Possums Don't Buzz

What can I have? asks Terence.

A red drink, says Gaius. 

He orders a red drink for Terence.

What kind of red drink? asks the Powelly Pub guy. 

Anything, says Gaius, as long as it's non-alcoholic.

Does it have to be red? asks the Powelly Pub guy.

He likes red, says Gaius. 

I always have red, says Terence. It's a tradition.

Red it is, says the Powelly Pub guy.

Gaius and Terence join Pierre-Louis at a table.

The Powelly Pub guy brings over a red drink, two coffees and two blueberry muffins.

Thank you, says Gaius.

Where're you headed next? asks the Powelly Pub guy.

The Ada Tree, says Gaius. Can you give us directions?

East of here, says the Powelly Pub guy. There's a trail you can follow. 

Thank you, says Gaius, taking a bite of his muffin.

No worries, says the Powelly Pub guy. 

So you know it? says Pierre-Louis.

We all know it, says the Powelly Pub guy. It's the tallest tree in the state. And maybe the oldest. There's a fence around it.

Tallest and oldest, says Pierre-Louis. Hear that, Gaius?

I did, says Gaius. That may explain it.

Explain what? asks the Powelly Pub guy.

Why it's sacred to possums, says Gaius. That is, if it is.

First I've heard of it, says the Powelly Pub guy.

You're not a possum, says Gaius.

Nor are you, says the Powelly Pub guy.

A customer comes in, with a parcel.

Excuse me, says the Powelly Pub guy. Duty calls. We're also a Post Office.

He goes off to deal with the parcel.

Terence drinks his red drink though a straw.

What if I had a blue drink? asks Terence.

There is nothing to stop you, says Gaius. It's your choice. 

Would my insides go blue? asks Terence.

Your insides are a mystery, says Gaius.

The Powelly Pub guy returns.

Are they your bikes outside? 

They are, says Pierre-Louis.

And is that your child-carriage?

It's my carriage, says Terence.

I guess you know there's a possum in it, says the Powelly Pub guy. A Leadbeater's possum. And they're protected.

There is no possum, says Gaius. There's a fruit bat from Adelaide, and a skink from Yellingbo, both of whom we intend to return on our homeward journey.

The customer told me he saw a Leadbeater's possum, says the Powelly Pub guy.

He looked in, did he? asks Pierre-Louis.

He heard a buzzing sound, says the Powelly Pub guy.

Possums don't buzz, says Gaius.

This one did, says the Powelly Pub guy. And the customer's reported it. You should probably stay here until a ranger arrives.

Certainly not, says Gaius. We are on a strict schedule. When the ranger arrives, let them know where we're heading.

He swallows the remains of his coffee and walks out, leaving half a blueberry muffin.

Pierre-Louis picks it up and shoves it into his pocket. 

Waste not want not.

Then he walks out too.

Bye, says Terence, getting up fast and knocking the remains of his red drink over.

Sorry, adds Terence.

Bitter Wasp

 It's not far to Powelltown.

Gaius and Pierre-Louis stop at the Powelly Pub.

Wait in the carriage, Terence, says Gaius. We'll go in and ask for directions.

Terence isn't listening. He is replaying the movie. 

Easter Morning trips, bang!

The best part is Easter Morning looks like he doesn't know it's going to happen.

It's good acting, says Terence,

Thanks, says Easter Morning.

(although he hadn't been acting)

Back so soon? asks the Powelly Pub guy. You must've heard we do a good breakfast.

Tempting, says Gaius. But we've come back to ask for directions.

Perhaps a coffee, says Pierre-Louis.

Why not? says Gaius.

With two freshly baked blueberry muffins? suggests the Powelly Pub guy. 

Who could resist? Gaius and Pierre-Louis decide to indulge in a quick breakfast. 

I'll go and tell Terence, says Pierre-Louis.

He goes out to the carriage.

You might want to come in after all, says Pierre-Louis. We're staying for breakfast.

Yay! says Terence, stopping the movie and jumping out.

Now only Easter Morning (awake) and Squattu (sleeping) remain in the carriage.

