There was once a ladybug named Gracie. Gracie LOVED cinnamon rolls, and today was Thursday and it seemed to Gracie like a particularly good Thursday for a cinnamon roll (as Thursdays always were). So she poured herself a nice glass of milk, and went to her pantry, but to her shock and dismay, she had not one cinnamon roll left!
“I must’ve eaten my last one… last Thursday!” She said aloud to herself.
At that moment, grasshopper had just landed in her front yard. He hadn’t been trying to visit Gracie. He had been trying to aim for the road to town, but, you know how grasshoppers are.
“Something the matter, Gracie?” He asked, flipping himself right-side-up.
“Oh, hello grasshopper,” Gracie replied, ”no, nothing much the matter.”
“Are you sure?” Grasshopper asked. “You sounded a bit shocked and dismayed.”
“Oh, well,” Gracie was a little bit embarrassed that she had the full ‘at home, alone, on a Thursday afternoon’ level of emotion in the midst of an accidental ‘at home with unexpected company on a Thursday afternoon’ type of situation, “it really isn’t too big a deal. I was just about to sit down to enjoy a cinnamon roll, but I’ve found that haven’t got any. I just thought I had got one or two left and had already poured a glass of milk and everything. So, no, nothing to be alarmed about. I’m sure I can find a nice… cracker or something about,” She chuckled, putting on a smile, “but thank you for your concern!”
“Oh dear, Gracie! And it is Thursday, isn’t it?!” Said grasshopper.
Gracie looked away and blushed. Apparently grasshopper knew how she felt about Thursdays.
“Well you’re in luck, lassie! I’m headed to town, and I’ll be passin right by the bakery! (If I don’t land right on top of it that is!)”
Gracie giggled.
“I’ll bring you back a couple on my way home!” He sad with a happy grin.
Gracie’s heart skipped a beat.
“Oh, Grasshopper, that would be wonderful!” She squeaked, “Thank you so, so, so, much!”
“Of course, Gracie! Sit tight and I’ll be back after a while!” He tipped his hat and bounded up out of sight.
Gracie turned from the window, giving no heed to the faint thud and muffled, “whoops, sorry Mr. Mole” that could be heard in the distance. She put her glass of milk back in her refrigerator with a smile and gave it a little pat before she closed the door.
It was still early in the afternoon and there was plenty of Thursday left, so Gracie decided to get outside and enjoy the crisp fall air by raking some leaves. She loved fall, and leaves, and yard work, and Thursdays, and cinnamon rolls, and from her yard she’d probably be able to see grasshopper heading back. So she raked the leaves, and smelled the smells of autumn and in about an hour and a half she was nearly done. She had become so engrossed in her task by now that it wasn’t until she heard solid “THUNK” into the pile of leaves behind her that she realized she hadn’t looked for grasshopper for several minutes at least. She whirled around to see grasshopper brushing leaves from his hat.
“You know,” he said, “piles of leaves are never quite as soft as you expect them to be.” Clearly trying to imply he meant to do that.
Gracie smiled, trying to withhold her excitement.
“Uh, how was your trip to town? See anything interesting?” She asked.
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“I’m sorry, lass,” grasshopper frowned, “apparently the baker is taking a long weekend. The other shop owners said they saw Snail put up his ‘back soon’ sign yesterday mornin’ and they haven’t seen him since. Must be off to enjoy the fall colors or somethin’, I suppose.”
Gracie’s heart dropped and grasshopper could see it in her face. They were good enough friends that she didn’t really try to hide it.
“I really am sorry, Gracie. But if you like I could take you for a ride through the forest!” He offered, “The colors are beautiful right now!”
“Oh, thank you, Grasshopper,” She replied, “maybe tomorrow we could go for a walk, if you’re free. I’ve got to finish with these leaves and tidy a few more things up here. But thank you for stopping by the bakery for me! I really do appreciate it.”
“Of course, Gracie,” he smiled, “I’ll get in touch tomorrow.”
She smiled to make sure to show Grasshopper she wasn’t too sad, then he tipped his hat and disappeared into the sky.
Gracie didn’t actually have anything to tidy around the house. In fact she hadn’t even planned to finish picking up her leaves once grasshopper got back with her cinnamon roll. She was planning to simply call it a day and enjoy her milk and her roll, “and perhaps I’ll read one of my old books,” she had thought to herself. But now she didn’t feel like reading, and certainly didn’t have any interest in finishing with the leaves, even thought she really did enjoy yard work when she was in the mood for it. This had put an even bigger damper on her day than just finding her cinnamon roll shelf empty, and it felt like it had sapped the joy and interest out of all other potential activities, the way these sorts of things sometimes do.
