sea. So they learned their lesson and always kept their coming or going until the giant was asleep. And he slept a lot, with all his drinking and such.

One day, as it happened, the mice were all out at a party in a nearby castle, when a snake came by. It found the giant asleep and crept inside. Of course this snake found the nice warm and dry place in the giant’s breast, and was very pleased with it, She curled up and fell asleep. And oh, you should have seen the faces of our mice when they returned home and found a snake in their place! They rushed out again, because mice are very afraid of snakes. You know why of course? Yes snakes do eat mice. Well anyway, it was a big commotion. The mice gathered outside and had long discussions, sitting in a big circle as mice do when they have a meeting. They talked and talked, but couldn’t agree on what they were going to do.

Then this bird came, it was a raven. A blue raven at that, with purple spots and golden stripes on its wings. Oh yes, I know ravens tend to be black, but you know, this one was different. And the raven spoke to the mice and told them not to fear the snake, for it had only come to grow and shed its old skin. I’m not sure if you have ever seen anything the like, but it is quite a common thing amongst snakes.

The blue raven told our mice that the snake would just sleep until the right time came to shed it's skin, then it would wake up and disappear. And it wouldn’t harm any mice at all, because after shedding their skins, snakes are very dreamy and confused for a while.

So the mice went into the giants breast again, and lived as nicely as they could. Exactly as the blue raven had told them, the snake shed it’s skin one day and disappeared. Well, you can imagine the relief and happiness of our mice! They held a big party that night, with dance and music and lots to eat and drink. What a feast!

One day, a young mouse who had broken his tail, went more or less by accident to the old snake skin, and though he didn’t know why, crept inside and fell asleep. Oh yes, I would admit that was a strange thing to do. And you know what? Next morning this little mouse’s tail was perfectly normal and there was no trace anything had ever been wrong with it. From now on, whenever a mouse didn’t feel well, had an accident or injury, it went to sleep inside the snakeskin for a while. And when it came out, it was cured. It was a blessing for the mice. they became the strongest and healthiest mice in the world! Of course word spread around, and soon there were so many ill and injured mice waiting outside that they started to form a queue. And that was dangerous, for it raised the attention of their enemies.

As it happened, luckily enough, the blue raven came again soon afterwards, and spoke to the mice. Actually, it was such a funny sight, the blue raven balancing on top of the giant’s nose and addressing the mice. The blue raven explained that there were many snake skins all over the world, and they just had to go and look in warm and dry places to find them. And so the mice did, and keep on doing so.

And they all lived healthy and happy ever after.

THE END

II THE PRINCE AND THE BLIND LION

Once upon a time there was a prince. As so often, he lived in a big, beautiful castle, surrounded by wonderful gardens. There were lots of ponds, rivers all ful1 of the loveliest swans and ducks. Our prince had the most delicious food, lots of servants and all the money and jewels of the world, the finest music your can think of. And he was surrounded by the loveliest girls and woman, day and night. I’m sure you or I wouldn’t have had one scare wish. Think of all t he ice-cream he could eat!

This prince had everything you car dream of, and he had all the reasons to be extremely happy. But he was not, not at all.

The prince was sad, very sad. Hour after hour he could sit on a windowsill, staring out through the window with eyes that saw nothing. He was just sitting there, being sad. No one knew why. The best doctors of all the seven countries had come and tried to cure him, but they couldn’t. The whole country suffered with the prince, it was as though his sadness had spread like a cloud. What a shame it was, and I know you would wish things to have been different as well.

One day a circus came to the castle. The clowns were the funniest you can imagine, the dogs could perform so many tricks that the audience fell from their seats, rolling with laughter. A magician took flowers out of people's noses, painted their faces with make-up without them noticing, and made everyone look so funny that they all laughed so much that they almost burst. It was a great show, and everyone enjoyed it so much! Even our prince managed a wry smile a couple of times, but that was all. Then he lapsed back into his sadness, and nothing could cheer him up. The people were at their wits end. Big sums of money were offered to anyone who could cure the prince, but no one could.

Then the prince had a dream one night. And it his dream there was a lion. It looked so real in his dreams, that at last a day came when a big longing filled his heart to meet this lion. So he began to inquire about lions. What they looked like, where they lived and how? Well of course he could find out a lot about lions, but he didn’t know how to find the one of his dreams.

One night he dreamed of the lion again. It had a flower in its mouth, the flower fell down and turned into a map. The map spread itself on the floor and the prince could clearly see a mark, next to a river and near to a island in a completely strange country. When he woke up he tried feverish to write down as much as he could remember of the map, but he couldn’t remember his dream clearly enough. Och, he wanted so dearly to go and meet the lion! Every night the lion was in his dreams, and sometimes he talked to the prince. One day he told the prince that he had waited long enough, and he would come to see him! They would meet half way.

And, as it happened, an enormous eagle came down to the castle next morning, with the speed of the winds. It delivered a letter to the prince. In the letter were lots of tickets for buses and trains, for boats and coach- journeys. And a reservation for a hotels in a place he had never heard of . The prince asked his servants, but no one could tell him anything about the strange place. Not that it really mattered to the prince, he just wanted to go and meet the lion. So he packed some clothes and took his two most trusted servants with him. They went on a train to their first destination.

There they had to take a bus, then a boat and again a train. There seemed no end to it. They came to places of which no one had ever heard.

People spoke different languages, and the journey seemed to go on for ever and ever. It was so tiresome! After what seemed rather months than weeks they finally reached the hotel on a small island.

The people there seemed strange, and spoke a strange language. The prince had difficulties to make himself understood.

That night the lion appeared in the prince’s dreams again. He told the prince he would have to travel all on his own from now on. With a weary heart the prince told his servants.

Next morning he paid the bill and set out, on his own. He walked across the island to the other shore. A boat lay awaiting him there, but no one seemed to be around. As soon as the prince entered, the boat took off to sea. Although no one was visible, the sails were set and the boat steered out into the vastness of the sea. After a while a grey mist descended upon the waters, and the prince could hardly see at all.

He huddled miserably on deck, wrapped in his coat. For a long time he just sat and waited, wondering what was going on. Suddenly bells rang, the boat stopped as if somebody had magically put the brake on. And there, out in the great vastness of the sea, all of a sudden there was a sound and a light. The clouds lifted and an enormous eagle came down with a shriek and picked up our prince.

