Daisy Dawson at the Beach (7 page)

“That’s very thoughtful of you,” said Mom. “What did you have in mind?”

“Carrot juice,” said Daisy, “and maybe some hazelnut ice cream?”

“Those are some interesting choices,” said Dad.

Daisy smiled.

“I’ve got some interesting friends,” she said.

It had been a wonderful vacation, but it was good to be home again. Daisy hoped her other friends would be as pleased with their presents as Rabsy and Raberta had been with theirs.

“It tastes like raindrops,” Raberta had said as she licked carrot juice from her whiskers. “Raindrops made from carrots!”

“
Mmmm,
” said Rabsy, closing his eyes. “Now that’s
carroty
!”

As Daisy walked down the lane listening to the bees buzz among the flowers, she heard Boom discussing the weather with Meadowsweet.

“The thing about sunshine,” he was saying, “is that it’s mainly warm and dry. Whereas rain, on the whole, is a good deal wetter.”

“Can’t argue with that,” said Meadow­sweet, looking up at the blue sky. “Although I like the taste of grass after rain. It makes my breath feel fresh and cool.”

As Daisy leaned on the gate, Meadow­sweet turned and stamped her foot with delight. “Look who’s home again!” she whinnied.

“Hello, Meadowsweet,” replied Daisy happily. “How would you like something to make your breath feel fresh and cool right now?”

“I wouldn’t say no,” replied Meadow­sweet, trotting over to the gate. “What do you have? Rain in a bag?”

“Not exactly,” said Daisy. “But I think you might like it, anyway.”

She pulled a peppermint from her pocket and offered it to Meadowsweet. Boom watched with interest as Meadowsweet gently snuffled it out of Daisy’s hand.

“How does it taste?” he asked.

“Hang on,” said Meadowsweet. She chomped on the mint and shivered. “It’s like a cold drink from a snowy stream, but without the wet parts. It’s delicious, Daisy!”

“Glad you like it,” said Daisy, turning to Boom. “I’ve got something for you, too.”

She pulled out a small gray pebble and offered it to him through the gate.

Boom stared at it, sniffed it, and then looked back at Daisy. “Not to be rude or anything, but what do I do with it?”

“You eat it,” said Daisy.

“Oh,” said Boom, sounding disappointed. “The thing is, I don’t really like eating pebbles. I tried one once, and my teeth nearly fell out.”

Daisy laughed. “It’s not a real one, silly,” she said. “It’s a peanut-butter pebble. I bought a bag of them from the gift shop near the beach.”

Boom sniffed at the pebble again and licked his lips. “It
does
smell good,” he said.

He stared at the pebble for a while longer. Then he took it from Daisy’s hand, crunched it up, and swallowed it. “Oh my,” he said. “Oh my, oh my, oh
my.
”

Daisy giggled. “You like it, then?”

Boom shook his head. “The word
like,
” he said, “does not do justice to what is happening in my mouth right now.”

At that moment, Hazel and Conker came scampering down from the oak tree, squeaking, “Daisy’s home, Daisy’s home!”

“Hello, small squirrels,” said Daisy. “I’ve brought a present for you, too.” She reached into her bag and pulled out the little tub of hazelnut ice cream she had bought on the way home. It was already starting to go soft in the heat, but it was still cold.

“It’s a hat!” exclaimed Hazel as Daisy peeled back the lid. “A hat full of squishy stuff.”

“It’s not a hat,” said Daisy. “It’s ice cream.”

Conker dipped his nose in and squealed. “It’s like those things that fall down in winter!” he cried.

“You mean ducks?” asked Hazel. “Ducks falling over on the ice?”

“No, not ducks. The stuff that comes out of the sky.”

“Ducks come out of the sky,” said Hazel. “They come out of the sky like anything.”

“Snow,” said Conker, licking the end of his nose. “It’s like snow, but with nuts in it!”

“Nutty snow!” cried Hazel excitedly. She scooped out some ice cream, popped it in her mouth, then jumped in the air and ran around the water trough.

“She always does that when she’s excited,” explained Conker. “First time she tried a cashew, she went around it twenty-six times.”

After a few more circuits, Hazel skipped back across the field, put her paws above her head, and fell back into the long grass.

“I lubbety-
lub
ice cream,” she said, staring up at the sky.

“I thought you might,” said Daisy, delighted that her presents had been such a success. But then she remembered something.

“Excuse me,” she said, “but there’s someone else I need to see.”

Back in her bedroom, Daisy flung open the window and watched the swifts twisting and turning in the cloudless sky. Bees buzzed and bumbled in the flower beds, humming sweet songs about honey. As the sun warmed her face, she closed her eyes and felt a soft breeze in her hair. Then she heard the flutter of wings and opened her eyes to see Flapperton the sparrow perched on the windowsill.

“Hello, Daisy,” he said. “You look happy. Did you have lots of adventures?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” said Daisy. Flapperton’s eyes grew wider and wider as she told him about all the things she had done.

“But did you fly through any rainbows?” he asked when she had finished.

“Sort of,” said Daisy, remembering the tiny rainbows she had seen on her dolphin ride.

“You are so lucky,” said Flapperton. “I would love to do that. It would be like a dream come true. But,” he added sadly, “I don’t think it will ever happen.”

“Well, you never know,” said Daisy. “Life is full of surprises. Like the other day, for instance, someone gave me a present, and I didn’t know what it was for. But then this morning when I opened the curtains, I found out.”

She took the piece of glass that Pinchy had given to her and held it up to the light. And as a shimmering patch of colors appeared on the windowsill, she smiled and said, “It’s for you, Flapperton. It’s your very own rainbow.”

And as Flapperton began to flutter back and forth through the bright colors that hovered in the warm summer air, Daisy thought about the rabbits and the dancing crabs and the dolphin swimming out toward the open sea.

She realized then that there was far more magic in the world than most people ever dreamed of.