Scratch scratch.

Easter Morning looks out.

Banjo! What are you doing here?

I followed you, says Banjo. Where are we?

Getting directions, says Easter Morning. To the Tree.

The Ada Tree? squeaks Banjo. 

And breakfast, says Easter Morning. 

You're not getting breakfast, says Banjo.

No they are, says Easter Morning. But I could do with something. Know what I feel like? A wasp.

I've never eaten a wasp, says Banjo. Are they yummy?

Kind of bitter, says Easter Morning. 

Oh, says Banjo. I might stick with lerps.

You like sweet things? says Easter Morning. You'd like the stuff on our blanket. Jump in.

Banjo jumps in. 

Where is it? asks Banjo.

Here, says Easter Morning.

Banjo licks it. It's hard. Not like soft lerps he's used to.

I should warn you it's been through me once, says Easter Morning.

That's gross, thinks Banjo.

He contemplates trying a wasp.

 

The Science Movie

Gaius notices the drone's pink spots at once.

What's happened? asks Gaius.

We were making a movie, says Easter Morning. I was in it.

A science movie, says Terence.

I don't suppose we could see it, says Gaius. 

It's not finished, says Easter Morning. Something went wrong.

The drone hit a tree, says Terence. And got stuck. And when I tried to pull it out it broke into pieces.

It seems you attempted to mend it, says Pierre-Louis. Well done.

Where did the pink substance come from? asks Gaius.

Under Pierre-Louis, says Terence.

Pierre-Louis is puzzled. 

Until he remembers the pink stuff on the blanket.

You used that? says Gaius. 

Yes, says Terence. 

We don't really know what it is, says Pierre-Louis. 

No we don't, says Gaius, But I suspect its main ingredient is sugar.

As a glue it may not be effective, says Pierre-Louis.

It is, says Terence. Watch this.

He pulls the up-knob.

The drone rises through the branches of Banjo's tree.

Terence pulls the down-knob.

The drone returns to the forest floor.

High up in his family's hollow, Banjo is awakened by a drone sound.

When he looks out, the drone isn't there.

Far below, he sees the tiny figures of Gaius and Pierre-Louis, Terence and Easter Morning, packing up to leave the clearing.

Gaius is hooking the carriage to the back of his bike.

Terence is climbing in. 

They are going. He will never see Terence again. Or Squattu, or Easter Morning. 

Unless he acts boldly.

He scoots down the tree.

Gaius and Pierre-Louis are cycling back towards Powelltown.

We'll ask there, about the Ada Tree, says Gaius.

Yes, the Ada Tree, says Pierre-Louis. I'd like to see it.

I would not be surprised if the Ada Tree triggered your dream of a tree nymph, says Gaius.

You're probably right, says Pierre-Louis. I wonder what triggered your mackerel?

Undoubtedly Squattu's Holy Mackerel, says Gaius. Remind me to question her further when she wakes up.

Inside the carriage Terence and Easter Morning are watching the movie they made with the drone.

Easter Morning bumps into a rock The drone hits tree. Bang! 

It's short, but really good if you watch it over and over.

Bare Bones Of A Semi-Erotic Dream

Terence starts reassembling the drone.

Wasn't that bit there? asks Easter Morning.

When? asks Terence.

Before it broke, says Easter Morning.

Yes, says Terence. Hold this. Now press.

Soon the drone is back to normal except for the visible pink spots.

I suppose it doesn't matter, says Easter Morning.

Suppose what doesn't matter? asks Terence.

Gaius will notice the pink spots, and know it was broken, says Easter Morning.

But, says Terence, he'll know that it's fixed.

Yes, says Easter Morning, and he didn't have to do it.

He'll be glad, says Terence.

They carry the drone back to Gaius and Pierre-Louis, who are just waking up.

I had the strangest dream, says Gaius. 

So did I, says Pierre-Louis. Most disturbing. 

What was yours? asks Gaius. We can learn much from dreams.

I hesitate to tell you, says Pierre-Louis. It was semi-erotic.

