Seeds of Happiness

Madge the Magician lived at Primrose Cottage, down at the end of a wandering road that stretched out from the village of Blessam. It was a very private house; the kind of house that you wouldn’t know was there unless you’d been told to look for it. And she shared her very private house with a fat, grey Tabby cat called Fifteen, and her niece Jenny, who visited from time to time. Madge lived by the Magician’s code and only revealed her magic in exceptional circumstances. So, if Madge was ever seen striding across a moonlit field with her quaint cat, singing their peculiar songs, she always pretended she was simply taking the cat out for a walk. But Jenny knew about the magic and she loved her all the more for it.

It was one glorious summer’s day, when the great trees stood proudly in their finest greenery and the little songbirds piped in the arrival of swans. Jenny was helping Madge in the kitchen by labeling up jars. As it was Saturday, Jenny had come to visit her favorite aunt and spend two enchanted days with her.

“What are towns like these days?” Madge asked as she flicked through the pages of Magician’s Monthly.

“Mmm… I know,” Fifteen replied as she stretched himself out on Madge’s lap and flexed his paws.

“You!” Jenny laughed in surprise. “You never go anywhere. How would you know?”

Being a wise little girl she had long since got used to her aunt’s talking cat, even if she didn’t always agree with what he said.

“Miaow,” Fifteen protested. “I once spoke to a fox who talked with a crow, and she flew over a town regularly. Towns, I am told, are big and nasty places, full of dirt and noise. In fact, a town is altogether a most unhappy arrangement.”

“Well auntie,” Jenny began (for she only addressed her as Magician when other magicians came to call); “Now there’s a job for you. I’m sure a town could use some of your happiness seeds – people could plant them and get their wishes.”

“That’s a splendid idea,” Madge agreed. “Now then Fifteen, where is my little bag of Happiness Seeds?” She said as she scratched behind his ear.

“In the drawer beside the biscuit tin; the one that contains the shortbreads and the custard creams,” Fifteen purred.

Then Fifteen jumped down to his dish to wait for a biscuit. Madge reached into the drawer and gathered up the loose seeds, carefully popping them into a little paper envelope. Then, over tea and biscuits, plans were drawn up and sandwiches were made.

The next morning, Madge secured her sandwiches and a flask of tea to her shiny red bicycle. Then she reminded Jenny to lock the door, and not to feed the cat too many biscuits in her absence. And with that, Madge got on her bike and was off.

Madge soon arrived in a nearby town, threading her way carefully through the traffic and trying not to wobble as the big lorries went past. Everything seemed so loud and so large that she wondered where on earth to start. Stopping off in the park for a breather, she heard the unmistakable chatter of children. Three boys were complaining about how bored they are, as boys often do. Madge smiled to herself and dismounted her bicycle to wheel it along the footpath. Along the way she noticed the well-tended flower beds, which made her smile even more.

She found a space on the grass and laid her bicycle down, then she stretched back to enjoy the sunshine. After a little while she heard whisperings and opened her eyes to find three young, expectant faces gazing across at her. They looked first towards her and then towards her saddle bag containing her lunch, for children can always detect magicians and food. The three boys sat very still as Madge introduced herself and lifted the lid of her lunchbox with a satisfying ‘pop’.

“I overheard you earlier,” Madge explained. Then she passed them a sandwich each. “Do I take it that you are unhappy?”

They nodded; their mouths already too full of sandwich to speak. Madge waited for them to chew properly and called them closer one at a time. Very softly, she whispered to them in turn what her gift would be. Each boy would receive a happiness seed. It had to be planted in a sunny place and watered and cared for until the first show of fruit. Then, and only then, could the wish be made – for whatever would make them happy. She presented three tiny, glistening seeds and finally, just to be on the safe side, she cast a little spell to keep the secret between the three of them. And with her job done, Madge bade them good day and sent them on their way in a daze.

“That seemed to go quite well, all things being equal,” Madge told herself, pouring a nice cup of tea and feasting on the one remaining sandwich.

Then she spread the crumbs for the birds that had flown down to join her and poured out some cooled tea into an acorn cup for a passing squirrel.

“So now what happens?” Jenny asked when Madge got home.

“We’ll have to wait and see, dear,” Madge told her with a quizzical smile, and went back to reading the local paper.

