Chapter 347: Treasure and Handkerchief
Chapter 347: Treasure and Handkerchief
"Mother!" exclaimed little Ellie as Emma engaged in conversation with Leon. Ellie was well-behaved and didn't interrupt, only occasionally glancing their way with longing.
Once Emma finished her conversation and entered the garden, Ellie couldn't contain her excitement any longer. She ran over, gently tugging at Emma's skirt hem, and presented something she held in her hands as if offering a treasure.
"Look, look!"
Winterberry fruit?
Emma softly smiled, recognizing the small orange-red fruit in front of her. She bent down and plucked a leaf from Ellie's hat, saying, "That's great! I thought all the winterberry fruits in the garden had been eaten by little animals... Where did you find these?"
"Over there!" Ellie pointed.
She indicated a small patch of bushes that had been pushed aside, her forehead glistening with sweat, and dirt clinging to her nose. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she explained, "Melanie took me to explore, and inside, there were these tiny red fruits, and lots of footprints like little dog paws!"
Dog paw prints?
Leon was momentarily taken aback by her words and asked, puzzled, "Are there dogs in the garden?"
"I don't know... But there are a lot of tiny footprints!" Ellie shook her head, her eyes brimming with enthusiasm.
"I've looked everywhere in the garden, but this is the first time I've heard about a dog! William and the others are so amazing! They just glanced and noticed the footprints, and they even found a secret passage!"
A secret passage in the garden?
"It's true! There really is a secret passage!" Ellie insisted.
Seeing Emma's skeptical expression, Ellie hurriedly added, "I'm not lying! Melanie wanted to crawl inside, but Aunt Anna wouldn't let her. So, William went around to the other side, climbed a tree, and distracted Aunt Anna..."
Leon sighed inwardly as he watched Ellie, who had accidentally revealed too much, cover her mouth in panic. He quickly stepped into the garden and made his way to the front of the bushes.
Sure enough, Melanie's wiggling bottom was half-stuck in the bushes, her upper body squeezed into what she called the secret passage. She was desperately wriggling and muttering, "It stinks! It's so gross! Pull me out!"
"Eww! It's disgusting! Ellie, help!"
Leon couldn't help but chuckle. He knew these two would get into some mischief.
He forcefully pulled apart the bushes, freeing Melanie, who was stuck in the passage. Seeing his sister covered in dirt, Leon's face darkened as he asked, "What about the promise you made yesterday? Did you forget?"
"Huh? Big brother?" Melanie's heart sank as she realized she had been caught red-handed. She managed to shake off her initial excitement and pointed behind her, saying sheepishly, "There... There's a secret passage! And there's something inside. I even grabbed something! It might be a treasure!"
A treasure?
Leon hesitantly extended his palm to receive the 'treasure' that Melanie offered like a precious gift. But after examining her enthusiastic expression, he allowed her to place the so-called treasure in his hand.
Hmm... Dark brown, somewhat hard, slightly flattened cylindrical shape, about a centimeter in diameter, and with a faintly foul odor...
"These look like badger footprints," Emma said, recognizing the 'treasure' in Leon's hand. She pointed to the footprints on the ground, struggling to contain her amusement.
"Those footprints on the ground have five toes, and the front paws appear significantly larger than the hind paws, just like badger footprints. So, what they found isn't a secret passage but a European badger's den."
As for the treasure in your hands... well... do you want to wipe your hands clean?"
"..."
The treasure dug out from the badger's den... isn't that just dried poop?!
After hearing Senior Emma's judgment, Leon's hand trembled, and he quickly shook off the dried poop in his hand, his face darkening several shades.
When Little Ellie discovered the winterberries, she quickly brought them to Senior Emma, while Melanie, after crawling through the dog hole, presented her big brother with a handful of badger droppings.
The contrast was indeed striking...
Leon glared at Melanie, who had tricked him, as he vigorously rubbed his hands with a handkerchief. Anna, who had been "borrowed," also tugged on William's hand and came around from the other side, slightly out of breath.
"I knew it! You two are definitely up to something!"
Seeing Melanie covered in dirt, Anna, who had been outsmarted by her younger siblings countless times, instantly realized she had been tricked. She grabbed William's ear and gritted her teeth, speaking to the embarrassed Melanie:
"The promise of gifts is off! And I'm deducting your allowance for next week too!"
"No, please!"
Although Melanie had guessed that the gifts might be canceled, she hadn't expected her allowance to be deducted as well. She turned to her beloved big brother with a pitiful expression, blinking her big eyes in the hope that someone would stand up for her. Unfortunately...
"I can't help you either!"
Leon, recalling the sensation of the dried poop, hardened his heart and said, "The allowance must be deducted, and not only that, you have to wash the clothes you dirtied today yourself! No asking Anna for help!"
"Nooo!"
...
After the minor commotion caused by the "secret passage treasure," Leon's family, at Senior Emma's invitation, entered the small cottage built on the side of the garden.
After dusting off the dirt from the three children, Senior Emma took out two slightly damp towels, handed one to Anna, and then held Little Ellie in her arms, gently wiping her face.
Anna, on the other hand, pinched her mischievous sister's cheeks with her left hand and vigorously scrubbed her face with the wet towel in her right hand.
"Gently... it hurts!"
"Endure the pain! I can't be gentle!"
"Then... just... do it like you're doing with Ellie!"
"No way!"
Anna vigorously rubbed the towel against Melanie's forehead, turning it red. She huffed, "Ellie's face only had a bit of dust, but your face is covered in sweat and dirt mixed with soil. How can I clean it without applying some force?"
"But... it hurts!"
Melanie, with her face pinched by her sister, protested against her sister's "brutality" while holding onto her last hope, "How about you wipe William's face first? I can wait for Emma Auntie to finish with Ellie, and then you can do mine..."
"Endure it!"
"Oh..."
Hmph, my foolish sister!
Seeing Melanie still trying to drag him into this mess even at this moment, William, also covered in dirt, couldn't help but glance at her sideways. Then, with his hands behind his back, he smiled with a sense of intellectual superiority.
Although the mud on his face was uncomfortable, since Anna was still angry, the first person to have their face wiped would surely suffer. So, he deliberately took a step back, letting her be the first. Once Anna's anger subsided a bit...
"William, come here!"
Leon, with his hands free as he watched his sister and Senior Emma tending to the children, felt a bit awkward. So, he retrieved a handkerchief from the Mirror World and waved it at William.
"Don't wait for Anna, I'll help you wipe your face!"
Hearing Leon's call, William paused for a moment. He thought that having his big brother do it might be acceptable, so he nodded and walked over with a cool expression, tilting his face up towards Leon.
"Ugh!"
"Big brother, your handkerchief seems a bit smelly..."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
