Palimpsest_Features
4th Jun 2004, 12:51
Chapter Three
Madeleine's Father Has An Idea
When Madeleine finally awoke from her nap, it was almost time for her father to arrive home from work. "Ooh," she said, yawning as she sat up, "look at the time! It's almost time for Daddy to come home…what a long nap that was! I'm going to go out on the front porch to wait for him."
Despite their long nap, the Butterfly, Dragonfly, and Froggerfly all rolled over and went back to sleep. The Hoppopotamus looked expectantly up at Madeleine.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Hoppo," she said, "but I don't think you should come with me. You're supposed to be hiding, remember? And there's nowhere to hide on the front porch."
"Of course, how silly of me," he said. "I'll stay here and sleep a little longer—the last few days have left me completely exhausted, after all."
So, Madeleine went out to sit on the front porch, while the Hoppopotamus leaned back against the bed and closed his eyes. Madeleine waved at her neighbors while she waited for her father, and she admired his favorite tree, the Dogwood in the front yard. He always said it had ‘a nice habit, like a half-opened umbrella turned upside down,' but Madeleine loved it just because it was pretty. Well—she also loved it because her father loved it so much, and because she loved him so much, too.
She saw his car turn on to the street, and she stood up to wave at him. He smiled and waved back before parking his car, and then he stepped out and hugged her.
"Hello, Mads," he said, "Did you have a nice day? I've brought Vietnamese food for dinner." Madeleine's family liked to eat all kinds of different foods, and there were several Vietnamese restaurants just up the street from them. Her father often picked some up on the way home when he and her mother didn't feel like cooking.
Madeleine clapped. "I just love Viennese food!" she exclaimed, and they both carried the food inside, shouting to her mother that it was time to eat.
***
Some time later, as they were nearly finished with their meals, Madeleine's father put down his fork (Vietnamese food is properly eaten with chopsticks, but he never developed the necessary skills) and looked at Madeleine rather seriously.
"I've noticed that one of my azaleas in the back garden has been squashed," he said.
"Oh," Madeleine replied, staring at her food.
"You don't know anything about that, do you?"
Madeleine sat quietly for a moment, seeing that her mother and father both were watching her carefully. She was afraid to tell them about the Hoppopotamus, because she didn't want them to send him away, where he wouldn't have any friends or anywhere to live. She knew it was wrong to lie to them, though, and she truly was a good little girl who normally didn't do such things.
She suddenly started talking, the words piling out in such a rush that they were almost tripping over each other: "It was the Hoppopotamus, I found him crying in the garden, and he was sitting on the azalea, but he didn't mean it, he's really very nice, and he doesn't have anywhere to stay and he's all alone, and I told him he could stay in my room until we could think of somewhere for him to live, and I know I should have asked for permission first and I'm sorry, and that's who was making all of the noise on the stairs earlier, Mommy, and he's my new friend and please don't make him go away, please?" Her eyes went wide and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, in a belated attempt to keep all of her secrets from escaping.
Her mother and father looked at each other, then smiled pleasantly at Madeleine. "So," her father said, picking up his fork again, "it was a Hoppopotamus, you say…"
"Yes, he's like a hippo and a bunny, all together in one."
"I see, and he sat on my azalea, did he?"
"Oh, but it was an accident, and he's very sorry…"
"It's all right—please tell him that it's all right, Mads. I'll cut off the damaged parts, and it will grow back just fine."
Madeleine watched as her parents went back to eating. She thought they had accepted the whole matter surprisingly well. "So…it's ok for him to stay with me for a few days, until we find a home for him?"
"It's fine with me," her mother said, "as long as he's not too messy."
Her father finished chewing and swallowing a bite of his food, then said, "You know what? I've thought of a perfect place for him."
"You have!" Madeleine said excitedly, sitting forward in her chair.
"Yes—absolutely perfect, I think. Why don't you tell him to go to the Botanical Garden?"
"The Botanical Garden! What a wonderful idea!"
The Botanical Garden was a magical place, only a few blocks away from their house. Like their house, it was right in the middle of the busy city—but if you spent even five minutes there, walking through the peaceful Japanese garden, strolling through the trees in the woodland garden, or taking in the scents of the prize rose gardens, you completely forgot you were in the middle of the city. It was more like you were on the grounds of a splendid country estate. Madeleine went there often with her parents, and it was one of her favorite places.
"Yes," her father continued, "he would have lots of room, and it would be a beautiful place to live. I wish I could live there myself…"
"And he would only be right up the street, and I could visit him all the time!"
