by Gitte Spee
“Wait a minute,” said Sune.
“Can’t we stop and think a little,” said Gertrude. “You said that’s what police should do.”
They sat in a circle. Gordon was still feeling moved. Buffy sniffed her blanket.
“How many beds were here?” asked Gertrude.
“Eight,” said Buffy. “Two young ones in each. Yes, and Mama of course…”
“There’s only one bed still here,” said Sune. “Yours. The one that was broken when the fox struck. Could someone else have come and taken the others later? Who though?”
They all thought.
“Mama and the other youngsters!” Gordon said with a smile.
“Or other mice,” said Buffy, distressed.
Gertrude shook her head. “How many snuggly blankets did you have?”
“All the children had their own…”
“And how many are still here?”
Buffy turned over her blanket and looked at it. “Only mine,” she said. “Do you mean that my brothers and sisters took their own? And only mine was left? And they think I’m the one who was eaten up?”
Sune nodded.
Gordon had cheered up. “Well,” he said, “that all sounds good, but these are only thoughts. We can be a little hopeful, but we must investigate further. What shall we do?”
Buffy folded up her blanket and put it away.
“First we must sniff out the entire area,” she said, “to be certain there are no mice here. Then I’ll explain what we should do next.”
They all climbed up out of the hole and Buffy and Gertrude began to sniff their way around. There was not much mouse smell. But it had rained such a lot in the night, so it didn’t necessarily mean no mice.
“No tracks, no clues,” said Gordon. “But a good thought from the small police, which gives us hope. What shall we do now, Buffy?”
“Put on your nice new police hats,” said Buffy.
Gertrude and Sune’s paper hats had become a little soggy in the rain. But Gertrude had more in her backpack.
Buffy inspected the three police in front of her.
“I don’t think he’ll attack police,” she said. “That’s why it’s important to wear our hats. Now we’ll sniff him out. And interrogate him.”
“Who?” said Gertrude.
“The fox,” said Buffy.
Interrogation protocol: the fox
Four police went off to investigate, their gold-starred hats shining in the sun. They marched in time around the whole island. The two talented sniffers went first.
When they had covered the entire island except for the furthest headland, the sniffers found a track.
“Fox,” said Buffy. “Fox ahead!”
Gordon suggested that he be the one to question the fox. Buffy was too distressed. In an interrogation one must be polite and correct, not angry and upset.
Buffy understood.
They went on through the sparse forest and the pungent smell of fox grew stronger. Gertrude even had to hold her nose.
At last they reached a big rock and there on the other side was a fox, very fast asleep.
They crept closer to him. Buffy whispered that they should stand at attention beside the fox.
Gordon then took a step forward. “Hrmm.” He cleared his throat. “What have we here then?”
The fox opened one eye and looked at Gordon. Then he closed it again.
Interrogation protocol: the fox
8.15 a.m.
(Recorded at the police station later)
GORDON: Hmm. Unfortunately we must interrogate you about an event last winter.
Gordon was speaking very properly. The fox sat up. Its coat was red and glinted in the sunshine.
FOX: What do you mean, what sort of event?
GORDON: It concerns the case of an assault on a mouse family who lived over at the waterfall. This is prohibited!
FOX: Ha! How could it be prohibited?
BUFFY: Pfft.
Buffy started jumping up and down with rage. She breathed deeply so she wouldn’t shriek out loud.
GORDON: It is the law. Act of Special Importance.
Clause 2. The second most important paragraph. We must also determine whether any animals have been eaten up. Absolutely forbidden! Clause 1. The most important paragraph of all.
The fox looked down at the ground. Then he looked closely at Gordon.
FOX: I recognize you. Wasn’t it you who forced me to leave the forest?
GORDON: Yes, anyone who eats others cannot stay in my police district.
FOX: You told me I’d have to eat you if I disobeyed.
GORDON: Yes.
Gordon puffed himself up until he was completely round.
