Trouble in Trickletown
Chapter 9
A Brief Encounter by a Fence
SPLOSH! Willey slipped backwards and sat in a puddle.
Colonel Tuft laughed. Willey could now see the fence and it was HUGE; and on a gate that was bigger than a bus were the words:
‘CEDRIC’S FIELD
KEEP OUT
PS Keep off the Grass’
​
‘Well, if this is the size of the gate,’ thought Willey, he was not entirely sure he wanted to meet Cedric at all.
Colonel Tuft and his Under-Cover Grass Army manoeuvred into position around Willey sitting in the puddle.
Although they were all extremely small and made of grass, they were very well-armed with an impressive display of weaponry. Headed by a sharp and fearsome blade on the tip of their rifles, and beneath a line of tin hats appeared a row of Fuddle-like faces.
A sternly raised eyebrow was enough to bring this fearless rank of soldiers to attention.
“Captain Couch-Grass – SIR!”
“Sergeant Dog’s-Tail – SIR!”
“Corporal Hay-Maker – SIR!”
“Privates Timothy, Foxtail, Cock’s-Foot and Flattergrass;”
“Sir”, “Sir”, “Sir”, “Sir”; “Pickle Sir!”
“‘Pickle Sir!’ Who the … Oh it’s … Well the impertinence of it!” shouted Colonel Tuft.
“Interrupting my parade! Can’t you hop away and annoy somebody else?”
The intruder was a smartly dressed Rainbow-hopper called ‘Pickle’, renowned for his sudden appearances and the magic tricks he liked to play on Colonel Tuft, especially when he was performing his official duties.
“WATCH OUT! THERE’S A CAT!” shouted Pickle, scaring the wits out of everyone including Willey, who was still extremely worried about Cedric.
Colonel Tuft froze to the spot! He was petrified of cats. However, in this particular instance it was only one of Pickle’s magic spells and Pickle shouted out the rest of it –
“WATCH OUT! THERE’S A CAT!
Well fancy that! Turn over Colonel Tuft’s tin hats!”
*** ‘PUFF’ ***
There was of course no cat to be seen, but the spell worked perfectly and the helmets of Colonel Tuft’s grass soldiers turned upside-down.
It was Willey’s turn to laugh. By the time they had turned them back, their helmets had filled up with water and everyone was in line for a drenching.
Suddenly forked lightning flashed over the Emerald Causeway and four giant bales of bull nuts (presumably food for Cedric!) catapulted over the fence. In an instant, everyone had gone! Willey was on his own.
Whoever Cedric might be, he must be dangerous – for if Willey’s thoughts of Cedric were not enough to scare him, on the other side of the fence, in Cedric’s Field, the colossal Field Grass Army was busy maneuvering itself into position. Hundreds of thousands of grass-like soldiers quickly formed a formidable barrier – not only to keep Willey out of the field, but to keep Cedric away from the fence.
If Willey was going to attempt the journey across Cedric’s Field it would not be easy. As he wondered what to do next, a shadowy shape appeared above him and dropped the Orange Envelope into his hands. Excitedly, Willey tucked it into his pocket and made a run for it. He never looked back; he just followed the Rainbow of Light back to the Golden Ring of his Time-Line and jumped on his bike.
Colonel Tuft and his Under-Cover Grass Army manoeuvred into position around Willey sitting in the puddle. Although they were all extremely small and made of grass, they were very well-armed with an impressive display of weaponry.
The spell worked perfectly and the helmets of Colonel Tuft’s grass soldiers turned upside-down.
Suddenly forked lightning flashed over the Emerald Causeway and four giant bales of bull nuts catapulted over the fence. In an instant, everyone had gone!
