The Easter Egg Riddle

It was very early in the morning in Elmwood - 6AM to be precise – and the valley was finally stirring from its long winter sleep. The heavy white blanket that hid the world from the slumbering animals was slowly being pulled back, revealing fresh hope and new beginnings, as all around took in the first breaths of spring. The only signs remaining were the icy crowns that topped the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains far off into the distance. Even the farmlands sang of renewed life with the early morning chorus from returning bluebirds accompanied by the hollering of Jasmine the rabbit.

“B-Jay,” she called out, her ears flapping as she bounded upwards in an effort to reach the garage window.

B-Jay didn’t hear her to begin with, he was too occupied with driving along the country roads, heading towards the cottonwood tree.

"B-Jay, wake up!" she called out for the second time, still flip-flapping with each sentence.

B-Jay stirred slightly, the road fading quickly into disintegrating pixels.

"B-Jay, wake up!" came the voice once more, this time a little louder.

B-Jay blinked, opening his eyes, to see a rabbit appearing at the garage window, before disappearing again.

"What, who is there?" said B-Jay yawning, ejecting a cough out of his exhaust pipe as he cleared his throat.

"It's me, Jasmine," said the rabbit as she appeared at the window once more, before disappearing back to earth, her ears following behind her.

"Hello Jasmine. What are you doing?" inquired B-Jay, wondering what was going on at such an early hour.

"I am trying to talk to you," replied Jasmine bouncing as high as she could each time to be visible in the garage window. "There are only"......(hop)....."so many words".....(hop)...."I can say....(hop).....in one hop."

B-Jay laughed at her predicament and her flopping ears. "Well I can hear you very well so save your energy from all that hopping." He turned his steering wheel, stretching as he spoke.

Jasmine felt relieved as it was very tiring and got straight to the point. Her whiskers twitched as her ears settled back to the side of her head, where they belonged. She wrinkled her nose before speaking.

"Easter Egg hunt - 1PM today - cottonwood tree - see you there - bye!" Before B-Jay could respond Jasmine was hopping away from the garage back to her warren. A small tufted tail was the last he saw, before she disappeared from view.

B-Jay was still sleepy, but too excited to go back to sleep. He wasn't sure what an Easter egg hunt was, but if it was at the cottonwood tree that meant only one thing - he was going to see his friends!

He left the dusty confines of the garage a few minutes early, it was only 12.50pm but he was unable to contain his excitement any longer and was eager to find out what the Easter egg business was all about, especially as he now felt wide awake. He started his engine, gave the gas pedal a couple of taps, before testing the lights, then exited the garage.

Moments later he arrived at the tree and was pleasantly surprised to see everyone already there. He was still two minutes early, so there was time for the usual pleasantries before finding out what was going on.

As usual, Aruna the great horned owl was high up in a branch, head twisting in all directions as he surveyed the treeline and the road. His talons glowing, as the early spring sun reflected off them.

Maxwell the rather large St. Bernard dog was asleep at the base of the tree and Cressida the proud black cat was pruning either her paw, or her ear, it was hard to tell as both seemed wet.

Zippo the theatrical ant was riding on the back of Digger Bo, the badger, pretending to be a rodeo star. One hand gripped Digger’s bristled fur tightly while the other was raised aloft, circling the air with a cowboy hat. Digger played along spectacularly going round in circles and giving out the occasional back-kick from his hind legs.

As he pulled up next to them he could hear Cressida's usual sarcastic tone fill the air.

"So we've gone from being a Jedi Master to a bucking bronco badger tamer have we. Interesting. I can't wait to hear how that evolved. You really are a polymath," she said turning away so as to seem uninterested at any response he might care to offer. Walking towards the tree she laid out on the grass, licking each outstretched leg in turn. Maxwell stirred slightly, his nose twitching as it caught her scent.

