being helpful while Tom’s asleep

Kimbleton Tardigrade here. I’m staying at Tom’s house.

Tom fell asleep when we got home from visiting his friends in their various parks, and he hasn’t woken up yet.

Poor old thing. He doesn’t seem as fit as when I met him at the seaside last year.

I don’t know why he wears that anorak all the time. He surely doesn’t need it in his nice warm sleeping-bag.

While he’s asleep, I may as well make myself useful, and try to repay his hospitality.

Tom said that little Strawberry had brought round some gooseberries from her garden. I’ll make them into jam.

While it’s boiling I’ll have a chat with the cuckoos in their lovely clock.

I don’t understand why Bimbo and Tom haven’t got the cuckoos involved in their Zoom Ensemble. They sing quite nicely.

I had to dance very slowly on my t’rung to encourage them to join in.

I tried to do it at the authentic 87 beats per minute, but it’s hard to tapdance that slowly.

I lost my balance.

We tried it faster, but the cuckoos got their beaks tangled.

In the end we compromised, and I think it worked out all right. You can hear that on the Zoom Ensemble page.

I’ve been feeling a bit guilty, because Tom’s not aware that I haven’t been vaccinated against the Virus.

He said something about “Now that we’ve all been vaccinated”, and I failed to tell him that I haven’t had a jab yet.

I’ve been travelling around, so it hasn’t been convenient.

And you do hear all sorts of things about this vaccine.

It could be a government plot to step up surveillance, or even to dispose of those of us that they deem less necessary.

Creepy-crawlies are not high on ministers’ lists of favourite people.

Besides, they say there can be nasty side-effects. I don’t have many cells, so if just a few of them are adversely affected, that could be serious for me.

Anyway, I don’t like needles.

Some people don’t seem to mind them, but I’m particularly sensitive.

When Tom wakes up, I’d better own up to him that I haven’t been jabbed. I hope he won’t want me to leave.

What else could I do that would be helpful?

I know! He’s been talking about hunting for a pocket watch. I’m good at finding things. Sometimes an outsider can spot something that the locals are failing to notice.

I think Tom said he’d got up to L in his search. I’ll start with M.

No watch among the Masks, or the croquet Mallets.

I know where Tom keeps his Manicuring tools.

The first time I saw them, I teased him for being so delicate about his paws, but he explained that he feels that furry people should be careful always to keep their claws short. I don’t believe he actually has any claws, but he wants to be ready to deal with them if they appear.

No watch there.

No watch among the Nightclothes, the Nuts and Bolts, or the Name Tags.

Nor behind the Oxford Dictionary, or in the Optical Curiosities Area.

I got a bit dizzy watching Euler’s Disc. It certainly is a curiosity.

You don’t need to watch the whole video. Just start it off and go and do something else for one minute and seven or so seconds. It will still be going when you get back.

I looked in Tom’s collection of Postcards. No pocket watch.

I looked in the Pedal Bin. There was a nice sock, but it had a big hole, and it can’t ever have fitted Tom.

I’ll put the rubbish out for the Refuse Collection Operatives, but I’ll keep the screwdriver. Tom must have thrown that away by mistake.

I’ll have a look under the phone.

Oh! The phone’s ringing. I’d better answer it, or it will wake Tom.

What a pompous little teddy bear. I’m surprised Tom has such a prig for a friend.

But it’s probably true that I should get vaccinated.

I didn’t mention my horror of needles. I’d like to see even Ruffy find a way round that problem. But I’ll do it for Tom’s sake. Nothing to do with Duty. Just because we’re mates.

All right, off I go.

I wonder which leg I should ask them to stick the needle in.