"Sure," her mother said, "we could see him every time we visit the Garden. In fact, we're going tomorrow, so you could see him then."
"Oh, he'll be so happy!" Madeleine squealed, and she hurried to finish her dinner, so she could tell the Hoppopotamus all about it.
***
After dinner, Madeleine climbed the stairs and burst into her room, saying, "Mister Hoppo!" Then, she noticed that everyone still was napping.
"What? What?" the Hoppopotamus mumbled, barely awake. The Dragonfly and the Butterfly shook themselves awake and fluttered into the air, while the Froggerfly just sat and stared.
"I told my mother and father about you, and they didn't mind that you sat on the garden, and they didn't mind that you were in my room, and Daddy thought of a perfect place for you to live!"
"What's all this?" the Hoppopotamus said, not nearly awake enough to be processing all of this information. "You told your parents about me?"
"Yes, I did—they always say it's best to tell the truth—and everything's going to be fine now, Mister Hoppo!"
"Where did they say he should live?" the Froggerfly asked.
"The Botanical Garden!" Madeleine replied. She told the Hoppopotamus all about the Botanical Garden, about all the things she liked best: the ducks; the fountains; the big metal sculpture with its dozen heavy, clanging chimes; the butterfly garden; and the rainforest that lived inside of a big, plastic dome. She told him that it was such a beautiful place, and he would have plenty of room, and, best of all, it was only right up the street, so they could play together all the time.
"It sounds ever so lovely," the Hoppopotamus said quietly. "I can't wait to go."
"You don't need to wait," Madeleine said. "Like I told you, it's not far from here at all, and I can easily tell you how to get there. You only need to go out our front door, turn left, and keep going for a few minutes until you run straight into the Botanical Garden. I can't go tonight, because it's almost dark and I have to go to bed soon, but you could go. My mother says that we're going there tomorrow, so you could stay at the Garden tonight, and I'll see you in the morning."
The Hoppopotamus thought it over. "I do want to see the Botanical Garden, but I also want to stay with you for a little while longer. I think I'll stay until it's time for you to go to bed, and then I'll go see the Botanical Garden."
So, they talked and played in Madeleine's room for a little while, until her mother called her to tell her it was time for bed.
"Well, I guess it's time for you to go to the Botanical Garden," Madeleine said, hugging the Hoppopotamus. "You're going to love it, Mister Hoppo."
"Yes, I think I will…just out the door and turn left, right?"
"That's right. Left, I mean. Good-bye! It was very nice to meet you!"
"And it was very nice to meet you, too, Miss Madeleine. Thank you for being my best friend ever." With that, he left her room, hopped down the stairs, and went out the front door.
A few seconds later, Madeleine's father called her. "Madeleine?"
She went out to the landing and found him looking up from the bottom of the stairs. "Yes, Daddy?"
"What was all that noise on the stairs…was that you?"
Madeleine rolled her eyes at him. "Nooooo, Daddy, I'm still upstairs. That was Mister Hoppo. He's going to the Botanical Garden, just like you said he should."
Her father remained at the bottom of the stairs for a few moments, looking very puzzled. "Uh…Mister Hoppo?"
"Yes, I told him that I had to go to bed, but he could go to the Botanical Garden now."
Her father didn't look any less puzzled. "Ok," he said finally, shaking his head. "I hope he likes it there. Um…I'll be up to tuck you in when you're ready for bed." He turned around, still shaking his head, and walked away.
***
The Hoppopotamus had gone out the front door and turned left, just like Madeleine had told him to do. It was dark outside now, and nobody seemed to notice him as he hopped through Madeleine's neighborhood. He hopped along for maybe five minutes, and then the old, brick houses of Madeleine's neighborhood ended, and a tall, stone wall was directly in front of him. He saw that there were large metal letters on the wall, and, looking closely to try to read them by the glow of a streetlight nearby, he saw that they read, ‘Missouri Botanical Garden.'
"She was right," the Hoppopotamus said to himself, "out the door, turn left, and you run straight into it."
He could see what seemed like hundreds of treetops behind the walls, and he saw moonlight reflecting from something that might have been the dome Madeleine had mentioned, the one with the rainforest inside of it. Moonlight? He remembered the Froggerfly's adventure and looked up, and, sure enough, there was a sliver of moonlight shining down on the Earth, just as the Froggerfly had said there would be.
He shivered and smiled. He realized he was very excited to see his new home. He took a quick look in both directions along the wall, and he didn't see anything that looked like an entrance. So, he sat back on his rabbit haunches, gathered himself, and he sprang right up over the wall into the Garden.