FOX: Well, I don’t eat disgusting toads. Only birds and mice. Ideally small mice.
GERTRUDE: Hmpff! You wouldn’t dare eat me. I’m the POLICE!
FOX: I never eat anything I’ve spoken to. One doesn’t want to converse with one’s food.
GERTRUDE: So if you’re going to eat someone up, they should start talking to you?
FOX: In that case I’d close my ears. I am cunning.
Gordon interrupted, anxious to get to the important question.
GORDON: Did you or did you not ambush a mouse nest beside the waterfall?
FOX: Maybe…well, sure I did. I have to eat.
GERTRUDE: Can’t you eat dead animals? Old snakes, already dead.
The fox would not answer the question.
GERTRUDE: Can’t you eat nuts?
FOX: Don’t be an idiot! Nuts!
GERTRUDE: No swearing!
FOX: That’s not food for a fox. Nuts and grass. That’s not natural!
GERTRUDE: Buy butter, then.
FOX: No money.
GERTRUDE: Fish?
FOX: Don’t like water.
GERTRUDE: Are you afraid of water?
FOX: A little, perhaps. One’s coat gets so wet and heavy.
Silence. Gertrude looked very carefully at the fox.
GERTRUDE: You have a very beautiful coat. That lovely white on your chest. May I feel it?
The fox nodded.
GERTRUDE: You won’t eat the police, will you?
FOX: You don’t trust me, huh?
He giggled.
GERTRUDE: Na—ya.
Gertrude went up close and patted the fox’s chest.
GERTRUDE: Very soft and white and beautiful. I’d like a coat like yours.
FOX: Thank you.
GERTRUDE: I might like being a big, strong fox like you. But no, actually, I feel sorry for you. You can’t be in the club.
FOX: What club? What club can’t I be in?
GERTRUDE: Everyone living in the forest is a member. If they believe in the law.
GORDON: She means citizens, not members!
GERTRUDE: But maybe you belong to a different club. For those who eat animals. Eagles, wolves and so on.
FOX: No, we don’t have a club. We…ah, we’d just end up eating each other.
GORDON: This whole thing is very sad. But I don’t see that there’s any solution.
BUFFY: Pfft.
Buffy was jumping up and down. She had her hand over her mouth, but she couldn’t wait any longer. She had to ask the question even if Gordon thought she was rude.
BUFFY: HAVE YOU EATEN MY MOTHER?
She screamed it with such fury that they all jumped.
The fox looked at her and took a step closer to sniff her.
FOX: Were you the one who ran away, straight onto the ice? You were really fast.
Buffy nodded.
FOX: Rats! Everyone blames me for everything! I’m not talking to you...
Buffy began to cry. The fox seemed embarrassed and ashamed.
BUFFY: I’ll be really sad if you’ve eaten my mother.
Silence.
FOX: No, I swear, I had nothing to eat that day. I was so hungry my stomach ached and grumbled. No, the mice are probably still there somewhere. I smell them sometimes, but I hav
e no idea where they are…
Now the interrogation was complete, Buffy didn’t know what to do.
“Thank you,” she said.
She made a salute, turned around and marched off.
The two small police also saluted and followed her.
Gordon said, “I hope we police never have to interrogate you again. Sa-lute! March!”
“What should I eat?” said the fox.
Gordon had no answer. He just kept going.
Where is the cave at Cave Island?
Gordon ran to catch up with the others. They were on their way to the waterfall to sniff again, really, really carefully.
“Your mother is alive,” Gordon puffed.
“If we can trust the fox,” said Buffy harshly.
“I trust him,” said Gertrude. “And I feel sorry for him.”
Gordon settled on a rock beside the falls. Sune sat next to him. After all, they couldn’t do much else while the mice were sniffing around for evidence.
“Shall we have a little cake?” Gordon began to open the backpack. “I have almond dreams, sugar tops and strawberry whirls. Which do you want?”