He fainted. All this travelling and strange happenings had just been too much for him. Waking up, he found himself lying on a soft bed, in the middle of a great clearing. Strange stars shone over him in the heavens. The scent of wild flowers filled the air. He looked around and saw the lion lying asleep nearby. All he could think of was, finally!

For a long time he just waited, until the lion woke up. It was enormous, beautifully shaped and coloured. And it was blind. Instead of eyes, two empty sockets stared at the prince. He felt so much pity for this creature that his heart started to melt. He went to embrace the lion, in this moment his sadness left him, and for the first time in his life the prince was happy.

The lion started to speak to him in a slow, tired voice. “You see, my prince," it said to him. "I had to travel just as far as you did. Just to come here and meet you took so much of my energy that you would not understand it. For I am old, by any standards. In your time I would be seven hundred years old, and I have seen more and lived longer than any creature on my world. But I had to come and cure you of your sadness. For you were born under a heavy star, and I am the only one that can cure you".

The prince was silent, so awed and impressed was he with the change within him. Under the strange stars in this place, that seemed to be cut of time and space they stayed together for a long time. The lion told the prince of his life and his world, and the prince told the blind lion about his life and his world. And there was a lot they had to tell each other.

Finally the day came when things had to change again, the lion told the prince he had to go on his last journey. He said: “Cut off my tail when

I am dead, and make a paste of it. Then rub yourself completely with this paste all over your body, after that go home." Our prince did as he was instructed, and when it was all done he waited.

A clear rainbow appeared and sliding down came a seal. He beckoned the prince to follow him and jumped into the river. The prince jumped as well and disappeared for a long time. One day he was picked up from a raft that was drifting aimlessly in the ocean.

After many years be finally arrived back in his own country. He went to his castle, but no one recognised him and he was denied entry.

He went away again, took to the sea as a fisherman on a boat and lived a hard but healthy life. He was happy, from the moment he had met the lion his sadness had left him forever.

He sailed through the rest of his life as a happy man, and if he has not died by now, you can sure meet him in one harbour or another, coming or going out to sea.

THE END

III THE MAN WHO BECAME PREGNANT

Once upon a time there was a man who became pregnant. Now I can hear you all shouting: Nonsense, impossible, crazy! And of course you are right.

It was impossible. But it happened. Actually, I am quite surprised you have not heard of this man, because he became famous for a while. Anyway, maybe you were just awau on holiday or off sick, or whatever.

This man had been completely normal so far. He worked in an office, nice regular hours. He was married to a lovely wife, they had three children, a house and a car and all those things you seem to need nowadays to be a good member of society. His wife worked part-time, the children did well at school and so far nothing spectacular had ever happened to them.

His pregnancy began just like all others. A kind of strange feeling sometimes, morning sickness for a while. Strange cravings. And of course the man gained weight. But all these symptoms he just put down as coming from stress, too much work, being too busy.

After a month or two however, his wife sent him to the doctor. This doctor had known the family for quite a while, and first he thought too that the man was overworked. Somehow, to be completely sure of his diagnosis, he ordered a stomach-scan as well. So this normal office-worker went to the hospital some days later, to have his scan taken.

Well, we all know that doctors and nurses in a hospital get strange cases and complications all the time. But the look on this doctor´s face, as he studiied the scan, was so funny, it would have made anyone started to laugh. Of course the doctor at first believed a mistake had been made. Then he thought a colleague might have tried to play a silly joke on him. When he found out, however, that this was not the case, he froze.

He could not and would not believe this!

He got his colleagues to have a look, he phoned the man,s own general practitioner, and he thought he was going mad.

The doctors had a conference, called our man for an interview and questioned him carefully. In the end there was nbo doubt this man was pregnant, and they had to tell him. Our man fainted. When he was brought around again they had to start all over again and explain slowly and carefully what was happening to him. The pregnant man was in such a state of shock that he hardly knew how to co pe with this. So he got counselling. Doctors and nurses stayed in contact all the time, a special midwife came to see him and everything was busy and confusing. The man’s wife seemed even more upset in the beginning and their children just couldn’t comprehend what was going on. They made silly jokes about it.

His wife was talking about getting a divorce, to get this nightmare out of her life. But one day she calmed down, because she wasn’t a bad woman at all. She did not only calm down, she realised how terribly shocked her husband must be, and from then on she supported him in every possible way. Of course the news spread to the newspapers, radio and television. Soon the phone never stopped ringing.

At first the man was quite pleased with all this attention and willingly he gave interviews, told his life-story and got even well paid by some of the news-agencies.

His wife was glad about this, she knew they might. need the money later on, and so she collected it, and put it all safely away. Doctors from all over the world came to examine the pregnant man, and for the next few months he was busy with publicity.

Then he began slowly to gain more weight, he grew a nice big belly. Like lots of pregnant women, and he got tired. He longed for rest and peace. He turned inwards, concentrated on this new life growing inside of him. His wife understood all this of course, and she stopped all the interviews and photo sessions. And when nothing seemed to help because of the curiosity of the neighbours, she took her pregnant husband away to the house of an aunt of hers nearby.

As always, towards the end of the pregnancy moving around became difficult. He had all the other symptoms as well. He went shopping for baby clothes, and baby-room furniture and cleaned the house at the most ridiculous times. His wife was glad about this, she knew they might. need the money later on, and so she collected it, and put it all safely away. Doctors from all over the world came to examine the pregnant man, and for the next few months he was busy with publicity.

All went well with the pregnancy. The man had scans regularly and was under the control of an experienced midwife. He did his exercises like millions of pregnant woman, and got heavier and heavier.

His breasts started to grow and he even started to lactate. The doctors and the midwife were getting very nervous. They knew fine well they had to deliver by caesarean as there was no way the man could deliver a child in the usual way.

Finally, the day came and the man was delivered of a healthy baby girl. She had lots of red hair and golden eyes. He was as happy as any mother with a newborn baby, he breast-fed her and locked after her with the utmost care and tenderness. His wile hardly recognised him, but she knew it was all very natural and didn’t worry. Funny enough soon after this, all the news about the man and his baby stopped. No more photographs, not one mention on the television or in any newspaper.

