ACORN SOUP

It was Autumn. It was Saturday. And Florence woke up with a particularly brilliant idea.

“I know just what I want to do today. I want to make Acorn Soup!”

As Florence got out of bed, she thought about where she would go to find the best acorns. As she brushed her teeth, she thought about how she could possibly stir the soup. And as she hopped down the stairs, she thought about where her extra-super-special-outdoor-boots could be. You’ve got to wear your outdoor boots if you want to make soup outdoors!

“Mum will know where they are!”

Flo skipped into the living room, and there was Mum, on her very green yoga mat, in the middle of a very boring yoga pose.

“Mum, I need my extra-super-special-outdoor boots!” announced Flo.

“Good morning to you, too,” said Mum, pointing to the doormat. “There they are. And may I ask what you need them for?”

“Yes, you may.”

“Alright, then. What do you need them for?”

“I need them because I am going to make Acorn Soup!”

“I see,” said Mum, twisting back into her usual self. “And where exactly does one go, to make Acorn Soup?”

“To the park, of course. Come on, Mummy! We’ve got to get there early if we want to get the best acorns! And Evie would like to come too.”

Evie was Florence and Mummy’s big brown dog. She was a loyal old girl, and you couldn’t go to the park without her, could you?

“Very well,” said Mum. “But first: breakfast!”

And so, Flo and Mummy ate a nice bowl of porridge and shared a juicy, tangy green apple, and off they went to the park.

Flo wore her outdoor boots.

Mum wore her lace-up boots.

Evie the dog wore her favourite red lead, because dogs don’t often wear boots, do they?

Some walking, skipping and sniffing later, the trio arrived at the park gate.

Flo led the way.

“First,” she started, “we need to find a good muddy puddle!”

“How about this one?” Mum suggested.

“Not this one: too deep.”

“That one?”

“Too small.”

“This one?”

“PERFECT.”

The perfect puddle was chosen. The Acorn-Soup-making could begin.

“Now, we need a stick,” said Flo, looking about her feet. “It must be long, and it must look useful. Ah, there’s one. No, Evie, it’s not for you.”

“Lovely. What next”? asked Mum.

“Why, the acorns of course!” answered Flo. Really, sometimes Mum didn’t follow too well.

Under Flo’s guidance, the three of them collected enough acorns for a nice, big Acorn Mountain. Or perhaps it was more like an Acorn Hill, but the point is, they’d collected as many acorns as they needed.

“Now that we’ve got our ingredients, let’s make some soup!” Florence announced. “I shall begin, and you, Mum, just follow my lead.”

So it went: Florence and Mum took turns throwing acorns into the not-too-deep, not-too-small muddy puddle. Sometimes, the acorns went SPLOSH, right into the muddy water. Sometimes they missed, and rolled off into the grass where they’d come from. That’s where Evie came in. Evie was great at retrieving runaway acorns.

After a good fifteen minutes of acorn-tossing, the puddle was brimming with promise.

“And now, we mix!” declared Flo. She fancied herself Head Chef by now, with things going so utterly well.

Florence picked up her long stick, and started stirring. She put all her strength into it, because a stirred soup is a good soup, someone somewhere had once said. When her shoulders and elbows had had enough, it was Mum’s turn. Flo thought that Mum stirred the soup a little too fast, but she understood that each chef has her way. Mum’s arms grew tired too, and she passed the stick on to Evie. But Evie just ran around with it. Dogs aren’t great at stirring Acorn Soup, are they?

And so it was. The acorns were stirred. The mud was churned. And the soup was done.

“Ah! Finished at last!” exclaimed Flo, feeling rather satisfied with the morning’s work.

“So, what do we do now?” asked Mum.

“Now, we can all go home!”

“Oh.”

Mum looked at Flo. Evie looked at Mum.

Mum looked a little confused.

Evie looked a little more confused.

But Florence was not confused at all.

Patiently, Flo explained: “We’ve got to go now, so that the squirrels can come down from their trees and have Acorn Soup for their lunch!”

“Oh! I suppose you’re right, Florence,” Mum realised. “The squirrels won’t come down unless we’ve gone away.”

“Precisely.”

“But it’s still a while until lunch time,” Mum pointed out.

“Well, good!” said Flo. “That will give the Acorn Soup time to cool down, and then the squirrels can have it for their lunch.”

“Good thinking!” said Mum. “Off we go, then.”

So Mum and Flo and Evie walked and skipped and sniffed their way back home.

Mum walked on with her muddy lace-up boots.

Florence skipped by with her muddier outdoor boots.

And Evie sniffed along with the muddiest paws she’d ever known.

“Home at last,” said Mum, a little tired from their endeavour. “Let’s leave our boots outside to dry, shall we?”

“Yes, Mum,” Florence agreed. “After all, we’ll need them again tomorrow!”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Tomorrow, we’re making Hot Pebble Tea! The birds will love it!”

——————————————————————————

Cover image by Cary Bates