Tales From The Glades Of Ballymore

by Bob Brooks

  Finn was very pleased with the progress that had been made on HIS project. The tunnel was more than half finished. He wished it were morning so that they could get back to work. He drifted off to sleep as he listened to Melrose and Merwin talk about the stars.

  As Merwin watched the sky, more stars appeared. Only five minutes ago he had seen only a few. Now, there were a lot more.

  “There are more stars in the sky now, Melrose,” said Merwin. “Where were they hiding?”

  “They weren’t hiding. They were always there, but you couldn’t see them because the sky was too bright. Now, that the sun has set, they have appeared.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Merwin.

  Melrose thought a while. “A few minutes ago you could see the daisies in the grass over there,” and Melrose pointed.

  “Yes,” said Merwin.

  “You can’t see them now because there isn’t enough light shining on them, but they are still there. You can walk over and touch them. With the stars it is just the opposite. The sun makes the sky and everything on Earth so bright that we can’t see the stars in the daytime. The stars themselves aren’t that bright compared to the sun that is much closer to the Earth than the stars. Light is very important. That’s what Bartholomew has told me,” said Melrose.

  Merwin was beginning to understand. He looked at the sky again. “A few minutes ago, that bright star above us was next to the first branch of the oak tree. Now, it’s next to the second branch. It must be moving,” he said.

  Melrose laughed. “Yes, it looks like the star is moving, but it’s us who are moving.”

  “I’m not moving,” Merwin protested.

  “We are on the surface of the Earth. The Earth is like a giant ball that is turning around to our left when we face south. When we look at the stars at night, they seem to be moving to the right,” said Melrose.

  “That doesn’t make sense. Are you sure? I do see the stars moving to the right, but I don’t see me moving,” again Merwin protested.

  “This is what Bartholomew has learned by studying his books. When we think we see the stars moving, it is an illusion. The same is true of the sun and moon. Bartholomew calls it PERSPECTIVE. He gave me an example of perspective. When you or I look at a blade of grass, it looks fairly small. When an ant looks at the same blade of grass, it looks large to the ant. I hope that Bartholomew teaches me more about perspective one day.”

  Melrose paused and then said, “You cannot always believe what you see.”

  They didn’t talk for a while, and Merwin continued to study the sky.

  “Where did the stars come from, Melrose?” asked Merwin.

  “The Creator of the universe made them. The Creator made everything. Now, go to sleep. It’s getting late,” answered Melrose.

  Both moles eventually fell asleep.

  Melrose was awakened in the middle of the night by rustling sounds. About fifty feet away, his bleary eyes saw two long dark shapes slinking through the bushes and headed towards the garden. He rubbed his eyes and jostled the others.

  “Wake up. Something’s going on,” he said.

  They awoke, rubbed their eyes also and peered in the direction of the bushes. The dark shapes were moving away and continuing towards the garden.

  “Let’s follow them. Be quiet,” Melrose whispered.

  The creatures did go to the garden. Melrose, Merwin, and Finn crept along at a distance. Distinct munching and slurping sounds were then heard. A full-moon was up but was covered by a cloud, so there wasn’t much light. Then, the cloud cleared the moon, and the crime scene was illuminated. Caught in the sudden moonlight were Wilde and Wilder Weasel. They were enjoying strawberries from Petunia’s garden. Strawberry juice was dripping from their mouths.

  The weasels lived just to the south of Petunia’s cottage. They spent most nights roaming around and checking on things as part of their guard duties. Tonight, it seems, they were checking on strawberries.

  Melrose jumped up and said, “Caught you. Drop those strawberries.”

  Everyone was startled including Melrose. The weasels dropped the strawberries and stood there looking sheepish. However, they quickly regained their composure when they realized who had caught them.

  “We are on our rounds and stopped for a couple of strawberries. I don’t see any harm in that,” Wilde said.

  “Do you have Mrs. Porcupine’s permission to eat her berries?” asked Melrose.

  “Not exactly,” answered Wilder.

  “Well, we must be going. We have a schedule to maintain,” said Wilde. Off they scampered.

  Finn and the moles chuckled to each other as they walked back to their blankets. They wondered who was protecting whom and from what. The rest of the night passed uneventfully.

  The next morning dawned clear and cool. It was another great day for tunneling and ant following, except that there were no ants to follow. Last evening, Petunia, again placed sesame seeds under the dish for the ants. This morning was a repeat of yesterday morning. The seeds were gone, and the dish left right-side up. Petunia was pleased but wished she could make more of a connection with them. It was time to think about that. Meanwhile, she would continue to place seeds on the back porch each night.

