Flauschi’s Own Secret

Flauschi was not sitting on a big surprise. That would probably have rustled beneath her. She was standing at the low table, holding just one small folded slip in her paw. Yet it felt as though a whole handful of funny ideas was bouncing around inside it.

Puschel was sorting yesterday’s questions. Puschel“Breakfast, outings, cosy sounds. Our box is getting quite chatty.” Flauschi nodded. Meanwhile, she was thinking about something she wanted to prepare for Puschel. It was not a finished gift yet. For now, it was an idea that she hoped would suit him.

Then she imagined his face when he found out about it later. A giggle tickled her nose. Quickly, she put her free paw over her mouth. Puschel glanced up. Puschel“Did your nose just laugh?” Flauschi“A tiny bit.” She could hardly say more without starting to giggle again.

Puschel placed the next question slip in the box. Puschel“My nose usually only joins in when there’s something to sniff.” Now Flauschi laughed properly. She had been so determined to look perfectly ordinary. That was working about as well as a ribbon bow pretending to be invisible.

Flauschi“I’m thinking about something for you. But I’d like to work on it a little longer.” Puschel kept his paws by the box. Puschel“Then take your time. I don’t need to know beforehand.” He said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Flauschi realised how lovely that felt.

She folded the slip carefully once more. The drawings, the red ribbon and the little gift tags lay nearby. She did not need to use everything at once to make a nice surprise. Perhaps one small idea would be enough. She could take her time deciding which one it would be.

Puschel picked up a blank question slip. Puschel“I do have one question, though. Shall I carry on sorting?” Flauschi“Yes, please.” Puschel“Good. By now, I know almost as much about that as I do about breakfast.” Flauschi put her paw over her mouth again. This time, she knew exactly why she wanted to giggle.