That made me curious, so I started to try to find out what had happened. It took me quite a while, as there seemed to be no records of the baby’s birth, the complete family had disappeared and no one seemed even to remember anything about a man who was pregnant.

Well, I found them some years later, living in the Vatican, of all places. Who would have looked there for a baby? The little girl looked marvellous. Her long red hair was flaming around her head, her golden eyes ablaze with a fierce light. Her small body was dressed in a delicate, beautifully tailored dress, it was a pretty sight!

She looked at me and at the same time a voice in my head began to speak. "Move back two steps human," it said. "And maybe you better sit down.” So I sat down. And then she told me the most amazing story I have ever heard. She came from another planet, which looked a lot like ours. Her people had made a mistake, they hadn’t understood that on planet earth only females become pregnant. Yes. on her home world that was quite different. A drink materialised in my hand, cigarettes appeared out of nowhere in the air before my face, and one strange thing after another happened.

It took me years to understand all what had happened and all what she had told me. I had a quiet talk with some very high officials from different countries. And I had to promise to keep this story secret for as long as they wanted. But since a day not so long ago this same girl sent me another message in my mind, and I knew I was free to tell the story. Everything was fine, she was safe. Planet earth and planet urth had made secret deal, to the benefit of all that are involved, and soon we will see life changing gradually.

Everything is going to improve. So, it you maybe were wondering about lots of things that are going on nowadays, you will understand and be happy about it.

THE END

IV THE YELLOW DOG AND THE SEVENTEEN CHIMNEY SWEEPS

Once upon a time there was a family of chimney sweeps. There was the grandfather, who had a brother. The grandfather had five sons and three daughters. Four of his sons became chimney sweeps too, and one of the daughters married a chimney sweep. The oldest son married and had seven children. Four of them became chimney sweeps and one daughter married a chimney sweep as well. The second son had only three children but two became chimney sweeps. The third son had four daughters, and three of them married chimney sweeps. A bit unusual, I admit, but since there was enough work for all of them, life was good.

To this big family belonged a dog. A yellow dog. And of course this dog had something special. First of all, it could talk to the children. That went perfectly well. Only when they grew up and became adolescents, they lost the ability to understand the dog, and he had to make them understand in other ways. This dog was brilliant. It did not only know the whole big family, it knew everything about chimneys, fire-places, building hazards and it knew generally danger for what it was.

The chimney sweeps would go out two or three at a time, because they always worked together. And everyday the yellow dog would go with another group of them, as she knew exactly who might be in danger or come across problems.

And in this way the family of seventeen chimney sweeps was very lucky, they hadn’t had any accidents for years. Even without them realising it the yellow dog always kept them safe from troubles.

One day the dog found a lot of eggs it a duck's nest with the mother gone. She barked so long at the same spot, until the three chimney

sweeps she was with that day came and found the eggs. She stayed with them until they hatched and a lovely family of ducklings came out. They were so sweet and had such nice colours! And the chimney sweep family kept the ducks as pets.

The yellow dog did miraculous things all the time. Once she saved two horses from drowning when the cart they were pulling overturned and landed in a stream. Another time she brought two silver lion cubs home, and they were kept as pets as well.

The times she saved the children from accidents were so numerous that it would be to much to tell you. At night, after work, the whole family of chimney sweeps would gather on the front porch, light a fire and sing songs and tell stories. They were a merry bunch of people and they sure knew not only how to work hard but also how to enjoy life.

Our yellow dog always knew when something was wrong with a chimney, and warned the sweeps by barking. Once they found a whole nest of sparrows blocking a chimney, but the dog had warned them, and so they could save then without problems.

For a long time life went on like this, and it was surely a good life.

Then they found a hidden chamber in an old chimney one day, with the help of the dog. This chamber was full of gold and silver, coins, bracelets, even diamonds and rubies, the chimney sweeps were rich all of a sudden.

At first they didn’t know what to do with all their money, and they put most of it in the bank, invested it in shares and such the like.

Then, one after the other, they stopped working, or worked less. Slowly they started to spend more money and bought extravagant things. For a while no one noticed, but since the family had become rich and started to believe in the power or money the abilities of the dog declined.

She wasn’t sure anymore with which group to go and spend the day. She didn’t warn them either anymore, and when one day a whole chimney collapsed whilst it was being cleaned, two chimney sweeps were badly injured. The more money the family had and spent, the 1ess our yellow dog could do for then. And so it happened that over the text years one after another had accidents, they fell from roofs, were hit by falling slates or even burnt themselves badly, and all the horrible things that can happen in their profession.

Then one day disaster struck. All the money the family had made and saved in the banks, all their stocks and shares became worthless, because of the sudden inflation and the crash of the stock-market.

Like so many others who had lived a good life before the crash, our chimney sweep family were badly hit and suffered dreadfully.

They had all to start working again, even make overtime just to survive. The old yellow dog was not much of a help anymore, she was too old and tired to go out every day.

But she came home one day with a puppy trailing behind her. And somehow this puppy had inherited all her special gifts and qualities. When the seventeen chimney sweeps slowly found out about this, they were delighted. From them on, no accident ever happened to them again. They were so grateful, that this young dog became the best looked after dog in the world. And they lived happily ever after.

And you know now why a clever chimney sweep always has a dog with him.

THE END

V THE CAR AND THE SHOE

Once upon a time a car and a shoe loved each other dearly and lived happily together. The shoe was quite old. She had led a busy life, somehow her sister had lost her a long time ago, and she was more than Happy when she found this car one day and found she loved him. Gosh, You should have seen this car! It was old and battered, lots of parts Were missing, the paint was scratched and all in all, it was a poor sight. But these two were so happy with each other.

Whenever the shoe felt like going somewhere, the car would take her. And whenever the car needed something, like oil, petrol or parts, the shoe would go out and get it. For a long time they lived like this.