Sune couldn’t choose. He knew he didn’t want a sugar top, because you had to wash your face and hands afterwards. Hmm. Maybe strawberry…
He was about to say so when Gordon zipped the backpack up again.
“No, probably we should save the cake till we’ve found Buffy’s mother,” he said.
Sune looked at him, wondering what he meant.
“It is always good to have a little reward,” Gordon explained. “First we find her mother and then we have cake! It makes us think faster and more wisely.”
“Are we thinking out where she is?” Sune asked.
Gordon nodded. He felt they knew enough now to figure out where she was. Just by thinking.
“Hmm.” Sune leaned his head in his hands like a real thinker. He sat perfectly still for a moment.
“It’s hard to think,” he said. “Can’t you help me?”
“Well, here are a few questions. Are her mother and siblings alive?”
“Yes,” said Sune.
“Are they far away?”
“No,” said Sune. “There’s sometimes a whiff of them here. The fox said so.”
“Where are they, then?”
Sune stood up and looked in all directions but saw nothing.
Then Buffy and Gertrude came back. They sat down, disappointed. There were no clues to be found.
Sune had an idea.
“Maybe I could write a poem, the way police officers do.”
“Why not,” said Gordon. “You might as well. Maybe you can catch a thought that is inside you.”
Sune thought for a long time. Everyone looked at him. At last he said:
Where is the cave
where we can find our knave (our rat)?
“Knave! Rat!” Buffy exclaimed. “My mother’s not a knave-rat, she’s the cutest mouse there is.”
Sune blushed. “I couldn’t find another rhyme…”
“Aha,” said Gordon, “but you don’t have to rhyme in these poems. Try to catch your thought again. There’ll be cake!”
Sune said:
Where is the cave
at Cave Island?
The island was called Cave Island, so there must be a cave on it, otherwise it would be strange. They had gone around the whole island, though, and hadn’t seen the slightest trace of a cave.
“Bravo,” they all told Sune, who blushed again.
“We are getting close to something important,” said Gordon. “We should not look for a mother. We should look for a cave that is protected from foxes. Where is she? Where is the cave, Sune?”
Sune sat like a thinker again, with his head on his hand. And then he used both hands. He began breathing fast as if he were angry or about to lift a heavy weight. He squeezed his eyes shut.
“Thinking is hard work,” said Gordon.
Sune stood up. He said in a clear voice:
The fox is afraid of just one thing.
His coat gets wet in water.
Sune breathed out and sat down. The others thought carefully about the poem.
“Yes!” they all exclaimed. “You’ve thought it out, Sune!”
“Can I have cake now?” he asked. “The strawberry whirl?”
“As soon as we’ve found her...”
Where exactly would the cave be, they all wondered.
Gertrude got up. She took Buffy’s hand and pulled her along; they went straight towards the creek, straight to the waterfall.
Beside the creek was a narrow outcrop of rock where you could walk without getting your feet wet. The two mouse police went right into the waterfall. The curtain of water poured down over them.
And then they disappeared.
Much hugging and licking
The curtain of water fell over Buffy and Gertrude. It almost pushed them to the ground. But they went right through it and found themselves in a large, dark cave.
“Hello!” Buffy cried, and the echo answered, “Ello, ello, ello!”
When her eyes had adjusted, she saw that the cave was full of beds, pillows and blankets.
A little mouse came up to her.
“But it’s you!” Buffy cried.
Yes, it was the sister she’d shared a bed with.
“I knew you were alive,” said her sister. “I was waiting for you.”
“My little sister,” said Buffy, crying and hugging her.
Gertrude saw that they were exactly alike, with the same expressions on their faces, the same voices and the same clothes.
“My mother! All my brothers and sisters!”
Yes, there was her mother in the dark cave. And there were her fifteen children. Half of them were big brothers and sisters to Buffy, but the younger ones had caught up, so now they were all the same size.
