There was one morning when Jack and Poppy had helped dad in the garden. They’d helped him all morning! Well, perhaps not ‘all’ the morning. But they’d helped him for a long long time. They’d pulled weeds. They’d carried great big armfulls of rubbish to the heap. They’d watched while dad sawed through the tree by the shed. It went crash onto the lawn, and they helped him clear up all the branches and leaves and stuff.
And now Jack said, “I’m so hot and sweaty, dad!” And Poppy said she was perspiring; profusely. And dad pushed his hat back on his head and grinned. He said, “Yes, so am I. It must be time to stop and find a cold drink.”
And just then mum came around the corner of the house. She was carrying a huge glass jug of cold water. It had ice cubes bobbing and clinking under the lid. And everyone cheered and sat down in some shade and told mum she was a Life Saver.
“Thanks, dear,” dad said. And Jack and Poppy would have said that too, but they were both scoffing down big gulps of water and could only think ‘thank you’. But Mum just smiled and said the garden was looking like new.
Dad grinned and said the kids had worked really hard all morning. Poppy paused her drink for a second and thought they hadn’t really been out there ‘all’ morning … but dad was very sweet to say they had.
Mum said, “Well, perhaps these two need a little treat.” She turned to Jack and Poppy and said would they like to stop now and have some free time on their own up on the hill? She said, “There’s plenty of shade up there.”
Well, Jack and Poppy almost choked on their cold water. “That would be great!” they said. And mum said, “I thought you’d like that. Off you go. And I’ll have a delicious cold salad ready for you when you come back.”
So the two of them gave her and dad the biggest happiness hugs and shot out the gate, along the footpath and up onto the hill. It was their favourite place.
They took a path running gently up the slope. It went across a wide sweep of grass towards trees all packed together. Jack and Poppy got to the edge of the trees and looked inside. In there was shady and gloomy. Jack said, “So nice!” And Poppy agreed. “Delicious!”
So they stepped into the trees and immediately it was cool and fresh and lovely on their skin. Like some friendly giant was smoothing them with a soft, cold cloth. Jack and Poppy tingled with the delight of it!
They kept walking deeper and deeper into the trees. The shade and cool was sweet and pleasant so they didn’t think too much about where they were going. Even though they’d never been up this way before neither Jack nor Poppy looked around to remember the track behind them that could lead them back out. On and on they went.
Then, they heard a sound. Up ahead. It was a tinkling. A sort of singing and splashing sound. A murmuring, swishing noise. Poppy stopped and said, “What’s that?” Jack kept walking and said, “It sounds like a creek, Poppy. Water. Come on, let’s look!” And sure enough, they went a little further and there was a creek. A splashing, plashing little creek tumbling and pushing through smooth rocks and around lovely green ferns. Dancing and swinging down and down the hill. With patches of sweet sunshine coming through the trees and making patterns on the laughing white water.
Jack and Poppy stopped. It was wonderful. They’d somehow come across the most delightful and astonishing place. Poppy thought to herself this would be a perfect place for birds to live and sing in. But just as she was about to say this, she stopped. Actually, it’s more true to say Poppy froze. She suddenly went like a stone statue. She’d seen something move.
And there it was again. Across the little creek. On the other side. Poppy grabbed Jack’s shoulder and pointed. Now he saw it too and he also went stiff, although inside his heart was thumping up and down and racing faster and faster. Poppy’s too. Quietly and slowly, without speaking to each other, without making any noise, the two of them sank down to the ground. Behind a leafy green fern. Whatever it was over there, it wouldn’t be able to see them. But anyway they crouched smaller and smaller and made themselves stay perfectly still.
They peered through the green leafy fern. What was it? Then slowly, slowly they realised it was a boy. There was a boy over the creek! And it seemed, a boy who was hiding from someone else. Because he was ducked down low behind a small bushy bush. Like you do when you play hide and seek. He was low down, hiding and waiting for someone he knew.
