Magpie#8 The Most Beautiful Egg

Awakening early, young Emily woke her two sisters. "The Bunny...he's been here!". As the early morning dampness warmed to the early morning sunshine. The patterns of golden light streaming on the bright and shiny Easter baskets placed with care in the livingroom.

As the three little sisters knew instinctively their particular patterned basket. The baskets would be hidden deep in the linen closet all year waiting for the next Easter's bounty. The sisters would always find them and add them to their miniture world of doll-play.

The tinfoil-covered eggs were all covered in plastic green, yellow and pink grass. Mister E. Bunny always included a Peter Rabbit version of himself and some small toys, like jacks or bb bats. Maybe a Laura Secord egg with yellow creme filling, a perennial favourite.

This Easter was different, amazingly different. Anna noticed that there was something else in her basket this year. Being the eldest Anna knew that she was, at twelve, getting much too old and sophisticated for little baby toys as those that were in her sisters baskets. She sighed a bored sigh. Unexcited she searched in the grass for her little Easter toy.

As Anna dug deeper into the copious amounts of grass she found something quite unpredictable; a large, and most carefully wrapped yellow and green tissue paper object. On the package read a note; "Fragile - Handle With Care".

Anna quickly but carefully opened the wonderful package. Anna let out a loud peep; "Oh my goodness, look at this!"

The two younger sisters, Emily the baby and Michaela the middle sister quickly looked over at Anna and her wonderful present from Mr. Fluffy.

It was the most beautiful hand-painted Russian egg. The girls mouths dropped open in amazement. "What's that?" said Emily and Michaela in unison.

"Wow...that's a beautiful egg!" Michaela professed. "My I touch it?" little baby Emily asked in her five year old baby voice. Emily walked over to Anna near the diningroom table. All were mezmerized by the beauty of the egg.

"Wait a minute...Emily...please...don't...touch...it...". Suddenly the beautiful egg fell onto the hard parkay floor and broke into a million fragmented pieces.

All the girls had closed and hidden their eyes with their hands held doubly tight and said a silent prayer in the hope that the egg would not break. All were terribly fearful of the broken egg mess on the floor and the not-so-pleasant after-effects of the unpleastantries that were to await them once their parents and grandparents awoke to see the holy mess.

There would be, there most certainly would be, a lot of "splainin' to do". To quote Emily's favourite tv star "big babba-loo" Ricky Ricardo on Emily's favourite tv show "I Love Lucy". If not babba-loo there would be a huge "halla-ballo"!

Slowly, and in unison, the girls opened their big pie eyes to see the most astounding and awesome scene they had ever witnessed. The egg they thought would be shattered into a million or more pieces on the floor had miraculously opened. This most wonderful minature world of little tiny Russian dolls of all shapes and sizes unfolded into a circa 1800's Russian village.

Scattered about the floor there must have been a village of various fanciful brightly clothed dolls numbering in the hundreds. A minature wonderworld revealed, invitingly awaiting the girls to a universe of adventure and imagination.

The opened egg turned into a most endearing, quaint and nostalgic Russian village complete with Mama, Papa and many children as well as a huge Babuska Buba grandma. All the girls waiting to sit on Buba's lap for hours of many rivetting storytelling tales from the great steepes of Russia. The Buba was that big and that amazing!

As the girls were awestruck, totally dumbfounded by the most beautiful and most hardy of eggs. The grandparents and parents had heard the commotion and came out of the back bedrooms to see the expressions on their girls' faces.

The parents and grandparents were standing by the arched lintel of the livingroom lovingly watching the girls playing so intently involved and astoundingly happy.

The Most Beautiful Egg in the world and universe had totally enveloped the girls' attention. With squeals of joy echoing through the house, all were immersed in this imaginary world, as fresh and beautiful as this bright spring day.

Anna said "What's this....?" Anna noticed a small golden key and looked for an opening on the opened egg. Anna found the place where the key fit and turned the key three times. The most beautiful music floated on the air; Tchiakovsky's "Swan Lake".

As Anna, Emily, Michaela, the parents and the grandparents looked around and saw they were transported to the exact village depicted on the lovely egg, in the most awe-inspiring way. Everyone became like a child again and everyone was sitting on poor Buba's knee. "You know I got arthritis", laughed Buba of The Most Beautiful Egg. "Let me tell you a story;...when I was a little girl..."jj