On the corner of Kwiatowa Street stood Mrs Helcia's vegetable shop. It smelled of dill, cucumbers and fresh parsley. Above the door hung a sign with a carrot in a hat, and someone had stuck a smiling pumpkin on the glass. Leon loved this place. He was six years old, with a yellow rain jacket and a torch in the shape of a dragon. And this is Dot - Leon's hen. She wore red wellingtons. Yes, wellingtons! When it rained, she tapped them: flap, flap, flap. - Good morning, Mrs Helcia! - called out Leon, coming inside. - Oh, my favourite helper! - smiled Mrs Helcia. Her apron was in strawberries and her hair was pinned up in the shape of broccoli. - Today the cucumbers are particularly crisp. Just... hm... Mrs Helcia looked around the shop. On the carrot shelf someone had made a mess. The carrots were standing in a row, but they were all looking the other way! And on the box of tomatoes hung a note: "Tomato, don't roll". - Can tomatoes roll? - Leon was surprised. - 'If they're very round, they'd love to,' sighed Mrs Helcia. - There's been mischief going on here for three days. In the morning I find chives in the basket with the bananas. The bananas don't like it. And yesterday the beetroots lined up for the weighing machine, even though the shop was closed! - Mrs Helcia giggled. - Someone is brooding here at night. - Someone or something - added Leon, very serious. Dot did: - Ko-ko-ko! - and ruffled her feathers as a detective would ruffle his moustache. Then she slipped on a lettuce leaf and sat down softly on a box of potatoes. Her boots clattered: knock! - Mrs Helcia, me and Dot are staying tonight and watching the vegetable garden - Leon announced. - We're going to catch ... to-what-broi. We will politely ask it to stop. - Oh my! - Mrs Helcia looked at Dot, then at Leon, then at Dot again. - Do you have a torch? - We have a dragonlatch! - Leon raised the torch, which shone a green light. - And a bicycle bell. Ding-a-ding! - If you really want... I'll leave you a banana for your courage," said Mrs Helcia and winked at them. - Just watch out for the cucumbers. They have a sense of humour. In the evening, when the shop closed, Leon and Dot built a base out of apple cartons. On the roof of the base they placed a large cabbage leaf - in case of rain. Next to it they placed a box of carrots as a 'special lure'. Leon attached a bell to it. If someone moves the carrot - ding! The light in the shop window went out, the lamps above the shelves went out. The vegetable shop became a soft, evening twilight. All that could be heard was the ticking of the clock and a soft: bzzzz - it was the fridge humming its nightly song. Dot sat down on her wellies and covered her nap with her wing. Leon sat down next to him and turned on the dragonfly, but only a little so as not to frighten the cucumbers. A minute passed. Five minutes passed. Suddenly, from behind a sack of potatoes: shur- shur. - Do you hear it? - whispered Leon. - Ko? - Dot dabbed one eye. The other was still asleep. Shur-shur... shh... And then: chich! As if someone had giggled through their nose. Leon and Dot looked at each other. Dot cocked his beak. Leon reached out his hand and gently turned the dragonfly. The green light danced across the shelf of cucumbers. The cucumbers looked like they were smiling. Maybe they always look like that? - Hello? - Leon whispered. - If you want to play, we can play. Just don't scare the bananas. From the pepper shelf something: tap. So quietly that the peppers said: "psst". The bell by the carrots chimed: ding. Leon felt a shudder, but the kind of jolly shudder that comes from sledding down a hill. Dot jumped off the crate. The wellingtons: clap! clap! They moved closer to the carrot 'bait'. - 'Here's the plan,' whispered Leon. - I shine. You do the 'ko'. And then we'll see who does the 'shur'. - 'Ko-ko,' agreed Dot and stood on one leg. This was her standby position. Smokolatara glared at the shelf of onions. The onions were making serious faces. Drops of water glistened on the cucumbers. A single plum rolled across the floor, straying from the fruit. - 'Excuse me,' whispered the plum and stopped at the checkout. - Can you hear it? - Leon squinted his eyes. - There, under the bag... The sack of potatoes moved. Once. A second. A little paw slipped out from underneath.... No, it wasn't a paw. It was a stalk from.... something very green. The stalk winked its leaves: wink-wink. The bell by the carrot again: ding! - Oh dear! - Dot crowed with excitement and her feather fell out. - Calmly,' said Leon, although his heart was jumping like a rubber ball. - Friendly. We are friendly. We have a banana. From the corner of the counter came a thud: a tup-tup-tup, just like miniature slippers. A neon carrot sign shimmered on the glass and its glow danced around the shop. Suddenly, a 'Freshest Pickles' banner fell from the ceiling and landed on Leon's shoulders like a cape. The dragonfly made a 'snap' and went out. - Oh no! - Leon pulled at the dragon's tail. - Snap back! The shop grew darker, but not quite. A soft, milky light shone in the fridge. By it, the shelves looked like a stage in a theatre. Something squeaked. Did someone snot? Or was it just a very, very quiet pickle? - Ko-ko? - Dot wrapped himself in a banner along with Leon. - Ko... - Shh - Leon stuck his nose out from above his cucumber cloak. A shadow moved in front of them. Der-der-der - something that sounded like a bucket on wheels slowly glided across the floor. A second stalk slid out of the bag of potatoes. Now there were two. I... a third? The leaves flashed, as if smiling. The bell rang a third time. Ding! - Who's there? - Leon gathered all his courage and said very politely. - We can help... Or roll with the tomatoes. I have a great technique. At the same moment, from behind a crate of carrots, something jabbed at the 'Freshest Cucumbers' banner and the cape fell over Leon and Dot like a tent. The tent smelled of dill. It was soft and tickled the nose a little. On the outside one could hear a quickened: shur- shur, tup-tup, chich! The dragonfly blinked and lit up for a second. A green light crossed the tent and showed two.... three... four tiny shadows that approached the carrot. Leon held his breath. Dot did too. The little bell rang out quietly, as if it didn't want to disturb him: dzyń.... ding... And then something round, light and cool slid into the tent and stopped right next to Leon's nose....