Dusk falls over the Botanic Gardens, the gates are closed and a late autumn chill takes hold as darkness begins to creep across the lawns and envelop the trees. The squirrels are long gone, the birds have returned to their nests and the quacking of the ducks is silenced as a misty moon begins its journey across the skies. It is into this twilight world that mysterious visitors emerge from the shadows, visitors who appear when all others are gone, when they are safe from prying eyes and mischievous fingers. Only when the world lies silent do the Jelly Babies creep out from their hiding places and take over the Gardens. Not many know of these Jelly Babies, of the adventures they have when freed from the confines of their yellow bags. This is a secret known to only a few, so read, enjoy and then forget .........
Red, yellow, green, black, orange, they are all there, climbing, exploring, running across the grass, swinging from the branches of the trees. Jelly jockeys ride the fir cones as their spiny branches sway in the evening breeze. Jelly ladies gaze at their reflections in the pond as the same breeze ripples its surface, holding their faces until sending them shimmering into the reeds that hem the edges of the water. Giggling Jelly juniors play hide and seek amongst the leaves and dangle from the heads of flowers desperately trying to close their petals for the night. Picnicking on the dew-laden grass, sparkling beneath the first moonbeams of the evening, the Jelly Babies feast on jelly beans, jelly tots and jelly sandwiches. Oh yes, the Jelly Babies love their time in the Botanics when the world is their own, no-one to trample on them, chase them or eat them! Chattering with the scarecrows, splashing in the waterfall's dancing spray, indulging in a berry fight or two, what a wonderful way to spend an evening. And not one piece of clothing in sight so no dirty washing!
No-one has seen the Jelly Babies, not man nor beast, alive or dead. Until now, that is. I have a very dear friend in the Gardens, a certain Sammy the Squirrel. And he has watched from on high, shielded by the treetops, as the Jelly Babies laugh and play in their secret land. During one of our many chats, sat on a bench watching the seasons change and the landscape shift from green to brown and gold to wintry grey, he revealed this lovely tale, promising to bounce pine cones off my head if his secret was ever passed on. So you see you can enjoy the tale of the Jelly Babies, smile at their antics ...... and then forget. Enjoy a glass of wine, walk the dog, relax in a long. hot, bubbly bath, get out your x-box, your i-pad or your kindle, do whatever it is that floats your boat ..... but please forget. Look into my eyes ..... you are feeling very sleepy ........ count to three and when I snap my fingers all thoughts of Jelly Babies will be erased from your mind forever. Or will they? If I pass by the Botanics after closing time and I see folk climbing the gates, tunnelling under the walls, vaulting the fences, then I know I have failed. But just pause for a moment and imagine a world without Jelly Babies, a world where these loveable little creatures are no more. Look at these pictures. Do they not tug at your heart-strings, bring a tear to your eye, have you sobbing into your hankie at the thought of these sweet little people - for people they are - joining the ranks of the extinct and the defunct? Then leave them to enjoy their moments of freedom, leave them to play in peace .... and save my head from the inevitable onslaught of deadly cones if this story gets out!!!
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