Bunny day went by peacefully and all the rabbits, even Roberta, went back to the forest. Archibald had cried about it, but Mary had calmed him down as she took him to the regular sized hamsters, and they spend the morning of Billy day petting them.

The inhabitants of the apple grotto dungeon were happy. Grandpa Thinker had come with the last Angel’s tear plant in the whole continent, and their nymph had planted the seeds inside the grotto, near Marinus’ pool.

He had told them the tale of his battle with the three giants, and the children had been amazed that he had not only survived, but had come back to them with his prize in his hands.

Harry had been given tea and, for the first time, he didn’t cough as he drank. He was so happy, he ran around his house, shouting that he was cured. Theanore was happy, and she speed grew some of the Angel’s tear so that she could give some seeds to grandpa Thinker.

They made an agreement that they would both sell the tea made from the plant and no one else. It would be a potion that would bring both of them plenty of wealth.

Grandpa Thinker clicked his boots three times, and he was back at Alerion, where grandma Thinker was waiting for him with a brush in hand and their trusty goat that gave the milk for their cocoa milk each morning, Jagostinka.

Back at the grotto, the children were in neat lines and with brushes in hand. It was said that if your goat tries to run away from you as you brush, your year will be very poor. So, they all also had some nettle in their hands.

The green leaves looked vibrant in the morning light, but their sting was no less severe. Still, no bribe was without a price, and the children all were happy they could dip their hands in healing salves later.

Marinus was carefully brushing Meredith the goat as he showed Cassius how to do it. The prince made the motions in the air, and the goat looked at him with interest.

Cassius pressed the nettle he had next to Meredith’s mouth, and she took a bite, grazing his fingers too. He pulled up his hand, but it was too fast and the nettle smacked him on the nose.

“Ouch!” Said Cassius as he backed away. He dropped the nettle and the goat bend its head down and ate it in a couple of quick bites.

“You are so clumsy, prince.” Said Marinus as he laughed at Cassius’ misfortune. “Farm life is not for you.”

“It is too. I can achieve anything I wish.” Said Cassius as he rubbed his nose. His hands were red from gripping the nettle for so long. Now that his bribe was exhausted before even his turn had come, how was he going to brush Meredith?

He looked at Theanore, who was brushing Judith together with Archibald and Mary. The two smaller children didn’t have a nettle in their hands, as Theanore was against them hurting themselves.

Instead, they had some left-over cabbage from Bunny day. There were other lucky children that had cabbage instead of a nettle too, but they were few and far between. The rabbits had come hungry and had gone back to the forest, barely hopping. Rolling on the ground, more like.

Cassius chuckled at the memory of his rabbit rolling downhill, only to be stopped by a bush. It had flailed so pitifully, Cassius had gone to it and righted it, and then carried it to the nearest hole in the ground.

He was not an expert, but he hoped he placed the rabbit in a burrow. And what was more, that it was the rabbit’s burrow. At any rate, once it got out of its food induced coma, it would hop back home.

The prince saw Theanore standing up and the two little children following her, and a new child went to brush Judith. The nymph, her brother, and her daughter all came to their side and as soon as they reached them, began feeding Meredith the leftover cabbage.

“Mari, aren’t you done? It has been ten minutes. Give Cassy a chance to celebrate.” Said Theanore. Marinus sighed and with a final brush stroke, he got up from his chair and Cassius sat down.

He didn’t know what to do. Well, he did, generally speaking. But he was not sure how to begin. In the end, he decided to treat Meredith as he would any lady. He cleared his throat and touched the brush to the hide of the goat.

“My lady, will you give me the honor of allowing me to brush your snow-white hide?” Asked Cassius. Meredith continued to eat cabbage and stay still. Cassius took the silence as a good sign and began to brush the hide of the goat.

It was already brushed, so the brush come through the fine hairs easily. Marinus had not been the first to brush Meredith. There had been at least ten more children before him.

Cassius found the work relaxing. He moved the brush so that he was brushing the goat’s underbelly as he petted her neck. Mary kept feeding her cabbage, as Archibald had run out.

With a final brush stroke, Cassius stood up. He was happy that Meredith had stayed still during the whole thing. So far, no goat had made trouble for any of the children. He had not wanted to be the first with a bad year to look forward to.

They went back down the trail for the second part of the celebration of Billy day. The card making and giving. Each one of them had to make a card with the picture of a goat on it. Preferably, in the likeness of the goat they had brushed. Then, they had to give it to the one they loved the most.

Cassius already knew to whom he was going to give his card and if Marinus’ stare of longing towards Theanore was any indication, so did he. But to which one of them was she going to give her card?