Snoutie and His Friends

“It’s called ga-ga-ga-lobalization,” pronounced Goose importantly. “Or, rather, glo-ba-li-za-tion!” he honked as if he were a professor, and he raised his right wing, pointing somewhere up into the sky, perhaps at his fellow geese flying overhead.

Snoutie looked respectfully at Goose and then at the other geese. He understood absolutely nothing, but he didn’t want to ask what the word “globalization” meant; he did not want to show that he didn’t know the meaning of such an Important Word, and he also didn’t want to offend Goose, even by accident.

Everyone knew that Goose was a very sensitive creature, and that even cloudy weather put him in a sad mood. At such moments he would pick up a large, white quill pen (which, as you might guess, was not hard for him to do) and start working on his Goosey Ode. For some reason, though, this Ode never moved beyond the same first line:

“Ga-ga, ga-ga-ga, ga-ga-ga, ga-ga-ga,” Goose would honk dreamily, looking off into the distance.

And he usually never got any further than that. But this didn’t bother Goose in the least. On the contrary, this exercise allowed him to think of himself not only as an Educated Goose and a Scholarly Goose, but also as a Creative Goose and a Poetic Goose.

Nevertheless, Goose still wanted very much to complete his Ode and read it around a table at the Big Forest’s famous restaurant Chez Royal Chef Rabbit. He imagined his friends gathering for this solemn occasion to enjoy the Ode’s poetic contents and flowery language, as well as its elegant, goosey style.

Snoutie turned the invitation over in his hands and then, embarrassed, handed it to Goose. You see, even though Snoutie had learned how to read a long time before, he preferred it when his Mama and Papa read aloud to him while he studied the pictures in the books. But since he wasn’t a little Snoutie anymore, he really didn’t want to admit that he didn’t like to read on his own.

“The sun is shining so brightly today,” he mumbled, “that I can’t even make out the letters. I’ve spent the whole day catching spots of sunlight, and now all I can see are spots before my eyes.”

“Michelle is inviting you over for lunch today,” announced Goose solemnly, as he read over the invitation slowly. He was pleased to have the chance to show off his literary abilities.

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” squealed Snoutie happily. “It will be very nice to see Michelle again. And if I remember correctly, Michelle’s mother makes a very delicious and sweet-smelling sorrel soup. I hope they serve it today, along with my favorite fried corn fritters and cheese!”

Snoutie closed his eyes, and his cheeks flushed pink. He stroked his round tummy and got so wound up in his thoughts about lunch that he didn’t even realize he had begun singing one of his very own songs:

How nice it is to eat to my fill:

To gobble up sweet ears of corn right off the grill!

I love to stuff my tummy until my pants are tight,

And then wish everyone a pleasant good night.

“Snoutie, have you decided what gift you will take with you?” interrupted Goose. “I’m ga-ga-ga-guessing you know that you can’t go over to someone’s house empty-handed.”

Snoutie was a little confused, but he nodded in agreement anyway.

“My Suit for Special Occasions is always ready, but I haven’t had the chance to think about a gift yet.”

“The most important thing is that the gift be wrapped in a wide, brightly-colored ribbon,” continued Goose importantly. “I can help you with that if you want.”

“Thank you, Goose,” said Snoutie, a little confused. “That’s very kind of you, but I still have no idea what my gift will be.”

Then Snoutie ran to get his Suit for Special Occasions from his closet.

“Oh, I hope I won’t be late for lunch,” worried Snoutie, looking at the watch his parents gave him for his Fifth Birthday. Since Snoutie loved lunchtime very much, his watch always showed either Almost Lunch Time or Exactly Lunch Time. “I think it’s almost time for me to get ready and go. But what gift should I take with me?” he said out loud, looking especially closely at his morning guest, who was quickly flipping through the letters in his bag.

“Goose! Goose!” Snoutie cried happily, understanding that he had just had an excellent idea. “Let’s go to Michelle’s house together!”

“I would, of course, with pleasure, but you, my friend, were the only one who was invited,” answered Goose in surprise.

“And I will be the only one visiting! You will be the very Gift that I will be taking with me. And what’s more, I have a beautiful, red silk ribbon that will go quite nicely with your white feathers.” Without waiting for a reply, Snoutie started digging messily around in a drawer for the ribbon.