.
Madeleine's Father Has An Idea
When Madeleine finally awoke from her nap, it was almost time for her father to arrive home from work. "Ooh," she said, yawning as she sat up, "look at the time! It's almost time for Daddy to come home…what a long nap that was! I'm going to go out on the front porch to wait for him."
Despite their long nap, the Butterfly, Dragonfly, and Froggerfly all rolled over and went back to sleep. The Hoppopotamus looked expectantly up at Madeleine.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Hoppo," she said, "but I don't think you should come with me. You're supposed to be hiding, remember? And there's nowhere to hide on the front porch."
"Of course, how silly of me," he said. "I'll stay here and sleep a little longer—the last few days have left me completely exhausted, after all."
So, Madeleine went out to sit on the front porch, while the Hoppopotamus leaned back against the bed and closed his eyes. Madeleine waved at her neighbors while she waited for her father, and she admired his favorite tree, the Dogwood in the front yard. He always said it had ‘a nice habit, like a half-opened umbrella turned upside down,' but Madeleine loved it just because it was pretty. Well—she also loved it because her father loved it so much, and because she loved him so much, too.
She saw his car turn on to the street, and she stood up to wave at him. He smiled and waved back before parking his car, and then he stepped out and hugged her.
"Hello, Mads," he said, "Did you have a nice day? I've brought Vietnamese food for dinner." Madeleine's family liked to eat all kinds of different foods, and there were several Vietnamese restaurants just up the street from them. Her father often picked some up on the way home when he and her mother didn't feel like cooking.
Madeleine clapped. "I just love Viennese food!" she exclaimed, and they both carried the food inside, shouting to her mother that it was time to eat.
***
Some time later, as they were nearly finished with their meals, Madeleine's father put down his fork (Vietnamese food is properly eaten with chopsticks, but he never developed the necessary skills) and looked at Madeleine rather seriously.
"I've noticed that one of my azaleas in the back garden has been squashed," he said.
"Oh," Madeleine replied, staring at her food.
"You don't know anything about that, do you?"
Madeleine sat quietly for a moment, seeing that her mother and father both were watching her carefully. She was afraid to tell them about the Hoppopotamus, because she didn't want them to send him away, where he wouldn't have any friends or anywhere to live. She knew it was wrong to lie to them, though, and she truly was a good little girl who normally didn't do such things.
She suddenly started talking, the words piling out in such a rush that they were almost tripping over each other: "It was the Hoppopotamus, I found him crying in the garden, and he was sitting on the azalea, but he didn't mean it, he's really very nice, and he doesn't have anywhere to stay and he's all alone, and I told him he could stay in my room until we could think of somewhere for him to live, and I know I should have asked for permission first and I'm sorry, and that's who was making all of the noise on the stairs earlier, Mommy, and he's my new friend and please don't make him go away, please?" Her eyes went wide and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, in a belated attempt to keep all of her secrets from escaping.
Her mother and father looked at each other, then smiled pleasantly at Madeleine. "So," her father said, picking up his fork again, "it was a Hoppopotamus, you say…"
"Yes, he's like a hippo and a bunny, all together in one."
"I see, and he sat on my azalea, did he?"
"Oh, but it was an accident, and he's very sorry…"
"It's all right—please tell him that it's all right, Mads. I'll cut off the damaged parts, and it will grow back just fine."
Madeleine watched as her parents went back to eating. She thought they had accepted the whole matter surprisingly well. "So…it's ok for him to stay with me for a few days, until we find a home for him?"
"It's fine with me," her mother said, "as long as he's not too messy."
Her father finished chewing and swallowing a bite of his food, then said, "You know what? I've thought of a perfect place for him."
"You have!" Madeleine said excitedly, sitting forward in her chair.
"Yes—absolutely perfect, I think. Why don't you tell him to go to the Botanical Garden?"
"The Botanical Garden! What a wonderful idea!"
The Botanical Garden was a magical place, only a few blocks away from their house. Like their house, it was right in the middle of the busy city—but if you spent even five minutes there, walking through the peaceful Japanese garden, strolling through the trees in the woodland garden, or taking in the scents of the prize rose gardens, you completely forgot you were in the middle of the city. It was more like you were on the grounds of a splendid country estate. Madeleine went there often with her parents, and it was one of her favorite places.
"Yes," her father continued, "he would have lots of room, and it would be a beautiful place to live. I wish I could live there myself…"
"And he would only be right up the street, and I could visit him all the time!"