Maybe I should tell you some more about the shoe. As you know shoes are always born in pairs. They can he sisters or brothers and they are all as different as can be. There are more kinds of shoes than 1 could tell you. Of course, there are all the different colours and sizes. Our shoe was one of a pair of blue ladies shoes, She was born in a country somewhere in Eastern Europe, a long time ago. She had lived in a shoe shop for quite a while and then they had belonged to a long list of people. At last they had lived in a house in Vienna, and there they were put in the attic. Sometimes children came to play with the old clothes and shoes that were kept up there. Then one day, the shoes were thrown into a rubbish bin, a ghastly experience! Somehow they were separated and never found each other again in this life.Our shoe had escaped from the rubbish heap by just walking away and she had kept on walking for ages until one day she met the car. The car too, had a long history. He was born in some factory in a country called Germany and he had been all new and beautiful and shiny. For a while he had lived in a showroom, then he had belonged to so many different people that he couldn’t remember. Most people had looked after him well, but some didn’t care and slowly he got some bumps and scratches and in the end he didn’t look anything like the new shiny car he had once been. He was slowly rusting away when the shoe had come along that day. On one of their trips, the shoe spotted an accident and she asked the car to take her to the next phone. There she called the police and an ambulance. From that day or their lives changed. They became helpers. Whenever there was any kind of accident, fire or disaster, the car and the shoe were there first, and phoned for help. Somehow the shoe developed an incredible sense of danger, and between the two of them, the car and the shoe saved many lives.

Of course this didn’t go unnoticed, and so they became famous. One day, after they alerted the fire brigade just in time to save a huge building, the city council wanted to reward them. As a token of their gratitude both the shoe and the car were made to look new. Every part of then was repaired or replaced and they both shone again it their old splendour. If you ever come across a statue of a shoe and a car, well then you will know why it is there. And of course they lived happily ever after,

THE END

VI SEVEN HEDGEHOGS IN AN ORANGE TREE

Once upon a time seven hedgehogs lived in an orange tree. I know, I can hear your shouting already:" Nonsense, hedgehogs don’t live in trees.

And definitely not in orange trees.” I know, you know, but they didn’t know and so they lived in that orange tree all the same. It was a family of hedgehogs. Father, mother, three children, their granny and an uncle. So they were living away as any hedgehog family might, and they just loved their orange tree.

Halfway up the branches they had erected some sort of platform and that’s where they slept. As you know, hedgehogs sleep a lot during the day, but as soon as twilight comes they get up and go hunting. They eat all kinds of insects, mice and such things.

By the way, that's why they have such sharp teeth. There is one thing they love above all, that is milk. They would do anything to get a drink of milk. And this hedgehog family was extremely lucky.

They lived in this wonderful enclosed garden, and in the house that belonged to the garden, lived a nice family, and they were very friendly.

And almost every evening one of them would put a saucer full of milk out on the terrace ,and all seven hedgehogs would come and have a drink. So you see, they had a good life.

Every so often the smallest of the hedgehogs would fall out the orange tree. Perhaps, because she wasn't careful enough, or for whatever reason, every now and then she would fall down. She would cry, more from shock than from hurt. Her brother and sister would hurry down, pick her up and comfort her. And help her up again. Sometimes, her mum and dad came down to rescue her, but all in all it wasn’t a big thing and most of the time everything was fine soon enough.

On this special day she had fallen down twice already and when they saw her fall again, they waited for her to start crying as soon as they heard the thump. But the third time she fell it was different, The hedgehogs in the orange tree didn’t hear anything, not a sound. So they all looked down to see what was going on. And you know what? They didn’t see a single trace of her. Just nothing! So they hurried all down and started looking for her. They shouted her name and looked everywhere in the whole garden. Under the plants, in the pond, between the roses. They searched and searched, in vain.

Her mother started crying again, both her brother and sister were in tears, only her uncle kept his wits together and dialed for help.

Granny rushed off across the road to tell another daughter who lived there about what had happened, and soon a whole army of hedgehogs was searching. They turned every stone, looked in every hole, basket and box they could find. But there was no trace of our little hedgehog.

As it happened, a small hole had opened in the ground, just as she fell down. And she fell straight into the hole, without having the time to utter a sound. The hole closed in a split second and our little hedgehog disappeared from this world for the moment.

She fell for a long time, slowly though. There wasn't any great speed like there might have been in this world. It was more like sinking deeper and deeper. When she finally landed, it was in a strange place.

It looked like a meadow, flowers and trees were around, there was light as well, warm silvery light. But however she looked, she couldn’t find the source of it. It was as it it came from everywhere at the same time, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, our little hedgehog was shocked and not a little terrified. She started crying, but stopped all of a sudden when a flower next to her told her to stop and be quite, because everything was fine. This flower, and others as well, told her a couple of times, until she found the courage to speak up. She told them nothing was all right, because she wanted her mother. And then she started crying all over again. For a while the flowers whispered to each other, then they asked our little hedgehog to tell them some more. And with a lot of sniffing and some tears in between, she told them what had happened to her. “Oh gosh, that is so easy”, they said in the end. “You just go and talk to the green rabbit, he will surely know what to do."

Now, I can hear you think:" Nonsense, rabbits aren’t green." I agree that you are usually right, however, this rabbit was green. So the flowers talked to our little hedgehog and told her where she could find the green rabbit. And on her way she went.

She found it quite far to go, but the hope of finding someone who could help her, kept her going. Then she came to this little house. I know you all know pancake-houses. Well, this one was different. it was a banana-house, but I hope you understand it was similar to a pancake-house. Without having had a chance to knock at the door, the green rabbit came out and said: “Hello” to her. He stared at her, for he had never seen a hedgehog in his life. She started to cry again, but managed to mumble through her tears: “Please, please help me.”

It took the green rabbit quite a while before he could quieten her down so that he could understand what was wrong. He was a little bit confused about the relations between the seven hedgehogs, but after she had told him again, he understood. “Now my love”, he said,” That’s as easy as anything. There is a door here somewhere that leads back to your own world. Let me just think. You see, it’s not very often that someone comes in here and wants to go back.”

At that moment our little hedgehog started to cry again. “I want my mummy, I want my mummy.” “Of course, of course,” said the rabbit. “Let me just think. Oh yes, you just need to go up the butter tree, take the third branch to the left and keep going. And, oh yes, you need to feed the honey swans on your way, otherwise they might not let you pass.

And he gave her a little bag of sunflower raisins to feed to the honey swans. Then the green rabbit told her it would be better if she had a rest first and went the next day. "For it is a long journey,” he said, “And you should be well rested.” So he put our little hedgehog to sleep by singing her a song she had never heard before. And then he went on his way to solve some other problems.

