𝙰𝚙𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚎

      One winter day, when Sonic woke up, he stood up alone from his nest. Shadow and Amy were not nearby in their nests. Apparently they woke up before him and went somewhere, but for now they left him at home alone. It’s good that he slept warm under such a thick blanket and a fur coat on top of the blanket. Rising from the nest, dressed in a fur coat and warmer pants, he goes to the refrigerator and takes out a small ham, as well as two eggs. He decides to try frying his own eggs and ham. Shadow and Amy themselves, who woke up early and got up while the baby was still sleeping, decided to make and give him their own birthday present. Everyone agreed on who would give what and everyone crawled along their own path. Shadow crawled away to the village, and Amy went further into the forest. After all, her mother once told her that a good gift is one that is made with your own hands. Shadow, as usual, went to the village, took his good old robe to pretend to be a Mobian and, as usual, went to the market. Amy went into the forest and collected some clay, fresh branches and sticky resin from the trees. She decided to make a toy out of all these contents. When Shadow appeared on the market, many began to pay attention to Shadow with surprise. After all, it’s cold winter outside now, and he’s calmly walking around in a summer robe, as if he’s not cold at all. They began to suspect that something was wrong. This is probably not a Mobian at all. One old man imperceptibly grabbed Shadow by the hood from behind and sharply pulled off his robe, showing his appearance in all its glory. Everyone immediately saw the naga and at first stood in shock, like statues. The striped snake hedgehog did not know what to do. He just bared his teeth and smiled stupidly. Immediately the whole crowd screamed and ran in all directions, shouting: — NAGA!!! WE WERE ATTACKED IN THE MARKET BY A NAGA!!! Naga hunters immediately come running to the market. Shadow immediately recognized them and he had to run away, not paying attention to anything. He almost reached the forest when he suddenly fell into a trap and was caught in a large cage made of iron bars. He got caught again, just like in childhood, and now he will be sent to the zoo again. Only he was wrong. This time the hunters took out a saber and decided to kill this monster on the spot. Good thing Shadow had a pile of yellow and red leaves in his safe stomach. He spat out a whole bunch of leaves and people and Mobians got entangled in them, not understanding what was happening. While everyone was distracted by the fireworks of leaves that Shadow spat out around him. He grabbed the bars with both hands, strained himself, and climbed through them. Then he crawled back into the forest. The hunters did not have time to notice and catch him when the cage turned out to be empty, but with a couple of bars bent to the side. All the people shouted in panic: — HE ESCAPED!!! — HE IS HERE SOMEWHERE!!! — SAVE YOURSELF WHO YOU CAN!!! Only the hunters were not afraid and tried to calm everyone down. They went straight into the forest, where he followed his tracks and crawled away from them. They will find him and finish him off. Shadow himself crawled away along the road and blamed himself for what happened: — “How could I screw up like that? Why didn’t I think to dress in something warm so that they wouldn’t suspect me? Now I won’t go anywhere near this village again!” — It’s your own fault!

