Buckets and Begonia

Buckets and Begonia were sisters. Begonia’s real name was Sonya (SONE-ya), but so many people called her Sonya (SAHN-ya) that her Mum and Dad started introducing her as “Begonia, not lasagna.” Then it got shortened to Begonia. Her little sister was called Rebecca, but Begonia used to be too small to say that. She said “Buckets” instead.

One day, Mum dropped them off at Cousin Duckling’s house. (His real name was Declan.) “All right, girls,” said Mum. “Cousin Duckling’s visiting the dentist today. And you both know what that’s like.” They nodded solemnly. “So we’re bringing him a present to cheer him up.” She produced a small box, wrapped in yellow paper, with a bright blue ribbon on top.

“What’s in the box, Mum?” whispered Buckets.

“That, my love, is a surprise.”

“Of course it’s a surprise for Cousin Duckling,” Begonia said patiently. “But we need to know what it is, so we don’t give it away by mistake.”

“It’s something very powerful, sweet girl. If it’s opened by anyone but Cousin Duckling, it’ll know right away. And steal their bones!”

They gasped.

“Now off you go, my darlings. Be good for Aunt Kathy.”

“Yes, Mum,” they replied. She kissed them and handed them the perilous box.

Aunt Kathy was typing and drinking tea. She was something called an editor, so whenever her magazine sent her a story, she edited it. She said her job was to make sure no one ever used a phrase as clumsy as “edited it.” When the girls came in, she smiled and said, “Hullo, nieces.”

“Hi, Aunt Kathy.”

She leaned down and hugged them both with one arm. “Duck’s at the dentist. He’ll be back in a little bit. Can you two go and play while I get just a few things done for work?”

“We have a present for Duckling,” said Begonia.

“A secret present,” Buckets clarified.

“Oh, how nice! Why don’t you bring it up to his room?”

They glanced at each other. “Well. . . okay.”

“Get a snack in the kitchen if you like.”

As the eldest, Begonia knew she had to protect her sister’s bones from being stolen. So after they got their snack, she pulled Buckets aside. “I don’t think Aunt Kathy understands how secret the present is.”

“I think you’re right.”

“We have to be super extra careful,” said Begonia. She pointed to the red plastic wagon in the living room. “Let’s not even touch it. That way, we can’t possibly open it by accident.”

Buckets nodded. “Good idea. Or, we could open it.”

“No! I have to keep you safe, Buckets. That’s my job.”

They lowered the yellow box into the red wagon. Then, with Begonia pulling the wagon by the string, they set out with their precious cargo.

“Watch out for the rug,” warned Buckets.

“I remember.”

The rug was a trap door. If you stepped on it, you fell into a pit full of grasshoppers—and they were so excited to have visitors that they’d hop all over you and tickle you to death. The girls gave it a wide berth and headed cautiously toward the hallway. That was the only way to get to the stairs, but it was also the prowling ground of old Mr. Darcy.

Begonia peered around the corner. “I don’t see him,” she said quietly. “Let’s make a run for it.” But when she turned around, her sister was prodding at the yellow box. “Buckets! What are you doing?”

“It was sliding around. I’m moving it back to the middle of the wagon.”

“Okay, but be gentle. The paper’s starting to come off.”

“Okay, okay.”

“Okay then.”

“Okay!”

They tiptoed down the hall as fast as they could, the wagon bumping along behind them. They had almost reached the foot of the stairs when Buckets suddenly clutched Begonia’s sleeve. “There he is!” she cried, jabbing her finger at a nearby doorway.

“Uh-oh! Quick, up the stairs!”

With a huge fanged yawn, Mr. Darcy came waddling in their direction. He was a Siamese cat who was almost twenty years old and weighed almost thirty pounds. Cousin Duckling said he kept himself alive by feasting on little girls’ toes. As they scrambled up the carpeted steps, he lowered his palpitating bulk onto the floor at the bottom and immediately started snoring his loud, wheezy snore. There was no going back now.

They toiled up the long stairway, towing the red wagon by the string. Halfway up the steps, another peril lurked: Krav Maga Man, Duckling’s favorite action figure. Krav Maga Man was small compared to the two girls, but he was a fierce warrior.

“Get ready,” said Begonia. “He’s asleep, so we can get past him if we go fast.”

“I’m ready.”

“Go!”

They dashed upwards, barely slipping by the slumbering plastic sentinel, and for a moment all seemed well—but then, the unthinkable. As Begonia tugged frantically at the string, the front of the wagon snagged on the carpeting and came loose from its mooring. The wagon had broken down on the very step where Krav Maga Man was beginning to stir.

“Oh no!” Buckets cried. “What now?”

“I don’t know. Let me think.”

“I’ve got an idea. If we trick Krav Maga Man into opening the present, it’ll steal his bones.”

Begonia frowned. It was a bold and clever notion, and would solve their present dilemma. But it created a future difficulty, because they couldn’t give Cousin Duckling a pre-opened present.

“We’ll have to find some way to re-wrap it once we escape,” she said uncertainly.

“First things first,” her sister said, lowering her voice. “How do we trick you know who?”

“You know whom,” Begonia corrected her.

Buckets rolled her eyes. “Fine, whom.”

At that moment, Krav Maga Man sat up and raised his tiny, deadly fists. “Who’s goin’ there? Two at once, eh? Double-teamin’ me, hey? Sounds good, sounds good. Love a challenge. Come on, let’s fight.”

Begonia sneered. “Even if you beat us, you could never beat the man in the box. No one can beat him!”

Krav Maga Man eyed their yellow cargo. “You think I’m that dumb?”

“We hope so,” said Buckets.

“You can’t reverse my psychology, little girl. I bet you want me to look in there, don’t you?”