Just the bare bones, says Gaius. 

I was visited by a tree nymph, says Pierre-Louis. She enclosed me in leafy branches and promised to show me her secret hollows.

And did she? asks Gaius. I suspect that she didn't.

You're right, says Pierre-Louis. There was a disturbance, and my tree nymph faded away. I called to her: Don't leave me! but that was the end of it.

You called out Don't leave me, says Gaius. Remarkable. Those are the very words used by my mackerel.

Mackerel what mackerel? asks Pierre-Louis. 

I dreamed I caught a mackerel, says Gaius. Unusual, as I rarely catch fish. This mackerel seemed grateful. 

May I ask how you knew it was grateful? asks Pierre-Louis.

The look in its eyes, says Gaius. I assumed it was grateful in advance. For I intended to throw it back into the ocean unharmed,

But instead it uttered the words Don't leave me, says Pierre-Louis.

In a voice remarkably like yours, says Gaius.

So I was the mackerel, says Pierre-Louis. How amusing. Our dreams meshed.

Not entirely, says Gaius. I didn't meet your tree nymph. Was she an ash?

She was, says Pierre-Louis.

Who knows where their conversation would have gone next? Different types of tree nymphs, perhaps. 

But Terence and Easter Morning have arrived, with the pink spotted drone.

Will Gaius notice they've had to fix it?

And if he does notice, will he be glad?

We Can't Do Science

Can we start again? asks Easter Morning.

Okay, says Terence. Ready?

Yes, says Easter Morning. 

Wait till I get the drone up, says Terence.

He pulls the up-knob. Nothing happens. Try the backwards-knob, says Easter Morning.

There is no backwards-knob, says Terence.

There must be, says Easter Morning.

Easter Morning runs back to look at the control panel.

Before Terence can stop him he starts randomly pulling and pushing the knobs.

The drone whirrs, but does not move away from the tree.

It must be stuck! says Terence.

He runs forward to free the drone from the tree.

Yes, it is stuck. he pulls. Nothing.

He kicks it.

Bad idea.

The drone disassembles.

Wah! cries Terence. Now what?

Leave it there, says Easter Morning. We can go exploring without it.

But we can't do science, says Terence. Or make a movie.

Is it our fault? asks Easter Morning.

Terence thinks back. It's nobody's fault.

Gaius will fix it with fish glue, says Easter Morning. 

Yes, says Terence glumly.

Or, says Easter Morning, maybe we could fix it ourselves.

What with? asks Terence.

Think, says Easter Morning. Why did the blanket go stiff?

The pink stuff, says Terence. So what?

We get some off the blanket, and soften it, says Easter Mornuing.

Soften it. Yes. This sounds like a good plan.

Terence and Easter Morning creep back to where Gaius and Pierre-Louis are asleep on the blanket.

Pierre-Louis is asleep on the stiff side.

He's on top of it! whispers Terence.

Get a stick, says Easter Morning.

You get a stick, says Terence. Anyway, what for?

Scraping, says Easter Morning. Okay I'll get one.

He goes off to find the right stick for scraping stiff pink stuff from a blanket.

Terence stares at Pierre-Louis.

Pierre-Louis is mumbling, in his sleep: O, how lovely are your branches....ahh....ahhh....

Easter Morning comes back with a stick.

We're lucky, says Terence. He's dreaming about branches. Give me that stick.

He takes the stick and gently nudges Pierre-Louis.

Pierre-Louis rolls over. 

Don't leave me! cries Pierre-Louis.

Wha..hah! groans Gaius. A talking mackerel. I must.....

But fortunately neither Pierre-Louis nor Gaius wakes up.

Terence scrapes a piece of the pink stuff from the blanket.

It's gone soft! whispers Terence.

Because he was lying on it, whispers Easter Morning. Hurry. before it goes hard again.

The conspirators quickly run off.

Tree Nymphs And Mackerel

What now? asks Pierre-Louis.

We take a short nap, says Gaius. There's not much more to do here.

I agree, says Pierre-Louis. We've learned all we can from these possums.