"Sure," her mother said, "we could see him every time we visit the Garden. In fact, we're going tomorrow, so you could see him then."
"Oh, he'll be so happy!" Madeleine squealed, and she hurried to finish her dinner, so she could tell the Hoppopotamus all about it.
***
After dinner, Madeleine climbed the stairs and burst into her room, saying, "Mister Hoppo!" Then, she noticed that everyone still was napping.
"What? What?" the Hoppopotamus mumbled, barely awake. The Dragonfly and the Butterfly shook themselves awake and fluttered into the air, while the Froggerfly just sat and stared.
"I told my mother and father about you, and they didn't mind that you sat on the garden, and they didn't mind that you were in my room, and Daddy thought of a perfect place for you to live!"
"What's all this?" the Hoppopotamus said, not nearly awake enough to be processing all of this information. "You told your parents about me?"
"Yes, I did—they always say it's best to tell the truth—and everything's going to be fine now, Mister Hoppo!"
"Where did they say he should live?" the Froggerfly asked.
"The Botanical Garden!" Madeleine replied. She told the Hoppopotamus all about the Botanical Garden, about all the things she liked best: the ducks; the fountains; the big metal sculpture with its dozen heavy, clanging chimes; the butterfly garden; and the rainforest that lived inside of a big, plastic dome. She told him that it was such a beautiful place, and he would have plenty of room, and, best of all, it was only right up the street, so they could play together all the time.
"It sounds ever so lovely," the Hoppopotamus said quietly. "I can't wait to go."
"You don't need to wait," Madeleine said. "Like I told you, it's not far from here at all, and I can easily tell you how to get there. You only need to go out our front door, turn left, and keep going for a few minutes until you run straight into the Botanical Garden. I can't go tonight, because it's almost dark and I have to go to bed soon, but you could go. My mother says that we're going there tomorrow, so you could stay at the Garden tonight, and I'll see you in the morning."
The Hoppopotamus thought it over. "I do want to see the Botanical Garden, but I also want to stay with you for a little while longer. I think I'll stay until it's time for you to go to bed, and then I'll go see the Botanical Garden."
So, they talked and played in Madeleine's room for a little while, until her mother called her to tell her it was time for bed.
"Well, I guess it's time for you to go to the Botanical Garden," Madeleine said, hugging the Hoppopotamus. "You're going to love it, Mister Hoppo."
"Yes, I think I will…just out the door and turn left, right?"
"That's right. Left, I mean. Good-bye! It was very nice to meet you!"
"And it was very nice to meet you, too, Miss Madeleine. Thank you for being my best friend ever." With that, he left her room, hopped down the stairs, and went out the front door.
A few seconds later, Madeleine's father called her. "Madeleine?"
She went out to the landing and found him looking up from the bottom of the stairs. "Yes, Daddy?"
"What was all that noise on the stairs…was that you?"
Madeleine rolled her eyes at him. "Nooooo, Daddy, I'm still upstairs. That was Mister Hoppo. He's going to the Botanical Garden, just like you said he should."
Her father remained at the bottom of the stairs for a few moments, looking very puzzled. "Uh…Mister Hoppo?"
"Yes, I told him that I had to go to bed, but he could go to the Botanical Garden now."
Her father didn't look any less puzzled. "Ok," he said finally, shaking his head. "I hope he likes it there. Um…I'll be up to tuck you in when you're ready for bed." He turned around, still shaking his head, and walked away.
***
The Hoppopotamus had gone out the front door and turned left, just like Madeleine had told him to do. It was dark outside now, and nobody seemed to notice him as he hopped through Madeleine's neighborhood. He hopped along for maybe five minutes, and then the old, brick houses of Madeleine's neighborhood ended, and a tall, stone wall was directly in front of him. He saw that there were large metal letters on the wall, and, looking closely to try to read them by the glow of a streetlight nearby, he saw that they read, ‘Missouri Botanical Garden.'
"She was right," the Hoppopotamus said to himself, "out the door, turn left, and you run straight into it."
He could see what seemed like hundreds of treetops behind the walls, and he saw moonlight reflecting from something that might have been the dome Madeleine had mentioned, the one with the rainforest inside of it. Moonlight? He remembered the Froggerfly's adventure and looked up, and, sure enough, there was a sliver of moonlight shining down on the Earth, just as the Froggerfly had said there would be.
He shivered and smiled. He realized he was very excited to see his new home. He took a quick look in both directions along the wall, and he didn't see anything that looked like an entrance. So, he sat back on his rabbit haunches, gathered himself, and he sprang right up over the wall into the Garden.
.