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HUDGEON
TALES
By Eleanor Goodman
BOOK I
CHAPTER 4
So, every morning, before school,
Jimmy Jake would pick honeysuckle blossoms, squeeze out the nectar
and bring them to the hudgeon on a small leaf from the honeysuckle
bush. He coaxed her into eating other food as well and gradually
she began to like regular people food, especially buttered toast.
Every day after school, he’d help Mr. Joe in the workshop
and then come in and play with her and teach her more than the
few word she already knew in human language. Jimmy Jake and the
hudgeon could easily read the pictures in each other’s minds,
but others couldn’t.
One morning JJ came out to the workshop and solemnly announced, “She
wants us to call her by her name.”
“That’s reasonable. What is her name?”
“Lily Rose.”
“That’s a pretty name,” said Mr. Joe and went
back to working.
JJ kept standing there. “Something else.”
“What is it?”
“She’s getting bored lying in bed all the time. She
wants to get out and about. And she says she needs clothes.”
Mr. Joe got a faraway look in his eyes. “Ah, clothes
for a hudgeon…. That would be sturdy denim for every-day
wear, perhaps purple silk for a party dress, and something white
and diaphanous for very special occasions….”
“Diapha-what? Hold on, Mr. Joe,” asked JJ. “Remember
the bed. Better not get too carried away until we find out
what our little hudgeon would like.”
Mr. Joe pulled at his ear as he often did when thinking, “Hmmm… guess
you’re right… she does have very strong opinions,
doesn’t she?”
They brought an assortment of fabrics
to Lily Rose which she examined carefully. Sure enough, the
denim was “too rough and scratchy,” the silk “too
slinky,” and the diaphanous white fabric “too see-through.” Nothing
pleased her.
Then, both Jimmy Jake and Mr. Joe
looked at each other and said at the same time, “the
garden.”
And out they went, looking for clues outdoors.
“Flower petals, of course… that should do it.” Roses
and lilies had just begun to bloom so JJ and Mr. Joe gathered handfuls
of red, pink, white, lavender and yellow blossoms and brought them
in to Lily Rose.
“Oooooooo…. How lovely.” She felt them and smelled
them and held each petal up to the light. “Yes these will
make clothes that are just right.”
“A couple of problems,” Mr. Joe said. “These
blossoms are too delicate for any needle. They would tear apart. So
how will we put the clothes together? And flowers fade and
disintegrate after awhile. Would we have to start all over again?”
Mr. Joe and Jimmy Jake thought and thought.
“Spit.” The hudgeon announced firmly.
“Spit?” said Mr. Joe “That’s silly,” Lily
Rose looked insulted and they were all silent for awhile.
“Not any old spit. Hudgeon spit. It’s magic, you know.
It will hold the blossoms together and protect them.”
Mr. Joe and JJ were chagrined. They
had become so involved with everyday matters of bed and food and
clothing for the hudgeon, that they had forgotten the obvious:
that this small delicate-seeming creature had powers beyond their
imagination. A little bit of magic spit was only a hint of what
was sure to come.
“Of course,” said Mr. Joe, and the three of them set
to work.
JJ went gathering blossoms while
Lily Rose put them together into clothes she designed-- lovely
garments with flowing lines.
“These pretty dresses suit me fine.
I really like these clothes of mine.”
Jimmy Jake admired the dresses,
thought for awhile, and then said, “You know, these dresses
are all very pretty, but don’t you think you might like something
a little more practical to play in?”
“Wait a minute. I’ll be right back.” He
ran into the house and came out with the book opened to a page
with colorful pictures of magical creatures, and showed it to her.
“How about something like that?” He pointed to
a picture of a small creature dressed in green, with a floppy pointy
hat.
Lily Rose looked at it and tossed her head disdainfully.
“That is an Elf. A hudgeon is not an Elf!”
“O.K., O.K., but that outfit would be great for climbing
trees and running and playing baseball and stuff. Maybe we
can make a few changes and turn it into one that is just right
for a hudgeon.”
But what could they use for fabric? Flower petals were certainly
not strong enough, even with hudgeon spit.
“I know just the thing,” exclaimed JJ, “a pair
of my old, faded blue jeans that I don’t wear anymore. We
could ask Mr. Joe to cut it up for you, and stitch new clothes
out of the material with his machine. Like regular kid’s
clothes.”
“Hmm….” she said, looking intently at the boy. “Why
doesn’t he make me an outfit like yours?”
“Now, that’s really a good idea.” Jimmy Jake
went and got his old jeans and let Lily feel the material.
“Strong, but not rough or scratchy,” she said. “Let’s
take it to Mr. Joe.”
The man was delighted. He set about making a couple of miniature
pairs of jeans and tee shirts exactly like JJ’s. He even
was able to find a few scraps of soft leather for shoes.
Lily Rose tried on her new clothes. Not the shoes though. “I
have tough feet,” she told them, “and my feet need
to be free.”
For some reason, seeing this tiny, barefoot, thumb- sized version
of himself brought out a chuckle from Jimmy Jake, which, as he
watched the hudgeon preen herself in front of a mirror, grew into
uncontrollable belly laughter.
“Don’t you dare laugh at me!”
She picked up a small piece of tailor’s chalk and hurled
it at JJ with such force that it knocked him right smack down.
Both Jimmy Jake and Mr. Joe, who had been watching, were awestruck.
“I’m sorry I laughed at you. I hope I didn’t
hurt your feelings.”
“You didn’t, really. I hope I didn’t hurt you
either.”
“It’s O.K… but tell me… how did you do
that?”
Lily Rose thought for a moment. “I don’t know…
I just did.”
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