There were some fireflies living in the house with the green rabbit, and they promised to look after her, so everything was fine. Next morning she was given some breakfast and then she went on her way.

She passed the honey swans, fed them, found the butter tree and started climbing. The light had changed. It was more or less purply, with strokes of silver in it. It was a long climb for a hedgehog, but she wanted so desperately to be with her mum, that nothing seemed impossible. She took the third branch to the left and passed some sleeping birds. They looked like magpie’s, but were different. The leaves whispered to her, "Quiet, be quite. Let the birds sleep."

So on she went as noiselessly as she could. The branch seemed to stretch forever and ever, bending slowly upward. Without her noticing the branch had suddenly turned into a spiral staircase, but she took no notice, she just wanted to go to her mum.

Many many doors she passed. Room after room on different levels. Sometimes she almost lost the stairway, when she had to cross a really big room. And these rooms were magnificent! The light and the colours were different in each of them. Some were almost bare, others full of the most amazing things. She crossed a room full of clocks, hundreds of them, all beautiful, all different.

And they all showed different times. So there was the ringing of the bells constantly, as each clock would strike the hour. But she spent only little time there. On she went. She passed a room full of jewels and minerals, all lit up with their own specific colours. She passed a room that was like the sea, soft murmuring of the waves soothed her ears and a fair breeze tickled her spines. Then she crossed a room full of musical instruments and the air was filled with unheard melodies.

On she went, climbing the stairs. She took little time to see all this beauty. Put when she came to a big room full of toys she halted and played for a while. She just couldn’t resist. And these toys were fabulous. There were lots of things she had never seen before.

When at last she remembered her mum, she went on her way again. Level after level she climbed, room after room she crossed. She came to a room with the most delicious food. Fantastic smells lingered in the air, and the plates were so beautiful that it looked like a miracle. Suddenly she became so hungry that she stopped and sat down and ate her fill. What a meal that was! You would have liked it too. Then she went on again. Slowly the stairway started to change. Or was it her?

Whatever, she felt so much smaller, or the stair had grown somehow. Luckily the steps were shorter, but there seemed to be more and it took her longer and longer to climb up. She was so tired, she wanted to rest. But she thought of her mum and kept going. After a long tine she came to a room with only one door in it. She tried to open it in vain, and then she sat down and cried her heart out. She had come all this way, and now the door was locked. Because she was so tired she fell asleep.

In her dreams she saw a key on table far far down, in one of the first rooms she had passed. And even in her sleep she cried, knowing that she would have to go all the way back again to get the key. But as it happened, she was extremely lucky. For a bird came flying around in the early hours of the morning and found her asleep. And because this bird could read minds as easy as you can read this book, it soon understood the problem with the key. Off flew the bird, and came back with the key in what seemed to have be only minutes.

First the bird wanted to put down the key in front of the door, but then it thought the better of it. It put the key in the lock, turned it and opened the door. Then the bird flew away, for it had other things to do as well. When our little hedgehog awoke she couldn’t believe her eyes. The door was open! She was so glad that she jumped up and ran through the door to find herself all of a sudden in a field. Well, it was a nice and soft cornfield, but she didn’t know where she was at all. Again she began to cry. “Mummy, mummy, I want mummy”.

A cat was hunting in that same field and heard her and came along to see what was going on. Our little hedgehog told him, in between tears, but her story was so confused that it took the cat quite a while before he could make head or tail of it. By the way, this cat looked really magnificent. It had reddish golden fur, with silver stripes, a blue nose and the biggest ears you have ever seen.

And it was a very helpful, friendly cat, so he made her tell the story over and over again, asked a lot of details about her home, the orange tree, the rest of the village and then he sat down, thinking hard. Of course he remembered having heard of that place sometime, and after thinking more and more, he could even remember the name of the village.

Our little hedgehog was delighted! Until he told her that it was quite far away and she would have to walk a couple of days to get there. Hearing this, she burst out in teats again. “Mummy mummy, I want my mummy.” First, the cat offered to go with her, but then he got a better idea. "Listen, hang on," he said. “I’ve got a friend who has a horse and cart, and sometimes he goes away on business. Hang on, I’ll go and ask him.” Away he went and came back after a while with a big smile on his face and purring so loudly that our little hedgehog could hear him coming from far away. "Yes my dear,” he said. "You are extremely lucky. Gosh, I can’t believe it! Listen, tomorrow my friend is going to town, and he will pass your village on his way. He will take you all the way home. Now come on, cheer up, let’s have a nice meal and play together for a while.” And so they did.

They had such a great time together, playing games and eating a delicious meal, that our little hedgehog almost forgot her mum. At night the cat put her to bed, told her cat’s children’s stories and sang a couple of funny songs until she fell asleep.

And truly, next morning his friend came with his cart and horse.

Our hedgehog was put aboard and off they went. At first she looked around, to see this landscape she hadn’t seen before. She listened to the man singing and talking to his horse, until she got tired and fell asleep. Of course the man took her straight home and knocked at the door until granny came to open it. “Hi, he said, “I found you a little present.” And he put our little hedgehog in her arms.

Oh, you should have seen that reunion! They danced and talked like mad. At night there was a big party and everyone was drunk with delight any happiness. And now you know why hedgehogs don’t live in trees anymore. And why you will never in your life see a hedgehog falling cut of a tree. For the earth might open up again, you know, and they don’t want to risk it. Although sometimes a little hedgehog might get curious about this other world and dig deep holes in the ground, to see if he can find that secret entrance.

But I have never heard of that happening again. I only know they all lived happily ever after.

THE END

VII THE ROLLABOUTS

Well, I don’t know if you have ever seen a rollabout, for they seem to be rare these days. But once upon a time,not so long ago, they were numerous and you could find them in lots of places.

And yes, they were the loveliest and nicest animals I have ever seen. As you can imagine, they were round. They could be all seizes, but mostly, as grown-ups they would be the size of a football.

And yes, sometimes children or adults would mistake them for footballs. That could be painful though, since rollabouts can make themselves hard or soft, just as they wish to. They can also make themselves light or heavy, just as needs be. The little ones are very cute. When they are born they are about as big as a table-tennis ball and they have lovely shiny colours. Blueish-green, reddish-purple and many more. When they grow older they tend to loose some of their shine and the adults often become grey or brown.

