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No one really knew why Snufkin wasn’t speaking. It was because of some physical condition or maybe he just chose not to do so? The only thing people were certain about him was that he had at least good hearing and seemed to understand what they told him.

Everything else about him was a mystery.

One Hedgehog have said he once heard Snufkin talking to himself.  He claimed it happened deep in the forest and Snufkin believed no one was seeing him. When asked however what young wanderer said exactly, the answer was always different: something about fish, weather or just curses. It was soon clear that the Hedgehog made up all of this just to impress others.

Snufkin himself wasn’t eager to explain his condition in any way. Quite contrary actually. He would often react badly when someone asked about his muteness. Seeing that they touched triggering subject, most people just gave up, but others did not and they paid heavily for being nosey.

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One day during April new neighbor arrived to Moominvalley.  He was a Hemulen and claimed to be world class doctor. He made quite the news in land and soon had many patients.

Their opinion on him however was mixed. Some woodland creatures didn’t like his novel methods and cures, but most of them were turned off by his ego, since he would very often talk about himself with little interest in helping others.

Speaking of Doctor Hemulen, his excitement for new workplace faded away within days after his arrival. He realised that Moominvalley and local people won’t help his career bloom.  There was nothing interesting, just common cold, scratches and rheumatism while he wanted something not only more interesting, but also profitable for him.

But days passed and nothing like this happened. Doctor Hemulen was about to gave up on this place, when he heard about local vagabond who wasn’t speaking for some unknown reason. Hope and excitement quickly returned back to the doctor.

If I not only find the reason of this guy’s muteness, but also menage to make him speak again, he thought, I’ll become famous and other doctors will finally say my name with respect I deserve.

Moominvalley residdnts warned him, told not to do this and leave Snufkin alone, but Doctor Hemulen was not listening.

***

Nobody saw what happened that fateful evening, when Doctor Hemulen decided to visit Snufkin. Some animals and one Mymble (who was out looking for some dry wood to her fireplace)  have heard screaming deep in the forest, but no one went there to check. Mostly because they were afraid, but there were also those who knew what’s going on and decided to not interfere.

That night one Woodland Mother have told her Woodland children a story about not meddling with other people’s business.

Next day Doctor Hemulen was seen, but he looked different. He had one hand covered in plaster and bandages and other visible bite mark on the palm. Not to mention scratches around his face and bruised nose.

On the same day Doctor Hemulen closed his office and next day left Moominvalley in a huff, vowing to never return here again. Nobody was sad because of that.

No one were also surprised when Snufkin was nowhere to be seen for almost two weeks after that incident. When he returned, for a while did not show too much trust towards people approaching him. Nobody, especially Moomins, blamed him for that.

It was clear like summer sky that Snufkin didn’t want to be cured and speak like the others.

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After a while most inhabitants of Moominvalley were able to understand Snufkin, at least to a degree, thanks to his extensive body language and gestures. It was also possible to tell his current mood by tunes he was playing on harmonica. But even with that Snufkin still remained secretive about himself.

If some people and creatures were sad about that, they didn’t show it. One of them was Moominpappa.

Everybody in Moominvalley knew that in times of his youth Moomin’s father was an adventurer. He would often tell everyone, who was interested, about his escapades around the world. This all stopped when he met Moominmamma and had baby with her.

Although Moominpappa was content with his current lifestyle, he missed the old one, sometimes so much so that he would leave his family for a while to go on far away travels alone or take his loved ones along with him.

For Moominpappa silent and mysterious vagabonds like Snufkin were reminders of his old life he was still craving for. He would like to hear stories of young wanderer’s misadventures, but sadly he couldn’t. He found talking to him uneasy, but still tried to understand hiss character. Nevertheless Moominpappa found Snufkin very interesting fellow he was glad to see in big blue house whenever he liked to visit.

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Besides being silent himself, Snufkin also seemed to not like when someone talked too much or too loud. Apparently there was something in other’s voices that above certain volume or if multiplied caused him to flinch, like when someone with very long nails was scratching the chalkboard. Some also believed maybe he didn’t like to be reminded of one of the most basic skills he was unable (or didn’t want) to perform.

Moomin family had the chance to notice this dislike one day, when they invited Snufkin for a coffee and cake. The family was happy to have him around, even if he was silent.

Everything was well until all off sudden Little My and Sniff started arguing over who ate one piece of cake before this little party, as it was that important (there was still enough cake for everybody). Soon Snork Maiden and Moominpappa joined in and porch became very noisy with four people tossing blame at each other like hot potato, while others watched it with confusion.

That was enough for Snufkin, who quietly left the place, not informing anyone, and returned to his tent.

Only Moomin and Moominmamma saw this, while the others were still arguing. The little troll for a minute considered following Snufkin, but decided to not to, since knew he his friend wanted to be alone after all of this. Instead he angrily announced that he’s going to his room because he can’t stand the argument too. As suddenly as the whole thing started, the porch became quiet again. Realising what they have done, Little My and Sniff made short amends followed by Moominpappa’s and Snork Maiden’s apologies.

Mystery of missing piece of cake was never resolved.

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Like everyone else, Moomin was confused by Snufkin’s behaviour, but over time became fascinated by this mysterious vagabond. Even if he wasn’t interacting with him directly, Moomin would observe his friend from afar, mostly from bedroom window. He quickly learned how to read Snufkin’s body language, even the most subtle signs. This helped him to react correctly.

If Snufkin had enough of his talking Moomin would become quiet himself to give his friend some space. Even if Moomin liked chatting with someone, he didn’t mind if there was no chatting at all, just two of them together doing funny things.

It was also new experience for Snufkin, who got so used to people trying, sometimes forcefully, to make him speak, or those who treated his muteness as invitation for monologues, that even the simplest acts of understanding were surprising for him. Slowly Snufkin started enjoying Moomin’s presence and doing things together with him. They especially liked fishing and later going for a long trip once in a while.