The Trail to the Old Willow

After their ball game, Puschel and Flauschi set off towards the old willow. Flauschi carried the boat in both paws. Puschel took the closed picnic basket. The broad, dry path ran beside the river; they stayed on it instead of going down to the water.

Puschel“Perhaps the sender lives behind the willow. Perhaps they're a boat-builder. Or a treasure hunter with tiny treasures.”

Flauschi“Perhaps. But so far, we only know that someone scratched a willow into the wood.”

Puschel nodded. He still liked his guesses. Now he simply carried them as guesses, alongside the basket. As the willow grew closer, he pointed at its long branches. In the afternoon light, they looked like a green curtain.

The path widened beneath the tree. On the dry side of the trunk, Flauschi noticed a shallow hollow. A few old scraps of paper lay inside. They left them untouched. Between two roots stood a little wooden sign, sheltered from the weather and easy to read from the path.

It read: “For wishes nobody has heard yet.” Beneath those words was a drawing of an island with a tree in its centre. A narrow arrow pointed along the path upstream. It did not yet explain how to reach the island.

Puschel“So it is a treasure. Just one that needs listening to first.”

Flauschi“Perhaps wishes gather there. We still need to find out whether our note came from that place.”

They turned the boat over and compared its scratched tree with the drawing. Both had long, hanging branches. That was a clue, not proof. Flauschi set the boat upright again; the note was still safe inside the hull.

Puschel's tummy rumbled so loudly that he looked down at it in surprise. They were curious. But they were hungry, too. On the dry meadow beside the willow, they found a comfortable place to pause.

Puschel“Picnic first. Then we can think calmly about where to go next.”

Flauschi agreed. For today, the island remained a picture on a sign. The first part of their search had brought them to the willow—and nobody had to hurry to turn one clue into a whole adventure.