  Last evening, Finn had sent a message to Birch Beaver asking if he could join the group for breakfast. The message said that his talents were needed for an important project. Birch responded back that he would be pleased to join them, and indeed, he did.

  Before breakfast, Finn explained to Birch his important role in finishing the tunnel. Birch saw no problem with the plan and said he would be happy to help. He would stand by awaiting instructions.

  Finn mentioned the weasels to Mrs. Porcupine at breakfast. She wasn’t surprised.

  “They have been sampling my fruits and vegetables for a long time now when they do their rounds. I haven’t mentioned it to them because I would like them to think that they are getting away with something. It helps satisfy their urge to be mischievous. I think it’s amusing that you caught them. They must have been surprised.”

  “Yes, they were,” said Finn. “We snuck up on them and caught them in the act.”

  “I’m proud of you boys,” Petunia said and gave each a kiss on the cheek. Everyone blushed, especially Merwin. Birch was happy that he escaped the kiss, although he blushed anyway.

  Word got around that Finn had a tunnel project at Mrs. Porcupine’s cottage. When the four boys walked to the garden after breakfast, they were greeted by about ten curious animals. Among them were Brie Bluebird, the whole Squirrel family, Craig Chipmunk, Diedre & Declan Duck, Robbie Rabbit, and Finn’s family.

  Finn was a bit surprised at the unexpected audience but welcomed them.

  “We appreciate everyone coming. Today, we’ll complete the first onsite water system in Ballymore. Water will come directly from the pond to this location automatically and continuously. You are most welcome to watch, but please don’t get too close to the hole because we need space to work. Thank you again for coming.”

  Finn said good morning to his family. They wished him luck and asked if they could help. He thanked them but said that the tunnel was small, and there was no room for anyone else.

  With the introduction finished, the boys began their work for the day. Melrose crawled back down the tunnel and resumed digging. Merwin was behind him and pushed the loose dirt to the hole where Finn lifted it and spread it near the garden.

  Around noon, Melrose noticed something unexpected. The dirt he was removing was now moist.

  He said, “Merwin, come and look at this.”

  Merwin moved up beside Melrose, and they stared at the moist dirt.

  “I don’t understand,” said Melrose. “We should not be that close to the pond already. We better go up and check our location.”

  “Maybe the water is coming from somewhere else,” said Merwin.

  “Let’s go,” said Melrose.

  Before they could take two steps backward, a stream of wa
ter began to spurt through the wall of dirt.

  “Run!” yelled Melrose.

  It was too late!

  WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

  The wall collapsed, and a torrent of water poured over them. The mud and water rapidly carried them the length of the tunnel.

  From above, Finn and everyone else heard the sudden whoosh and the yells that followed. Within seconds water, mud, and moles shot out of the hole. The soaked and muddied moles landed roughly on the grass. They were unbelievably filthy and scared but apparently unhurt. The mud and water covered the grass and all of the spectators. A particularly large blob of mud caught Finn directly in the face and slowly dripped off of the most frightened and most sad frog you have ever seen.

  Mud And Mole Geyser

  The geyser ended as quickly as it had begun, and a few seconds later, the long tunnel collapsed with a flump. All that was left of the project was a small mud hole.

  Petunia, who escaped the flood because she was in the kitchen preparing lunch, ran out to witness the biggest mess she had ever seen. She stood there speechless.

  She rushed over to Finn and asked, “Are you okay, Finn? What, in the world, happened?”

  His family was already beside him.

  Finn stood there and could not speak. His mind was in a whirl. Eventually, he said, “I don’t know.”

  After a few moments he said, “Let’s see about Melrose and Merwin.”

  They walked towards the moles who were surrounded by several animals. Finn pushed his way through. The brothers were wiping mud from themselves.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “I think we are,” answered Melrose. “Is everybody else okay?”

  “I think so,” answered Finn. “Do you know what happened?”

  “The soil became moist where I was digging. Before we could get out, it flooded. Unfortunately, I think we were closer to the pond than we thought we were,” explained Melrose.

  It was a simple and correct explanation.

  Finn shook his head, sadly and patted the moles on their backs. This was not the way they wanted to prove themselves to their parents.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  The moles said they were sorry, also.

  Finn walked slowly to Old Seth to be alone. His family tried to follow, but he asked them to please let him have some time by himself. They understood. He told them he would be home before nightfall.

  The spectators stood around, wiping off mud and chattering excitedly about the events they had just seen and felt. Petunia suggested that everyone go down to the pond and clean up. They did as she asked. When Brie Bluebird returned from the pond, Petunia gave her a message for Bartholomew. The message explained what had happened and asked if he could come as soon as possible. Brie left immediately.

