Holiday Teapot Magic
December 3, 2009
The stories included in this section are based on the second Emma Lea picture book, Emma Lea’s Magic Teapot. We have added stories that were written to develop the series but were not intended to be put into book form.
It is our pleasure to share them with you.
Holiday Teapot Magic
by Babette Donaldson
From: Emma Lea's Magic Teapot
Emma Lea’s throat was still store and she already felt tired, even though it was just the beginning of the school day. She had been sick for whole week and missed the most important day of the year. Tryouts for the holiday pageant. She had tried to pretend that she was OK so she could go to school, but Mama noticed her flushed cheeks and took her temperature and called to tell them that she would be absent. Absent on the day of the tryouts and then for the rest of the week. Now, auditions were over and the cast had been chosen.
Emma Lea had been in every school play since she was in kindergarten. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to sit in the audience watching her friends on the stage. This year’s theme was going to be Holidays Around The World. She had learned songs and stories for Mexico, Germany, Scotland and China. She would be happy doing any country. She dreamed of traveling and meeting new people.
Mama had called Mr. Ondi, the music teacher, to say that Emma Lea would still like to be in the show. But he said that he would have to give the parts to students who auditioned. Those were the rules.
He was at the bulletin board outside the choir room posting the cast list. “Welcome back, Emma Lea.” He greeted her with a warm smile. She tried to return a smile. But it made her cough and almost made her cry to see her friends names on his list.
She could see that Sam was going to do Japan and Leeanda was chosen to do Belgium. Brad and Brian were doing England. Janelle got Mexico. Mexico was one of her favorites – the parade for La Posada and then breaking the piñata.
“I have a very special job for you,” said Mr. Ondi. Emma Lea brightened up instantly. “Can we talk about it at the first rehearsal this afternoon?”
“Yes.” The thought of helping with the play gave her a burst of energy. It was easier to join her friends in class with something to look forward to. But by lunch, her coughing was worse. Mrs. Anderson, the school nurse, felt her head and took her temperature. “102º. I’ll call your mother.” By the time she was home and tucked into bed, she knew it was where she had to be. But she was still upset about missing the rehearsal.
“Now I won’t be able to do anything for the show.
~ ~ ~
Sam and Janelle stopped by after school the next day and brought a card from the class. Everyone had signed it. And almost everyone wrote something very nice. Everyone but Lucas. He signed his name and drew a goofy green face. There was an arrow from the word YOU to the face. Under that he wrote the name he called her to tease her. EMMA TEA. But he was always doing mean stuff like that.
“You’re always drinking tea,” he would say and point to her thermos. “Weird tea. It smells like grass.”
“Green Tea,” she always told him. “It smells the way fresh tea leaves smell when they’re picked.”
“I told him not to do that,” Janelle insisted.
“I knew you wouldn’t mind,” Sam said. “You like being called Emma Tea.”
“Don’t tell Lucas. He might think of something else that could be much worse.” She was happy to see her friends. Mama made it even more special by serving a snack of freshly baked gingerbread and steaming cups of herbal tea with chunky pieces of dried cranberry and orange peel. She made the tea in a glass teapot so the children could see the pretty pink color.
“This is my favorite,” said Janelle. “It tastes sweet, like the fruit.”
“This is actually a very old recipe,” said Mama, “from the time after the Boston Tea Party when the colonists were rebelling and not buying imported tea.”
“The Indians taught them to use the local dried fruit and herbs instead of tea,” Emma Lea explained.
“You know so much about tea,” said Sam.
“Grammy says it’s a good way to learn about the world and different people.”
“Like our play!” Janelle was sorry that she reminded Emma Lea of something so sad when she saw her friend’s smile turn down. She was also sad that they weren’t doing it together. “But you will be back in time to see it.”
“We’ll save you a seat on the front row,” said Sam.
~ ~ ~
The next day Grammy brought her a new kind of tea from Japan and a book. The book was a collection of Japanese fairy tales. She brewed the tea in Emma Lea’s own teapot. They called it her magic teapot because she made people feel better when she shared tea with it. Grammy always said, “It’s how you use it that’s magic. Not the pot.” It always seemed to work.
Grammy brought it to Emma Lea on a tray with some mint & tea flavored cookies. “Now it’s time for a little teapot magic for you.” She stayed to read some of the stories. And, since the doctor had told them that Emma Lea should stay out of school for at least 2 more weeks, Grammy decided to come every day. “Tea and stories with my granddaughter. What could be better than that?”
Every day she brought another unusual tea from places all over the world. There was a Highland Tay that was a favorite blend in Scotland. It was very dark and strong so Grammy added lots of milk and honey. There was a red herbal tea from South Africa and a tea that was rolled into little pearl-shaped balls from China. Each day Grammy told her granddaughter something interesting about the new country – especially how they liked to drink their tea. It helped make the days go by.
Emma Lea missed being in school. She kept up with her schoolwork but it was more difficult without the teacher. Mama got her assignments from the teacher and Daddy helped finish some of the projects. Grampop visited almost every day – sometimes joining Grammy for their afternoon tea. And her aunts, Aunt Meg, Aunt Miriam and Aunt Melinda, all brought special treats. But Emma Lea still missed her friends. She even missed Lucas teasing her.
