Ozette's Destiny (11 page)

“Oh, Ozette,” the princess sighed. “How brave you are. Nothing happens by accident. Your journey led you to this place, this time. How can you not see the pattern here? Have faith in yourself, Ozette. The seeds of greatness are in you,” she said, tapping Ozette’s nose with her finger and looking deeply into Ozette’s eyes. Ozette saw such wisdom and, for a fraction of a second, it was like looking into the eyes of her grandmother.

Finally the day of the party arrived. Ozette and her friends readied her woods for the celebration. A large banner tied with green ribbons announced, “Hail, Queen Ozette!”

This embarrassed Ozette, but she didn’t want to be a bad sport. A small stage had been set up with a hand-lettered sign reading, “The Spice Squirrels in Concert.”

Princess Abrianna, followed by an excited Cassady, scurried around seeing to last-minute details.

“Take a nap, Ozette. You want to be fresh for the party,” the princess suggested.Ozette was awakened from her nap by a “Pssst.” She peered out of her nest to see the sometimes mischievous Sydney at the base of her tree, holding a basket. “Let’s get this set up,” she said in a loud whisper. Ozette rubbed her paws together and scrambled down the tree, grinning.

The two headed for a grove of trees just off the main path. They didn’t see Daphne hiding behind a bush. As soon as they were out of sight, Daphne scrambled up Ozette’s tree and dove into her nest.

That evening, after carefully grooming herself, Ozette stood back and admired her woods. The air was balmy and scented with flowers. Garlands draped the trees, while bouquets in every color imaginable adorned tables stacked high with delicacies. The dragons were carefully lighting hundreds of candles with their flaming breath, while fireflies flitted from tree to tree.

Soon the sky was thick with winged creatures, some carrying animals that lived too far to walk to the party. Fairies and elves flew hand-in-hand, chatting happily. Fairies were dressed in their most colorful attire, and they looked like miniature rainbows as they flitted to the party. The flowers in their hair added to the heady fragrance of the forest. Elves wore stylish, earth-tone tunics and snug britches and greeted one another with gusto.

Ozette was busy welcoming guests. It seemed that everyone in Farlandia was there. She greeted the eagle who had saved them from the creek and met his family. Everyone from meerkats to minks wanted to congratulate Ozette on her status as queen. Her eyes were starting to glaze over from so many creatures vying for her attention.

Ozette felt a tug on her tail. She turned to find the two spiders, Abigail and Gertie, looking at her sheepishly.

“Thank you for inviting us, even though…” Abigail began.

“Well, that unfortunate incident where…” Gertie said.

Ozette grinned, remembering that day. “Nonsense, I am happy you are here.”

“I know you said no gifts, but we wanted you to have this,” Abigail said, using four of her legs to hand Ozette a package. Ozette opened it to find yards of beautifully woven spider web. “We dyed it lavender with violet blossoms,” Abigail said proudly.

“And Sydney said she’ll use it to make a parachute for you after the coronation,” Gertie added.

Ozette was touched. She wasn’t sure how one hugged a spider, so she bowed and thanked them for their thoughtful gift, then sent them off to sample a yummy bugette burrito.

Meanwhile, Oliver was running late. He had taken extra time with his hair, grabbed his guitar and now was rushing to the party. As he reached Ozette’s woods, his mouth dropped open. His eyes had to be deceiving him. There, hanging from branches of a willow tree, were rows and rows of all of his colorful boxer shorts! And they were filled with creatures bouncing up and down!

Someone had removed the elastic from each waistband, except for about an inch, and flung the circle of elastic over a branch. Each leg hole of the dangling boxers appeared to have been sewn shut, making them look like a line of brilliant little papooses.

Fairies, elves and baby animals were ensconced in the boxers and having a blast jumping up and down. Boing! Boing!

It was a dazzling sight, and Oliver burst out laughing as he realized that his brilliantly colored underwear collection had been made into a bungee jump game!

In his favorite macaw print boxers, Mateo and a baby groundhog were bouncing up and down gleefully and giggling. Annika and Ariel were doubled over with laughter in his red squirrel boxers. Baby sparrows and bee-eater chicks were having a fine time in his fire-breathing dragon boxers, and Bandie, the chipmunk, and Tookie, the cardinal, were climbing into Oliver’s giraffe-print boxers for a turn. Two baby bunnies and Milligan Mouse and his extended family waited to join in the fun.

Oliver fell to the ground, howling with laughter! Hearing the commotion, Ozette and Sydney ran over to the elf and hugged him.

“I hope you aren’t angry! If you are, it was Ozette’s idea!” Sydney said. “And don’t worry; you know I can work magic with needle and thread. After the party, your boxers will be as good as new. Well, almost.”

“Did you ever think about asking me first?” asked Oliver as he gasped for breath between laughs.

Ozette winked and said, “My grandmother, The Divine Miss Piddlewinks, told me that sometimes it’s easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”

Oliver shook his head in amazement and hugged them both as shouts of “Whee!” filled the air around them.

The party was in full swing. Several guests had brought instruments and soon the air was filled with music. Birdsong provided a lilting harmony, and cicadas kept a steady beat. Rosie the Ribbiter and her Merry Frog Band’s constant “ribbit ribbit” had partygoers tapping their feet.

The Spice Squirrels – also known as Daphne, Nissa, Chloe, Zoe and Luna – mounted the small stage and started singing. Partygoers clapped and swayed to such favorites as “Uptown Squirrel,” “Brown-Eyed Squirrel,” “Surfer Squirrel,” “I’ve Been Waiting for a Squirrel Like You” and “I Wish They All Could Be Farlandia Squirrels.”

