'Very strange' muttered Mrs Partridge, 'No accounting for what they will or won't like!' Mrs Partridge had decided that the best course of action was to invite Aunt Mildred and Hortensia and few of the other gnomes to tea.
'What to serve them that they will like - that's the problem...nothing too strange either....' She remembered the jellies that she had made in thimbles for the mid summer revels, 'very polite they certainly were, but there is no getting around the fact that they didn't fancy eating the jellies at all.'
She sat down in the kitchen for a restorative cup of tea, and of course - as anyone would do on a late and warm summer's afternoon - fell asleep in her chair. Just considering the practicalities involved in having a tea party for gnomes - was turning out to be quite an exhausting prospect.
As soon as they were sure that Mrs partridge was sound asleep, proved by the gentle whistle and woo of her breathing as she dozed in her chair, Aunt Mildred and Hortensia crept into the kitchen through the open window where as usual, they had been resting under the geranium leaves in the window box. 'Very helpful that she mutters when she is worried about what to do, now we know how to help her decide what to cook!'
For ages and ages, Aunt Mildred had been reading the recipes in Mrs Partridge's cook books, especially on summer evenings. As soon as Mrs Partridge was happily watching television in the front room, Aunt Mildred would creep in and sit on the counter on an upturned egg cup, and read about all kinds of exotic foreign cooking.
Sometimes, it is true she had had to ask Archibold to help her lift a book from the shelf, and to turn the pages if it had been a particularly large book. Archibold never minded as he especially loved the large coloured pictures of foreign places that were the backgrounds for illustrating special dishes. Many an evening they decided, as Archibold frequently remarked, 'it's like all the benefit of taking a holiday but without any of the bother!'
'I've been waiting years to taste peanut butter Hortensia, now's my chance!' Aunt Mildred was struggling with Mrs Partridge's pencil as she wrote in somewhat wobbly letters on the bottom of Mrs Partridge's shopping list. 'Peanut butter sandwiches, hummus dip, aloo gobi, pomegranate seeds and then baklava for pudding! Oooo Hortensia I can't wait, what a treat it will be!' Hortensia smiled as she tried to help control the end of the pencil, Aunt Mildred's writing had become a little wild with excitement.
Hortensia wasn't sure about some of the suggestions as she had no idea what they might be, but after years of experience, thought it best to let Aunt Mildred enjoy the moment, after all an invitation to tea with a human was a most exceptional occasion!
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