By Talitha Antao
One fine October morning, there was a scramble in the leaves at the doorstep. “What could it be at
such an hour?”, thought Mr. Q.
After losing his wife 2 years ago, he had not moved around much, much less met anyone. And while
he once had had a mischievous little boy, he had lost him as well to a sudden fever. As he stepped
out today after nearly a week, face to face with the little patch he called a garden, little did he know
he would be meeting a lifelong buddy.
Stepping gingerly so as to catch the elusive figure, he bent down to check his tender black eyed peas.
Oh he did see black eyes peeping out through the leaves, but they weren’t beans. They were a
porcupine eyes!
“Now what are you doing here, little guy?” Mr Q had always had a soft spot for animals, and this
little porcupine was no exception. But he knew better than to touch him, so he just sat down in a
chair nearby with his book.
One paw step, second paw step, our porcupine was as cautious as could be, and for good reason.
The day before he had ventured into a farmer’s field behind, only to be chased by a rough looking
farmer, and an equally rough looking dog.
Was this a trick of sorts? In that case, he thought he’d better get his fill of these delicious beans.
Soon as he was done with his morning snack, it was time to take his mid day nap by the pond.
Sniffing the air, he looked behind to see Mr. Q dozing off.
Thinking it his chance to leave quietly, he slowly wriggled under the garden gate. But something
made him turn back again. He needed to know more about this human.
Instead of scampering off, he made his way to Mr. Q. With every loud snore, he jumped behind a
pot.
Finally, he was under the chair. But with another loud snore that sounded like a proper roar this
time, he jumped, and so did poor Mr. Q. Sore from a prick on his foot, his eyes barely open, he
looked for his glasses.
“Ah, here they are!”, putting his hand down to his side. Another prick. Slowly turning his sleepy
head, he found to his shock, and amusement, a porcupine with his book on top of its quills.
“So it was you?” he asked, with a grin. It was indeed funny, with the wide eyes, and the quills all
quivering in fear under a big book. Mr. Q gently took his book away, and with that, our porcupine
darted into the shrub on the left side.
“Oh don’t you worry, I won’t hurt you”, whispered Mr Q. A nose, two eyes peeked out from under
the leaves. “That’s it, I’m going to name you Mr Nosy!”, cried Mr. Q, jumping out of his chair.
Almost as if in approval, Mr Nosy came out of hiding, his eyes fixed on Mr. Q. It wasn’t everyday a
human let him alone, now here was one giving him a name! With a bated breath, he stepped closer,
his quills still shaking.
Within a second, would you believe it, he was licking Mr. Q's hand, enjoying a nice chin rub.
And from that day, Mr. Q and Mr Nosy spent every morning out in the garden, with Nosy helping out
with the plantation of the new crop of beans, and many other delicious vegetables. And when Mr Q
went to make himself some pumpkin soup in the evenings, he didn’t forget to save the seeds for his
new four legged friend.
Maybe the beans were magic, or maybe it was exactly what Mr. Q needed, a quiet companion.
The end.
By Talitha Antao
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