'Why, hello, Puffy, Beppeen. How are my spring overalls coming along?' Cuddly, a cute young female, greeted the two seamstresses, who were sitting on a bench placed in front of a long table at the base of their tree in Koalaville.
'Oh, we just finished them this morning. Wouldn't you like to try them on?' Beppeen asked as she went through a pile of overalls at one end of the table, picking out those they had made for Cuddly.
'My, don't they look great! I love the material – it's so supple! These winter overalls simply don't give you the same freedom of movement that the lighter ones do.'
'Yes, it's true,' Puffy explained, 'but then, the cloth for the winter ones has to be thick if they are to keep you warm.'
'Step behind the curtain on the other side of the tree. You can try them on there,' Beppeen led Cuddly behind the tree, where the seamstresses had hung a curtain from a branch, forming a semicircle about one yard from the trunk. They knew that no decent koala would want to change clothes in front of anyone who happened to pass by.
After a few minutes, Cuddly emerged from the dressing area and seemed to be delighted.
'Oh, they fit perfectly! And these buttons are so elegant!'
'I'm glad you like them. We bought them from an especially talented artistic wood carver over in Koalatown.'
'Why, who would think that anything as beautiful as these buttons could come from over there?' Cuddly expressed her surprise.
'Yes, I know what you mean,' Beppeen agreed, 'but I guess it just goes to show that you can find great ability even in the least likely of places.'
'I imagine so,' Cuddly said. 'Speaking of Koalatown: are you two and Muffy going to go over there this evening for the big spring celebration?'
'Oh no, of course not!' Puffy replied. 'Not after what happened last year. That huge fight that broke out just ruined everything! We were afraid we were going to be trampled to death in the crowd, once everybody started running away from those violent thugs that were trying to kill each other.'
'I remember well,' Beppeen added, 'and I'm sure Muffy won't forget, either. We three had gone over a couple of hours before the party to deliver some overalls to a few customers we have there. We stayed for the party, and at first, everything seemed just fine. Then that brawl broke out, and we barely managed to escape from it, but when we got to the eastern edge of Koalatown, some other delinquent came up to us, grabbed Muffy, and tried to kiss her! He was drunk, and most uncouth, I must say.'
'Yeah, and he was pretty ugly, too,' Puffy added. 'Muffy had to slap his face, and I had to kick him in the shin before he would let her go. We got back here to Koalaville as fast as we could.'
'Oh, that must have been terrible!' Cuddly responded. 'I didn't go last year, since I had a mild case of cold tail. I was thinking of going over tonight, but after hearing all this, maybe I'd better not.'
'You'd be better off staying here,' Puffy advised. 'You know what? Maybe we three should visit our new King, and ask that he organize a celebration here, maybe at the beginning of the summer. After all, why should Koalatown have all the fun?'
'Oh, that's a wonderful idea,' Beppeen exclaimed. 'If there is a celebration here, I'm sure it would be much more civilized, considering the fact that eucalyptus liquor is illegal in our grove.'
'Count me in!' Cuddly was enthusiastic. 'I'm sure everybody would have a great time.'
'Hello, ladies,' Eddy Koala, a young male who happened to be passing by the tree, greeted them politely. 'My, that is a lovely pair of overalls – such a fine shade of yellow! Say, I wonder if you might be interested in accompanying me to the celebration over in Koalatown this evening, Cuddly? We could dance all night, and I'm sure I'd be the envy of every guy there if you were my dancing partner.'
'Hee hee, oh, Eddy, don't exaggerate now! Why, I'd love to go with you. When will you be leaving?' Cuddly was obviously delighted.
'In about an hour and a half. May I pick you up at your tree?'
'That will be just fine. I'll be there and ready in an hour and a half. Bye-bye!' Cuddly giggled.
After Eddy walked away, Beppeen asked her, 'But I thought you said you weren't going to Koalatown tonight?'
'Oh, well, how could I refuse a good-looking koala like Eddy? The truth is, I've been hoping he would ask me out some day, and now I've finally got a date with him!'
'He is cute, isn't he?' Puffy remarked. 'And from what I heard, he is very responsible, too.'
'Oh yes, and he's also smart. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up on the Koala Council some day, or maybe he'll start more businesses. He and his friend Minty run the kiln over in the northeast, you know. They make the finest ceramic products around. In any case, he's definitely marriage material.' Cuddly seemed to know just what she wanted.
'Oh yeah, we have a set of teacups we got from them last year. Who knows?' said Beppeen. 'Perhaps the date you have with him tonight will be the start of something really big?'
'Oh, Beppeen, don't get my hopes up too much!' Cuddly laughed. 'But that would be wonderful, wouldn't it? I'm sure he would make a perfect husband!'
The three girls then spent about twenty minutes chatting and gossiping, until Cuddly hurried off to get ready for her date.