  Bartholomew was at home when Brie arrived. He quickly composed his response and sent Brie back to Petunia. The message said he was sorry to hear about the difficulties and that he would be there at about 6 bongs. Petunia was relieved to hear that Bartholomew was coming. She knew he would help.

  By then, everyone had left except Melrose, Merwin and Finn. She told the moles that Bartholomew was coming around dinner time, and they were welcome to stay. Melrose said it would be better if they went home now. Petunia agreed, and they left shortly thereafter.

  Finn was still sitting against the trunk of Old Seth staring at the ground. Petunia approached and sat down beside him.

  “I’m sorry that the project didn’t go as you planned. The good news is that no one was injured, and it won’t take long to clean up.”

  Mud still coated the frog.

  “Try not to be too hard on yourself. You had a good idea, but you’re still young and need to gain more experience. Most animals wouldn’t have had the guts to even try this project. Now, come on down to the pond, and clean yourself up. Then, help me with the mud on the grass, please. Bartholomew will be coming for dinner, so let’s try to make the place look respectable.”

  Finn said nothing but eventually rose and walked to the pond with her.

  Cleanup didn’t take long. Soon, Petunia was in the kitchen preparing dinner. With a few changes, the lunch she made earlier could be used. Meanwhile, Finn sat on the back porch and stared at the mud hole. He wondered what he could have done differently.

  Around 6 bongs, Bartholomew flew over the cottage, circled, and landed near the garden.

  He walked over to Finn. “Hello, Finn. I heard you had a setback with your water project. I’m sorry. However, I don’t think I have ever seen a project that didn’t require some changes after it started. Your idea to bring water to the garden from the pond was brilliant.”

  Finn looked up and said, “ Do you really think so, sir?”

  “Absolutely,” said Bartholomew. “The plan just needs some modifying.”

  Finn smiled. “Thank you, sir. “What can we do?”

  He was starting to feel a little better.

  “First, let’s go have dinner, and we can talk about it,” Bartholomew said.

  Bartholomew put his wing around Finn, and they walked inside together. After they sat down for dinner, Finn apologized to Petunia.

  “Mrs. Porcupine, I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you,” he said.

  “Thank you, Finn. Things don’t always happen the way we plan. I know your intentions were good,” she responded graciously.

  “Finn had a good idea,” said Bartholomew. “Correction! He had two good ideas. I believe, if we combine them with some modifications, you will have water flowing to your garden. With your permission, of course.”

  Petunia had a lot of confidence in Bartholomew and said, “That would be wonderful, thank you.”

  “Finn’s first idea was to dig a trench, and his second idea was to dig a tunnel. A tunnel is just a covered trench. I will explain. First, we can dig a narrow trench about two feet deep from the pond to the garden. Then, we will mount a hand-pump on the trough. A small pipe can be run in the trench from the pump to the pond. After everything is connected and tested, the trench can be covered. Then, you will be able to pump water from the pond into the trough,” Bartholomew explained.

  “That plan sounds better and easier than mine, but where will we get the pipe and pump?” asked Finn.

  “I will ask the swans to locate the equipment, although I don’t know how long it will take them. I’ll visit on my way home this evening,” said Bartholomew. “You should continue to supervise the construction. It’s still your project.”

  Finn was pleased with the new plan and happy that he would still play an important role.

  They finished dinner and walked out to the pond. The sun was setting, and it was a beautiful evening. Petunia felt much better now that Bartholomew was involved.

  “How’s the boat project coming along?” she enquired.

  “Very well, thank you. We are on schedule, and there have been no major problems, but a lot remains to be done,” he answered.

  “Well, I must leave and visit the swans. It was nice seeing you again Petunia.”

  After everyone said goodbye, Bartholomew flew across the pond to meet with the swans. Finn began to walk home, and Petunia returned to her cottage. She placed more sesame seeds for the ants and settled down with some knitting in the parlor.

  The swans lived in a medium-sized cottage in middle of the island. They had cleared a large area around the cottage so that they had plenty of landing and takeoff room for their frequent flights. This was also the location of the island weather flag pole.

  At the risk of repeating myself, the swans’ main responsibilities were to locate items needed in Ballymore by the residents. They have found special foods, cloth, tools, and more. The list was practically endless. Sometimes they flew as far as fifty miles to obtain what was needed. It was not known exactly how they got these various items. Most of what they brought back was not new, so perhaps they visited dumps frequently. The food, of course, was fresh. Only Bartholomew knew some of the detai
ls of their trips.

  Over the years, the swans have helped Bartholomew with a number of community projects. They have become close friends. The swans would be pleased with his unexpected visit.