BUDGE BUDGE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 810, 2 November 1929, Page 33

BUDGE BUDGE

And a Rose Tree that Grew and Grew

; Once upon a time there was a gardener whose name was either Budge or Budge Budge, nobody seemed to know which. When you said to him, “Gardener, what is your name?” a bit puzzled, he would put his finger to his forehead, think lor a minute and answer, “Budge.” But when you asked him to say it again, he was certain to answer, “Budge Budge,” and since that was the only reply you could get out of him. no one really knew. Even the king and queen of Queue didn’t and Budge Budge was gardener to the king and queen of Queue. In looks. Budge Budge rather resembled a gnome. Indeed. there were people in the palace who insisted he was related to one. He was little and bent and his knees were so loose that when lie walked his boots went “skee-wump, skee-wump!” —like that. As for his hat, it was shaped like a pine cone, and usually lie carried a watering pot that was nearly half his size. In spite of the fact that Budge F.udge was a gardener, there were a number of tasks around the garden he didn’t like to do. He didn't like to sweep the walks or to rake the leaves. Even in the autumn when were red and cracklj' he didn’t like it. All he really wanted to do was to take care of his flowers, and at that he was a wizard. He watered them and tended them and taught them how to grow. On cold days he covered them with sacks to keep the frost from their toes. He was always hovering over them and watching them. He talked to them, too. but what he said was a secret between Budge Budge and his flowers, It was interesting to watch him. Sometimes, if you watched long enough, as he stood whispering and muttering and coaxing them to grow, you would see their waxen petals slowly tremble and unfold. He taught the buds how to open—he patted a stem and it grew. Finally, Budge Budge became so skilful that his flowers were the most wonderful in the kingdom. They were the largest and the most perfect. Still his magic increased. He worked less and whispered more. Gradually, instead of using his garden tools, he taught them to use themselves. He said to the hose, “Kink!” and it kinked. He said to the spade “Dig!” and it dug. That, of course, gave him much more time to spend with his precious flowers. Naturally, as you may imagine, this sort of thing caused considerable talk in the kingdom. People, when they' heard of it, came for miles and miles merely to see the hose kink.

They watched him mumbling over his roses and they couldn’t understand it. Puzzfed, they shook their heads. “Budge Budge had better watch out,” said the people, “or he’ll come to a bad, bad end!” Even the king and queen became a little worried. “I hope it isn’t magic,” muttered the king, “but he’s certainly getting queer.” To tell the truth, Budge Budge himself was considerably puzzled at the things he found he could do. He began to grow proud of himself. “How wonderful I am!” he thought. “I must become much more so! I must have roses like cabbages and geraniums like pumpkins. Everything must be bigger, much bigger than it He forgot to care whether his flowers were beautiful, if only he could make them gigantic. Yet he was,cautious, too. For instance, he never went home at night without turning off the magic. “For even a rose must rest,” said j Budge Budge. “It can’t work all the i time.” So every evening before he left, he ! put the flowers to sleep. Now it happened that late one 1 summer evening as he was tucking ! them up for the night, a fire started in I the castle and smoke rolled out the j window. “Fire! Fire!” shouted the lords and | ladies in the castle. “Fire!” cried the king and the queen. “I’m a coming! I’m a coming!” answered Budge Budge, and shouting to the hose to 'follow him. he snatched up his watering pot and dashed away toward the castle, while the hose came lolloping behind. By the time he arrived, the fire was out, but in his excitement, not noticing that, Budge Budge tipped up the watering pot and thoughtlessly sprinkled the queen. Whereupon, with no warning at all, the queen began to grow. “Stop it, you stupid."’ cried the queen. “I’ve grown a foot already!” And it was true. The poor queen had suddenly become so much taller than her husband that Budge Budge had to sprinkle the king to even them up again. By that time, he was so nervous and so embarrassed he didn’t know what to do. Worn out with excitement, too tired to go home, he curled himself up in a rose bush and quickly sank to | sleep. Xow unfortunately the rose bush in which Budge Budge slept was one j which he had forgotten to turn off, so

that gradually as lie slept, the bush continued to grow. It grew and it grew and it grew. Now it was tall as an oak tree; now it tapered like a spire. Xext morning Budge Budge was awakened by the whizzling of the wind. He looked up. There was nothing above but air. Dizzily he looked down. The rose bush reached below him for a quarter of a mile. Its leaves were large as carpets, its roses big as mo ops; its thorns were mighty swords. He trembled. Far below him he could see the castle turrets winking brightly in the sun. The wind wailed. It shook the giant rose bush and twanged it like a harp. He shivered. Moving as carefully as he could among the thorns, he crawled into a rose and drew the petals round him. “Now I know,” thought Budge Budge, “how a worm in a lettuce feels.” He tried to think what lie could do for himself. There was nothing. All his wisdom had been turned toward making things grow. He hadn’t the faintest idea how to ungrow them. In-* deed, he scarcely dared think at all. lest his mind should work against him. Picking his way leaf by leaf, as he went, he began to climb-down, but as fast &s he clambered downward the bush grew up and up. At last he fell into a spider web with threads like twisted rope. “Thorns preserve me.” murmured Budge Budge, “if I meet the spider now.” He wondered what a duel with a spider would be like. His knees shook when he pictured it. Poor Budge Budge. All his pride was gone. He had learned his lesson. “If ever I get back to earth.” he thought, “I’ll never, be proud again!”

Far below’ him, he could hear the clop of a hundred axes. They were trying to chop him down. As he slipped and clutched at a petal, the bush began to swing. 'Tm a-going! I'm a-going!” thought Budge Budge. ‘‘Oh, I hope I like where I fall!” He was swinging now—back and fdrth and back and forth! “Going—going—gone!” cried Budge Budge, and at that the rose bush roared like thunder, toppled, cracked at the base and fell. “Budge Budge,” said the king, as they fished him out of the fish pond and hung him up to dry, “I hope you’ve learned your lesson.

As for Budge Budge, he was so drenched and so drippy and so glad to be back, he couldn’t answer at all. Instead, his boots did it for him. “Skee-wump!” said his boots. “Skeewump ! ”