These particular possums, says Gaius. We're sure to meet more on the way.

Why, where are we going? asks Pierre-Louis.

To find the Ada Tree, says Gaius. 

Yay! says Terence. We're going to worship the Ada Tree! 

We are not, says Gaius. We are going to try and determine why possums worship the Ada Tree.

Perhaps they don't all worship the Ada Tree, says Pierre-Louis.

Perhaps Almighty Ada was just an expression, says Squattu. Like Holy Mackerel.

That also can be determined, says Gaius.

Holy Mackerel? says Pierre-Louis. Where did that come from?

We bats say it, says Squattu. But we don't worship the mackerel.

Remind me to question you more on that later, says Gaius. Right now I'm going to turn in.

He spreads Marx's blanket.

I'll take the stiff side, says Pierre-Louis. 

Kind of you, says Gaius. Terence, wake us up in an hour. 

They lie down on the blanket, and fall asleep immediately.

Pierre-Louis dreams of tree nymphs, while Gaius dreams of mackerel.

One hour! says Terence. Let's go exploring.

Not me, says Squattu. I need a nap too. Take Easter Morning.

Squattu crawls into the carriage and nods off.

Easter Morning is excited, to be exploring with Terence.

Let's take the drone. We can make our own  movie, says Easter Morning.

Okay, says Terence. You go, and I'll make the drone fly above you. 

Now? asks Easter Morning.

Yes now, says Terence.

He pulls the up-knob, the stop-knob, the continue-horizontally-knob, and, when Easter Morning turns left, the turn-left-knob.

Is it still above me?  asks Easter Morning, over his shoulder.

Yes, says Terence. I'm getting really good at this.

But Easter Morning has been looking over his shoulder, and not seen a rock.

The drone has kept going left, and hit a tree trunk.

It may not be a very good movie.

Spiritual Lives Of Possums

How did that go? asks Gaius.

I learned a few things, says Squattu.

Wait till I get out my notebook, says Gaius.

Don't forget both your pencils are broken, says Pierre-Louis.

Drat, says Gaius. Look for a sharpener will you.

All right, says Pierre-Louis.

Gaius gets out his notebook.

Shall I begin? asks Squattu.

Yes, says Gaius. A short version. What did they say?

They were knackered, says Squattu.

Did they say that was normal? asks Gaius.

Not directly, says Squattu, but I guessed it wasn't normal.

For what reason? asks Gaius.

They are not used to fighting with pencils beforehand, says Squattu.

I should have known, says Gaius. 

How could you have known? says Squattu. 

True, says Gaius. Anything else of interest?

Lots, says Squattu. They met up with Aunty and Uncle Possum. They found lerps and shared them.

Fascinating, says Gaius. 

He turns to Pierre-Louis, who is rummaging about in his back pack.

Any luck finding a sharpener?

No, says Pierre-Louis. Just an old apple core.

At worst I suppose I could write notes with that, says Gaius. Has it turned brown?

Yes, says Pierre-Louis, handing it over.

Go on, says Gaius, to Squattu.

The most interesting thing is who they worship, says Squattu.

Worship? says Gaius. There's a bombshell. Who?

A tree called Almighty Ada, says Squattu.

Ada, says Gaius. Why does that name ring a bell?

He uses the apple core to write in his notebook: ADA

At least he'll have some sort of record.

Why are you writing with an apple? asks Terence.

Needs must, says Gaius. Can you read it?

Terence looks at the word.

Is it .... APA? 

That is an A and that is an A, says Gaius, but that is not a P in the middle.

It looks like one, says Terence.

That is a smear, says Gaius. It is meant to be a D and the word is ADA. And according to Squattu, Ada is a tree worshipped by possums.

Not grandpa? says Terence.

No, says Gaius. Not everyone worships your grandpa.

Are you speaking of Marx? asks Pierre-Louis. Plenty of people admire him. I myself was very grateful when he gave us the blanket.

It wasn't his blanket to give, says Gaius. And in any case, this has nothing to do with the spiritual lives of possums.

Pierre-Louis is obliged to agree.