The three of us walked toward the door where Brown Owl stood waiting. “Good evening girls.” she smiled as we entered the vestibule. I nervously glanced over my shoulder as Brown Owl closed the door behind us. “Don’t be shy… in you go.” she smiled. I turned to face the partially glazed inner door and the gabble of giggly girls within. Brown Owl practically pushed us through it and a heavy silence fell as every last one of the Brownies turned to look at us. “Say hello to our new Brownies girls… and give them a big Brownie smile!” Brown Owl said in a overly enthusiastic tone of voice.
“Hello.” the girls half heartedly muttered in unison. I gulped as I looked at their faces; each and every one smiling in bemusement at the three boys who’ve joined their pack. Tawny Owl; being Brown Owl’s assistant instructed the girls to line up in their ‘Sixes’. They formed five formal rows around the perimeter of the hall, each group consisted of between five and seven girls and is led by a Sixer. The first sixer stepped forwards, turned and saluted her pack who in unison recited the rhyme, This is what we do as Elves… think of others not ourselves. The sixer turned and saluted Brown Owl before confidently stating “We’re prepared!” Then the next pack did the same and recited their rhyme, We’re the Fairies glad and gay… helping others every day. The Imps, Pixies and Sprites all recited their rhymes and declared themselves ‘prepared’.
“Very good girls!” Brown Owl said before introducing each of us newcomers by name. “…now they’re all experienced Cub Scouts and all being well, by the end of this evening’s meeting, they’ll make their Brownie promise and become fully fledged Brownies.” she announced. “Now… you go and join the Elves Brian… Antony, you’re with the Imps, and Peter, you join the Sprites.”
I was a nervous wreck as I sheepishly walked towards my group. Melanie, the pack’s ‘sixer’ wore a sleeve packed with badges. She introduced me to her ‘second’, a girl called Vanessa who’s sleeve was also packed with badges, and finally the other three Brownies; Claire, Jane and Sharon. “Jane, I nominate you as Vincent’s Brownie Buddy.” Melanie announced. She gave me two ‘sprite’ pack badges which need to be stitched on the left sleeve and left chest of my uniform. “Your Mother can do it but if you do it yourself, you’ll earn the sewing badge if it’s neat enough.” she added. I put the badges in my pocket and buttoned it shut so I wouldn’t lose them.
Jane, my ‘brownie buddy’ smiled at me and I sheepishly smiled back. “Would you help me get some chairs and a table Vincent?” she politely asked.
I glanced around and the others were doing just that. “Er… yeah OK.” I mumbled.
“Vincent… Brownies don’t mutter or mumble their words…” Melanie stated in an authoritative and rhythmic tone. “Brownies’ speak clearly so their words can be heard.”
“Er… OK.” I muttered before helping Jane fetch a table, then six chairs. The other ‘sixes’ did the same. Perched around the table, Melanie and Vanessa took the lead and discussed what being a ‘good’ Brownie means. I learned about the Brownie promise and Brownie law, the Brownie motto… it’s all more or less the same as Cubs but with subtle little differences such as the emphasis on always being neat and clean, smiling a lot and helping our mothers with cooking and cleaning. The girls showed off their badges which are also similar to those we have in Cubs; tying knots, star gazing, reading a compass, building a fire, collecting and so on.
Brown Owl and her Tawny assistant made regular visits to each table to see how we were getting on. I was asked to tell my pack about the badges I’d earned at my Cub Scout group, so I listed them and ignorantly suggested that Brownie badges must be easier to earn than Cub badges. The girls were instantly annoyed with me and I wish I’d kept my mouth shut. “We’ll see shall we.” Brown Owl said. She asked me to demonstrate my knot tying skills, which I did with both confidence and dexterity. “Very good.” Brown Owl said. “Do you know how to plait hair?” she asked. “In threes and fours?” she added.
“Er… no.” I replied. I didn’t even know what she meant with regards to ‘threes and fours’.
“Do you know how to tie an apron?” she asked. “In a neat and even bow behind your back?” she added. I shook my head. “For a Brownie to earn her knot tying badge, she needs to know how to plait hair and tie an apron as well as all the usual knots.” she informed me. “Isn’t that right girls?”
“Yes Brown Owl.” the girls replied in unison.
Now I know I should have kept my mouth shut when I said Brownie badges would be easy to earn.
She suggested the girls teach me these two skills before asking me about my other badges. I mentioned the stargazing one and Brown Owl asked me to explain to the girls how one can find the North Star. On a piece of paper, I drew the shape of The Plough, explained that it’s part of The Great Bear constellation and is also known as The Big Dipper and described how to use it to find the north star. I got the feeling they already knew what I was explaining but I think I impressed them when I demonstrated how to find the Andromeda galaxy using Cassiopeia and the Square of Pegasus. She asked me if I could draw the constellation of Orion which I did. I even added Sirius, the dog star. She left us alone and the girl’s had me practice plaiting three strands of rope. After struggling to get my fingers around the technique, I then tried it on Jane’s long hair, which was harder still. The girls found it amusing watching me get flustered over something they’ve all been doing since they were little. Tawny Owl sauntered over and complimented the plait I’d tied in Jane’s hair. She described it as ‘quite neat’ before asking if I have a sister. “Yes but she’s four years older than me.” I replied, before sheepishly stating that I’m wearing her old uniform.
“It looks very nice on you.” she smiled. “Why don’t you practise on her hair and next week, we’ll see if you’ve improved enough to earn the badge?” she suggested.
“Er… OK.” I sheepishly replied. Tawny owl suggested that the girls teach me how to tie an apron, and Jane escorted me to the dressing up box to choose one. “They’re all girlie.” I grumbled.
“Well we’re all girls.” Jane smiled. I began to open my mouth to protest but decided not to. I might not be a girl but I’m certainly dressed like one. We chose a yellow apron with white flowers and a frilly hem (it was the best of a bad bunch) and returned to the pack. I can tie a bow behind my back because we occasionally wear aprons at school for art class, but tying a ‘neat & even’ bow quickly proved to be a lot trickier.
