But on New Year's eve, we were surprised to receive an invitation from Bruce Lee. "Another performance?" asked the nuns. Bruce Lee shook his head. "No, we just want you to spend the last evening of the year with us," he said.
Apparently, he had heard from a passing bird that there would be a fireworks display by the town council on New Year's eve and it would be visible from the coop, so he thought it would be a good idea if everyone gathered there for the show. The nuns were of course very thrilled as they hadn't seen fireworks for a long time and when Head Nun agreed all could go, they were delighted!
So that evening, we gathered in the grounds of the coop after dinner. The show was beginning at 8 p.m. and the nuns brought with them chairs to sit on, not forgetting a big paper bag of potato chips to munch! The grounds of the coop had never been so crowded! I had told Ning about the show hoping to drag him away from the merrymaking at his Club and I was happy he agreed to join us.
Then just as the show was about to start, we heard voices and two kids ran in. They asked Head Nun whether we had seen a turkey named Turkey Lurkey! Yes, you've guessed it, the children from the turkey farm had found their way to the coop in search of T.L.!
"Hey, what are you kids doing here?" gasped T.L. when he saw them.
"Well, we missed you so much during Christmas, so we decided to go in search of you," said the older kid, a boy of about 12. His sister, about 10 years old, was so excited that they had found T.L. that she hugged him tight and wouldn't let him go.
"Oh I miss you kids too," said T.L. laughing. "But you'd better not stay too long, your dad will kill you if he knew you had come here."
"Not to worry," grinned the boy. "He's gone drinking with his friends and won't be back home so soon."
"OK then, you can both watch the fireworks with us," said T.L.
"Yay!" cheered the kids and settled down with the nuns.
The show took about 20 minutes in all and it was a wonderful display of colourful lights illuminating the dark sky. The young chicks cheered with delight as they had never seen fireworks before. When the show ended, T.L. suddenly burst into a beautiful rendition of "Auld Lang Syne". The children ran up to him and together they sang in sweet unison, arms (and wings) around each other They must have done this very often at the farm and everyone was very impressed and asked for more!
Then suddenly a voice rang out.
"Alright you kids, that's enough! How dare you come out without my permission!"
We turned round to see that it was the burly owner of the turkey farm, the kids' father. A hush descended on the gathering and the two children, fear on their faces, ran to hide behind the nuns.
Then the little girl peeped from behind APK's ample bum and spoke up.
"Papa, please .... " she whispered. "It's New Year's eve and we want to be with T.L. ...."
The father hesitated, saw the pleading look on his children's faces and suddenly his own face softened.
"Why didn't you tell me you're having a party here?" he said gruffly. "I could have turned down my friends when they invited me out." He paused, then said, "And when did you three learn to sing? Yours is the best rendition of Auld Lang Syne I've heard so far!"
There was a short silence, then the nuns led by APK (of course) started clapping. Soon hens, cockerels, chickens, everyone also joined in.
The two children ran to their father who hugged them close to him. I could see that his face was wrought with emotion and his eyes were moist, perhaps he realised at that moment that he had been too strict with his children and had been giving them a hard time.
Head Nun, kind and courteous as always, said. "We only have some potato chips for our "party" but you're welcome to join us."
The man looked up and recognised her as the one who had bought his turkey. "Thank you, Madam, for saving T.L.", he said, smiling. "The kids would never have forgiven me if I had forcefully taken him back from you and sold him for Thanksgiving."
So father, kids and a turkey sat together munching potato chips until the kids started yawning and had to be taken home. Before they left, the man turned to Head Nun, bowed his head and said, "Thank you again. It has been a wonderful evening" and looking down at his children said wistfully, "If only their mother could have been here too." The three of them said goodbye and walked slowly back home.
Needless to say, from then on, the children became regular visitors to the coop. The man carried on with his turkey business for some time before he switched to vegetable farming. I guess his children must have something to do with that! Isn't it wonderful how things work out for the best when you leave everything in His hands?
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
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| Tales of a Temple Cat - Watching the Fireworks |
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