Another Melting

Yes. It's that time of year; the Melting Festival is upon us again - Mellowdene's annual event that celebrates the special season of spring. As usual, the local creation myth of the region - that of the Snow Queen - is the focal point. The degree of belief varies, of course, but all agree that we are incredibly lucky to live in Sylvania whether or not our land was created by the sacrifice of a beneficent being. 

I was unable to attend last year (which didn’t go down too well with the family) but last year was unusual with all the prep for the Sylvan River musical. No such barriers this year. In fact, there had been suggestions that this Melting could include a few songs from the show, but performed by residents. I discussed this with a few people.

o 0 O 0 o

The first morning, as is our tradition, my family walked to the village green and looked up at the statue.

 

Brendan turned to his sister. "Beverley?"

"Mmm?"

"Why is the Snow Queen a rabbit?"

"Okay, what's the punchline?"

 

"I'm not joking," smiled my boy. "I was wondering - how do we know that the Snow Queen looked like a rabbit? Why not a squirrel? A beaver? A bear?"

Beverley frowned. "I don't know." She turned to us. "Mum? Dad?"

Cecile pondered. "The Snow Queen's been represented by a rabbit since Mellowdene was founded. The first residents were solely rabbits. The four families."

"So that's why the statue was made like this?" asked Brendan.

"Probably," I replied, but I was thinking of Darcy Fielding and his story about the Dreamstone. He had touched the Dreamstone and had been rewarded with a vision of the Snow Queen and the creation myth. He didn't say whether he'd seen a rabbit or a mouse. Did the fact our rabbit founders had touched the Dreamstone tailor their beliefs to see a rabbit? Did it matter? Probably not. 

My experiences over the last couple of years had shown me that the world holds much we cannot explain. I've never been driven the same way as my brothers. Merlin would no doubt trawl through all the library reference books. Newton would consult with his fellow scientists. My response is oddly more practical - much like Cecile in that respect. If something appears inexplicable but it doesn't affect our lives, I don't waste time on it.

Brendan turned back to Beverley. "If the founders had been worms, the statue would have been an easier shape to sculpt."

She laughed. "You are daft, Brendan. How would they hold the chisel?"

We all laughed. I do love my children.

 

o 0 O 0 o

One regular feature of the Melting in recent years has been the bunny hunt. Frasier Chocolate has created hundreds of chocolate bunnies over the years, and his brother Niles has always taken the responsibility to hide them all around the village green. They've tried variations on scoring - the "by weight" idea wasn't the best - and finding the most bunnies tends to be simplest to administer. Saying that, it still has its issues. With the number of children participating, Frasier had to ensure that there were sufficient chocolate bunnies in order that the most successful searchers didn't leave others with nothing. That's why they tried something different this year.

The prize was still a large chocolate bunny, but the items to seek were now chocolate eggs. One reason, Frasier says, is that they are easier to create in quantity. Of course, the children needed to understand the change in the game rules. That was the responsibility of one of their teachers - the one who helps organise the Melting events. Eve Wildwood.

o 0 O 0 o

A sea of children faced Eve Wildwood on the village green. A number were fidgeting whilst she attempted - for the third time - to explain the alterations to the bunny hunt.

 

"No," she responded to one confused child. "You won't be hunting for chocolate bunnies. But the winner of the hunt will still win the big chocolate bunny that Mister Chocolate has kindly donated. That's why we're still calling it a bunny hunt."

There was a murmur. Eve sighed. "As I've said, you'll still be hunting, but it will be for chocolate eggs." She heard a comment from Daisy Cottontail. "Alright, Daisy. If you want to call it an egg hunt, call it that."

  

There were exchanged glances, shrugs and nods, but still signs that not all participants fully understood. 

"Okay. I'll go through the rules again."

She explained slowly and clearly - I suspect she'd practised the various approaches in what she was going to say in order to minimise misunderstandings - and this time she broke the rules down into stages.

"Stage one is much like it was before except that team searching doesn't work the same. You've been given a name flag for yourself - not a team - and all the chocolate eggs you find go towards your individual count. You must place all the eggs you collect by your flag, and the whistle tells you when to stop."

 

"Stage two is new. All the eggs you find will be decorated with some coloured icing. This doesn't matter when you are collecting the eggs. You still try and collect as many as you can in stage one. But in stage two you are told which colour you need. This may appear to be good news - if you've collected six red eggs and you're told you need red ones, you score six. But if you've got other colours in the six, you've got more work to do."

