by David Bolton
***
“Hey, Scuzzy, are you all ready for the migration over to Eucalyptus Grove?” Doctor Koala asked when he saw the older koala sitting at the base of his tree, putting a few belongings into a small box.
“Huh? Oh, Doc, howdy do! Yeah, I’m ready, but I can’t say I’m anxious to go.”
“Sentimental, huh?” the doctor asked. “I know you’ve lived here since well before I was born. The older you get the less you like change, is that it?”
“Don’t you go sayin’ I’m old! Why, I’m in as good a shape as ever, except for my eyes. I do have a little trouble seein’ up real close, but that doesn’t keep me from gettin’ around. It’s just that I don’t see the sense in all of this. We’ve been livin’ here for more years than any of us can count, and now we’re supposed to just up and move over to another grove? Nonsense, I say!”
Doctor Koala knew that old Scuzzy could be crotchety at times, and that he wasn’t exactly what you’d call progressive. “Well, Scuzzy, look at the bright side. The leaves are tastier over there, you know.”
“Yeah, the leaves are always tastier on the other side of the field, as they say. But so what? Leaves don’t have to be tasty to fill your belly. And whenever we want those leaves, we can just mosey on over there and pick some. Good exercise. No need to live over there to eat ’em.”
“Well, I’ve heard that there are going to be more tree houses built, subsidized by the grove…”
“Subsi... what?” Scuzzy was confused.
“Oh, that means the grove will pay for them. Who knows, you might get one yourself.”
“Not if I have any say in it!” Scuzzy didn’t like the idea at all. “I’ve been livin’ and sleepin’ on a tree branch all my born days, just like my parents did, and their parents before ’em, and now you wanna put me in a house? You’ll have to knock me over the head first. I don’t want any part of it! If koalas were meant to live in houses, the Koala Sun would’ve made trees that had ’em built in already,” he said, pointing up to the sun, the koalas’ principal deity.
“I guess that’s one way of looking at it,” Doc enjoyed teasing Scuzzy, but didn’t see any need to get him angry.
“And besides, they ain’t good for your health,” Scuzzy added.
“Why not?” the physician wanted to know.
“All the time I hear about koalas that live in them tree houses fallin’ off, sometimes in the middle of the night. They ain’t used to keepin’ their balance, you see, they kinda lose their climbin’ skills, and their arm and leg strength. Easy livin’, it is, sittin’ around up on them there platforms instead of usin’ their muscle power to climb around, like they should be doin’,” Scuzzy explained.
“Oh, let’s not exaggerate,” Doctor Koala responded. “I’ve only had one case where a koala fell off of his platform, and it was because he had a stroke. He would’ve fallen off a branch, too.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve no need for one of them things. A branch is fine with old Scuzzy. They ain’t gonna try to force me to live in one, are they?” Scuzzy asked, looking a bit worried.
“No, don’t worry about that. You can have a tree with only branches, and live on whichever one you want. Nobody wants to force koalas to change their ways. But you know, the King does want us all to make the move,” the doctor was worried that Scuzzy, who always had been set in his ways, might refuse to join the migration.
“Oh, I know, and I’ll do what the King expects. Nobody’s gonna call old Scuzzy some kinda revolutionary,” Scuzzy replied.
“Good to hear. You know, I think you’ll like it over there. Oh, I almost forgot. The Council wants to hire you for the celebration we’re planning once the migration is over, and everybody is settled. It won’t be till the beginning of summer, but you might want to think of what you’d like to make – that is, if you accept the job,” Doctor Koala knew that Scuzzy was the best cook in Koalaville, strange as that may seem. He had a knack for coming up with just the right combinations of ingredients.
“Accept? Why, I’d be honored, yes, I would. And it’ll be fun, too. I found a new kind of berry the last time I was in the woods. First I thought it might be poisonous, but then I saw a deer eat a few of ‘em, and when I went back a few days later, that very same deer was there again, nibblin’ on a few more, so I took a bunch myself, and they are really somethin’ special. I’m thinkin’ up a new recipe for berry pie. I could make a huge one for the celebration. Hey, if you hire a few helpers for me as well, I’ll make a couple of giant pies, enough to fill the bellies of a couple hundred koalas!” Scuzzy was getting enthusiastic.
“Why, I think that could be arranged, Scuzzy. I’ll talk to the other councilmembers about it when I get a chance. Oh, it’s getting a little late. I’ll have to be going now. I have a few patients to visit. Have a nice day!”
“You too, Doc. See ya later!” old Scuzzy replied, then climbed up his tree, took a few of those berries out of a little basket he had placed on his branch, and tasted them, one after the other, while trying to imagine just what other ingredients might go well with them in what could be the biggest pie he would ever made in his life.