Originally they came from a country called Italy, which is very lovely and warm. I’m sure you have heard of it. One day some of the rollabouts started migrating and soon you could find them in all sorts of places.

And since they are so fond of ice cream, they made sure an Italian ice cream maker would follow them soon after, so they could have their favourite food. What a pretty sight that was! Some many coloured rollabouts sitting in a cafe , eating their ice creams!

One day a golden rollabout was born, and the others never stopped talking and wondering about it. The golden rollabout kept growing and became the biggest rollabout in the world. Everything the other rollabouts could do, the golden rollabout could do better.

He loved to swim, to float in a nice warm sea. And he could float in the air as well. He could made himself so light that he could rise up in the air! The others tried it as well, but they just couldn’t do it. When planet earth slowly became more and more crowded and cars and buses became more abundant, the rollabouts had a hard time. People didn’t always drive carefully enough and many “rollies” were injured or even killed. So they started to withdraw themselves from the places where humans lived, and were seen more and more seldom. But for a long time they

stayed on planet earth, because they really liked it and thought it was a wonderful place. When at last life became too dangerous for them, the golden rollabout sent out a message and collected them all together. He blew himself up to an enormous size, until there was space within for all the rollabouts of this planet.

They might have found a nice planet and you might find them there one day on one of your travels. Or you might come across one on our own planet, for it is told some stayed behind. And then you can see for yourself how wonderful they are.

THE END

VIII THE LITTLE GIRL AND THE UMBRELLA

Once upon a time an umbrella was left on the bus. It must have travelled around the city for dozens of times, until someone spotted it and took it because it had just started to rain, and this man needed an umbrella. It was a beautiful umbrella, you know. The colours of the rainbow and shiny silver stars as well. To me it will always remain a mystery how somebody could forget such a beautiful umbrella.

The man who finally took the umbrella out of the bus first wanted to keep it, but since he was a very honest man, he took it to the lost property office. There it was registered and put away. The poor umbrella stood in a corner amongst many other umbrellas, between bicycles and gloves, glasses and purses. And although many people came to look for their belongings, nobody came to look for the umbrella. It stayed there for a long time. As it happened, one day our umbrella lost her patience and walked out of the door. She thought she had a task in life, that was to keep people dry from the rain and not to hang around in dusty offices.

So she walked out and took a good look around. Now, imagine a big city, full of traffic and high buildings. Well, that's what she saw when she came out. And instantly our umbrella thought this was not the place where she wanted to live. So she went on her way. After a while she found walking was too slow, and she unfolded herself and flew on the wind. That was something else, it was funny! You should have seen her, sailing away merrily, making all the turns and sommersaults she felt 1 like. Before long the wind had taken her out of the city and she sailed by farmhouses, across streams and fields. She looked with big happy eyes at the wonderful world below her. She sailed and sailed through the air, until she finally got tired and slowly went down. And just where she was going down a little girl was playing all by herself. Our umbrella landed in her out-stretched hands and the little girl firmly gripped the handle.

She found the umbrella so beautiful that she took it home to her mum. And her mum admired the umbrella and agreed that she could keep it, since it had come sailing on the wind and landed in her hands. From now these two were inseparable. The little girl took our umbrella to school, to the shops, to her little friends house and even on summer holidays. Gosh, they were so fond of each other, these two!

And the umbrella was admired by anyone who saw it. For some years the umbrella was the little girl’s best friend. But slowly she grew older and she was so busy, had so many things to do that sometimes she forgot to take the umbrella with her. After school she would play with her little friends. At night her parents took her out sometimes, to a film or a show.

The umbrella didn’t like at all to be forgotten. She rather liked to be with the girl. Because, you know, it’s never sure when it will start raining again. Still, the little girl was very fond of the umbrella. But over the years the umbrella had to stay home more and more often. She grew old, the colours faded and she was scratched by one of the cats. She got a little tear here and there and she was pining away.

Then a day came when our little girl was visiting a friend. As so often lately, she had forgotten the umbrella. And when she walked home that evening a horrible cold rain started to fall. She got wetter and wetter

all the time. She remembered her umbrella and the many many times it had kept her dry. And suddenly she started crying, full of self reproach and pity both for herself and the umbrella.

She now wished so much that she had looked better after her own beautiful umbrella. Meanwhile the umbrella was waiting at home. She saw the clouds came down and she heard the cold rain starting to fall. How she longed to be with the little girl and protect her!

And you know what? She just opened up the door, unfolded herself and flew away. Straight towards the little girl. The umbrella landed in the girl's out-stretched hand, just like the first time they met. And together they went home, happy as ever.

From now on they really stayed together. The little girl repaired the umbrella as best she could, repainted the rainbow colours and the silver stars. And never in her whole life forgot to take the umbrella with her, wherever she went.

And it may well be that you have seen the two of them somewhere around. Of course they lived happy ever after.

THE END

IX THE MOUSE AND THE BALLOON

Once upon a time there was a mouse. A nice golden-brown mouse, with laughing eyes, a long tail and sweet ears. And she was a wonderful singer. This mouse had such a good voice that she became famous and was invited all over to sing at parties and concerts. And wherever the mouse sang, people came in crowds and they were always delighted.

She sang in palaces and castles, in pubs and private homes. She sang for the queen of the cats on her birthday and for the sick elephants. She became so famous that she needed a manager and transport all year round. And of course she met brilliant animals and people everywhere. She gave concerts for the fishes, the whales and the sharks. She sang for elves and birds, for kings and fishermen. Once she was even invited to fairyland and sang for the fairies. Gosh. I really wish you could hear her.

This mouse had also some strange dreams inside of her, which she knew nothing about. But they were there.

One of them was that she wanted to fly in a balloon, even to build the balloon all by herself. The other one was more complicated and had more to do with her true nature. And that was completely different. One day, as it happened, she had a dream. She woke up in the middle of the night and knew something had happened. For a while she looked out of the window at the stars, studied the ever changing shapes of the clouds and sat down pondering. She drank some tea before going to sleep again, hut she couldn’t fall asleep at all.

