AUTHOR’S NOTEI lived in a mansion in the city of Lagos in Nigeria when I was a child. But when I grew
up, I moved to Wales in the UK. There I lived with my toddler son in a roundhouse built
of straw and clay in the woods. It was a life of magic, and of mud.
You can learn how to build your own roundhouse with the help of a few adults, using the books
Building a Low Impact Roundhouse and
A Simple Roundhouse Manual by Tony Wrench.
People all over the world live simply on the land—whether they embrace modern ways or prefer to follow more traditional ones. Follow your heart and the stars—they will show you your way.
Who’s Naughty? Beti lives in a little round house in the green woods under the mountains. She lives with Mam and Tad and baby Jac.
Mam and Tad built that little round house in such a sunny spot. The house has thick earth walls that keep it warm and cozy. Tree trunks hold up the grassy roof with its cheerful chimney. It is a house made of trees and grass and earth. Just like the woods.
Beti loves the little round house. In the spring the roof is covered with bright and beautiful flowers. And when it rains, Beti can stand on the doorstep and catch the sparkling raindrops in her hands.
It’s not just Beti and Mam and Tad and Jac who live in the woods. Mr. Grouch lives there too in a tumbledown round house. And Beti’s little friend Billie lives with her mother, Fern, in a very ferny house.
Marching ants, digging moles, flickering fireflies, creeping foxes, squeaking dormice, rustling hedgehogs, and lots of other animals live in the woods too. And there are blackbirds, robins, woodpeckers, owls, and lots and lots of other birds.
Mr. Grouch says the birds make such a racket in the spring, it gives him a headache!
This morning, the birds are singing such a loud song that they wake Beti up. Tiny green leaves are waving at her through the window. And Beti feels like singing too, because it is spring, and today it is Beti’s birthday. It is always spring on Beti’s birthday.
Beti jumps out of bed.
Tad smiles. “Happy birthday!”
Mam smiles. “Happy birthday!”
“Is it time for my party yet?” asks Beti.
Beti always has a party on her birthday.
And her friends always come. They have a picnic. Always. Even when it’s raining and it has to be inside.
“It’s time to get ready for your party,” says Mam. She is pouring flour into a big wooden bowl.
Beti helps to crack the eggs. She helps to beat them too. Jac is busy licking the spoons. When the cake goes in the oven, Mam says, “You could go and pick some flowers, Beti, to decorate the icing on the cake.”
“And pick some salad too!” calls Tad, who is making sandwiches.
So Beti skips out with her basket. She doesn’t pick the flowers around the little round house.
Tad says they make the garden pretty. Instead Beti goes into the woods.
There are banks of purple bluebells, and scattered starry wood anemones. There are yellow marsh marigolds cheering up the boggy bits, and pretty cuckoo flowers that are neither white nor pink.
Those are all very pretty, but no good for decorating cakes because you can’t eat them. Beti knows that. So she picks pale yellow primroses that taste as sweet as honey. And she picks tiny purple violets that taste as good
as sweets.
Beti starts to stomp home. Then she remembers the salad. Luckily, growing along-side an old stone wall is a carpet of wild garlic leaves. Beti picks some of the garlicky leaves and breaks off juicy round pennywort leaves growing out of the wall next to brambles.
Beti pinches off furry bramble tops that taste like bitter oranges. From the trees that grow out of the wall, Beti plucks feathery hawthorn leaves and silky beech leaves. Then Beti looks at
the big white pom-pom flowers on the wild garlic
plants. They would look pretty on her cake.
As she walks home, Beti passes sticky goosegrass and pointy dandelion and plantain leaves. Beti looks away. She does not want those bitter leaves in her birthday salad!
“Well done!” says Tad.
Beti makes a pile of flowers to decorate the cake, and a pile of leaves for the salad.
When Mam sees the big white pom-pom flowers, she laughs. “Wild garlic flowers!” she says. “Try one.”
Beti pops one of the pom-poms in her mouth. It’s crunchy and very, very garlicky!
“Not right for cake?” asks Mam.
Beti shakes her head, frowning.
Tad smiles. “But perfect for salad!”
Beti nods and puts the pom-poms in the bowl with all the bright green leaves. It makes the salad look very happy!
Next, Beti helps Mam hang yellow and red bunting all around the clearing. She helps Tad lay a big thick blanket under the old oak tree. They lay a bright red tablecloth on top and pull it as straight as they can.
The branches of the oak tree reach nearly to the ground, so sitting under the tree is like sitting in a cave. All over the branches sprout tiny, curly new spring leaves. Between the leaves peeps the gentle sunshine, dappling the red tablecloth in golden light.
Beti loves the old oak tree. She can’t wait for her friends to arrive!
Copyright © 2024 by Atinuke; Illustrated by Emily Hughes. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
