The Beginning

Mimi the little pink bear wandered through the long grass, gently brushing the tiny bluebells as she passed, making them dance like little chimes. She had come to the meadow to paint, and after finding a nice warm well-lit spot, she sat on the ground, plopping her satchel containing her sketchbook and other tools by her side.

Mimi wondered which part of the meadow to paint first. It was all very pretty. Just then, a scampering sound caught Mimi’s ear.

“Who’s there?” She called, timidly.

“Me!” Called a sweet voice. Out from behind a particularly big toadstool hopped a beautiful minty-green rabbit. Mimi smiled sweetly.

“Nice to meet you, Me.” She said.

The rabbit giggled. “My name’s not Me!” She exclaimed merrily, “It’s Fifi!”

“Oh how wonderful!” Mimi squeaked, terribly relieved because she had been imagining having a new friend called Me might get a little confusing. “My name is Mimi!”

Fifi grinned. “Our names are so similar, we were obviously meant to be friends!” She said decisively, plonking herself down next to Mimi. “So what are we doing today, new-friend-Mimi?”

“Oh,” said Mimi bashfully “I was going to paint some pictures of this beautiful meadow, but I didn’t know where to start. Do you think you might know where is best to start?”

Fifi ran her paws over her long soft ears, humming thoughtfully. “If I was going to paint a meadow,” She said eventually “I would probably want to start at the beginning.”

“Oh.” Replied Mimi, somewhat confused. After a few moments she added “Where might that be?”

Fifi giggled. Hopping up, she shook her fluffy tail and held out her paw to Mimi. “I’ll show you” she smiled. Gratefully accepting, Mimi stood up, shouldered her satchel once again and followed Fifi, paw in paw.

After a little while they stopped in front of a gate. Mimi looked up. A little painted sign was hanging from the wooden bars.

“The Strawberry Meadow”

Fifi smiled, shading her eyes from the sun with her floppy ears. “This,” She said proudly “is what I would call, ‘The Beginning’.”