Monday 25 April 2011

The Kaleidoscope



Kaleidoscope: A toy consisting of a tube containing small,  brightly coloured fragments of glass etc. and mirrors which reflect these to form changing geometric patterns;

From the Greek: kalos = beautiful, eidos = image, skopein = to view


Eva's favourite Uncle Peter had finally arrived for his annual Easter visit. She'd been on the look-out for him for hours; impatiently she waited for him to finish greeting the assembled adults, who were his brothers and sisters, Eva's mother among them. She tugged at his hand; why was it that adults needed to have brothers and sisters when she herself didn't have any and still managed perfectly well?

Uncle Peter had brought a bag of chocolate eggs to distribute among his many nephews and nieces, who had all come to Eva's parents' house for the day. The children had spent the morning hunting for eggs in the garden, which the Osterhase was supposed to have hidden in bushes and shrubs and behind stones before the crack of dawn. There was even a basket of coloured eggs in the hen house. Except for the two youngest, Hansi and Trudi,  they were old enough to know that the grown-ups had been out to hide the eggs; no bunny would be able to carry a basket with that many eggs on his back, they told each other.They'd be eating hard-boiled eggs for supper for several days, that was clear to all, to their collective disgust. Hunting for eggs was fun but eating them less so.

Uncle Peter's eggs were special. He said he got them from the Chocolate Easter Egg wholesalers in Bunnyland and because he bought so many at a time, he had them at a discount. Each egg was wrapped in multicoloured foil, shimmering and shiny and crisp to the touch. Some had patterns on them, some had pretty pictures of rabbits, ribbons and pretty flowers, like daisies and daffodils; when he tipped them into the large basket, lined with moss, provided for the purpose by Eva's mum, they looked like somebody had caught a rainbow, bundled up all the colours, and shone a great yellow sun on them. The children squealed happily.

Each egg had a tiny label hidden somewhere in the foil; Uncle Peter, who knew his greedy nephews and nieces well, had gone to the trouble of putting each child's nickname on a label, and, for the poor child without a nickname, he simply invented one; after some wrangling, shoving and hand slapping amongst themselves, each child had its own allocation of eggs and most started to eat one there and then.

Except Eva, she wasn't allowed chocolate because the milk in it made her ill. She was used to it, it didn't bother her very much when the others sank their teeth into the chocolate and chewed and licked their fingers; Uncle Peter was bound to have a gift for her too. He always had. In the past he'd given her what he called a Russian egg, which turned out to be four eggs all hidden in one large one, each smaller than the one before; once he'd brought her a beautifully painted, perfectly spherical stone; he'd given her a delicate china egg which opened into two halves, hollow inside, for keeping tiny treasures. Then there had been the glass egg, which had flowers suspended inside it. Eva loved her Uncle Peter very much, he told wonderful stories and brought her very special gifts.

Expectantly, she looked at him. What would he have for her this time?

Uncle Peter beckoned her away from the chocolate eating frenzy and pulled a small tube out of his pocket. She examined it. It felt like cardboard and although it had stars painted on the outside, it didn't look like much; if this was for keeping things in, she much preferred her china egg. "Put this end to your eye", he said, "just look".  She looked.

What seemed like a million colours and shapes and patterns exploded in her eye. Eva gasped in wonder.

"Turn it a little", Uncle Peter advised. More shapes in different colour variations formed instantly. Each time she turned it, the patterns changed, over and over again, a glinting, mesmerising, flickering display. Better than all the chocolate eggs in a green moss basket in the world.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find you anything egg-shaped this time", Uncle Peter said.

Eva grinned. "That's ok, I forgive you," she said.

41 comments:

  1. I have always loved kaleidoscopes and I loved this story!!!! Thanks!!!!

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  2. smiles. they are such magic toys allowing you to change you perception with just a twist..

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  3. friko what a sweet story . . . i am very drawn to stories of cool uncles and aunts. when i ask the children i teach about their own cool uncles and aunts, the stories pour out of them and are always very special. steven

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  4. Friko, this is wonderful. I love it. A childless aunt myself, I am delighted to be a grandmother now because my husband has four daughters, and I hope to continue being a good aunt as well as a trusted grandma.
    -- K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  5. Friko: Kaleidoscopes are such fun. When I was a kid, we had a few of them and I always felt so rich having all that beauty in my hands/eyes. I give them often as gifts and still have a few around for myself. What a nice story. I love that Eva gasped in wonder.

