By Niggy Binkles
Merry Meadows was a little village, with cottages surrounded by lovely fruit trees. Chinku and Dolcy, sister and brother, lived with their parents in a fairytale-like cottage in Merry Meadows that was called ‘Spring Glen’. The cottage had a beautiful old cherry tree that stood near its front door, branches of which peeped into Dolcy and Chinku’s room.
Tweet-Twat, a little bird with a yellow jacket and a black head that looked like a hat, loved the cherries that grew on the tree. Early in the morning, he would hop onto the branches of the tree that extended near the children’s room, pick up a shiny red cherry in his bright beak and munch it with great relish, bobbing his head this way and that as if to say ‘Hello’ to the children, who would wave out to him. Sometimes, the children would lay out bits of cake or bread crumbs on the window ledge as a treat for him.
Dolcy and Chinku’s parents loved animals and birds and wanted their children to do so, too. Their home and garden housed a number of creatures, including Dazzle, a golden-brown and rather elderly donkey, a rooster called Rock ‘n Roll, Ginger, a cuddly cat, Sally, a very wooly lamb, Dorothy, a duck, along with her family of six ducklings, Tango, a little green turtle, Hans and Haffity, both rabbits, Caroline, a beautiful cow, and Percy, a delightful puppy. And then there was also the band of bushy-tailed squirrels that scampered around all day up and down the cottage and in the surrounding trees.
The animals and birds at Spring Glen lived happily together, and every now and then, they would gather under the good old cherry tree to gossip.
*
One fine summer afternoon, it so happened that Ginger, the cat, meowed loud enough for all the animals and birds around to hear: “Tweet-Twat is sweet a chap, but he has a very naughty habit of constantly complaining about this and that. This morning as I was busy grooming my tail, he flew up to me and began complaining that he was bored of eating red fruits from our old cherry tree and now wanted to eat multicoloured berries for a change. He said he’s planning to fly off to the big city nearby and fetch a big load of such berries from there. If he’s to be believed, one can get almost anything in the city, including berries in many different shapes and colours, all of them much tastier than the red cherries from our tree.”
“I told him not to be greedy and to be happy with what he gets,” Ginger continued, swishing his fluffy tail, which indicated that he was not just a little cross with Tweet-Twat’s behaviour. “I explained that our cherries were the best that he could get and that he would be very foolish if he thought he could get anything better in the city. But, he just didn’t want to listen to my wise advice. He seems bent on going to the city.”
“You should mind your business, Ginger. If Tweet-Twat wants to fly off to the city, that’s his business,” brayed Dazzle, the donkey. “Focus on yourself, instead. I’d suggest, for one thing, that you have a bath this week. It’s likely been half a year since you last had one.”
“Shhhh, now don’t’ say naughty things to each other,” cackled Dorothy, the duck, as she waddled out of her plastic pool in order to participate in the conversation. “If Tweet-Twat wants to be adventurous and fly off to the city to fetch multicoloured berries, let him. Maybe he’ll bring some back for us, and then we can get to eat them, too!”
“Dorothy, you greedy girl, don’t be silly!” crowed Rock ‘n Roll, the rooster, as he landed at the foot of the cherry tree after taking a giant leap from the ladder where he had been resting. “The city’s a big and crowded place, and there aren’t enough trees there for us birds. Tweet-Twat might ask to borrow my blue feather hat if he flies off there. I better hide it, for he might lose it if I lent it to him.”
*
Early the next week, the day that all the animals at Spring Glen had been talking about arrived. That morning, Tweet-Twat put a big backpack on his back (which was even bigger than he himself), hoping to fill it with lots of multicoloured berries from the city. Then, he spread out his wings and leapt into the air, heading westwards, in the city’s direction. The creatures who had assembled to witness his departure excitedly shook their beaks, wings and paws to wish him good luck.
When Dolcy and Chinku learnt what Tweet-Twat had done, they felt sad. “I wish he had been content with the fine red cherries from the tree outside the cottage, and also the cake bits and bread crumbs that we often give him. The city’s so big and crowded, I wonder how he’ll manage there,” said Chinku.
“Don’t worry Chinku, Tweet-Twat will find his way. God’s going to take good care of him,” Dolcy replied.
*
Days and weeks passed by but there was no sign of Tweet-Twat. The animals and birds of Spring Glen were very worried. Then, winter arrived, that year with heavy snow.
One chilly morning, the denizens of Spring Glen woke up to a loud chirp-chirp-chirp! Guess what that was? It was Tweet-Twat excitedly announcing his return! You won’t believe how happy this made the animals and birds of Spring Glen. They rushed up to greet Tweet-Twat, not minding at all the icy cold wind that was howling about. Telling Tweet-Twat how glad they were that he was back and safe, they asked him if he had been able to accomplish the task that he had left them for the city for—to fetch a big load of multicoloured berries.
“Friends, please let me munch some cherries from our very own red-cherry tree first before I explain,” Tweet-Twat replied. Hopping onto the cherry tree, he nibbled at a large ripe fruit, the juice messily dripping down his dusty coat. Then, wiping his beak on his chest, he began to explain: “Friends, I am awfully tired. My wings have turned black because the city is full of dust. I didn’t find anywhere in the city the fancy berries I was hoping for. I didn’t spot even a single berry tree there, can you believe it? Almost all that I found were very tall buildings and streets made of tar that were clogged with big vehicles, and of course, a great many human beings. It was with great difficulty that I could get even water to drink—there aren’t any lakes in the city, you see, though I heard it said that there were plenty of them till recently, before big buildings took their place. To cut a long story short, I miserably failed to accomplish my mission. I wish I hadn’t been greedy and gone to the city in search of multicoloured berries and that I had been content with the lovely red cherries that are so abundantly available here, from our very own tree at Spring Glen.”
Saying this, poor Tweet-Twat began to cry. It was a very pathetic sight indeed, those big tears rolling down his little cheeks.
“Oh Tweet Twat, that’s okay, we can all learn from our experiences. We should be happy with what we get here, in this village, and not wander about elsewhere looking for things which we might think are better for us but actually aren’t. God knows what’s best for us, and He’ll give it to us at the right time and place,” meowed Ginger, the cat, who, for the first time ever, gave Tweet Twat a big, furry hug.
Tweet-Twat nodded his little head in agreement. Then, clearing his throat, he declared, “I hope never again to go to the city. I’m happy just being here at Spring Glen, with our own cherry tree and all of you lovely friends.”
“Wuppy!” cried all the other birds and animals in unison. Then, they gathered around Tweet Twat and, together holding their paws and wings, lifted him up high in joy.
“Let’s have a tea party to celebrate Tweet-Twat’s return!” woofed Percy, the puppy.
“Hurrah!” cried the rest.
That afternoon, Dolcy and Chinku laid out a lovely tea for the folks of Spring Glen under the cherry tree. There were many types of treats for everyone, including pastries, cheese straws, carrot curls and vanilla-flavoured custard. But guess what everyone, especially Tweet-Twat, enjoyed the most? Round, bright red cherries from Spring Glen’s very own cherry tree!
Everyone had a really merry time at the party, at the end of which a resolution was unanimously passed to the effect that no one from Spring Glen would ever go to the city again unless it was really necessary.
Dolcy wanted to explain to all who had assembled that it was in just where they were in the present moment that happiness lay, and for this purpose he was about to read some lines from a big book that had brought along with him (which was appropriately titled “Blossom Where You Are Planted”). But by then, everyone else had fallen fast asleep, after having had a lovely time at the tea party, in the shade of the good old cherry tree!
Such a very sweet story! Many thanks!