The greeting arrives early.
The First Welcome
Xiao Guan had been given an important job.
He was to welcome the guests when they arrived for tea.
“You’ll see them before I do,” said Mrs Lin, setting a plate of biscuits on the garden table.
Xiao Guan looked towards the gate from his branch above the path. From there, he could also see the street, the neighbour’s front steps, and a small part of the roof across the road.
“Will they all come at once?” he asked.
“I think so.”
“How many are there?”
“Two. My friend and her granddaughter.”
Xiao Guan raised his yellow crest.
“WELCOME!” he called.
Mrs Lin nearly dropped a biscuit.
“They’re not here yet,” she said.
“I was practising.”
“I see. Will you practise again?”
“Perhaps.”
Mrs Lin moved the plate farther from the edge of the table. “Then I’ll be ready.”
Xiao Guan settled on the branch. He watched a leaf roll along the street and disappear beneath the gate. A little later, the gate gave a soft squeak.
“WELCOME!” he called.
Mrs Lin came out of the house with a teapot. She looked at the gate, then at Xiao Guan.
The gate moved again. A gust of wind pushed it open an inch and let it swing shut.
“That was the wind,” she said.
“I couldn’t see it from here.”
Someone at the Gate
A few minutes later, wheels rattled along the street.
Xiao Guan stood up straight. He could not see over the wall until the wheels reached the gate, so he prepared his greeting in advance.
“WELCOME!”
Mr Tan, who lived next door, appeared pushing a cart with a large plant pot on it.
“Thank you,” he said.
Xiao Guan looked down at him. “Are you coming for tea?”
“I wasn’t planning to. Is the pot invited?”
Mrs Lin laughed. “There are biscuits if you’d like one.”
Mr Tan accepted a biscuit and leaned against the wall while he ate it. Xiao Guan admired the plant in the pot, which had one very tall leaf and three much shorter ones.
“It’s growing,” Mr Tan said.
“The tall one certainly is.”
“The others will catch up.”
Xiao Guan looked at the leaf again. “Do they know?”
Mr Tan finished his biscuit and continued down the street. Xiao Guan watched until the cart turned the corner.
Then he heard a quiet tap at the gate.
He opened his beak.
Mrs Lin held up one finger. “Let’s see who it is first.”
Xiao Guan closed his beak.
His crest remained raised.
A Quieter Hello
Mrs Lin opened the gate. Her friend stood outside with a little girl beside her.
The girl held the end of her grandmother’s sleeve. She looked up at Xiao Guan, then stepped a little closer to the woman.
“Hello, Mei,” Mrs Lin said. “I’m glad you could come.”
Mei nodded. Her grandmother introduced her, and Mrs Lin invited them into the garden.
Xiao Guan leaned forward on his branch. He had been waiting a long time to welcome the guests, and these were the right ones.
“Good afternoon,” he said.
It was much quieter than his practice greeting.
Mei looked up. Her hand was still on her grandmother’s sleeve.
“Hello,” she said.
Xiao Guan tipped his head.
“Could you say that again?”
Mei glanced at her grandmother, then spoke a little louder.
“Hello.”
“Hello,” Xiao Guan replied.
His crest rose again. Mei watched the yellow feathers spread.
“Does he do that every time?” she asked.
“Not every time,” Mrs Lin said.
Xiao Guan lowered his crest, then raised it.
Mei smiled.
“He did it twice.”
“I thought you might want another look,” he said.
Once More
They sat at the garden table. Mei chose a biscuit and held it in both hands while her grandmother poured tea.
Xiao Guan remained on his branch. He could see the table from there, though the leaves sometimes got in the way. When Mei noticed him leaning around one, she moved her chair a little.
“Can you see now?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. “Can you?”
She looked up through the leaves. “I can see your feet.”
Xiao Guan took two careful steps along the branch.
“Now?”
“Your beak.”
He moved once more, until his head appeared between two leaves.
“There you are,” Mei said.
A breeze stirred the branch. The leaves moved back across his face.
Mei waited. Xiao Guan shifted to one side, and she saw his eye.
They watched each other for a moment.
Then the garden gate squeaked.
Xiao Guan looked towards it. Mr Tan had returned, this time without his cart.
“Have I missed tea?” he asked.
“There’s still some,” Mrs Lin said.
Mei lifted her hand and gave him a small wave. Xiao Guan raised his crest, took a breath, and looked down at her.
“Would you like to welcome him?” he asked.
Mei turned towards the gate.
“Welcome, Mr Tan!”
Mr Tan put a hand to his ear. “I’m sorry?”
Mei tried again, louder this time.
“WELCOME!”
Mr Tan smiled and came in for another biscuit. Above them, Xiao Guan settled his feathers and watched the gate swing gently shut.
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