A flock of birds came flying to the tree next to her window. First they sang a lot of songs, then our mouse heard them talking amongst themselves. They were talking about a duck who was the king of China, in some far away country. And they talked about a mouse that wanted to fly in a balloon. Sometime later she tell asleep and when she woke up again she knew it was she that wanted to fly in a balloon. And that same day she started to study aviation. She learned all about the wind, speeds, weights and aviation. And she started to build a balloon. Well, it certainly didn’t look like a balloon, but when it was ready at last, it did fly like a balloon. It looked like a big toothbrush. No one could understand how it could fly, for the shape was so strange and unusual that it seemed impossible. So our mouse went aboard her balloon one day and flow off. She flew so far, so far.

Many countries she passed. Sometimes she went down to give a concert and stay in a place she particularly liked, but all in all she kept travelling all over this beautiful planet for a long time. Then one day she started to build another balloon. And that balloon was even stranger than the first! It looked like a sort of castle, build in a shoe. Everyone same to see it and admire it , for it was very beautiful, but no one could believe it would fly. Well, I can tell you, fly it did, and our mouse was gone again. For a while she lived in a hidden kingdom amongst high mountains. And that’s where she came to the dream-door one morning. This dream-door had been famous on our planet. Many knew about it, many set out to find it, but few ever managed. The strangest thing happened when she went through the dream-door. Of course you all know what happens it you enter a dream-door? Yes, your inner-most dreams turn into reality.

So you know what happened? Well, I will tell you. The mouse changed into a duck. An orange duck with black spots as well. I can hear you say, “impossible". Oh, come on, you should know better than that, Nothing, absolutely nothing is impossible.

And you know what? This duck was the Queen of China.

Yes, I agree, rather unusual nowadays. But in former times lots of animals were Kings or Queens of countries. Anyway, this beautiful duck had a busy life. You know, it’s not always fun to be a Queen. It can be a lot of hard work, little time for yourself and all those things. But this duck was a good Queen. Wise and friendly, and the country prospered.

Of course there were the usual troubles. Sometimes there were floods, even earthquakes, but our duck always found the right people and animals to help. The wisest people, the cleverest animals, the most beautiful trees and plants, they all came to this country. And even after such a long time you might still find part of the greatness of the ancient China when you go there and visit it.

THE END

X HOTHORNS

Well you know, there seem to be only a few people who have ever heard about hothorns. And it its no wonder for they are rare in the areas where most of us live. You see, most of us don't like the cold and the wet. Few of us like the long cold winters with rain and snow, when darkness is abundant.

But there are some creatures who simply love the cold, even more so, they need the cold. One of them is the hothorn. For Hothorns are so hot, that they only feel comfortable in the cold. Strange you would say?

Well sure, you are right about that. They can’t feel well unless their surrounding is below zero.

So since they knew about it, they just went to live in the cold regions, like Iceland, Greenland and the Nordic Tundras. They may well live in the Antarctic regions as well, but they were never reported as being spotted there. Anyway, when it is winter here in our lovely country, they come and visit us. For they are curious and love to travel a bit. For them our winter is their holiday time and they can sometimes be seen during snowstorms, specially up in the highlands. For they love mountains, but again, that’s the time when most of us stay indoors, beside a warm fire and, therefore they are rarely seen.

Oh, you wonder what they look like? Well, not really like any other animal that I know of. Partly they do look like rabbits. Rather, they have the size of rabbits, their back is long and stretched, and on their back they have all those little horns.

Actually, these horns are their “Hotspots". They radiate most of their heat. And that’s why they like to lie under a pile of snow, completely covered, so it cools them and makes them feel nice and drowsy, relaxed and dreamy, because they are great dreamers.

They dream differently from you and me. Their dreams don’t come when they sleep, but somewhere in between waking and sleeping. And those dreams are so vivid and real, you wouldn’t believe it. They love their dreams and never get tired of telling them to others. And most of their stories and songs and poems come from their dreams.

One of their favourite stories is how they became Hothorns, for they had not always been like that. Once upon a time, when Hothorns were called Coldhorns, they lived in a hot country.

It was somewhere on a nice blue planet, in a little galaxy, somewhere along the Milkyway. On a vast continent where the sun shone forever and ever.

Since the Coldhorns loved to lie in the sun, they were very happy there. At night they would dig themselves deep into the hot sand to keep warm and cozy. They wood appear again when the sun was up.

One day a big bird came to ask for their help .A whole forest was on fire and thousands of animals were trapped. Of course the Coldhorns promised to help and all of them went on their way. They went as fast as they could, but it was not fast enough.

The gods, pleased with their effort but worried about the trapped animals, send out special winds which came and carried them faster then you can think to the place of the disaster.

The Coldhorns saved almost all the animals, stopped the fire by absorbing the heat with their horns, and they did a excellent job. And since the gods were so pleased with them, they gave them a wish for free. It took the Coldhorns almost forever to agree on a wish. Day after day they talked about it. And you know what? In a lot of their dreams they could see their country being more and more populated by other beings, lots of humans as well. And so, since they love peace and quiet, they wanted to move to a place where others wouldn’t want to live.

The gods understood their dreams and wishes and turned them into Hothorns.

Since then they have moved up north to the cold regions and there they live happy and contented. And who knows what will happen one day? They might change again and live somewhere else. Ach well, you know, anything can happen. But for now they are fine where they are and I am sure they will live happily for ever after.

THE END

XI THE CHICKENS IN THE PALM TREE, PART ONE

One upon a time on a tiny island of the coast of India. in the amazing vastness of the Indian ocean, a flock of chickens lived in a palm tree. This was not a normal sort of palm tree, like you and I know them, it was different. Instead of a big trunk with all the enormous palm leaves on top, it had branches and smaller them usual leaves all over. So, that’s where the chickens slept, or roosted as it is called.

These chickens looked perfectly normal like all chickens all over the world do, but of course there was something special about them. I’ll tell you what. They laid coloured eggs. Any colour you can think of, you name it, and there were eggs in just that colour. Some people even collected them just because of their brilliant colours.

Apart from that, these eggs were fine. They tasted as any good chicken eggs would taste, the seizes were normal and so the only strange thing was the colour. Once in a while people would come from the mainland and purchase a chicken in the hope they would have their own coloured eggs. But no such luck!

