May Want to Use The Hose, Esme
by tannim
July 27, 2011

	"What's that thing, Momma?" Tosh clung to his mother's leg looking at the large oval green and yellow thing.

	"That's a watermelon... it's for desert." Esme picked her son up and rubbed her nose against his before kissing his forehead. "Just as soon as I carve it up you can have some.  I think you'll enjoy it."

	She set him down again and the little four year old climbed up onto the kitchen table to watch as the mature goat lifted it out of the fridge with a grunt to THUNK it down onto the counter with a sigh of relief.  He wasn't sure what it was, but it looked funny and that was plenty to keep his attention and so was the size of knife his mom chose.  It looked nearly as long as his arm!

	"My word.  I knew that dragon would get the biggest melon he could.  I told him a medium watermelon!" She cut the melon as she spoke to herself and Tosh got his first view of the vibrant red flesh and juice and seeds.

	"It's bleeding!" He shook his head. "I dun like meat!"

	"Oh, Tosh, It's not Meat.  It's a plant.  It's just like everything else you eat, only much sweeter and with a red color to it."  Esme cut it fully in half then turned it to show her son. "See, it's got seeds and no icky parts." The woman cut a sliver of melon out and held it out. "Try it."

	"Nuh uh!  It looks grmmpp!" He looked up at her with wide eyes when her hand stuffed the bit of melon into his mouth.

	The little kid tried to spit it out at first but she held her palm against his muzzle tip and he couldn't figure out to push it out the side before the sweet flavor spread throughout his mouth.  Tosh stopped struggling just a moment after grabbing her wrist to pull it away then turned his head left and right curiously.  His mother could see him trying to continue the protest against the evidence in his mouth but the watermelon's crisp texture and flavorful juice won out

	He looked from her to the melon. "Can I have another piece, Momma?"

	Esme laughed. "But you don't want to eat watermelon."

	Tosh made a face, his muzzle lips curling up almost in an equine flehmen. "Awww, I do want to eat the watermelon.  Please?"

	He watched suspiciously as she cut off a bit and then ate it herself.  Another small slice and she finally handed it to him.  It was a little bigger than his hand, but very thin and was gone in just two bites.  She cut a large slice off, a full section of the melon, completely round and four inches thick and set it on her plate.  Tosh looked from her serving to his and then put his rind on the table and tried to take her plate.

	"And what are you doing?" Esme crossed her arms, after quickly setting the knife down.

	"M' getting my plate for supper..." He grunted as he tried to lift the plate.  It was too high for him to get any leverage and simply scooted around a little. "Big boys need lotta food."

	"Hmmm... I'm sure they do, but that is MY plate and that's too much for you."

	"I can eat it!" He looked up at her with big eyes. "Please?!"

	"Oh alright, if you are SURE you want it..." Esme cut the slice in half, still quite a large serving, and handed him the plate. "Now, don't spill it and we'll be eating it outside.  It's far too messy for indoors."
 	She followed him out while he yelled in delight and she only had to catch his plate twice before he could drop it while he opened the door.  He ran to their outdoor patio table and plopped down on it in the meager shade provided by the young tree growing nearby before getting down to some serious eating.  Esme sat a bit away from him as the juice squirted with each bite.

	Tosh bit into the overly sweet red melon with abandon, snapping down hard on it each time and obviously enjoying the crunch of it as much as the sugary flavor.  His large lump took a long time to make much of a dent into, but he didn't seem to mind.  He didn't seem to notice the juice running down his chin and chest either.  The stuff was everywhere on him and the table around him after just a little while.

	Esme ate hers a bit more daintily with a fork and spoon to cut it.  The crisp fruit squirted a bit, but nowhere near like her son's each bite he took.  She happily crunched the seeds.  Tosh simply spit them out after finding he didn't like the texture.

	For a while, the yard was filled with the sound of cold melon crunching as they ate.  It was wonderfully sweet and felt good going down in the hot summer air.  Tosh got up as he ate and wandered around the yard.  He gave the grass a fair watering from the juice dripping off his chin and more where it ran down his chest and legs to run off his little cloven hooves.

	Tosh, holding his slice of watermelon in both hands, looked up at a friend as she waved her tail at him.  He licked the juice from his lips, but there was such a mess it did little to clean him up.  When Muriel stopped he ran up to her and took another bite instead of saying hello.  Her lack of arms didn't bother him at all.

	The teen squirrel leaned a bit over the messy four year old.  "My aren't you a mess.  What have you got there?"

	"Watermelon." He took another messy bite. "It's red and messy and stripy on the outside, but it's not a cow.  I think.  It's good!"

	Muriel laughed and called out to the boy's mother. "You're going to have a mess once he gets inside!"

	"Oh he's not going inside until he gets cleaned up." Esme came over, in need of a bit of cleanup herself. "I don't suppose you could go in and get a bucket, could you Muriel?  Maybe some soap too."

	The armless squirrel giggled. "I could... but only if I can have some of that watermelon too."  She flicked her tail. "I think you may want to try the hose first, though.  You have a lot of fur to clean and, if nothing else, it'd be a lot more fun for everybody."