Gracie putted around her house for a little bit after that, trying to think of something fun or interesting to do. She checked her empty to-do list, and it was still empty. She looked at her books and found the thought of reading without a cinnamon roll just made her hungry. And she finally decided that she ought to get out of the house. This was really the wisest choice. Walking outside is always good for slumps.
She put on her coat (already feeling a little better) and stepped outside. She took a deep breath, the air was quite nice, and she knew this was the right choice. She decided to turn away from town, and up toward Hilltop, the neighborhood on the hill nearby; she wasn’t quite ready to stumble upon an empty bakery on a Thursday with no cinnamon rolls. The walk was lovely. Past the top of the hill, toward the forest, she could see splashes of orange, yellow, and red on the tips of the very tallest trees, and she made up her mind that she would go on that walk tomorrow with grasshopper, perhaps during sunset when the trees always glowed so brilliantly in autumn (though it would certainly be a ‘walk’ as she’d suggested and not a ‘ride’ as he had offered. It was a genuine offer, and a fun idea, but riding on grasshopper’s back was… well, you know how grasshoppers are). She followed the main path around Hilltop, which had lovely views year round, and on her way home she ran into her friend caterpillar and stopped for a lovely chat all about how fantastically hungry caterpillar had been lately, and when she was going to be pupating, and what she had heard it’s like (although she was sure she was going to be out of her cocoon at least a day or two faster than some of her cousins) and which culminated with caterpillar’s best impression of how graceful her first flight as a stunningly beautiful butterfly was CERTAIN to be, which had the two friends laughing like friends do when you’ve both had things on your mind and need a laugh. Gracie was glad she was there to listen and laugh with her friend, and she gave her a big hug and headed back down the hill.
By the time Gracie got home, she was feeling much better. She even decided to finish up her leaves, despite the sun starting to set and her nose being a little chilly. She finished up a little after sundown. She’d had to turn on her porch lights to see what she was doing, but it felt good getting it done, as well as just having had the motivation to do something. Stepping inside and removing her coat, she gave a quick, satisfied shiver as she felt the warm air in her cozy little home welcome her in and give her a little kiss on the end of her chilly nose. She looked at the table where her napkin still lay and let out a sigh.
“Well,” she said, looking at the empty table, then crossing to put the clean napkin back in the drawer, “it was still a pretty good day. Actually, a really lovely day, honestly.”
After putting the napkin away she opened her refrigerator and saw her little cup of milk still waiting, and she frowned. The goodness of the day had dulled her disappointment, but pouring her milk back into the jug felt like the last little act of acceptance that she really wouldn’t be having a cinnamon roll on this beautiful autumn Thursday, or perhaps even until next Thursday, depending on when the baker got back from his holiday. She was about to pour the milk back when the thought of waiting reminded her of Caterpillars butterfly impression, and she laughed quite out loud to herself as she pictured it again. It was just then that she heard a knock on her front door. Surprised, she set her glass back in the fridge and went to the door. When she opened the door, she was shocked for the second time that day to see none other than Snail the baker smiling at her!
“Snail!” She exclaimed, “what are you doing here?”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Gracie, I don’t mean to interrupt anything.” Snail politely said, looking toward the kitchen as though he expected to see something.
“No, nothing at all,” Gracie said, slightly confused.
“Oh, ok, it just sounded like maybe you had some company,” Snail said.
Gracie blushed, also for the second time that day. Had she known someone was at the door she may not have laughed quite so loudly.
“I thought you were on holiday,” Gracie said quickly, hoping to change the subject, “Grasshopper said he heard you left yesterday morning.”
“Well,” Snail laughed, “I did leave yesterday morning. You see, today’s Thursday, as you know, and I know how you feel about Thursdays,” (It really was beginning to be quite embarrassing how often she heard that) “so I wanted to bring you these!”
Snail held up a brown paper bag and immediately Gracie could smell a sweet aroma wafting in…
“CINNAMON ROLLS!!!” Gracie screeched.
“Aye!” Snail laughed, “I made em fresh for you and thought I’d deliver them myself! That’s why I left yesterday morning - to get here in time!”
Gracie and Snail both laughed until they cried, and Gracie invited him in.
They spent the evening together enjoying a few delicious cinnamon rolls, and several glasses of milk, and at the end of the night Gracie offered to give Snail a ride home, at which they both laughed and which Snail graciously accepted. When Gracie got home 20 minutes later she took her coat off, shivered, and took a deep breath of the warm cozy air, which had a light, sweet cinnamon fragrance from the extra rolls in her pantry. She smiled, and took a book from her shelf, and as she sat down in front of the fire she thought to herself, “what a really, really good day.”