The Knocking Behind the Basket

Puschel moved his craft basket a little way from the low workshop table. He wanted to see how much paper was left inside. Then a sound came from behind the rim: knock, knock.

Puschel stopped. ‘Flauschi? Did someone just knock on my basket?’

Flauschi stood beside him. ‘I heard it too. Shall we look together?’

Puschel nodded. The workshop was bright, and they had plenty of time. There were fifteen days until Halloween. They still needed a few games for their party. But a knocking basket had not been on their list.

‘Perhaps it wants to come in,’ said Puschel.

Flauschi looked at the open basket. ‘Then it’s doing very well. It’s already in the middle of the workshop.’

Puschel laughed. As he did, his paw touched the rim again. The basket rocked a little. Knock, knock.

‘There it is again!’ He took his paw away. They both listened. Everything was quiet now.

‘Perhaps the rocking has something to do with it,’ Flauschi suggested.

They leaned over the open basket. A folded scrap of fabric lay on top. Behind it were two short pieces of wood with smooth, rounded edges. Puschel carefully moved the fabric aside. Then he nudged the rim very gently again. The wooden pieces tipped against each other. Knock.

‘Two pieces of wood!’ he said. ‘They were talking to each other.’

‘They bumped together,’ said Flauschi. ‘Shall we check whether that was our sound?’

Puschel took out one piece and put it on the floor. Flauschi held the basket steady while he took out the other. There was no more knocking. Now they each held one piece. Once, very gently, they tapped the smooth ends together.

Knock.

‘That’s it!’ cried Puschel. Then he said more quietly, ‘So our basket doesn’t need a door. It just needs a little tidying.’

They put both pieces side by side in the basket and tucked the fabric between them. When Puschel moved the basket, there was no knocking.

Flauschi smiled. ‘We could turn that into a sound-guessing game for the party.’

‘I’ll secretly go knock, and everyone will jump!’

Flauschi shook her head kindly. ‘We’ll ask who would like to play first. And we’ll keep the sounds quiet.’

Puschel nodded. ‘Then nobody has to jump. Not even the basket.’

For a practice round, Flauschi brushed her paw across the fabric. Puschel heard a soft rustling and guessed it straight away. Then it was his turn to choose a sound. Anyone who did not want to guess could simply watch.

At last, the tidy basket stood beside the table. They had found their first sound puzzle. And the mysterious knocking visitor? It was resting very comfortably between a piece of wood and a scrap of fabric.