***

      Rose made, in the figurative sense of the word, a fresh and almost new-looking doll out of trash and sticks. While she was making the doll, she hummed some song to herself. When she finished, she inspected the contents. — How lovely! I hope Sonic likes it... Then she crawled home. On the way, she accidentally ran into Shadow, who was running away from someone. — Shadow-Shadow, what's the matter? — Naga hunters! They're chasing me! Amy looked around and noticed an old piece of wood on one of the trees that she had torn off. Looking at her tail and then at Shadow, she asked: — Do you believe me? Uncertain, but Shadow nodded. When the naga hunters came running, Amy and Shadow themselves were lying in the water, which had not yet covered with ice. They simply lay there, as if in a jacuzzi or a swimming pool, and slightly twitched their tails, to the tips of which pieces of punishment were tied with vines. They somewhat resembled a fin. — Here they are! Grab them! — Stop! What's with their tails? — What are you doing, guys? — asked Amy. — Are you looking for naga's? — Yes, that is you. — one of the hunters explained and took out a crossbow. Shadow was a little scared, but Amy was calm and smiling: — Why did you decide that we are naga's?... We are mermaids. — she said, showing off her tail with a pseudo fin. — Mermaids? — the hunters bulged their eyes at the same time. — Can we hunt mermaids? — No. We only hunt nagas, and there is not a word about mermaids at all. — You are right. Let's get out of here! — Stop! If you are mermaids, what are you doing in the swamp? And even in winter? — Well the water hasn’t frozen yet. — Shadow answered. — We decided to take a last look at the smallest lake and far from civilization, so that you wouldn’t disturb us while the water was not yet covered with ice until spring. The hunters looked at the striped one with suspicion and distrust. He suspected that something was wrong. Amy immediately narrowed her eyes and looked menacingly at that suspicious hunter. — Why are you staring at my husband and me? Are you jealous that we have such beautiful scales and you don’t? — she asked, and he was a little scared of her and shook his head. — Look at me! Otherwise I will send a terrible mermaid curse on you. You will lose your agility and accuracy for the rest of your life, and then you will become a liability on your team. Or worse. You will infect all your comrades with this curse. Of course, Amy deliberately intimidated him. The naga hunters, oddly enough, believed her. They especially believed that they really were real mermaids. — Please! No need! Forgive us! — he knelt in front of her. — Ask! We will no longer bother you and look at us. We were just looking for nagas. They are terrible monsters that often come to our village and eat our residents. That's why we hunt them. We just thought you were the same nagas ones. Possibly disguised as mermaids. We really didn't want to offend you. Let us just leave and we'll never bother you again. — I really hope for it. Now get out of our sight. — Amy snapped, raised both hands and began to pretend that she was casting a spell. — Taraxicum, balabanium, galaxy. The hunters panicked that she was starting to curse them and ran away until she finished the spell. As they ran away, Shadow and Amy laughed. — Did I fool them well? — asked Rose. — Yes. I didn't think they could be fooled like that. Especially that they are so stupid that they believe in mermaids. They don't actually exist. — Shadow explained, and then his eyes widened. - Wait! Do you really consider me your husband? Amy's eyes widened and she realized that she probably shouldn't have blurted that out into that hunter's ear. Apparently she can't get away with it. — Well, you see, Shadow. It’s not that I saw you as a friend... I... I liked you at first sight... Especially when you took me in and opened up about yourself, and also wanted to know about me. It even made me feel good. I really like you, Shadow. I... Shadow shushed her, placing his index finger on her lips. — Do not say anything! — the pink striped one answers with a smile and kisses her on the lips. At first Amy widened her eyes, because she was not expecting a kiss, but then she relaxed. When the kiss ended, the striped snake-hedgehog then became sad and sighed heavily: — Just what are we going to give Sonic for his birthday now? I never brought him anything from the village. — Don't despair! — Amy reassured him and showed him the doll she made. — My mother always told me that a good gift is the one made by your own hands. Instead of stealing something from someone else, you can make your own gift and give it to him. For example, you can bake a cake. Shadow's eyes widened, as if an idea had struck him from hearing Rose's words. — You're right.

***

      At this time, Sonic prepared the table, mugs, plates, spoons and forks at home. They were wooden. Afterwards, he took out a pan, filled it with water and hung it over the fire, and began to brew tea. While the water in the pan was boiling, he found clean sheets of paper and began to draw his childhood drawings. Mostly he painted himself and the orphanage. And his last drawing was of a family consisting of him, Shadow and Amy. He couldn't find the kettle. — Sonic, we're back! — Shadow's voice was heard. Amy hid her gift for now as a surprise. Shadow took out a saucepan with already boiled water and put the frying pan on. I took out the flour, kneaded some dough with boiled water, mixed some berries from cherries to blueberries in the dough and baked something like a pie. He topped it with strawberry cream and raisins. Something like a cake was ready. — And here is the cake! — says Shadow and puts it on the table. — Happy birthday, Sonic! — Thank you dad. — the baby hugs the naga, takes a knife and cuts a piece of the pie. — Do you want your piece? — M-m-m... — Shadow scratched his chin, smiling. — I guess I won’t refuse! — he takes the piece that Sonic cut off for him and bites off. — I have a gift for you too, Sonic. — Rose says and takes out her surprise. — Tadam! — says and gives Sonic his made doll. — Happy birthday, Sonic. Sonic takes the doll in his hands and examines it. He really liked the doll. — Thanks, mom. — he tells her and also hugs her. Amy was even surprised that he called her mom. But she even liked it. Even Shadow crawled over to the two of them and hugged them both. This is what I understand, family.