Time passed. Jenny grew tall and wiser still. Madge and Fifteen seemed barely older, for magicians and their magical cats do not always age like normal people, or normal cats for that matter. Apart from a withered note saying ‘SEEDS’ that Jenny had kindly pinned to the shelf, Madge had almost forgotten about the three boys. Then, one fine summer’s morning over breakfast porridge, Jenny reminded her.

“Right you are young Jenny,” Madge declared as she leapt from the chair (though Jenny was no longer quite so young). “I’ll be off at noon and back quite soon – make sure Fifteen doesn’t have the radio on too loud.”

Madge was soon on her way. She cycled along the main road into the town quite cheerfully. But dear oh dear, what a sight! There was more traffic than ever, lorries and vans and cars beeping their horns as Madge passed by. Madge had a terrible feeling in her stomach as she reached the centre of town – something was wrong. She stopped at the kerbside and gazed across the road in disbelief. The park had gone! Where she remembered a great expanse of greenery and trees, now there was only a great square building with large windows and a slow snake of cars crawling to the entrance.

“This is a good place to start.” Madge decided aloud, carefully crossing the road and tying her bicycle to an overflowing litter bin.

People flocked from miles around and the tills rang out with the endless chime of money. Madge went inside and wiggled her way through the crowd. She paused at a large door bearing the words ‘MY OFFICE - KEEP OUT’ and went in anyway. She recognised the boss immediately. The first of the three boys was now a young man, wealthy beyond his dreams and owner of an enormous hamburger restaurant. He sat behind a large desk and smoked a large cigar as he counted piles of money.

“Do you remember me?” Madge asked him crossly as he looked over a great wall of notes and coins. “You’ve taken the park away to build your hamburger shop, and all for money. Does the money you wished for make you happy?”

“NO!” The man sobbed, standing up suddenly as his cigar had dropped into his lap when he opened his mouth. “Money hasn’t made me happy. I’m here all the hours of the day and night and it never stops. I never get the time to spend my money. In fact I never get any time at all. I wish it had never happened.”

“Very well then,” Madge promised solemnly; “I will deal with it.”

She raised her arms towards the ceiling and said in a loud voice: “By the Glecknor Pilligs of Barbarbar, let the money end and let the park return.”

There was a great sound like ‘PING’. In an instant the park had returned and all the people were sharing a picnic. The man had no memory of Madge or his hamburger restaurant. He sat in the park, staring at an odd looking fruit tree. Madge passed him a sandwich and went on her way.

“On we go,” Madge resolved, saddling up her bicycle which she unchanged from empty space.

Madge took a sniff of the air as she peddled. The unmistakable scent of magic was in the breeze. She followed the trail to a large Theatre and carefully chained her bicycle up outside. The second boy was by now a famous pop star. Famous, that is, to everyone except Madge. It was only something about the eyes on the huge poster outside that reminded her of the boy she’d once met. Although he did look different without a sandwich in his mouth, like the last time she’d seen him.

As Madge went into the theatre, the concert was just ending, to great cheers and applause. Madge found her way behind the stage and waited near a dressing room door with a large golden star on it. She didn’t have to wait long. No sooner had she taken a bite of her sandwich when the man arrived, strutting down the corridor like a peacock and trying to avoid crashing into things in his sunglasses.

“Here,” he said to her, passing a package. “It’s my latest album and there’s a poster of me inside. I’ve already signed it so there’s no need to ask.”

Madge fixed him a stern look and waggled her sandwich at him scoldingly.

“You big show-off! Is this what you’ve come to, you silly, vain man? Did the fame you wished for make you happy?”

He thought for a moment and his sun-tanned smile faded slightly.

“NO!” He sobbed, dropping his sunglasses to the floor in a clatter and making all his medallions jingle. “Fame hasn’t made me happy. I never get to be myself – I’m always on show and my fans won’t leave me along day or night. I wish it had never happened.”

“Very well then,” Madge promised, putting down what was left of her sandwich. “I will deal with it.” Then she raised her arms and called out along the corridor, “By the Glecknor Pilligs of Barbarbar, let the fame end.”

There was a great sound like ‘WHOOSH’ and when the man blinked again he was at the picnic in the park, playing a guitar and singing softly to himself as he rested against an odd-looking fruit tree.