"In previous years, some children didn't do very well on the bunny hunt - maybe because they're too young, or haven't got your skill in hunting quickly. Stage three helps them."

"Using the previous example where you need red eggs, if you have collected six eggs but some are not the colour you need, you need to seek out someone needing that colour.  Swapping is allowed if they have red eggs, but that isn't the only option. If you bring them to one of the hunt supervisors, you'll be given a replacement red egg for the one you give away. But if you're giving an egg to someone who had no eggs or had fewer than you, you'll be given a bonus egg. That can mean you'll get two for each one you give away."

"Stage four is scoring. If someone has the most eggs, they win the big chocolate bunny. If there's a tie, there will be a lucky dip to get more eggs. For those who are tied, they will all extract another egg. The first to get more of their colour wins."

I thought it was unnecessarily complicated, but I may have been underestimating the children. The desire for chocolate might focus their minds! I could see some groups of children already discussing what they would do - but for others... 

 

 

At least the less capable children might increase their quota. Time would tell.   

"I think that's everything," said Eve Wildwood, scanning the eager faces of the children. "Now, before we begin, does anyone have any questions?"

"Yes. Me," piped up a solitary voice. It was Button Honeydew.

 

"Button? Okay - what's your question?"

"Why don't rabbits lay eggs?"

Eve slowly blinked. Obviously she had encountered the boy's insatiable curiosity on previous occasions. Before she could respond, someone intervened.

"I've got this, Eve," said Vivienne Honeydew, coming forward. "Button - you're off subject. We can discuss that at home."

 

"But Miss Wildwood asked if we have ANY questions..."

"Do you really want to delay the bunny hunt?"

"Er.. no, Mum. We can discuss my question later."

Eve Wildwood watched the exchange. "Good. Any other questions? About the new rules?" She paused briefly. "No?"

There were still a few confused faces but there was silence. Clearly no one wanted to delay getting their chocolate any longer.

 

She sighed. "Never mind. We'll sort things out as we go along. Alright?"

 

Nods. 

"Good. Then... make sure you have your name flag and go hunting!"

o 0 O 0 o

The order of events changed this year. Normally, the musical entertainment precedes the bunny hunt - or egg hunt, if you want to follow Daisy Cottontail's logic - but sometimes practical issues get in the way. Like an unpublicised performance by Lionel Grand.

We all settled to hear the maestro play a set of his famous songs - and these were supplemented by his piano premiere of tunes from the Sylvan River. A special guest of Roxanne Renoir - our own Roxy Renard - made for a memorable concert.

 o 0 O 0 o

Having provided the hundreds of chocolate eggs and the big prize, Frasier Chocolate was excused any administrative duties associated with the tidy-up of the bunny hunt and these were delegated elsewhere. During the music performances, Frasier ambled up to my side. He nodded towards the stage platform.

"Well, Jackson. You kept that quiet. Songs from your musical arranged and played by Lionel Grand? That's a coup. Wonderful to hear Roxy again too."

I smiled and took him to one side. "He volunteered. Now that he's got a house in Mellowdene, he sometimes drives down for the weekend."

"Marvellous."

"And what about your revised bunny hunt? Are you happy with how it went?"

"Generally, yes. I expected there to be some confusion with the rules, but there was less than I anticipated. It was successful in that it ensured all the children got a share of the chocolate. We might have to vary it next year."

"Why's that?"

"I heard that William & Walter Waters said they'd need to work on a strategy for their nieces and nephews to use. Swap eggs before the colours were assigned, maximising their ability to do two-for-one swaps. Work out statistics to see if they'd benefit from some Waters children not keeping eggs during the search."

"Ah, I see. So that they'd benefit from donated eggs from their siblings who in turn..."

"...would get two eggs from the supervisors."

"It doesn't sound like it's in the spirit of the game."

"No, but it's not against the rules. We'll need to outthink them next year."

"I have every confidence in you, Fraze." I noticed that Lionel was commencing of the last song of his set. "But I think we should go and watch the grand finale."

"Oh, very witty."

 

As Lionel and Roxy took their bows, I thought about the Waters children and smiled inwardly. They did like their chocolate, and their uncles Willie and Wally enjoyed the challenge in getting a win - irrespective of it being a bunny hunt or an egg hunt.

 o 0 O 0 o