The Scavenger Hunt

As life slowly re awakens on the Faraway Tea, it feels excited and decides to have some fun with Mrs Chaitea. The trick is to make her feel challenged so that she puts down her book and involves herself in the game. A sudden gush of mischievous wind drops the last lot of dried leaves onto her open book and sure enough, she looks up.

"I've concocted a challenge for you," declares the Faraway Tree, feigning a tone of mystery, "but I warn you, it's not for the faint of heart.

“What do you know about me?”  Mrs. Chaitea raises an eyebrow, “I am a champion at Scavenger Hunts, bring it on,” scoffed Mrs Chaitea.

With no further ado, the list was passed on telepathically –

1. The gold in the garden
2. The silvery rays of the moon
3. Fallen stars
4. A hornbill nest

Number 3 on the list was the easiest. Mrs Chaitea smirked when she saw it. Wily as she was, she asked the Clouds and the mist to make the night a little wet. Before you knew it, the moisture loving fireflies were dancing all around. The friendly twinkles winked at Mrs Chaitea as they put up a celestial show on earth. “Easy Peasy,” said Mrs Chaitea to the miffed Faraway Tree which asked her to concentrate on gathering the other items.

To collect the silvery rays of the moon, she asked Jyoti to make some kheer. Once the moon rose, Mrs Chaitea kept it outside to entice the moonbeams to taste the sweetness. As the moon rays sampled the simple, fragrant, saffron tinted kheer, they left behind some of their own essence. Mrs Chaitea presented the super tasty Sharad Purnima Kheer to the Faraway Tree.

A house as old as the Second Chance House in Selim Hill Tea Garden, was bound to have some gold buried deep to be dug out when needed. The question was where to find it. Mrs Chaitea required a cup of Dorje Autumn Flush Tea to solve this puzzle. As she sipped her tea, she was reminded of the wild boars and their hunt for gold as they nosed into the soil. In reality, they were attracted to the cow manure, which for any farmer is the more precious than gold itself. There was no way the Faraway Tree could have disputed this.

Of late, Second Chance House has seen the return of hornbills and their entire families showing up when you need your spirits to be lifted desperately. But no, hornbill nests have not yet been spotted. Selim Hill has many Mulberry Trees, but what attracts a hornbill to build a nest is a FIG TREE. Mrs Chaitea was very well aware that a young fig tree had been planted. However, it would take many years to be mature enough to host a hornbill nest.

Mrs Chaitea had no choice but to admit defeat and waited for the Faraway Tree to gloat. After all, the list was incomplete. The hunt could not be completed.

By now, the wise Faraway Tree had had its fun and Mrs Chaitea Sarkaar had passed the test with flying colours. The means do not justify the end. Nature has its own rhythm and speed. The idea is to adjust and learn to live in tree time. Of course, it was now tea time under the Faraway Tree at Second Chance House of Selim Hill Tea Garden.

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