It was dinner time again and Papa had earlier spied a little restaurant which looked appealing. He was attracted to it by its colourful table cloths, waiter service, and traditional folk music played by a ‘live’ band, but most of all it was the notice on the door which caught his eye- Seafood straight from the sea!

They were now studying the menu and trying to make a decision on what was the most appetising. Papa was going to sample the Prato do Dia - the dish of the day- which happened to be smoked cod cooked in a choice of culinary herbs. Padders is sure he wanted tuna baked in a puff pastry. Puff wanted mousse de chocolate - chocolate pudding - but Mama insisted that would only materialise if she ate her main course. Reluctantly she ordered prawns. Mama herself wasn’t sure what to go for - maybe she would try the octopus. Yes, octopus it would be!

They had seen many octopus hanging in shop windows for sale - it was obviously a popular choice in Portugal. Papa drifted into one of his day-dreams just then, as if in a world of his own, until Puff tickled him and asked him what he was thinking. Hr told them that he was just thinking about the octopus, such an amazing creature, capable of doing much more than we can ever imagine. He said that it was a creature which found it hard to hide its feelings. Apparently if it became angry or afraid it showed at once.

‘Just like Puff!’ remarked Padders. ‘ It is easy to know when she’s angry!’

‘Or Padders’ raged Puff. ‘ It is easy to know when he’s afraid!’

Papa went on to tell them that apparently the octopus has the amazing ability to change colour and shape in order to escape from its enemy. This sounded intriguing indeed.

He said ‘ When an octopus is frightened of something it changes shape. If, on the other hand, it wants to frighten something, it does so by pumping up its mantle, pulling itself to its full stature and looking as menacing as possible. If it wants to take up a defensive position it places the end of its long tentacles under itself and turns the rest of them inside out so that the long rows of suction caps show up white against its dark body.’

‘Waoo!’ remarked Padders, his eyes as big as saucers.

Papa continued. ‘Apparently it is also perfect at putting on make-up. When it wants to frighten its enemy it becomes bright red in colour. But for the most part camouflage is it best weapon. It can adapt itself perfectly to its surroundings. If it lands on stones it copies the colour of the stones. If on sand, it becomes yellow or almost white. It can even take on the colour of the brightest corals to hide among them.’

‘What a creature!’ said Puff. ‘ It’s a pity you are going to eat one of them Mama!!’

‘One more thing’ said Papa, ‘ They can make waves of colour pass over their bodies. This can have a very distracting effect on the enemy. And if all these tactics fail, the octopus can spray an certain ink in order to confuse its attacker. During the short time of confusion caused by the ink, the octopus can take the chance to slip away quickly while at the same time changing colour and shape so that the enemy loses trace of its prey completely.’

Padders was completely enthralled with this conjurer of the sea. ‘Waoo!’ he said again. ‘God has more than adequately equipped the octopus with defence and protection.’

Papa was quick to add that God protects us all when we are afraid and anxious. Some people are afraid of heights; some of open spaces; some of closed spaces, some of spiders, some of the dark and so on. But God does not want anyone to be afraid.

‘ Yes’ added Mama ‘ It says in the Bible - Do not be anxious about anything...’

‘Indeed a splendid verse’ said Papa. ‘And there is another lovely verse which says - The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid ?’

The message was so clear to Puff and Padders - They could trust God to protect them when fears would come their way.

Eventually their meals arrived. They sated themselves with seafood, followed by chocolate mousse and then Papa asked for the bill. While the waiter fetched it, Papa prepared a tip for him, but Puff protested.

‘If you don’t want that money Papa. I do!’

‘Puff, it is good to tip a waiter and show our appreciation of his service and kindness.’

‘ But you’ll never see him again!’ persisted Puff.

‘That’s not the point. I just want to return a little kindness.’

‘Argh...’ sighed Puff, obviously failing to understand the concept of kindness. So Papa need to explain it further...

‘Do you hear that horn honking over there ?’ he asked suddenly.

‘Yes Papa’. At this stage they were well accustomed to the honking of horns because in Portugal it was compulsory to honk your horn on the corner of a road, and there were plenty of corners!

‘Well cubs, this is a true story. One day an antiquated horn was heard bellowing out as a car or mechanical contraption came around the corner and rushed along a dusty road. The engine was roaring and the radiator was hissing as it notched up 25m.p.h. It was in fact one of the earliest Ford cars ( and by the twinkle in Papa’s eye he could picture it and remember it well!)

Honk. Honk. Chug. Chug . And the wizened old farmer steered his car in the direction of home. Then all of a sudden ahead of him he saw a beautiful vehicle pulled in at the roadside. Is was an immaculate product of modern engineering. But it was standing still! As the farmer approached, he realised that some kind of engine trouble had befallen it and left its occupants stranded. The shining bonnet of the car had been raised, and the chauffeur was perplexedly staring at the unresponsive engine. With a sound of squealing brakes the old contraption was brought to an eventual halt and the rusty door swung open.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked the farmer.
‘I really don’t know. The engine simply stopped.’
The farmer checked inside the bonnet and then announced his readiness to tow the car to a garage seven miles away.
The stranded driver casually lifted his eyebrows and responded ‘ You’ll tow me to a garage ? With what ? THAT? He pointed to the noisy model. The farmer’s chest expanded as if he were about to explode, but instead he slowly released his breath and said - ‘Yes, with THAT.’
He took a rope from the back of his car, placed it in position and slowly the great car was taken along the road to the garage. A distinguished gentleman stepped out of the back of the broken -down limousine and quietly asked ‘ What do I owe you sir ?’
The farmer’s eyes narrowed as he repeated ‘ What do you owe me ?. Nothing. It’s a sad day if we can’t help each other without being paid for it. Good day.’
He coiled his rope and soon vanished in a cloud of dust. The silent passenger calmly watched his departure and then smiling, repeated to himself ‘It’s a sad day if we can’t help each other without expecting to be paid for it.’
In time the wheezy asthmatic model reached the end of its career. Its closing months had been marred by mechanical disorders and the old car succumbed to the ravages of time and so the farmer took it to the junk yard. The following day, the farmer was absolutely amazed to find a new Ford car standing a few yards from his front door. The old man paused. Had someone called ? No.
The car was so brand new, so glossy. He walked around it and then opened the door to inspect the interior. Then he saw a message written on a label tied to the steering wheel. It said ‘ It’s a sad day if we can’t help each other with out expecting to get paid for it.’
Apparently the passenger who had offered to pay for the towing of his car had been none other than the great car manufacturer Henry Ford. He had commissioned the garage owner to keep watch and when the old model ceased to function, to present with Ford’s compliments a new car to the kind-hearted farmer.’

‘You see’, said Papa, as he drew his story to a conclusion, ‘kindness is a language we all understand. I just want to show a little appreciation tonight by tipping a waiter for his kindness to us. The Bible says - ‘Clothe yourselves with compassion and kindness.’

‘I’ve learnt my lesson’ said Puff as she delved into her hold-all and added a tip of her own!