Chapter 2

The Disappearance of the Night Dew

It was a winter morning. The sun was still lazying around over the hills, and the Gardener awake in a good mood. Calmed and enjoying her breakfast, she contemplated the clouds that were softly scarfing all those trees. And with a sarcastic smile, she imagined all the lazy people snoring, hidden underneath that early mist.

The Grumpy Gardener neared the window with her hot cup of Rooibos in her hands, and while the steam was caressing her nose, she thought to herself that it was the ideal date to see the night dew over the flora. She finish-ed her breakfast, took her scissors and left the house.

Staring and staring, she went all around the garden looking for the water of the night. She didn’t find much of it, and much less any frost. She started mumbling at the first plant. She continued mumbling when she got to the second one, and to the third plant as well. But it wasn’t until the last one, which was in fact the first one she’d encountered, that she grumbled in terrible anger: ‘Bugs, maggots and mites!’

Her grumble was so strong that she even scared the head of the pine-tree next to her. And as a result of the fright, the pine tree unwillingly dropped a heavy pine-fruit. The fruit fell right on the Gardener’s head. Clock, was heard right before her ouch. And suddenly, while she was rubbing her hands on her head, the Gardener heard someone shouting. She looked around but saw nobody.

‘What’s wrong? Why are you grumbling so much?’ she heard someone asking her.
The annoyed Gardener looked around to see who was talking to her. She looked one way and another, but did not find a face behind the voice. Annoyed because she couldn’t see anyone, she turned back. And it was at that precise moment that she encountered a very pretty squirrel.

It was a huge squirrel, larger than normal, light brown, with black and white circles that colored the top of its tail. How pretty, she thought when she saw the squirrel getting closer to her green boots.
‘You don’t need to look further. You’ve found me. It’s me‘, confirmed the pretty squirrel.

‘Nonsense!’ she uttered growling again. ‘Everyone knows that squirrels cannot speak the human language. You either tell me where you are, or I’ll go home!’ shout-ed the Gardener who wanted to know by any means who was hiding behind that voice.

‘Really, it’s me, the Self-Satisfied Squirrel, the only one who speaks the human language’.
‘Yeah, right, as if!’. Completely out of her mind, the Gardener turned back. ‘You will not fool me! I’m going back home.’

‘If you go back, you will not meet me. And if you don't meet me, you will never know for sure whether I fooled you or not‘, said the squirrel showing off and jumping behind her back.

Chof she heard when the Gardener suddenly stopped. Ouch mumbled the squirrel, caressing his head with his leg. He’d collided with her boots.

‘Bugs, maggots and mites! Is it really true that you know how to speak!?’, asked the Gardener looking to the ground.
‘Of course it’s true!’, shouted the Squirrel. ‘And it is also true that I’ll get a nice lump thanks to you!’
‘You shouldn’t have got so close to my boots!’, she complained.
‘Goodness gracious, you really are grumpy!’, the Squirrel kept pushing his luck. ‘However, it would not be such a bad thing if you invited me to a nice cup of almond milk next to the fire’.

‘Bugs, maggots and mites!’, complained the Gardener hiding a little laugh. ‘You are more clever than a weasel!’
The Squirrel made the most of the situation and quickly jumped up her legs and all the way to her shoulder.

‘That way I don’t need to shout so much’, whispered the Squirrel.
‘Of course! And you don’t have to walk!’ laughed the Gardener.

Once the animal was on the Gardener’s shoulder they went into the home. A cup of almond milk was awaiting the Squirrel while a second cup of strawberry Rooibos was awaiting the Gardener, and a pleasurable evening chatting by the fire was awaiting both of them.