Am I pretty? Esmerelda asked of no-one in particular as she stood alone by the side of the pond. And nobody answered. Well, not that Esmerelda heard anyway.
Am I? she gazed into the brown water as if waiting for a reply.
Esmerelda sighed, quite certain there was no point in going on and beginning to feel a bit silly, talking out loud all on her own.
She sighed again and turned away to walk the long trek back across the path towards the hills.
Grasshopper clapped one leg after another over his mouth, afraid that his heart would burst right out of his thin body and shout ‘Of course you’re pretty. You’re the most beautiful creature I have ever seen in my life!’ His cheeks puffed up with the effort and to keep his words to himself, Grasshopper jumped from rock to rock after Esmerelda, all the while keeping two legs firmly over his mouth.
Two hops into his journey and he had to stop to let all the air burst out of his body.
Esmerelda! he shouted with all his might.
But Esmerelda was already far away, almost at the tree line.
Grasshopper stayed quite still and watched her disappear beneath the green canopy of the willow trees.
He gazed at the clouds and the sun in the sky and wished with all his might that he could be something else, anything except a grasshopper with long thin green legs, waving antennae and a skinny green body.
Just then he spotted Harry in the long grass by the pond.
Grasshopper blushed to think that Harry had heard him shouting after Esmerelda.
If he had heard, Harry didn’t pretend one way or the other.
Slowly, slowly, he crossed the path to join Grasshopper at the edge of the field.
Hello, Grasshopper, Harry said.
Hello, Harry, Grasshopper answered, jumping up and down, up and down on the spot.
Settle down, Grasshopper. You’ll wear yourself out with all that hopping, Harry yawned and stretched his neck out from his body.
Oh for a good scratch, he said, wriggling his shoulders inside his shell.
Harry? Grasshopper began
Mmm? Harry was deep in thought, concentrating on stretching and pulling to ease the itch that had suddenly come over him.
Did you see Esmerelda? Grasshopper asked, half hoping that Harry’s answer would be ‘no’.
Yes, Harry stopped what he was doing and waited for Grasshopper’s next question.
Did you hear her talking? Grasshopper held his breath, quivering with the effort.
Yes, Harry yawned again and stretched again.
And? Grasshopper, never known for his patience, was by now ready to jump on top of Harry and start poking him in the eye.
Well, it’s a matter of opinion, said Harry.
What do you mean, ‘it’s a matter of opinion’, Grasshopper shouted and glared all at the same time.
Harry looked steadily at Grasshopper until he had quietened down.
Grasshopper, Harry began, Esmerelda is very, very pretty.
See, I knew it! shouted Grasshopper jumping from one rock to the other with excitement.
For a giraffe, Harry added.
What do you mean, for a giraffe? Grasshopper exclaimed.
What’s that supposed to mean ‘for a giraffe’. She’s either pretty or she’s not pretty. Right?
Grasshopper, Grasshopper, Grasshopper, Harry said. Settle down. Nobody’s insulting your beloved Esmerelda.
I should hope not, growled Grasshopper, his antennae trembling at the very thought of it.
But what did you mean? he pleaded then.
Well, Harry paused, waiting to see if Grasshopper was really listening.
When we think something or someone is pretty, we are comparing. We are looking for differences.
I know that, Grasshopper said witheringly. And? Your point is?
Now, Grasshopper. Be polite. Nobody likes rude grasshoppers. Harry snuggled into his shell more comfortably, knowing that Grasshopper would be very cross now. He settled down to wait.
Sure enough, Grasshopper hopped and hopped and hopped from one stone to the next, the flash of his green skin and legs a brilliant light against the stalks and stems of wild grass and flowers.
After a few minutes, he came right back, panting from all his hopping about.
Better? Harry asked mildly.
Yes, thank you, Grasshopper said and settled onto the rock nearest to his friend.
Harry smiled to himself and looked up at the blue sky overhead.
We are different, Grasshopper stated firmly.
How? Harry asked
Well, I’m a Grasshopper, green with skinny legs and long, dangly antennae and, and Esmerelda, Grasshopper gazed again to the treeline, willing her to come back.
Yes? Harry asked, smirking at the dreamy look on Grasshopper’s face.
Esmerelda’s tall with brown bits and black bits and lovely gold-sun-coloured bits, Grasshopper offered.
Harry smiled and examined the way his toes pressed in on the sandy soil.
And she’s got long legs and a beautiful…Grasshopper continued
Yes, yes, Harry interrupted at last.
We know what she looks like. We know what you look like, what I look like, what the clouds look like but what if that’s just what we see, not what we really are? Harry waited, unsure whether his young friend would understand what he was getting at.
What we see is what we are! declared Grasshopper indignantly.
Really? Harry asked. What about the clouds in the sky? What do you see?
Big seeds, big fluffy seeds, like cotton balls, said Grasshopper.
And the stars? Harry asked
Lights, bright lights, Grasshopper said with conviction.
What if I said that the clouds are drops of water, clumped together in the air and the stars are distant planets? Harry asked.
Oh, I knew that, Grasshopper said hurriedly.
Honestly, Harry! My head hurts when you start with all these questions, Grasshopper sat quite still, waiting.
Imagine, said Harry, that we are all the same, just look different. I am the same as the cloud. You are the same as the grass. We are the same as Esmerelda. Harry twirled a piece of grass thoughtfully in his mouth as he waited for Grasshopper’s answer.
So, what are we, if we’re all the same only look different? Grasshopper asked, wishing somehow that he had never started this conversation.
Let me ask you another question, Harry said.
Do you have to? Grasshopper cried.
What makes the grass grow, you hop, me think? Harry continued.
I don’t know, said Grasshopper, sorry he had asked.
Energy, Harry stated matter-of-factly. Take away energy and it all stops. The grass stops growing, you stay still and I don’t think.
Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad idea, Grasshopper said, grinning at Harry.
What? Harry said.
Oh, nothing Harry, Grasshopper said then, laughing out loud.
Harry ignored him and continued as before, warming to his theory.
We are all energy. Take away energy and we cease to exist. Everything else about us is unimportant. Unimportant whether we have black bits or brown bits or gold-coloured bits like the sun. That’s all on the outside. Inside we are all exactly the same.
With those words, Harry trundled off down the path towards the setting sun.
Night Grasshopper. Don’t stay up too late. With a small wave of his tail, Harry’s shape gradually blended with the darkening sky and Grasshopper stayed alone to watch the stars come out.
Energy, he thought to himself. Energy. Why, this could mean that Esmerelda and I…
Grasshopper rubbed his legs contentedly along his back at the thought of what he would say to Esmerelda next time he saw her. He practiced everything Harry had said, certain that Esmerelda would be astonished at Grasshopper’s intelligent mind when he repeated it all to her. Energy.
Counting the stars one by one, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Night Harry, he said at last, a smile on his face and a dream in his heart.