"Well," said Zippo, "I could be. Does it involve dressing up?" And with that he leaped off Digger Bo's back, landing expertly on B-Jay's hood, before bowing to the crowd exclaiming, “and the winner with a score of 86 on his last ride is…….”

"A poly what," quizzed Maxwell, raising his head before interrupting Zippos winning speech. "Does it mean you are good at math?" he rose, stretching out his front legs into a way that could only be described as painful looking. His tongue licked the side of his cheek, clearing the spot where he had been drooling.

"Allow me," spoke Aruna flying down to a lower branch. He cleared his throat with a hoot, blinking as he gripped the bark tightly and began…. "A polymath is a person with deep expertise across multiple, diverse fields of knowledge, characterized by immense curiosity, continuous learning, and the ability to integrate different disciplines to solve complex problems." His neck craned around as he finished, just in time to see a small sparrow alighting into the bush behind them.

"I have a question," said B-Jay changing the subject and turning off his engine, "What is an Easter Egg Hunt? I was told that this is why we are meeting today."

"I hope it doesn't involve hurting anyone," said Digger Bo in the middle of a tumble. "It doesn't sound friendly and I like having friends!" He screwed his grizzled tufted chin in a uncomfortable way, contemplating the meaning, the hairs on his back bristling as he did so.

"Me too," said Maxwell in agreement, returning his body to an upright position, his ears flopping at each side of his scowling cheeks. "Why are we hunting Easter Eggs and what are Easter Eggs come to think of it?"

"We are entering unknown territory now," said Cressida licking her paw, before blinking slowly, "the dog is starting to think."

"Easter eggs are a chocolate delicacy enjoyed by children at Eastertime. Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus. It involves hiding eggs for fun so that the children can enjoy running around to find them," replied Aruna without blinking. "If I was to guess, I would say we are going on a chocolate adventure."

B-Jay looked excited at the thought of an adventure but not nearly as excited as Maxwell when he heard the word chocolate, his eyes widening as his left ear twitched. He bent down sniffing to see if there was a chocolatey smell nearby.

Suddenly a very loud voice interjected. They all turned towards it and saw a rather tall, quizzical rabbit standing next to Jasmine. He wore a monocle and looked very important, his long white whiskers twitched as his tiny mouth opened making his nose wrinkle.

"Good afternoon everyone," the rabbit said with a tone that projected loudly, his voice deeper than expected. "I am Reginald the Riddling Rabbit and it will be my task to present to you this adventure. As you may, or may not know, rabbits are responsible for Easter egg hunts and we have arranged this little adventure as a thank you for the time you rescued and looked after Jasmine. Before I tell you the rules I feel I might need to clarify the word 'hunt' as I couldn't help but overhear your concerns. The word 'hunt' often refers to finding something that is hidden and in this case it refers to the hiding and finding of Easter eggs. Which, by the way, taste divine. However, we have come up with an adventure worthy of heroes, which apparently you are, so we are going to have a riddle hunt. The rules are simple - solve the riddles - find the eggs. So, ladies and gentlemen, we will be divided into two groups and each group will need to solve two riddles in order to locate where the eggs are hidden. The groups are as follows: Group 1 will be B-Jay, Zippo and Maxwell. Group 2 will be Digger Bo, Cressida and Aruna. Jasmine will hand each group their first riddle at which point you will have 2 minutes to discuss your options and then the hunt begins."

"Egg-cellent," said Zippo, placing his cowboy hat squarely on his head, relieved at not having to walk anywhere with his tiny ant legs. “I’ll drive! Maxwell, you’re on point.” And with that he crawled onto the driver’s seat, took out the sunglasses from the glove box and waited for instructions.

"How come Aruna and Cressida are on the same team?" inquired Maxwell, looking disappointed. "That seems a little unfair to have all that brains on the same side." He scratched a nagging itch, before barking loudly at his hind leg.

