Constance Hedgehog had lived in the garden forever and most days were rather like the day before. She'd pop her head out of her favorite terracotta "sleeping" pot and see what was about for dinner; Usually this was slugs or an occasional cricket, but not on that fateful day:
The day the visitors came to the garden.
Constance had to rub her little eyes to make sure she was indeed seeing what she thought she saw. A big fat hippo was sat in the garden.
.
As plain as the prickles on her back, Constance noticed it snuffling about the petunias and when it caught sight of her sat down, plop, on the pavings.
"Good day," came the hippo, spotting Concstance in her spot in the terracotta pot, though it was quite obviously dusk (Constance favorite time for waking and eating.)
"Would you be so kind as to tell me where we are?" asked the Hippo, in perfect Hedgehog dialect too, though Constance.
At first Constance thought Hippo was using the 'royal We' for himself until she heard another rustling up in the shrubbery and as she gazed up, she saw the second visitor:
A giraffe sat as bold as brush in the hedgerow.
He was rather small, as giraffes go and for Constance's own limited knowledge OF giraffes, but he still towered over her.
"Yes," spoke the smallish giraffe, "we've lost our way and your garden looked so lovely, all aglow with flowers and lovely green things and heavenly scents." And here the giraffe stopped to snatch another mouthful of beautiful camellia blossoms.
She then noticed hippo making a B-line to the last beautifully planted urn, not ravaged by their hunger, when she said, "Stop", not the last planted pot!"
"My mistress will be quiet cross with you, if you eat up her favorite urn", which was quiet brave of Constance, for she was but a tiny hedgehog facing the odd pair.
"Perhaps she shouldn't plant such lovely tasty things so well presented, if she doesn't want them to be eat up," came the giraffe , now feasting on some ferns in a decorative leaden planter.
Constance knew better than that logic, she was tolerated in the garden for she feasted upon the things which feasted UPON her mistresses plants...She could hardly be hoped to eat up a hippo and a giraffe, she hoped. But her thoughts of nibbling away at the corner of a giraffe were broken by the Hippo's question a second time,
"Could you tell us where we are?" He came again, plopping down on a heavenly blue hydrangea.
"Well, you're in the Garden, of course." came Constance, rushing to save a small pot of begonias from the Giraffes long necked reach. Having lived her entire life in the Garden, Constance hadn't any real perspective on locations.
Well," came the giraffe, eyeing a spray of roses tumbling down the brick of the garden wall, "We're aliens, from another planet, you see,"
Constance didn't know what this word aliens meant tho both Giraffe and Hippo were speaking fluent hedgehog. It must be a rather educated place, where these 'aliens' came from, for she had noted right away how good their Hedgehog was, even the lilt at the end of their accent was spot on.
Well, maybe you should tell me where you are FROM or where you mean to go and that will help me Help you, said Constance.
Up there, said Hippo looking up to the now evening sky.
**Yes, from a distant planet," came Giraffe, in his perfect Hedgehog dialect.
Constance hadn't a clue what they were on about. She'd no idea what a Planet was, or how anyone, at least anyone who wasn't a bird, could live up in the sky? She found their story suspect.
And how odd the trio must have looked, if her mistress had looked out upon the garden when she got up for some warm milk to aid her sleep.
The hippo, the hedgehog, and the giraffe in the garden.
We are Aliens, you see," Hippo had said on that fateful night and began to demonstrate what "alien" meant by floating 3 feet above the ground, whilst Giraffe changed from a giraffe to an otter, then back to a giraffe before Constance's eyes.
"We've simply taking the forms of Earth creatures to blend in and observe you lot." Hippo had said, matter of fact settling back down on the pavings.
"We'll you're not doing a very good job of that," laughed Hedgehog and that was the night she schooled 2 aliens on the various creatures of Earth and how best one might go about 'observing' the other creatures of "earth'.
It was a night to be remembered for sure and Constance had photographic proof to share with her garden chums.
The alien pair had seen fit to photograph their outting for Constance before transforming themselves and filling the garden with flashing lights:
The aliens chose the form of hedgehogs, which made Constance rather proud, and off they scuttled to observe Earth's creatures in other gardens beyond her hedgehrows and garden wall.
Constance would always remember that day, for sure, and wondered how many unsuspecting people would come upon a little hedgehog unaware of it being an Alien? Of course, Constance still was not completely sure what an 'alien' was nor even much about the world beyond her own garden walls...still it was a lovely memory to think upon whilst munching grubs and crickets in the moonlight.
I hope you liked my silly little story that accompanies my drawing "The visitors in the Garden."
I'd made this drawing a few years back and was reminded of it lately when a few things sold with the artwork on. I've got it on a few various items for sale, such as journals
Bags
And even one of my favorite things when they sell, the wall murals, I love seeing the scale of them.
And of course as prints too
I hope my version of a little Alien story amused you, and thank you for indulging me in it. I hope you find a moment in your day to indulge in your own passions and to even dream up a few tales for yourself.
And remember the next time you see a hedgehog in a garden be careful, as it might be a visiting alien here to observe you, so you best be on your best behavior in gardens.
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