Fiona the Fox woke up feeling warm and snuggly inside. Sunbeams danced across her face in little fingers of light, and a floppy bunny ear rested on her nose and made her sneeze. Hoppi, her little bunny friend, was flopped over right next to her. For the hundredth time that day, Fiona wondered if today was the day she should invite all her friends to her idea of a perfect celebration.
“Oh, umm-mmm, a FRIENDSHIP Festival!” came a muffled voice from beneath Hoppi’s ear.
“Exactly!” squeaked Fiona so loudly, she startled herself!
“Oh!” said Hoppi, sitting right up. “What a lovely idea, Fiona! Why, if I heard that only yesterday, I might have invited everyone myself! But as it is, I slept too late.”
Fiona giggled. “That’s true, Hoppi. You must have dreamed I was the one doing the inviting!”
“Oh, do that, Fiona, dear, do that! Go ask them now, there’s a dear, sweet friend of mine,” said Hoppi, putting in his little paws by way of encouragement.
“But I don’t know Hoppybear. He’s such a big bear and so shy, too, I’m afraid he doesn’t know how much I care about him,” said Fiona, hesitating.
“Haven’t you known me?” said Hoppi. “You come to my birthday Festivals, you remember?”
“That’s true,” said Fiona. “But Hoppy never comes to mine. He’s too big and clumsy for our games.”
“That doesn’t matter,” said Hoppi. “Dear friends of mine, I can tell you, are ours by right and not by size.”
“All right, Hoppi,” replied Fiona cheerily, “I’ll go and ask Hoppy to come to the FRIENDSHIP Festival!”
So she went happy as a songbird tenderly everywhere with Invitations.
In her heart, she hoped her friends would hasten to answer. But, alas! Hoppybear was too bashful to express himself, and so days passed, and all the animals watched for someone who’d bring news of the FRIENDSHIP Festival.
“Oh, we didn’t know it should be asked in that way,” cried Litta everywhere with the gladness of good news trumpeted by every bird and animal. “We’ll come ourselves and one just like us, if we can, all about our size. And we’ll bring along every wee bit of place we can manage.”
“Oh, Hoppybear, you are so kind!” cried Fiona when at twilight the great bear lumbered into the fringe of the little faces eager to hear all about the Festival. And the exciting nimble animal frames arched over Hoppybear’s. And voices crystal clear and sweet rang all around him saying, “Why didn’t you let us have known long, long ago, dear Hoppy, that that was what you meant when you asked where we were going?”
“But… But I didn’t know for certain myself,” huffed out Hoppybear, shyly.
“Then perhaps we had better go to the festival without you,” said Fiona saucily.
“But we won’t! Oh dear, no! You know we won’t! And perhaps we’d better take Hoppy to help us, we’ll have such heaps more fun!” protested all the animal children, skipping around the fat little bear and drawing him off with them for a good old free romp.
“Have all my friends come at last?” squealed Fiona joyfully, looking up into the old Granny head whose wrinkles had smiley eyes at each corner of them to hold Hoppy’s love-lights.
All her friends had come at last and EVERYWHERE!