Pearl, the Countess and Horace

The story tells of tulip bulbs exported to the UK from Holland. The bulbs live. They

communicate with each other. Their differing personalities emerge as they travel to their final

destination and transition from bulbs into tulips. The interaction between Pearl, the Countess

and Horace, provides the story's main dialogue and interactions. The Countess' wisdom and

self-assurance is impressive as she explains how life works. She demonstrates to Pearl how to

stand up to a bully, defending her from Horace's taunting. His gradual improving behaviour

emerges though and the reasons why he had become a bully serve as an insight. The story has

been written to entertain and inform children. It aims to stimulate their interest in plants by

explaining how they began life and where they came from and how they grow over time. The

story draws a subtle parallel with life, using the life cycle of tulips to mirror human birth and

life with its highs and lows and eventual expiration.