lantern I understand. I suppose it was the source of ignition. But why would he disguise himself in a cloak and bonnet?”
“A chip,” the badger amended.
“A cloak and bonnet,” the owl repeated. “I asked: why would he disguise himself in a cloak and bonnet?”
“I mean, it’s a chip that people have on their shoulders,” the badger said gently.
“A ship,” the owl insisted. “A miniature, I suppose, like a ship in a bottle.” He smiled. “I have always thought it a picturesque expression.”
Bosworth sighed. When the professor felt he was right, there was no arguing with him. “Auld Beechie has certainly been nursing a grudge since he was turned out of his cottage. I can picture him putting a torch to that haystack, out of pure spite. But somehow I can’t picture him wearing a disguise. So why the cloak and bonnet?”
You and I are eager to know the answer to that question, aren’t we? But I fear that we must wait for an answer, for the professor, while he is quite wise, does not know everything.
“I cannot say.” The professor’s tone was irritated, for he always hates to admit to not being fully informed on a topic of some importance, as he had been required to do twice in the last few sentences. “It was dark, and I was flying quite high overhead. It is fair tooo say that I have spectacular vision, but even I cannot be expected tooo see through a cloak and bonnet, into a
person’s heart.” He fluffed his feathers crossly. “You wished tooo ask me a question?”
“What? Oh, yes.” Bosworth recovered himself. “I’ve been thinking about the Genealogy and History. I need to name a successor to wear the Badge of Authority and manage everything after I’ve gone. I thought it would be Thorn, but he seems to have . . .” Bosworth swallowed the harder word. “He seems to have disappeared.”
“Ah, Thorn,” the owl said regretfully. “A very fine lad. Yes, well, dooo gooo on, dear fellow. Whooo are you thinking of as a successor?”
“Hyacinth,” said Bosworth, and found as he said her name that he was quite happy with the idea, even though it was a radical choice. She would bring a female’s insight to the historian’s task, which was all to the good. And of course, she would be right at home managing The Brockery.
“Whooo?” the owl asked, turning his head to gaze at Bosworth and opening his eyes very wide. “Whooo was that yooou said?”
“Hyacinth. Thorn’s sister,” Bosworth explained. “She is a very intelligent, diligent, thoughtful badger, and—”
“But she is a female ,” the professor said definitively.
Bosworth shifted in his chair. “Yes, of course,” he admitted. “But as I say, she is intelligent and diligent. There’s no question that Hyacinth can do the work. It’s only a matter of precedent and—”
“Far be it from me,” the professor intoned in an authoritative voice, “tooo make pronouncements concerning the way yooou badgers dooo business.” (That’s exactly what he was doing, of course, but the owl was never one to shirk an important task.) “However, the History is not just a history of badgers, as yooou know. It documents all that goes on in the Land Between the Lakes. Hence, it must be compiled by the best qualified animal.”
“But what if Hyacinth is the best qualified?” Bosworth asked, perplexed. “I’ve searched all through the History , and I can’t find anything that says that the historian must be a male.”
Bosworth could not find a rule excluding females because nobody had thought to put one there. For the most part, badgers are open-minded animals who value the contributions of both sexes equally. In fact, the Tenth Badger Rule of Thumb states that all badgers, regardless of sex, age, and state of health, are important to the well-being of the badger clan and must be honored for the roles they play in maintaining a stable and productive community life. It would not have occurred to the badgers to even mention the
“A chip,” the badger amended.
“A cloak and bonnet,” the owl repeated. “I asked: why would he disguise himself in a cloak and bonnet?”
“I mean, it’s a chip that people have on their shoulders,” the badger said gently.
“A ship,” the owl insisted. “A miniature, I suppose, like a ship in a bottle.” He smiled. “I have always thought it a picturesque expression.”
Bosworth sighed. When the professor felt he was right, there was no arguing with him. “Auld Beechie has certainly been nursing a grudge since he was turned out of his cottage. I can picture him putting a torch to that haystack, out of pure spite. But somehow I can’t picture him wearing a disguise. So why the cloak and bonnet?”
You and I are eager to know the answer to that question, aren’t we? But I fear that we must wait for an answer, for the professor, while he is quite wise, does not know everything.
“I cannot say.” The professor’s tone was irritated, for he always hates to admit to not being fully informed on a topic of some importance, as he had been required to do twice in the last few sentences. “It was dark, and I was flying quite high overhead. It is fair tooo say that I have spectacular vision, but even I cannot be expected tooo see through a cloak and bonnet, into a
person’s heart.” He fluffed his feathers crossly. “You wished tooo ask me a question?”
“What? Oh, yes.” Bosworth recovered himself. “I’ve been thinking about the Genealogy and History. I need to name a successor to wear the Badge of Authority and manage everything after I’ve gone. I thought it would be Thorn, but he seems to have . . .” Bosworth swallowed the harder word. “He seems to have disappeared.”
“Ah, Thorn,” the owl said regretfully. “A very fine lad. Yes, well, dooo gooo on, dear fellow. Whooo are you thinking of as a successor?”
“Hyacinth,” said Bosworth, and found as he said her name that he was quite happy with the idea, even though it was a radical choice. She would bring a female’s insight to the historian’s task, which was all to the good. And of course, she would be right at home managing The Brockery.
“Whooo?” the owl asked, turning his head to gaze at Bosworth and opening his eyes very wide. “Whooo was that yooou said?”
“Hyacinth. Thorn’s sister,” Bosworth explained. “She is a very intelligent, diligent, thoughtful badger, and—”
“But she is a female ,” the professor said definitively.
Bosworth shifted in his chair. “Yes, of course,” he admitted. “But as I say, she is intelligent and diligent. There’s no question that Hyacinth can do the work. It’s only a matter of precedent and—”
“Far be it from me,” the professor intoned in an authoritative voice, “tooo make pronouncements concerning the way yooou badgers dooo business.” (That’s exactly what he was doing, of course, but the owl was never one to shirk an important task.) “However, the History is not just a history of badgers, as yooou know. It documents all that goes on in the Land Between the Lakes. Hence, it must be compiled by the best qualified animal.”
“But what if Hyacinth is the best qualified?” Bosworth asked, perplexed. “I’ve searched all through the History , and I can’t find anything that says that the historian must be a male.”
Bosworth could not find a rule excluding females because nobody had thought to put one there. For the most part, badgers are open-minded animals who value the contributions of both sexes equally. In fact, the Tenth Badger Rule of Thumb states that all badgers, regardless of sex, age, and state of health, are important to the well-being of the badger clan and must be honored for the roles they play in maintaining a stable and productive community life. It would not have occurred to the badgers to even mention the
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