He phoned to tell her that he had been cast to do Brazil for the pageant. “That’s one place where they don’t drink tea,” he scoffed.
“Don’t be so sure,” she replied.
She consulted with Gammy. And sure enough, they have a very unique tradition.
Emma Lea called Lucas, “The Gouchos – like cowboys – even drink it. They call it Yerba Mate.” She described the way they drink it from a gourd with a metal straw.
“Oh darn,” said Lucas. I never thought real, tough men would drink tea.”
~ ~ ~
It was snowing on her first day back – just three days before the Holiday pageant and the beginning of the winter vacation. Mr. Ondi invited her to stay after school for the dress rehearsal. Mama agreed, knowing how much her daughter wanted to be part of the show.
During the rehearsal Emma Lea sat in a director’s chair next to Mr. Ondi. She held his notes and helped her friends remember when it was their turn to speak and sing. She wasn’t even tired when Mama arrived.
“You look so much better!” Mama was relieved to see the twinkle in her eyes and the ear-to-ear smile.
“She was a big help,” said Mr. Ondi. “Emma Lea, would you be my assistant during the show?”
“Oh, yes. I’d love to help.” She looked at her mother, knowing that Mama was still worried about how sick she had been. “I won’t run around or anything, Mama. I’ll be careful.”
“I know you will.” There was no way Mama could refuse. She helped Emma Lea button her coat and wrapped her up in a hat and scarf.
On the way home, they drove by the teashop and saw Grammy’s car in the parking lot. Mama pulled in and parked beside it. “We have a little surprise for you.” Inside, Grammy was seated at their favorite table. Afternoon tea was set out with scones and sandwiches and a teapot wrapped in a pretty cozy.
“I chose my tea for today,” Grammy said. She handed Emma Lea a long list of other tea choices. “You may pick the one you want.”
As she read the list she saw teas that were specialties from countries around the world. There were teas that grew in countries like China, Japan and India. But there were other teas that were blended and flavored for people in places where the tea did not grow. Special flavors for people in France, Germany, Scotland, South America and the U.S. It was like the school pageant. And it gave her an idea.
She excused herself from the table to talk with Mrs. Rose, the owner of the teashop. A few minutes later, the four of them were sitting around the table making a big plan. There wasn’t much time. That evening, Mama phoned Mr. Ondi and then called the mothers of every cast member. Everyone agreed to help.
~ ~ ~
On the night of the pageant, the cast filled the dressing rooms an hour before the show was scheduled to start. Emma Lea was helping with make-up and calming her friends’ last minute jitters. Mr. Ondi was checking the lights and sound. Mama and Grammy waited at the side door for Mrs. Rose. Then they helped her carry in the hampers of teapots and cozies and cartons of teas and treats. She set up the urns to heat the water and posted signs in front of each teapot. One for each country represented in the school play. Some of the mothers came with trays of treats made from special recipes. Mrs. Rose matched the treats to the teas and set up a sign for each country.
At the end of the show, after the performers all took their bows, Mr. Ondi stepped to the front of the stage. “I want to thank you all for coming tonight. The cast students and I want to thank the parents who helped with costumes and the stage sets. We have special appreciation to my assistant, Emma Lea.” He waved to her to bring her out from behind the curtain. “And she has arranged a surprise for everyone.”
Emma Lea looked out over the auditorium. Now that the house lights were back up, she could see that every seat and both isles were filled. It was a packed house. Her family filled an entire row. As she looked out over the crowd, she recognized almost every face – the parents and grandparents of her friends. She knew what she wanted to say, but it was her turn to have the jitters.
“Thank you for coming to our show,” she said.
“It’s going to be about tea,” Lucas rudely interrupted. Everyone shushed him.
“This play was about all the different ways people around the world celebrate this time of the year. We’re all different. But I there are many ways we’re the same.” There was some very nice applause for what she said. “Like Lucas said, it’s about tea. Please join us for tea from around the world.”
Lucas waved his Gaucho hat and cheered. “They even have tea in Brazil.”
The guests were delighted with the display in the cafeteria. Mrs. Rose had set up a table for each country with the different kinds of teas. Parents had made cookies and cakes and helped serve.
Grammy and Grampop were at one table with Emma Lea’s special polka-dot teapot and her favorite cookies. “Surprise!” they called and raised their own teacups.
Lucas was right behind her. “I want to try some Emma Lea tea first.” He held out his cup. “Thank you.” Grammy poured it about half-full. “And then I want to try some of everything.”
The last-minute surprise tea party was even better than Emma Lea and Mrs. Rose had imagined. Everyone was saying that they should do this every year.
“But next year I want to do Mexico,” Emma Lea said and she sipped some of the bright red Hibiscus Tea and crunched the special white cookie from the Mexico table. “Do you think they make a teapot piñata?”
© Babette Donaldson, December 2009
Contact author for permission to reprint.
Babette Donaldson, Author