The Magenta Fur Mystery

A warm sunbeam slipped through the round bedroom window and tickled Puschel’s nose. He blinked, yawned and reached for his little teddy. Then he noticed a paw that was not blue at all.

Puschel“Flauschi? My paw dressed up during the night!”

Flauschi hurried into the room, stopped mid-step and opened her eyes wide. It was not only the paw. Puschel glowed bright magenta from the tips of his ears to the end of his enormous tail.

Flauschi“You are completely magenta! Does anything hurt?”

Puschel wiggled his ears, bounced once on the mattress and moved every paw. Everything felt normal. Only the colour remained. Flauschi breathed out in relief and decided to begin with the simplest solution.

In the bathroom, she filled the large wooden Wusel tub with warm water. One dab of woodland soap produced soft mountains of bubbles all the way up to Puschel’s chin.

Puschel“If lots of bubbles help a lot, I shall be twice as blue in a moment!”

Flauschi carefully washed one paw, then one ear and finally his tail. Yet beneath every vanishing bubble she found the same brilliant magenta.

Flauschi“Then we need the big brush. Very gently, I promise.”

Puschel“Big and gentle rarely belong in the same sentence when brushes are involved.”

Flauschi gripped the long handle with both paws and scrubbed until foam flew across the bathroom. Puschel wriggled and giggled because it tickled terribly. When the last cloud of bubbles landed, his fur was clean, tousled—and still magenta.

Flauschi put down the brush, scratched her head and looked towards the door. Somewhere in the Wusel house she knew a remedy for particularly stubborn magic colours.

Flauschi“The magic Wusel book! It even explains how to make singing mushrooms quiet again.”

In the herb room, she opened the heavy green book. Between pictures of leaves, moons and acorns she found the page about unusual fur colours. Puschel waited on a stool, dripping patiently onto a towel.

Flauschi mixed moon mint, three leaves of giggle grass and one tiny pinch of sparkle dust. The potion bubbled gold. She dipped in a wooden spoon and dabbed a single drop onto Puschel’s fur.

Ping! A large turquoise spot appeared on Puschel’s magenta belly. Then came another ping, and another. Soon the spots covered him from ears to tail.

Puschel“The colour has not gone. But now it has company.”

Flauschi leaned over the book. Before she could read the next line, there was a quiet poof. Puschel’s fur stood out in every direction and grew rounder and rounder until he looked like an enormous magenta and turquoise fluff ball.

Flauschi“That may have been a little more giggle grass than the picture meant.”

Puschel lifted one paw and studied its turquoise spot with a crooked smile. He was so puffed up that the paw disappeared a little whenever he moved it. Flauschi thought hard and this time read the tiniest line at the end of the page.

For the second attempt, she added one de-puffing leaf, two drops of dew and a shaving of ringlet bark. The new potion shimmered turquoise and drew golden spirals through the air.

Flauschi“This drop goes on one strand of fur only. We now know how enthusiastically your fur reacts.”

The instant the drop touched Puschel, the turquoise spots floated away as bubbles. His round fur settled again—but every strand began to curl. Wild magenta ringlets sprang up on his head, his belly and even his enormous tail.

Puschel“I think my fur is determined to try something new today.”

Flauschi smiled for a moment but kept working. She compared the curls with the picture, turned back one page and found a tiny note that had been hidden beneath a dried leaf.

Flauschi“Here it is: for colour that appears overnight, use morning dew instead of ordinary dew. Now we can do it properly.”

For the final attempt, Flauschi mixed fresh morning dew with bluebell leaves and exactly one grain of sparkle dust. She stirred three times to the left, once to the right and gently dabbed the finished potion onto Puschel’s paw.

A soft golden glow travelled across Puschel’s body. The wild curls lifted away as tiny magenta spirals, sparkled once and vanished. Beneath them appeared his familiar soft blue fur—on his paws, belly and ears, and finally on his huge bushy tail.

Puschel“Blue! I have my blue back!”

Flauschi“And I have learned to check beneath dried leaves when I read a magic recipe.”

Relieved, they hugged. Puschel picked up one last magenta curl and placed it between the pages of the Wusel book as a keepsake. As Flauschi closed the book, one tiny note fluttered out from underneath it.

It read: “Warning: anyone who snacks on far too many ripe Wusel berries in the evening may wear their vivid colour in their fur overnight.” Flauschi looked at the note and then at Puschel. He suddenly found the ceiling extremely interesting.

Flauschi“Puschel, how many Wusel berries did you eat yesterday evening?”

Puschel“Only one pawful at first. Then another. And at some point the whole basket was surprisingly empty.”

At last the fur mystery was solved. No unknown spell had turned Puschel magenta. He had simply eaten far too many Wusel berries, and their bright berry glow had crept into every tip of his fur overnight.

Flauschi“Next time the berry hunger arrives, we shall share the basket. Then you might turn only a tiny bit pink.”

Puschel promised, and they both had to laugh. Then they went to breakfast. After a bubble bath, a ticklish brushing and three wild fur changes, Puschel was terribly hungry again—this time for something with no Wusel berries at all.