When I arrived home this afternoon my brother Andy (Andrew) had already arrived for the weekend. I love it when he visits. The days and night are full of music and unexpected fun. You see, out of my four older Vampire brothers, Andy is the most creative and kind of different. Andy and I are the same that way – we’re the most unique of the bunch. But don’t tell the others I said that.

Andy just came back from a tour – he is an opera singer, one of the best, but he was opening for a well known pop punk metal sort of band just for fun.

He and my 15 year old daughter Clara were sitting on the couch playing their guitars. It was a sweet scene. Andy looked up with a smile, his hazel eyes the color of a stormy sea, his long chestnut colored hair around his shoulders.

We exchanged hugs, while thunder shook the windows and lightning flashed. I glanced out the window towards the back of the house to see we had yet another visitor. Climbing out of the tree was a wee animal. A cute tiny thing that was both hard and soft at the same time. I opened the back door as it dropped from the tree to the deck and snatched it up out of the rain.

“What is it?” Clara came close to the unusual little creature.

Andy looked on in wonder. “That is a Pigladillo. I haven’t seen one in years.”

“These little guys are usually found in the Midwestern United States. I wonder how he ended up in Northern California,” I said drying our little friend off with a dish towel.

 There in my arms was a small tree-dwelling creature of the armadillo family – with the unique soft pink Pigladillo nose.

Clara wrinkled up her nose. “It smells funny.”

“The little guy has been drinking,” said Andy.

“Alcohol?”

“Clara,” I said, “I think he came to California for the wine, but it smells a bit like tequila.”

The Pigladillo looked at me with his heavy eyes then curled halfway into a ball and fell asleep in my arms.

“Awwwww he is snoring. That is so cute,” said Clara rubbing the Pigladillo’s soft tummy.

I handed my brother the dear Pigladillo. Andrew is a charmer when it comes to small woodland creatures.

He sang an old song to the little creature in Italian.

It was a song by Giacomo Piglaccini from the famous opera Madam Unicorn.

Madam Unicorn is such a sad and beautiful story. Capt. Buster Possumpants travels to an exotic far away land and steals the heart of the beautiful Madam Unicorn then he runs away with a Hottie and leaves poor broken hearted Madam Unicorn singing a sad sad song. Quite a tragic tale. The Pigladillo plays a minor but important role as Capt. Buster Possumpants’s side kick. Pigladillo is sort of the angel on the Possum’s shoulder, be that an inebriated angel, but an angel of a woodland creature none the less.

Andy sang it again, the lovely song of unrequited love gone all wrong and well, unrequited.

Suddenly we heard a slight sob come from the Pigladillo. “Andy,” I said, “so sad and so beautiful. You made the poor little Pigladillo cry.”

“Hard on the outside but soft on the inside”, my brother said with a smile.

Clara rubbed the Pigadillo’s head and wiped away the tiny Pigadillo tears. “Awww look at his little nose. He is sooooooo cute.” Then she gave the darling but stinky little creature a kiss between the ears.

Andy smiled and told us the rest of the story behind Madam Unicorn. “There is a story behind this song and it has everything to do with a Pigladillo I knew long ago. The first woman to sing Madam Unicorn was the famous and beautiful singer Lina Cavalieri. She was between husbands at the time and traveling with our brother Val. She gave him a private showing and they spent two weeks together in Paris.”

That was new to me. Private showing?

Andy continued. “She was one of the few people who kept a Pigladillo for a pet. That is a little known fact since they are so rare and it is illegal to keep them in most countries. It has been that way since the time of Ancient Greeks. There is something magical about the Pigladillo. Plus they’ll drink up all your booze so most people don’t like to have them around.”

“Val had an affair with Lina Cavalieri and he never told me about it?” I was shocked. Val told me EVERYTHING.

“He broke her heart the way Vampire men tend to do. I don’t know why he didn’t turn her into one of us, but I guess she was afraid her soul would be damned or she couldn’t imagine spending the next 200 years with a fool like Val.”

As the Pigladillo  started to snore again I suddenly remembered to show Andy my Pigladillo – that is my Pigladillo painting.

This is exciting. I have an original drawing by Bill Brown of a Pigladillo. Really. No kidding. This is for real. He sent it to me in the mail yesterday.

Bill Brown is to Pigladillos and squirrels what Audubon is to birds and Rafael to angels.

Clara exclaimed how darling it was. Andrew said I need to frame it right away (and I will.)

“I think we should call Christie’s Auction House,” said Andy.

“I think we should call TLC or at least MTV for a series based on the Evil Squirrel and friends,” said Clara.

“I think we need to open another bottle of wine,” said the Pigladillo.

And so we did.

Cheers and wishing you all a happy holiday season with all of your friends, no matter who or what they are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THANK YOU BILL BROWN aka EVIL SQUIRREL. The drawing is darling. Thank you for letting me be part of your Holiday Card Event.

For more about the Pigladillo, Evil Squirrel, Rainbow Donkey, Flashbacks, Musical fun, Comics (more grown-up than not) and witty stories of a TV star, go to Bill’s blog (The Evil Squirrel’s Nest – Where ALL the Cool Squirrels Hang Out).

And to see more Friends of the Nest go to… CLICK HERE for Evil Squirrel’s Nest.

To check out the 20 amazing bloggers who also feature 20 different characters from The Evil Squirrel’s Nest CLICK HERE NOW.

Hey Bill, Andy is taking Pigladillo back to his home in San Francisco for a few more days. Then Andy will send the critter back your way (in his private Opera jet.)

For more adventures about Bill’s Creatures and my brother Andy Click HERE for “A Squirrel, a unicorn and a possum walk into a bar…” or something like that. DO it because it is a FUN post about Vampires and woodland creatures. You’ll love it. xoxoxoxox

~ Juliette