"I believe it is to balance out my polymath abilities, which, coupled with my Jedi powers, might seem a little overwhelming. Plus, big dog,” Zippo said tilting his cowboy hat forward, “you have super sensory sniffing powers - we got this.” He pointed at him winking, before buckling his legs at the knees to suggest he had been riding a horse all morning. “I can almost taste the chocolate." At which point he juggled imaginary eggs into the air catching them expertly in his mouth to the sounds of "yummmmmmmmy." Then as he gripped the steering wheel with both hands, shouted, “Saddle up pardner, time to go rustle some eggs!”

Cressida gathered with Aruna and Digger Bo for their group preparations.

"It doesn't seem fair" said Digger Bo, his tiny eyes squinting below his hairy brows. "Even if we have all the brains, surely Maxwell will be able to sniff out the eggs."

"That would be so if he knew what they smelled like, but I doubt if he has even seen chocolate before, so the playing field is even as far as I can see" said Aruna trying to encourage his friend. He stretched his neck and beat his wings exuberantly, trying to instill some confidence in his team.

Jasmine bounded over to each group handing the group leaders their riddles, mentioning in her soft, quiet voice, that they have two minutes before they can start.

B-Jay read his group's riddle aloud, clearing his throat with a toot of his horn and wiping his windshield to focus on the handwritten note:

"I am a room without a door, I want no roof but need a floor. To solve this riddle, you must go, to a place in the dark where the damp things grow!"

At the same time, Aruna read his group their message:

"The sun is my master, I have no choice, to speak of time without a voice. To solve this riddle you must go, to the end of the sun and its shadow!"

It seemed but a second or so later that a loud voice proclaimed "GO!"

At this point Maxwell and Digger Bo raced off thinking that they had solved the riddles, much to the incredulity of their teammates.

"It's in the river!" shouted Maxwell bounding off with his tongue hanging to one side of his mouth. Maxwell’s heavy paws thundered against the damp spring earth, sending small clumps of mud flying.

"It's at the end of the sun!" shouted Digger Bo tumbling furiously forward with a speed no one had seen before. He became a black-and-white blur against a colored backdrop, the white fur at the side of his cheeks, dragging backwards like the mustache of a ww1 fighter pilot initiating a maneuver involving intense g-force.

"Dear Lord," cried Cressida, her eyes widening in disapproval "the madness has begun. Aruna, you might need to keep up with the badger or this could end in an embarrassing defeat."

Aruna spread his magnificent wings and took flight in an effort to manage Digger Bo’s enthusiasm. His wings beat the air with a woosh, woosh sound in an effort to gain speed on his banshee looking team mate.

"You solve the riddle and I will bring him back," he cried as he disappeared from view.

"Oh my," voiced B-Jay fearing a similar predicament. He started his engine, and tap- tapped his brakes, before getting the revs up quickly, to initiate a fast start. "We better try to keep up, or we may have to search for Maxwell and the eggs!" He cried loudly, above the loud throbbing of the engines roar.

With that said he shot forward into race mode.

"Don’t worry B-Jay," said Zippo as B-Jay shifted into second gear, "You catch him up and I will use my polymath abilities to solve this riddle." He tied his hat tighter, while holding on to the steering wheel one handed. If he could handle a bucking Digger Bo, he could handle a rally car. He completed the finicky job of tying his hat with just one hand, before looking down at his waist, hoping he wouldn’t need the lasso that was attached to his belt.

As they caught up to the lurching Maxwell, Zippo cried out as loud as he could, "Red leader to Big Dog, you're off course, adjust your vector victor - hard right, hard right, roger over!"

B-Jay had no idea what Zippo was saying to Maxwell but it worked; Maxwell came to a skidding halt, tufts of grass flying as his claws tore the dirt. His chest heaved as he gasped for breath.

It wasn't long before Aruna caught up with Digger Bo; it was easy to spot him from above, having viewed where he had plowed a furrow through the long grass.

"When you have finished making crop circles, Digger, maybe we could focus on the task at hand," Aruna continued, "slow your roll buddy - we're all in this together!"

