It was mid-morning, and Mr. Lund was sitting in his living room with a cup of tea and a good book, when suddenly there was a very heavy knock at his front door. The disturbance made him sigh, as he was not expecting any visitors today. Putting the book aside, he got up and went to open the door. In front of it stood a fluffed-up bird, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Good day, Mr. Dodo, what brings you to me on such a beautiful…..", Mr. Lund began, when he was interrupted by the Dodo.

"Mr. Lund, Mr. Lund, you absolutely have to help me! I'm facing a big problem and I have no idea how to solve it! Oh dear! Oh dear!" cackled the Dodo, puffing himself up more and more as he hopped past Mr. Lund into the room.

Repeatedly shouting "Oh dear! Oh dear!" the Dodo ran up and down the room, and Mr. Lund looked at this for a moment, half amazed and half amused. Then he addressed the bird in a calm voice: "Calm down, Mr. Dodo. First sit down and tell me about your problem. Otherwise, I won't be able to help you. Here, have a cup of tea, and then start at the beginning."

The Dodo took a sip from the cup, then took a deep breath, and began to tell.

"You know, Mr. Lund, Grandma Dodo has her big birthday in a few days, and she said that she wanted her favorite grandson (because that's me) to give her a very special present. And then she said that deep down inside I know exactly what that special gift is. But therein lies the problem: I have no idea what that special gift is, deep down inside I haven't found anything!"

And with these words, the Dodo jumped up and began to run excitedly back and forth in the room again.

"Take it easy, my dear Dodo, we'll work something out," Mr. Lund said, gently but firmly pushing the bird back onto the chair.

"Alright, your grandmother wants something special and says you know what it is, right?"

The Dodo nodded so eagerly that Mr. Lund briefly feared the head on the thin neck might

break off. "I have to think about it for a moment, presents and family matters are not my major forte, you must know."

Mr. Lund walked over to his living room window and gazed thoughtfully at the forest, while the Dodo waited in anticipation, sliding further and further forward in the chair.

Suddenly Mr. Lund turned around shouting loudly "Now I have the solution!", whereupon poor Dodo fell off the chair in fright.

The bird got up and asked "What is it, what shall I give to grandmother?"

And Mr. Lund spoke, "Grandmother Dodo would like to have something to remind her of her grandson always and at all times, so I think she would like a picture of you."

The Dodo thought about it for a moment, then he says, "Of course! Now that you say it, Mr. Lund, I realize it too! A picture so that Grandma can always think of me." He paused for a moment, then asked with returning exasperation, "But where can I get a picture of me? Surely it must also be of high artistry, so that it will offer the greatest possible favor to grandmother!"

"I already have an idea about that," Mr. Lund said as he took his jacket and hat. "A good friend of mine is a great draftswoman and painter. I'm sure she'll be happy to help us."

With those words, he maneuvered the Dodo out the door, and they set off for the southwestern edge of the forest where the painter lived.

It took until the afternoon for the two to arrive at their destination, and on the way there the Dodo had talked all the time about what pose he wanted to take in the picture, what background he wanted to stand in front of, and much more.

Then they reached the house of the painter, nicely colored and with large windows. It was surrounded by a small garden, which was covered with many plants and colorful flowers, and in the middle of it stood the resident in front of an easel.

"Greetings, Madame P!" called Mr. Lund, whereupon the young woman turned around. She had bright blue hair, large glasses with hexagonal lenses and a smile full of warmth and kindness.

"Mr. Lund!" she exclaimed, "what a pleasure to see you here! And a warm welcome to you too, little Dodo!" Laughing merrily, she walked up to her visitors and embraced them warmly.

"What brings you to me on this fine day?" she asked. The Dodo was far too nervous to find clear words, so Mr. Lund explained to her the reason for the visit.

Madame P listened to everything attentively, and when Mr. Lund had finished, she spoke:

"My dear Dodo, it was wise of you to ask Mr. Lund for help, and I am very glad that you have come to me for this solution. But I think I have an even better idea, which you have not found, but that is not at all bad. Because I think, my dear Dodo, that the special gift your grandmother wants from you is not something material. Instead, I think that she wants you to spend time with her, to gift her with yourself, so to speak. Because being able to be with her grandson, that's probably the greatest joy for her."

The Dodo looked happily at Madame P, and Mr. Lund made a slight bow to her, for they both realized how right she was.

Then the Dodo looked at both of them and said, "I thank you both, because now I know I have found the right gift for my grandmother."

"I am very happy to help you, dear Dodo," said Madame P, with a friendly smile. "And because the idea of Mr. Lund was also already very good, I will still paint a picture of you.

I'm sure grandmother won't be sad about an extra gift."

Laughing, she clapped her hands and added, "You'd better come back to me tomorrow so we can get started on the painting."

The Dodo thanked the artist several more times, and then he and Mr. Lund said goodbye to her.

Madame P hugged them both goodbye and said, "I'm glad I could help! Thank you very much for your visit! Come home safely and feel free to visit me again anytime."

And so the two made their way home. The Dodo talked all the way about how happy he was that they had found the right gift together. Mr. Lund listened to him attentively, without saying anything himself.

But silently he was very happy that together with Madame P he had been able to help the Dodo, and how nice it was to have a wonderful person like her as a friend.