When the disco tunes started, Oliver was in his element. Soon, everyone stopped to watch his expert moves. The smooth-moving elf dazzled the crowd as he twirled and executed more and more complex steps. He grabbed Ozette’s paw and pulled the embarrassed squirrel onto the dance floor. He soon had her dipping, hip bumping, twirling and pointing a paw at the night sky.

He flashed his brilliant smile and someone whispered, “Wow! He looks just like that disco dude from the Earth World – John Travolta!” Another party-goer quipped, “Yeah. This could be Saturday Nut Fever.”

Ozette and Oliver took a final bow amid claps and shouts of “Encore!”

May I have your attention,” said a sweet, melodic voice.

Everyone looked up. A radiant Sydney flew to the center of the stage, her dark hair shot through with the thousands of moonbeams attending the coronation. As if on cue, their old friend Maxwell the unicorn pranced in, carrying Duchess Zorina on his back. Ozette was delighted to see her friend.

Maxwell swooped down and scooped Ozette onto his back. As he glided under a giant oak tree, Daphne, who was perched on a branch, placed the jeweled tiara on Ozette’s head. She had torn Ozette’s nest apart that afternoon, finding it.

“Oooh. Ahh,” admired the partygoers.

Duchess Zorina patted Ozette’s paw with her own and said, “I sneaked out. I couldn’t miss this important event. Maxwell will take me back soon.”

Princess Abrianna approached the unicorn. She was dressed in forest green, her silver hair crowned with pale yellow lilies. She handed Ozette a beautifully carved piece of wood.

“This is a talking stick. Whenever there are important issues to discuss, pass it to each one, so they can have their say.” She glanced at Ariel and whispered in Ozette’s ear, “It keeps the gabby ones from doing all the talking.”

Ariel opened her mouth to protest, shut it, grinned and wrinkled her nose good-naturedly at Princess Abrianna.

“I now crown you, Queen Ozette of Farlandia,” said Princess Abrianna, smiling up at Ozette.

The jubilant crowd cheered and clapped their hands, paws, claws and wings. A bevy of fireflies descended on Ozette, surrounding her with their twinkling lights.

Ozette gulped. She was filled with emotion as she looked out at the joyous crowd, their trusting faces aglow in the candlelight. How quickly they had accepted this lone white squirrel into their family. Ozette vowed she would be the best queen Farlandia had ever had, forgetting she was also the first Queen of Farlandia so hopefully that wouldn’t be too difficult.

The party continued into the night. Ozette sang, danced and visited. She was so busy she hardly had time to sample the scrumptious array of foods. Finally, she managed to steal away for a few minutes to visit with Duchess Zorina.

“You look lovely,” Ozette told the Bichon, who was freshly bathed and groomed and looked like a white powder puff.

Duchess Zorina kissed Ozette’s paw. “You’re the enchanting one. The tiara looks wonderful on you.”

“I hope you didn’t get into trouble for giving this to me,” Ozette said, fingering the tiara.

“They think I buried it in the garden. Not to worry. They bought me a new one.”

They heard a flapping of powerful wings, and Maxwell nodded that it was time to leave. Using his large teeth, he set down on the ground two overflowing baskets of goodies specially made for Ozette by the palace cook. Ozette thanked him and hugged Duchess Zorina, promising they would meet again.

The merrymaking continued long past Ozette’s usual bedtime, until every dance was danced, every song was sung and every crumb was eaten. As the party was slowly breaking up, she realized how tired she was. She thanked and hugged the guests. When the last one had said good-bye, she slowly climbed the tree to her nest.

She felt her head for her tiara. How well it fit! Like it had been designed for her. And she loved how beautiful it looked on her head. Perhaps being a queen might be fun, after all.

As she peered out of her nest, the night creatures continued their comforting calls. She curled onto her back and carefully combed her tail with her claws, removing bits of the honeyhunkette that Ariel had accidentally dropped from the branches. She heard the strains of a song the Spice Squirrels were singing in their sweet, clear voices as they wound their way home:

“The moon and stars they light our way,

Our path is smooth and clear.

The sun gives warmth upon our woods,

Blessing what we hold dear.

Tonight our forest sings with joy,

For earth and sky have met.

We have a queen, a lovely queen,

The fairest Queen Ozette.”

Ozette smiled drowsily then felt something lick her nose tenderly. She sleepily opened her eyes and saw the shadow of her beloved grandmother, The Divine Miss Piddlewinks, in the moonlight.

“Well done, my child. Well done,” her grandmother murmured, and then disappeared into the night.

Ozette awoke late the next morning. She stretched lazily, reliving the events of the past day and realizing she truly was Queen of Farlandia, although she didn’t feel any differently than she had before the coronation. Her tiara had fallen rakishly over one ear. She plucked it from her head and gazed at it, then gasped. During the night, the flower at the tip of her tiara had been transformed into a beautiful golden acorn.

Not even stopping to snag a bite of breakfast, she scurried down her tree and scampered to where she had planted the golden acorn. Overnight, the tiny sapling had grown into a sturdy tree, a tree resplendent with pale, golden leaves reaching skyward.

Ozette sat quietly under its branches, thinking about her grandmother and realizing that fulfilling her destiny was an ongoing journey, not an end in itself. As she watched the sunlight filter through its leaves, the tree seemed to glow with an inner light, casting its radiance on the lone white squirrel with a promise of even more adventures to come.