The Search for Shiny Things: Part 16

Tree by tree the teddy made its way forward, having quite a blast, until it stumbled on a furry thing again. This time it was larger than a cat, however, and surprisingly hard to be furry. The teddy paused.

“Oh,” said the hummingbird, hovering dumbfounded nearby, “you found it.”

“This is your home?” the teddy asked, equally dumbfounded.

“No, silly, this is a sleeping wolverine,” said the hummingbird. “I told you these are living trees; and here is the tree I live in.”

“You mean these trees are houses?” the teddy asked, horrified.

“Living trees,” the hummingbird repeated, very slowly. “That one can live in, if one likes, and doesn't leave a mess. I share this space with the wolverine, but it has been asleep for two days now, in front of my entrance.”

“Can't you just wake it up?” asked the teddy.

“I lived in another living tree meanwhile,” said the hummingbird, “I believe it is that one you're holding right now.”

The teddy felt very sorry for that. Although this or that tree looked the same to teddy eyes, except the ones that looked like mushrooms, it would be very sad if someone came and tore the white and drab house up like this, even if it was very white and drab. Deciding then to give the hummingbird access to its actual house, the teddy very gently, very carefully, and with all its strength kicked the wolverine.

Teddy kicks were relatively harmless, as far as kicks went. In most cases, they could barely be felt. So the wolverine went on snoring as if nothing had happened. Reluctantly the teddy bear took out the last candy cane candle that it had saved to eat later, and held it at the wolverine's nose.

Up went the wolverine. “For me?” it said, still blinking awake as it chewed the candy candle down. Then looked around. “My god I'm late for work, and I still haven't eaten, did you see my game board, because if I bring it, I can play it later.” Shaking sleep out of its limbs, the wolverine threw an eye on the teddy bear. “I'm sorry, were you here when I went to sleep? I was so tired I can't remember. You are Bob, right?”

“Most decidedly not,” the teddy said, unfathomably insulted, although it was unclear why, perhaps because Bob was such a boring and generic name, that having none was by far better, or maybe because if he had been Bob, he would have been insulted at being forgotten.

“Right, well, here is my notebook,” the wolverine said, picking up a stack of music scores that it had slept on, and drooled on some. “Off I go, good luck,” it told the hummingbird, “I will most likely be back in the morning. Or is it today already? In the evening then.”

Now equally dumbfounded, the teddy and the hummingbird watched the wolverine trot off.

“Well,” said the hummingbird, “I suppose you did help. I can finally live in my living tree again. Thank you very much.”

The teddy, still feeling a little sorry for misunderstanding this whole thing about trees, invited the hummingbird to the white and drab house, and added, “You can bring the wolverine too.”

“If he is not asleep,” the hummingbird agreed. “Or working, or shopping, or eating, or playing.”

“He can do at least half those things at our house,” the teddy offered. “Maybe more. That depends perhaps on what he works with. Do you work as well?” And when he got no answer, he turned towards the hummingbird, and found that it had turned into a ghost again. Although the teddy closely inspected the living tree, there was no entrance, no sign of living, and no hummingbird to find.

Sad at being abandoned thus, the teddy told himself, “I helped,” and turned to walk the other way.