47 Just Mucking Around

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Stephen Whiteside
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47 Just Mucking Around

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:05 am

47 Just Mucking Around

© Stephen Whiteside 29.11.2011

After another hour or so, Horatio and Magnifico began to tire of their labours. The sun was warm, and the sparkling river beckoned. They downed tools and crept down to the water’s edge.

For perhaps the first time, Horatio began to notice some of the fine detail of the river. He was particularly fascinated by the small pieces of debris that floated near the water’s edge - small twigs, bits of bark, leaves, petals, etc. Horatio plucked a petal from a nearby flower and placed it on the surface of the water. He was delighted to watch as the water swept it away, the petal remaining largely high and dry at the same time, only contacting the water in its middle. It struck him that the petal was like a tiny boat. He tried the same thing with a leaf, then a little twig. Each time, the result was the same. Each was swept away on the surface of the water.

Magnifico joined in, and soon the two were having races. Which was faster, petals or leaves? Did big leaves travel faster than smaller ones? What about narrow leaves?

Much of the racing depended, too, on the nature of the current. Closer to the shore were eddies and slack water. There were even some small patches where the water seemed to flow upstream. Further out, though, the current was much more reliable.

In time, though, they began to tire of this, too. Horatio watched as Magnifico slipped quietly into the water for a swim. He followed. This was only the second time that Horatio had swum simply for the sake of it, as opposed to swimming through necessity. The feeling of weightlessness and freedom was quite intoxicating. He felt he could achieve anything. The peanut cow must surely be just around the next bend.

First Horatio paddled on his tummy. Then he rolled over onto his back, and tried paddling that way. He found he could turn somersaults in the water - forwards and backwards. He could also dive to the muddy river bed. Horatio and Magnifico made a point of not venturing out too deep, however, for fear of being swept downstream, or eaten by a giant fish, or some other monster of the deep.

In the end, Horatio found that the best fun of all was to be had by walking upstream a little way along the bank, entering the water, and lying on his back, allowing the current to carry him downstream again. It required little effort to stay afloat, and he could watch the clouds and the trees above him. He could trick himself into thinking that the clouds were actually far below, and it seemed to change everything. It was as though he was in another world. He had never really studied clouds before, and their constantly changing nature fascinated him. Also the way they resembled familiar objects, and then changed into another object as he watched. For a time, he could make out the unmistakeable shape of a cow’s head. It was uncanny.

The water near the surface was warm. When he dived down a little it became much colder, but floating along the surface like that, allowing himself to be carried downstream, was simply bliss.

Eventually the sun began to set, and it was time to prepare for the night. Horatio and Magnifico emerged from the river and shook themselves dry. They gathered their new paddles and placed them on the raft, where it had been hidden under some foliage. They next spent some time foraging for food along the banks of the river, with their usual success, and retired once more to their safe little tunnel shortly after dark.

For a while they talked. There was so much to say - all their discoveries about floatation and currents, and the joys of swimming and duck-diving. At last it was time to sleep. Horatio stretched luxuriously before snuggling up beside Magnifico. He could not remember having felt this happy for a long, long time.
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

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