"Well, all's well that ends well. Look, the temple would like to give Yunzhi and his family a food parcel to help them out. We've got plenty of noodles, vermicelli and rice - you can bring it to them, Vege Cat," said Head Nun.
"Sure, Head Nun," I said, happy at her kindness.
The next morning, I set off with the parcel. Ning didn't feel like coming along this time, so I went alone. When I reached Yunzhi's shack, it was deserted except for Su Lin who was busy cooking.
"They've both gone into the forest to cut wood, Da," she said, smiling broadly at me.
I handed over the parcel and explained it was from Head Nun. Su Lin was delighted and asked me to thank her for it. Since no one was at home, I decided not to take up her time and left.
As I walked through the forest, thoughts of the Forest Queen came into my mind and I wondered whether I would see her again. Then as though she could read my thoughts, I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"Cat! What are you doing here?"
I looked round and it was indeed the Forest Queen, sitting high up on a tree branch.
"Oh, Your Majesty! I was just thinking whether I would see you again," I replied.
"Well, you have now!" she replied briskly. "What do you want this time?"
"Nothing, Your Majesty...."
"Really," she said. She floated down from the tree and stood looking at me, rather strangely, I thought.
"What is it, Your Majesty?" I asked, wondering what was on her mind..
She hesitated, then said, "Look, I'm leaving for my forest retreat now. Would you ...do you ... want to come along...?"
"Forest retreat! Oh, I would love to come, Your Majesty, but I must let Head Nun know first."
"I will text her now telling her you're spending some time with me!" She then snapped her fingers and said, "Done!"
Then, before I could even blink, I found myself way up on a mountain top on the other side of the river. It was very different from the forest where I first saw the Forest Queen. Here everything was like a beautiful autumn's day - the trees were ablaze with shades of red and gold with leaves that glowed in the soft sunshine. Fallen leaves of many colours carpeted the ground and the sky was also a glowing soft pink and gold.
"What a beautiful place," I gasped, looking around me in awe.
The Forest Queen smiled. "I knew you would like it. I always come here when I need some solace. Let's take a walk."
It was like walking through an enchanted forest. I saw all kinds of trees from weeping willows to birches - and there were fields and fields of wild flowers, all in autumn shades. Every once in a while, I spotted one or two deer grazing contentedly while beautiful pheasants and peacocks peeped from behind flowering bushes.
"Look, let's sit under that tree at the top of the hill." said the Forest Queen. She led me to a great big tree with spreading branches and from there, we had a fantastic view of sky and mountain.
The Forest Queen turned to me and said, "I understand you live in a big temple where you and your friends worship a great teacher called the Buddha. Is that correct?"
"Well, yes," I replied, wondering what she was getting at.
"I want to know more about this Buddha. Will you tell me all about Him?"
I was rather surprised. "Yes, of course, Your Majesty."
We settled down under the tree and just as the sun set, I began the life story of the Buddha.....
"There was once a king named Suddhodana and a queen named Mahamaya who lived in the city of Kapilavastu ...."
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