Alexandra Travels the Countryside with her Collection of Masks, to the Great Delight of the Country-Dwelling Furry Creatures
I am getting my Illustration Friday picture submitted just in the nick of time. This weeks theme is 'masks.' The theme reminded me of a children's picture book I use to like when I was a kid. In one of the illustrations, the two main characters are wearing masks. It is a book about two little girls who are very good friends, but for some reason they get in a fight. All this happens during the Fall, because it happens right around Halloween. I think the two friends are also neighbors. I think it was published in either the seventies or eighties. I can't remember what it is called though! Does this book sound familiar to anyone? I would love to revisit it.
In her garden, Alexandra spends hours and days and months and years creating masks. She has masks of animals, masks of people, masks of imaginary creatures, and masks of creatures once thought to be imaginary but now discovered to be real. Every Spring, she leaves the safety of her garden to travel the countryside, preforming one-flower plays. Sometimes, her audience is only the lilacs in the field, slowly swaying in the Spring breeze. Other times, an audience of five-hundred humans surround her with wide eyes and bodies leaning forward. But her favorite audience are the bunnies. They are furry, they are cute, and they are numerous. They pop up from their earthy warrens, or hop from behind trees. They surround her, ears alert, trying to capture every sound wave that she emits. When Alexandra gets to a particularly tense part of one of her stories, the rabbits all start to hop in place. They are too overcome by the intensity of her words to stay still. When she gets to a funny spot, they wiggle their ears and noses in delight.When she gets to a sad part of her story, the bunnies snuggle closer to each other, sometimes burrowing their heads into each other's coats, as if to remind each other that they are not alone. So when she visits the rabbits this year, she has a new story to tell them. It isn't just a story but a secret. It is the secret to how the world started. She takes a deep breath, places the moon mask over her face, and starts to tell the story of the grandest adventure of all.
In her garden, Alexandra spends hours and days and months and years creating masks. She has masks of animals, masks of people, masks of imaginary creatures, and masks of creatures once thought to be imaginary but now discovered to be real. Every Spring, she leaves the safety of her garden to travel the countryside, preforming one-flower plays. Sometimes, her audience is only the lilacs in the field, slowly swaying in the Spring breeze. Other times, an audience of five-hundred humans surround her with wide eyes and bodies leaning forward. But her favorite audience are the bunnies. They are furry, they are cute, and they are numerous. They pop up from their earthy warrens, or hop from behind trees. They surround her, ears alert, trying to capture every sound wave that she emits. When Alexandra gets to a particularly tense part of one of her stories, the rabbits all start to hop in place. They are too overcome by the intensity of her words to stay still. When she gets to a funny spot, they wiggle their ears and noses in delight.When she gets to a sad part of her story, the bunnies snuggle closer to each other, sometimes burrowing their heads into each other's coats, as if to remind each other that they are not alone. So when she visits the rabbits this year, she has a new story to tell them. It isn't just a story but a secret. It is the secret to how the world started. She takes a deep breath, places the moon mask over her face, and starts to tell the story of the grandest adventure of all.