Madge picked up her crust of a sandwich and left the empty theatre to carry on with her quest. But try as she might, wherever she pedaled in the town, she could not pick up the smell of magic again. It was a puzzle. So she decided to call it a day and headed for home. Back in the kitchen she told Jenny and Fifteen about her day. Fifteen immediately volunteered to help and disappeared off into the garden without further ado. Late afternoon drifted into dinner-time with still no sign of him, which was most unusual for a cat like Fifteen. He didn’t return until late evening, running into the kitchen and bounding on to Madge’s lap as she was writing out a magician’s birthday card which read ‘132 Today’.

“I’ve found him! Fifteen meowed triumphantly, arching his back for a lazy scratch from the half-written card.

Fifteen then told a tale of how a sheep that he sometimes chatted to had heard through a horse about a robin; and the robin knew of a potter who lived in a most unusual orchard. Fifteen had travelled to the orchard to see for himself and sure enough, the potter was still collecting the seeds.

“Well done Fifteen, you are brighter than any other magician’s cat in the whole world!” Madge praised him, and Fifteen smiled himself to sleep, curled up on her lap.

The following day, Madge took her shiny red bicycle out again and followed the Fifteen’s directions. She found the third boy that afternoon, not in a town at all but in a village not too far from her own. The scent of magic was stronger than the flowers around the cottage door. Madge knocked politely and the potter welcomed her warmly and introduced his wife Annie.

“You seem happy enough,” Madge noted, looking through their back window on to an enormous garden filled with fruit trees. “Tell me though, what did you wish for to bring you happiness?”

“Well,” the potter replied nervously, “The answer is all around you. We’ve planned every crop from the first seed and created this wonderful orchard.”

“Yes,” added Annie; “And whenever we go visiting anywhere we always take some seeds along for planting or a few jars of preserved fruit.”

“But tell me,” Madge persisted, “What did you wish for personally?”

“Well,” the potter began again. “After you left us that day, long ago in the park, I listened to my two friends arguing about all the things they could wish for and whose wish was the best. And it seemed to me that if a wish was so easily granted it could be just as easily taken away. And it was causing arguments even before the trees were grown! So I didn’t want to waste my wish; I wanted to think carefully. I thought long and hard about it and then, when the tree had actually grown fruit, I wished not to have to depend on anyone else or anything else for my happiness. That way it could never be taken away, except by me.”

He stopped and looked at Madge sheepishly.

“So I suppose you could say your gift to me was wasted. But you know what? After that day in the park, we never discussed the seeds again and I haven’t seen my old friends for years now – I couldn’t even tell you where they are.”

“I have a suspicion you may find them in the park again next time you’re in town,” Madge suggested with a wink and an odd look on her face. She smiled. “Do you know what, I don’t think my gift was wasted at all!”

As Madge said her goodbyes and walked out to her bicycle the potter came running after her.

“Here,” he called, “I’ve got something for you,” and he ran up panting with a dusty cardboard box under his arm. “I made it a long time ago and I promised myself that if I hadn’t dreamed you and I ever saw you again that I’d give this to you. It’s the first pot I ever made.”

Madge beamed as she placed the box securely in the basket at the front of her bicycle.

“Will I ever see you again?” The potter asked.

“Of that I have no doubt,” Madge called behind her, flicking on her bicycle lights as she headed for home.

Fifteen was intrigued by the parcel that Madge put on the table. He pulled and pulled at the string with his paw. It didn’t smell like food and the dust made him sneeze, but he was ever so curious.

“Can we open it now?” He pestered, just as Jenny brought in a tray of freshly baked biscuits.

“Very well then,” Madge agreed, and she untied the string carefully and lifted off the box top.

She lifted out a tiny urn, with a fruit tree design on the side and a bright yellow lid.

“Why Fifteen, I do believe I’ll put my seeds in there right now” Madge decided, and went to the drawer to fetch out the paper packet of seeds.

Back in the furthest reaches of the drawer, chasing runaway seeds, Madge felt about and drew out two half empty packets, one said Seeds of Happiness on it and the other said Seeds of Discontent. She thought for a moment and gathered up both lots of seeds and all the loose ones, Happiness and Discontent alike, and placed them in the pot together. Because sometimes, even for a Magician as wise as Madge, it’s difficult to tell the two apart.

The End.