Buffy was still wearing her police hat. She rushed up to her mother and sniffed her.
“Oh, my mother’s own beautiful smell,” she said with a sigh.
“You’re alive!” said her mother joyfully. “Where have you been?”
“And what about you? Have you been here in the cave all along?” asked Buffy.
They hugged. Then they licked each other. Buffy was wet in the face and happy.
Now Gordon and Sune also entered the cave. They each held their breath as they ran through the waterfall.
“Terrible,” said Gordon, snorting. “You small police are very clever!”
“The cave was very close by indeed,” said Sune. “Just as I thought.”
They could see Buffy and her mother licking each other’s faces. Buffy’s police hat had fallen to the ground.
“Hmm, mice will be mice,” Gordon whispered to Sune. “We toads would never lick each other.”
Buffy rushed on and squeezed and licked all her siblings.
Gordon was very touched, but nevertheless tried to behave like a chief detective. He walked up to Buffy’s mother and took her solemnly by the hand.
“Pleased to meet you. My name is Chief Detective Gordon. I am a police colleague of Buffy’s.”
“Buffy? Who?” said her mother.
Of course, this mother didn’t know that Gordon had given her child the name of Buffy.
“Buffy, your lost child,” said Gordon. “She is certainly not a child any longer. She is the Chief of Police in the woods. A very important police detective.”
The mother began to cry with joy. “I’m so happy and proud. But how did you find us?”
“Normal police work,” said Gordon.
“We thought and then we wrote police poems,” said Sune standing next to him.
He had picked up Buffy’s hat and put it on his own head on top of his little police hat. So that no one would stand on it, he said.
It took some time for the four police to greet Buffy’s mother and all of Buffy’s brothers and sisters. But after sixty-eight handshakes, hugs or lickings, this was done, and they could
all sit down on the beds holding each other’s hands and talking over the top of each other.
“Buffy,” said Gordon, “perhaps we could serve some little cakes. Buffy!”
No one was listening to him and he suddenly realized that here in the cave were a sea of Buffys! All the mice children looked exactly the same with matching clothes.
He tapped one of them on the shoulder. “Buffy?”
The little mouse nodded in surprise.
“Are you Buffy?
“Who’s Buffy?” said the mouse in exactly the same voice as Buffy’s.
Well, who was Buffy? He went on to the next.
“Buffy?”
“Yes!” said the little mouse. “Yes, I’d also like to be called Buffy.”
“Me too!” said the mouse sitting beside her.
“And me?” said a third. “Buffy is a beautiful name.”
“Hmm,” said Gordon. “It is probably not a good idea to all have the same name...”
How would he find his best friend among all these twins, a cave full of twins!
“Shouldn’t we eat cakes?” said Sune. “We can of course salute all the mice and then offer them cakes.”
Yes! If Gordon called out that all police officers should salute, they would discover the correct Buffy.
“All police, salute!” called Gordon, and the cave echoed, “alute, alute, alute!”
Four police officers stood up. And there was Buffy!
“Quick, put the hat on her,” Gordon whispered to Sune.
Then he gave a little speech.
“Dear mice, at our police station in the forest, we usually eat very delicious cakes. With us now we have almond dreams with a sprinkle of chocolate. We have strawberry whirls—with cream inside and half a strawberry on top. We also have sugar tops, made with wonderful deep-fried dough dipped in powdered sugar.”
“Warning, warning!” said Sune. “You have to wash yourself afterwards!”
“By the way, I have a lot of lovely hats for everyone in my backpack,” said Gertrude.
She shared out blue paper hats. They had writing on their gold stars. What did it say? Police perhaps.
When this was done, Gordon cleared his throat.
“Finally, everyone gets to choose the cake they would like!”
He opened the backpack and looked inside. There at the bottom was a shapeless blob. A cake blob. Water had got into the pack and everything had mixed together into a dough.