“I told you he’d be too scared,” Begonia stage-whispered.

“Good thing we really want him to not look in there,” Buckets replied craftily.

“I know what you’re doing!” Krav Maga Man shouted. “You can’t trick me if I trick myself first. If the man in the box is a good fighter like you said, then I’ll get a good fight—and if he’s weak like you’re trying to make me think, then I’ll get a good warmup beating him up before I beat up you! Either way, I win.”

“Okay, but remember we warned you.”

Krav Maga Man lunged forward and ripped open the forbidden present. When he saw what was inside, he started to laugh. But suddenly, he went limp and flopped over like a toy that no one wanted to hold. He went tumbling down the stairs and landed on Mr. Darcy, vanishing completely into the blubber and fur. Mr. Darcy didn’t even flick an ear.

The girls huddled together as the wrapping paper began to rustle. Slowly, a figure rose from the ruins of the box.

“M-maybe this was a bad idea,” said Buckets.

“Hush!”

The figure stood twelve inches tall. It was fluffy and orange. It wore a blue shirt and a kindly smile that belied its bone-stealing activities. It was someone the girls had never met in person—but they recognized the face right away.

“Groo Bear!” they exclaimed.

“Oh, hello there,” said the bear, in a slumbery sort of voice. “What brings the two of you to this part of the staircase?”

“We have to take you to our Cousin Duckling’s room,” said Begonia.

“If that’s all right with you, Mr. Groo Bear, sir,” added Buckets.

“That’s fine,” yawned the bear, “but first let’s eat. You wouldn’t have such a thing as a salmon about your person, by any chance?”

“No, Groo Bear.”

“Oh my, that’s too bad. What shall I eat, then?”

The sisters exchanged a wary glance as the orange bear turned his blinking gaze up and down the stairs. In the cartoons, Groo Bear was a jolly, dancing creature; but the fate of Krav Maga Man had shown another dimension to his ursine character.

“Cousin Duckling always has jelly beans in his room,” Buckets suggested.

“That’s right! Good thinking. Follow us, Groo Bear!”

“Jelly beans, that sounds lovely. Off we go.”

The three of them headed up to the second floor and down the long hall toward Duckling’s bedroom. They were nearly there, but the girls knew a final challenge awaited them.

They reached the door at last. And there in the doorway was Big Al, the alligator pillow. Without his indulgence, none could pass.

“Let me do the talking,” Begonia murmured.

“What talking?” Groo Bear asked.

“Just don’t say anything, okay?”

Big Al smiled toothily as they approached. “Why, Miss Sonya. Miss Rebecca. How pleasant to see you both again.”

“Hi, Big Al. Me and Buckets have a delivery for Cousin Duckling. Can we pass?”

“Now, now, dear, you know the rules. Mr. Declan must give permission for you to enter. Otherwise you have to solve the riddle.”

“But this bear is a present for him. It’s from our Mum.”

Big Al peered at Groo Bear. “A present, you say? But surely if he were a present, he’d be wrapped.”

“Well. . . You see. . .”

“I’m getting awfully hungry,” said the bear.

Buckets panicked. “Please, Big Al, we have to get inside and feed him some jelly beans before he eats us!”

“No!” cried Begonia, but it was too late. The plush countenance of Big Al grew stern.

“Jelly beans, you say. Then you’re here not to give but to take. I cannot grant you passage unless you answer this question: With two legs, I can walk. With four legs, I can fly. What am I?”

No one spoke. Groo Bear’s tummy began to rumble.

“A—a bird?” said Buckets.

“No, no, that’s not our answer!” Begonia yelled. “Just stop talking and let me do this!”

“Why don’t you stop talking for once? I can’t wait till I’m older than you.”

“You’ll never be older than me, stupid.”

“You’re a stupid!”

“If it’s all the same to you girls,” Groo Bear said suddenly, “I think I’ll go ahead and eat one of you. I really mustn’t let my tummy get any emptier, you know.”

Begonia jumped in front of Buckets with her arms spread wide. “Don’t eat my sister! I’m much bigger, eat me instead!”

Buckets pushed in front of Begonia. “No, Groo Bear, eat me! I’m much more tender!”

The bear smacked his lips. “Yum, yum. Perhaps I’ll have a bit of both.”

“Stop,” Big Al intoned. “The riddle is solved.”

“It—it is?”

“Yes, girls. Not by your words, but by your deeds. For the answer is Love. You may pass.”

They sprinted into Duckling’s room and tore open the jelly bean drawer. Groo Bear meandered in behind them, snuffled at the drawer, and began to munch the beans in a leisurely sort of way. Buckets and Begonia eased slowly toward the bed.

“How are we going to re-wrap him?” Buckets whispered.

“I don’t know. Let me think.”

But just then, they heard voices in the hall. Aunt Kathy and Uncle George walked into the room with Cousin Duckling wrapped in Uncle George’s arms.

“Hi, girls,” Uncle George said in a very quiet voice. “The dentist had to give Declan something to help him sleep, so let’s not play in his room right now, okay?”

The sisters glanced at each other. In unison, they held one finger to their lips and pointed at Groo Bear with the other.

“Oh, how sweet,” Aunt Kathy murmured. “I know he’ll love it.”

Cousin Duckling’s parents put him in bed, covered him with a blanket, and snuggled his brand new Groo Bear into the crook of his arm. Then everybody went downstairs.

Buckets and Begonia’s Dad was waiting for them in the kitchen. “Hello, my loves,” he said, sweeping them both into a giant hug. “We’re heading home early so Cousin Declan can get some rest. Did you behave yourselves today?”

“We had an adventure, Daddy,” said Buckets.

“You two are an adventure,” he replied. “A beautiful, crazy adventure.”

Begonia nodded. “We know.”