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  6. A wonderful present for a sweet little girl! Nice write!

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  7. I love your Eva tales, Friko. Uncle Peter sounds the best kind you could have!

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  8. What a great story. I used to have a favorite uncle like that, and I miss him dearly. But somewhere along the way, I became the favorite uncle, and now all my nieces and nephews gather around me whenever I come over on holidays. I'm sure glad I had a good mentor to teach me how to be that guy.

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  9. Lovely cheerful tale. Just what I needed, thank you Friko. Dianne

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  10. I've long had kaleidoscopes on my list of things I'd like to collect. You've stirred up very nice memories of those I've had, or wish I'd bought, from dime store to brass. A lovely story and what a perfect gift to give a child, of any age.

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  11. There's something forever magical about kaleidoscopes, isn't there? You've capture it here.

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  12. I loved this story. I'm embarrassed to say that, I think, this is my first Eva story, but not my last.
    What a memory it brought back to me.
    I had one of the cardboard kaleidoscopes when I was a young child. It was magical and mezmerizing. Thanks for returning that memory to me.

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  13. What a wonderful story stirring up memories of favourite uncles (I had two, one on each side of the family) and 'magic in a tube'.

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  14. What a beautiful story! I love adults who treat children as if they are "real people," individuals!

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  15. Oh, I loved this story. I don't know if your Eva stories are true. I think they are, maybe a little dressed up, maybe not. how wonderful for Eva to have that experience in her life, of not being forgoton when others received a forbidden special treat. and what a great man to always remember.

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  16. What a wonderful story! I love those kaleidoscopes and think they are WAY better than candy!

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  17. What a fabulous way to look beyond the missing out for little Eva. As a child, my mom always found a large solid chocolate Easter Bunny for me... even beyond my youth, even to the year of her passing (which was about a month before Easter, tho there was already a bunny for that year)... It is one of the few times that I truly miss her and the faved chocolate (now that I am allergic to it). Funny how some traditions have so much meaning beyond their effort.

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  18. Such a nice memory! And your chicken recipe in the recent post sounds wonderful -- even if you forgot about the string!!

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  19. Very sweet =-) I wrote about a little girl and a kaleidoscope gift, too. I've always loved them!

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  20. You reminded me of how much my mother loved kaleidoscopes.

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  21. Lovely story. I think the kaleidoscope was a much better present than chocolate!

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  22. There was always one in my stocking every Christmas when I was a child , and I love them still .

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  23. Good little story - true to life. My Grandchildren dive into their found chocolate Easter eggs immediately as well. My husband plays the Easter Rabbitt. I'll suggest kaleidoscopes to him as the special gifts he hides in a separate treasure hunt.

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  24. A kaleidoscope is a wonderful gift for any child. I hope Eva treasured it. Maybe she still has it?

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  25. much nicer than chocolate and less damaging to the hips!

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  26. A lovely reminder of the aunts and uncles who shaped my life ...........

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  27. Smile-inducing, engaging work.

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  28. Hello:
    What a truly enchanting story! It is absolutely lovely and so well told. We have not thought about such a toy for years, lucky, lucky Eva, and will, at the first possible moment, go and seek out our own kaleidoscope for we our, at heart, a couple of Peter Pans!

    Thank you so much for visiting our blog, without which we should not have discovered you. We are following!!

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  29. loved this! was interrupted a few times while reading...each time i was dying to get back to it :)
    what a sweet story

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  30. What a lovely story! I suspect Eva will be very glad she got her special eggs when she grows up and not those in-one-day, out-the-next chocolatey ones!

    Love LOVE kaleidoscopes. I have 2 little beauties that I bought in the UK many years back. I don't look at their magic often enough.

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  31. I never knew the meaning, thanks!



    Warm Aloha from Honolulu


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  32. Your tale of bright cheer is exactly what I needed this morning. Thank you, Friko!

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  33. Delightful story, Friko, and so well told. Kaleidoscopes are special - I love them still.

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  34. Lovely story Friko! Eva received the most thoughtful present of all.

    Anna :o]

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  35. wonderful story- lucky girl to have such a wonderful Uncle Peter (Rabbit?)

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  36. Wonderful story. Lucky Eva--clever uncle!

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  37. Sweet, Friko! I always love the way you tell a story... and this one has such a kindhearted ending. ♥

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  38. I loved your story. Thank you very much.

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  39. Magical! Wish my own uncle Peter had been like that. Crabby old git he was..!!

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