Cushions Of The Settee

After countless thousands of hours of watching BBC Wildlife programs while the kids who had been watching them went outside to play and left the DVD running, the cushions on our sofa have begun to evolve cilia on their fabric, it seems.

Yesterday I watched in terrified amazement as one, then another, then another of the cushions slid gracefully off the couch and slowly made its way across the floor.

They followed the same path, tumbling to the floor and moving up the hallway in a long, meandering line until they were all gathered at the front door.

Finally someone opened the door and they began to move again. My wife managed to catch and turn back some of them but most of them made it, struggling down the step and heading for the gate. I followed, video camera in hand. Alas, I forgot to turn it on.

Outside, I realised I was seeing something special... there were thousands and thousands of cushions gathered and attempting to cross the road. The grasslands of the park opposite were multi-coloured, with vast herds of them all heading to a place only they knew and understood.

I look forward to their return in the autumn. Apparently they return to the very same room from which they came, to give birth to their young. And so the cycle begins again.