It wasn't long before each group had reined in their wayward teammates, regrouping with a reminder that they would solve the riddles far quicker as a team and not by running off in an overexcited state.

Cressida had given the riddle some thought and asked but one question... "How does the sun tell the time?" She looked at Aruna as she asked the question, her tail flicking left to right as she spoke.

"Oh that is easy," replied Aruna cocking his neck and with a single blink from his right eye he replied, "why a sundial of course."

As soon as he mentioned ‘sundial’ they all exclaimed the answer at the same time. "The sundial by the play area!"

Smiling confidently, they raced off towards the play area, where they expected to find the next clue.

Meanwhile Zippo's team contemplated what kind of room has no door and grows in the dark.

"Beats me," said Maxwell, still panting, his tongue hanging to one side. "The only kind of room I know, other than the rooms in my house, is a mushroom. But they don't grow in the river." He dragged his front leg across the ground trying to dislodge a clump of mud from between his claws.

"That's it - genius!" exclaimed B-Jay and Zippo in unison.

"What - the river?" quizzed Maxwell quite surprised that he might have solved it.

"Maxwell, use that nose of yours to sniff out mushrooms, quick as you can."

He didn’t need much encouragement and they sped off after the speeding St. Bernard towards the copse where the trees were so thick that the light couldn't get through, creating a dark, damp overhang that was perfect for mushrooms.

Meanwhile, the other group arrived at the base of the sundial where they found a large stone that had obviously been placed there to hold down the paper that was underneath.

"What does it say," asked Digger Bo who had stopped tumbling to listen.

"I have a trunk but not a nose, and I like to dance when the cold wind blows. Where I bow my head to meet the stream, is where the next clue can be seen!"

As soon as Cressida had finished reading the clue they all looked in different directions, each one staring at the grass, thinking deeply.

Across the park B-Jay was reading the next clue for his group:

"I am hidden where the beetles crawl, where nothing grows under my mossy wall, stand below and look to the west and by the stream is where I rest."

Almost simultaneously, each group focused on the word stream, not realizing that the second clues had been carefully planned so that both groups would arrive in a similar spot where they could see each other, making for a dramatic race to the chocolate eggs that awaited the winners.

It took a while for both groups to work out what part of the stream. Cressida had surmised that they needed to head to the Weeping Willow tree, to somewhere where its weeping branches met the water while B-Jay suggested to his group that they head to the bridge that crossed the river, hoping that they would be there somewhere underneath. Neither team were totally certain but both destinations seemed to fit with the clues.

Just as planned both groups arrived neck and neck, frantically looking around for the eggs feeling that victory was just a glance away.

B-Jay couldn’t fit under the bridge so he suggested to Zippo that he goes down with Maxwell to scout around. They had to be under there somewhere.

Cressida and Digger Bo looked around the base of the weeping willow while Aruna flew higher to check in the branches. It all grew very tense as both teams felt they were but an inch away.

Zippo and Maxwell thought about the riddle again remembering it had said to "look to the west."

"But which way is west?" asked Maxwell, twisting his head so that one ear flopped lower than the other as he adopted his favorite thinking position.

"I have no idea," said Zippo, feeling the sweat on his brow cool, having removed his hat and waving it as a fan towards his face. "You look that way and I will look this way. Remember we are looking for chocolate eggs."

"Are there any eggs on the branches Aruna," called out Digger Bo, who had clawed at every piece of the grass around the bushes, clumps of mud sticking to his bushy coat. "There is no sign of chocolate down here."

Aruna flew down from the branches and looked at his group with a pensive grin.

"What is it," asked Cressida who showed no signs of using anything other than her eyes for the challenge, sensing there was more to this having seen Aruna’s look.

"Do you remember Reginald saying that whoever solved the riddles would get to win the Easter egg hunt," he reasoned aloud. "Well, there can’t be eggs hidden in two places. Either we have misread the riddle, or they have, or……"

"There’s another clue!" screamed Cressida, who had also realized what Aruna was thinking.