Only the chickens living in the palm tree laid coloured eggs. People would often return the chickens they had bought, complaining they just produced normal coloured eggs. Then the seller of the chickens would take it back, put it back in the palm tree and see, next day there would be a coloured egg again. That was just the way it was. One day a dolphin came, just after the summer full moon.

It swam around the island. The chickens went mad. They all burst out into some chicken-singsong, stood all together and stretched their necks. They stared and stared at the dolphin. slowly circling around the island. The people of the island didn’t know what was happening. That day the chickens didn't lay one single egg. They were all strangely excited and kept looking at the dolphin. At night a strange rain started to come down.

It came down like a shower of light, like the lights of a rainbow reflected in the raindrops. Every raindrop had a different colour and it was so amazing and beautiful that the people could just stare and stare in awe and wonder. Then the heavens split and a mighty mountain appeared.

It glowed in all the reds and golds and purples of a setting sun and it looked majestic, All of a sudden the dolphin leaped out from the sea and jumped right into the mountain. The heavens closed again and the rain stopped. The chickens went to roost in their palm tree, but next day they didn’t lay any eggs.

After some days they started to lay eggs again, but they were just plain white chicken eggs. The people on the Island were disturbed. They didn’t know what was going on. For such a long time they had lived with the miraculously coloured eggs, that they had almost forgotten there was something strange about their chickens and their island. For about half a year things went on like this.

Then, after the winter full moon, the dolphin came again. It swam slowly around the island and again the chickens went crazy. Their sing song filled the air, they stretched their necks and all of them stared at the dolphin. That day they didn’t lay one single egg.

Next day the chickens changed. Instead of their eggs, the chickens became coloured. They were surely the most amazing chickens you have ever seen. Blue, red, green, golden and purple. You name it, and a chicken in that colour would be there. Nobody knew what was going on, but the people were delighted with their chickens. From now on they had only white eggs, and the eggs were smaller and different in shape.

Life went on like this for a while. Then one day the dolphin came

again. It was the day after the spring full moon. The dolphin swam

slowly around the island, and the chickens went mad. Their sing song

filled the air, and they all stood in a big circle, stretching their necks. At night the rain came. And it was a wondrous rain.

Every raindrop tell down with a different sound. The music the rain made was just fantastic. Never had anything like this been heard before on planet earth. The people just had to stand and listen, filled with awe and glory.

Then the heavens opened and a wondrous city appeared in the sky. One beautiful castle after another. Turrets and towers and stairways and bridges, delicately swung over waterways. It was too beautiful to be true.

Then a voice spoke and said:“The time has come now, you may all go. And the dolphin jumped out of the sea into the heavens, and slowly all the chickens and the people of the island followed it. They all went into the shiny city. What happened after that, is another story and I will tell you some other time about it.

Of course they all lived happily ever after.

THE END

XII THE CHICKENS IN THE PALM TREE , PART TWO

Once upon a time there was a woman. She lived In lndia, a big country, far away to the east. This country is bigger than any you have ever heard of. And the amount of people that live there is enormous. It is very diversified, there are mountains and plains, forests and rivers. Actually, there is any kind of landscape you can think of.

The woman lived on the outskirts of a big city. She had some land of her own, she had a fish pond as well and kept two buffaloes. They were nice and shiny, very clever and willing to work. Of course one was black and one was white. The woman hired them out to others, because she needed them only part of the time. And so she earned a little money as well and she never lacked any food or clothes. Sometimes she could help others that were less fortunate and she did so gladly. One evening she heard her buffaloes talking to each other. “Gosh, when would she just understand", said the black one to the white one. “Yes”, answered the white one, “Everything would change for the better”.

Now the woman became really curious. What were her buffaloes talking about? Next day she had a dream. In her dream she went to the market in her home town and bought a basket full of eggs as well as a chicken to hatch them. She kept having the dream over and over again. Then she got a message from her father one day. He asked her to come and look after her mother. Of course the woman went as soon as she could. She took the two buffaloes and hiked them up before her cart. Then she drove home to her parents. She looked after her mother for sometime and helped her father with the farm work. Then, one night, she heard her buffaloes talking again. The black one said to the white one:”The time is near now!” And the white one answered, “Will she know?”

Next day she had to go to market to get some supplies. She met a stranger, and he had a chicken and a basket full of eggs for sale. And before she knew it she had bought then. Then she remembered her dreams and the buffaloes talk. She went to her parents, found they could manage on their own again and travelled back to her own city.

She let the chicken lay on the eggs and soon a lot of lovely little chicks hatched. The most amazing thing was that they all had different colours. She had never seen anything like it in her life. The chicks grew so fast that she couldn’t believe her eyes. Within a few months all her beautiful coloured chickens started to lay eggs in their turn. And what eggs they were! Coloured eggs! Their colours outshone even the chickens and soon people came from far and near to see all this beauty and buy some of her coloured eggs. As it happened, one night she heard her two buffaloes talking again. "Soon she will have to stop selling the eggs”, said the black one. “Will she know?” answered the white one.

That night the woman dreamed of a palm tree. And in that tree her chickens sat breeding on their eggs. Soon after, she had to go to the market, where she came across a man selling small palm trees.

And when she found a strange one amongst them, she bought it, without knowing why, and planted it in her garden. This palm tree started growing so fast, it was the fastest growing tree in the universe!

It was as if it had always been there. Within weeks it was as tall as all the other trees. It wasn’t a normal kind of palm tree, like you or I knew them. Oh no. It had lots of branches and smaller than usual leaves all over.

The chickens began to live in the palm tree. And after a while they made nests and laid their eggs on the tree. And they started breeding as well.

For a while the woman didn’t have any eggs to sell, but still the people came from far and near to have a look at her wondrous chickens. Well, you know what happened after that, don’t you? Out of all those different coloured eggs came tiny little different coloured people. You must have seen some of them. And these little people grew just as fast as the palm tree had grown. Within a year they grew up and started to go their own ways. That’s why on our little blue planet we have all this fantastic coloured beautiful people. Any colour of the rainbow, you name it, we have people in that colour. And they are all beautiful.

Sometimes I think though, that not everyone can see them as they are. But I’m sure one day they will. Of course they all lived happily ever after.

THE END