Of course, from time to time, even we can miss some appointments. Note: we’re never late, because that would be so bloody impolite of us.
But what on Naboo can make a Giant Lazy Panda do such thing? Why, of course, let’s hear the excuse. Let it rain … !
Here’s what happened some time ago. Early in the morning, Panda set off to where it had to go. Better arrive there earlier than be late, it’s what Panda thought. But little did it know what was in the store for it. The instant Panda set foot out of room it stumbled upon something that.. shouldn’t have been there. But what was that – Yoda knows! Or maybe not even him. But somehow, some sort of portal was opened and BAM! Panda fell right through it. I don’t know, dear reader, if you’ve ever travelled through a portal. It’s a marvellous experience. It’s warm but not too warm. It smells like jasmine tea. Waves of M&M swirl round and round. And you can hear Beethoven’s Fur Elise, over and over again. And everything is painted in the most magnificent colour of them all – rainbow. Well, at least this is how this portal was — no idea about the others. And just when it got accustomed to that fuzzy feeling from inside the portal, BAM! again, Panda fell on something rather cold, but somehow fluffy. It was freshly fallen snow, all glittery in that morning’s light. It was everywhere. You couldn’t see anything else except for.. snow. Panda sure loves snow an awful lot, but it can’t stand being late. That’s why it simply couldn’t enjoy the little adventure, nor care about sightseeing. Fretting about the unexpected it couldn’t change, it didn’t notice that the snow was moving. Then a bitter wind started howling, and all the little Panda could feel was cold getting to its bones. ‘Now, hurry up, mate. No point staying here!’ a funny high-pitched voice cried at it. But.. who spoke? Still awestruck by the nature’s power, Panda finally noticed the two little yellow pointy ears coming from snow. It stooped to take a closer look, but that’s when the wind decide to go full power. And it blew the little panda across the snowy fields, quite far away from where it was. But something like a balloon stopped its falling and it didn’t get hurt. It turned backwards just in time to see a broad smile on the face of quite a peculiar.. creature. It was round like a balloon, had little hands and huge green puppy eyes and two little ears. And it was some sort of pale pink. It gave the little panda a warm hug, and quickly jumped around. Funny feeling Panda had, probably that’s how kangaroos feel like when they’re hopping round and round all day. And then, the creature suddenly stopped and put Panda down. Underneath its feet wasn’t snow, but grass – green, healthy looking grass. ‘How peculiar’ thought the little Panda. It wasn’t difficult to notice that the sun was up and shining and the sky was cloudless – no trace of snow! Nor wind could it feel. It was warm, just like a day of spring. But how could that be possible? ‘Well, face the impossible, traveller!’ cried an owl sitting in a nearby tree. ‘And welcome, stranger!’ all kinds of voices yelled from all corners of the… what looked like a huge garden. Blossoms from a cherry tree were dancing in the rhythm set by the calm wind and it felt so peaceful, the little panda was taken aback by the view. Truly peaceful. ‘Why, let’s dig in!’ a Cheshire cat cried and pointed to something behind Panda. It was a long table, with a very colourful table cloth on it. Plates, teaspoons, cups and a couple of kettles were marching towards the table, each of them occupying a certain place as if they were told where to sit, and they were obediently following certain orders. Trees nearby started stretching their branches, creating what would resemble some swings, placing them where chairs should’ve been. They sure looked comfy. Panda was simply mesmerised. Left speechless by the wondrous things it was witnessing, it had no idea what to do, and simply forgot about being late for its appointment. Then a little dinosaur-like creature whispered to it: ‘C’mon, don’t sit there like a statue!’, and grabbed the little panda’s hand and went straight to the table. A single seat was still free, the rest being occupied by creatures Panda had never seen on Discovery Channel. When it spotted those two little yellow pointy ears, the little creature winked and smiled at Panda. They sure were a merry bunch. All of them were cheerfully chatting in all sorts of languages and it looked like they could go on and on forever. But silence suddenly engulfed the garden — tea was being served. A sweet, wonderfully scented jasmine tea. The best tea Panda had ever had in its life — and it sure drank lots of tea! Afterwards they all resumed their talking, but this time they were explaining to Panda where it was. It seems that that realm was the result of Narnia and Imaginationland’s crashing into each other, during an earthquake that happened long, long, time ago. They got there by accident and couldn’t return to their homeland because of a weird barrier surrounding the realm. But they didn’t mind that. Nope, not at all. After they got to know the surroundings, they started living in peace and harmony with nature and felt for the first time in long long time that they’ve found their home. That’s why they had decided to stay there and make sure that any traveller to those lands would be reminded what peace and harmony truly mean. The little panda was thinking to itself that they’re doing quite a great job. That’s when the Cheshire cat came floating on a little purple cloud and knotted to its tail was a moving table. On that table was a huge chocolate cake, decorated with colourful little stars. Everybody started cheering and the cat winked at Panda. Not too long after they’ve finished eating the cake and drinking the second cup of tea, something was slowly changing. ‘It’s time for you to go, little one’ said the owl, pointing to the little panda. Swirls of M&M were appearing from nowhere and faintly at first, you could hear Beethoven’s Fur Elise. After bidding farewell to everyone and being hugged by the balloon-like pink creature, Panda stepped into the portal that meanwhile opened right behind it. And that’s how it left that world. It came back near the door, outside of its room. Glanced at its watched and noticed it stayed exactly two hours in that world. It missed the appointment, but for the first time, it didn’t feel sorry.