The sound echoed across the river carried by the water.

"What are they saying," asked Zippo, turning his kerchief around, allowing his neck to breathe. "Are they conceding defeat because they cannot find the eggs?"

"No," said Maxwell who had very good hearing, despite the blades of grass still hanging out of his ears. "They said there is another clue. Maybe once we find the eggs we can look for that too."

"Wait, what," said B-Jay, whose engine was idling patiently, parked just above them on the bridge. "There's another clue?"

Neither team wasted a second more. It was no use debating about things. They just needed to find one more piece of paper and the riverbank was abuzz with activity as both teams scrambled around searching for the final clue. Seconds later both teams were reading the following words...

"Six friends started when this adventure began, to solve their riddles as fast as they can, At the end is the beginning so hurry along, to the place where friendship's roots grow strong!"

"Quick," shouted Zippo, placing his cowboy hat back into position. "Maxwell climb aboard. It's back at the cottonwood tree."

Maxwell jumped in the back, leaving all manner of things on the polished leather before Zippo launched himself into the driving seat once more, saying, "Time to engage 'sport mode'. Activate the 4x4 B-Jay - we got this."

Aruna hooted to Digger Bo before carefully picking up Cressida in his large talons and took off soaring towards the tree at a furious pace.

"Why aren’t we bringing him too," she asked as they took to the skies.

"Don't worry," he responded, "It's all downhill, he will pick up extra speed as he tumbles. He may even get there before we do."

Aruna wasn't wrong; Digger Bo was tumbling so fast downhill that when they reached the cottonwood tree he tumbled halfway up the tree and then halfway back down, leaving a trail of mud as high as the third branch.

B-Jay skidded to a halt at exactly the same moment as Aruna carefully placed Cressida back on the ground. His engine smoked and his warm tires gave a slight hiss as they stopped. It had been close. So close that they all had to rely on Reginald the Riddling Rabbit to decide who had actually won.

The Rabbit stood there in his evening waistcoat, checking his pocket watch. He pondered for a minute while they all looked on quietly and with much anticipation.

"Please, please, please let it be our team," said Maxwell who by now was extremely hungry.

"It has to be us," thought Cressida, not caring about the chocolate. She just didn’t want to feel embarrassed by being beaten by a dog. Her cat pride was at stake.

The air grew very tense when Reginald finally twitched his whiskers before declaring…..

"Well played both teams. You should all feel proud at solving some of my trickiest riddles. My decision is… a draw. Please, enjoy your reward - a giant golden chocolate egg."

Zippo was so pleased he spun his cowboy hat around. "We won, we won!"

Digger Bo was so happy he started tumbling over and over on the spot, tiny fragments of remaining dirt flew upwards and sideways as he exclaimed "We didn’t lose, we didn’t lose!"

Everyone laughed and it was Aruna who unwrapped the giant chocolate egg with a few scratches from his sharp beak, saying, "We all deserve this, and after all, sharing is caring."

No one could disagree and they were so happy and enjoying the taste of chocolate, that they even invited Jasmine and the rabbits to join them. Reginald was right, it really did taste divine.

'You did mention eggs in the plural', said Maxwell, salivating with a mouth full of dripping chocolate drool. "When do we get the rest of them?' he asked hopefully.

Once more everyone laughed, not quite sure they could eat much more.

Cressida suggested to the boys, before leaving, that they might want to return to the river before going home, seeing their mud crusted fur, all matted and out of place. They didn’t seem to care. They just waved their goodbyes to the rabbits as they left, each one walking slowly now, not wishing to rush with full stomachs.

B-Jay was especially feeling more than a little sick when he arrived back at the garage and more than a little sleepy. Before he could say to himself "that was the best adventure yet," he found himself asleep.

It had been another Egg-cellent adventure.