Jack and Poppy could hardly breathe. They watched. Then the boy moved his hand. He had a little bucket and slowly and quietly, without looking, he reached back and scooped water into his bucket. He was getting ready for something, looking through the bushy bush, waiting for someone to come.
Then, suddenly, there was a crash! And a yell! And the boy jumped up and another boy came racing through the trees straight towards the place. And the boy with the bucket swung it really hard and ‘woosh!’ he threw the whole bucket of water at the new boy! All over his face! Splash!
He laughed and cheered and yelled to the new boy. He said, “Got you! I win!”
But the new boy staggered backwards and nearly fell over. He couldn’t speak. He shook the water off his face and just stood there not knowing what to say or think. Then he said, “That was NOT nice! You didn’t need to throw water!”
He tried to flick the water off his shirt front, but it didn’t. He burst into tears. “Don’t do that,” he said. “You’re bad!”
Well now the first boy didn’t know what to say. He stood there with the empty bucket in his hand, wanting to grin and smile but somehow he couldn’t. He could see he’d upset his friend. However he said, “No I’m not! It’s our game.”
But the other boy just cried more. “I’m going to tell on you,” he said.
Well, Jack and Poppy listened to all this and they felt so sad. So Poppy stood up really fast and shouted, “Hey! You!”
The two boys spun around and stared at her. Now neither of them could speak. Their mouths dropped open and they just stood there, totally confused.
Poppy really didn’t know what to say, either, but just then Jack jumped up. Well the two boys were totally surprised now. There were two kids across the creek! Jack said, “You’re a bully! That wasn’t fair.” Poppy said, “That’s right. It’s not fair. You’ve frightened your friend.” And Jack stepped forward and said, “You need to say sorry.”
Well, the first boy looked surprised and then his mouth sort of twisted somehow and his eyes narrowed into little slits and he said, “No I don’t. It’s a game. And who are you, anyway?”
Jack took another step forward. “Look,” he said. “that was over the top. Too much. It wasn’t fun. And your friend is upset.” He paused, then he said, “You need to say, ‘Sorry’.” And Poppy stepped forward now and she said, “That’s right. Apologise.”
The other boy managed to stop crying. But the water was plastered on his face and the front of his shirt was dripping wet. Everything about him was just so miserable. He looked at his friend. The friend twisted his mouth back and forth. He was struggling to say something. But after some more twisting and shaping he paused. “Alright,” he said, in a low voice. “I’m sorry.” And his shoulders dropped. His head looked down. He really was sorry.
Well, that changed everything. The wet boy brushed water off his face and managed to smile a weak, struggling smile. He mumbled something like, “That’s OK.”
And Jack and Poppy stepped over the little laughing creek. They said who they were. And they all found they went to the same school. The two boys knew the track and together they all walked back out of the shady trees and into the bright golden sun. There was a gentle breeze and as they all walked down the water slowly disappeared from the boy’s shirt. Poppy said that was evaporation. Jack said he didn’t know about that, but the sun did dry things.
They all got to the bottom of the hill and the two friends went one way and Jack and Poppy went along the footpath, through their gate and in the back door.
Mum looked up from the kitchen bench. She said, “You’re back early?” But Jack and Poppy didn’t know if it was early or late. All they knew is they’d helped a boy to say ‘Sorry’.
They told Mum their story and she was so pleased. “That’s so good, kids,” she said. “There’s a story about ‘sorry’ and Jesus’ cousin. Remember?
Jack and Poppy thought about that. They heard Bible stories each night and surely one of them must have been about ‘sorry’ … But then Mum reminded them. “He was John the Baptist,” she said. “and he told people they needed to say ‘Sorry’. To say it and mean it. ‘Sorry’ to other people and ‘Sorry’ to God.”
And then she slipped off her apron and said she’d just finished making a delicious cold salad and, if Jack and Poppy could go and find dad, and tell him, they could all sit down together and enjoy it at the end of a hot, hot day.