Trouble in Trickletown
Chapter 12
It's the Knick-Knack Tree
The terrifying journey across Cedric’s Field was finally over, but the dangers facing Willey and the Talking Teapot were not! The air was filled with the frantic buzzing of glow-bees and the last-ditch spluttering of the Gismo 500 lawnmower. The living bank of thorns was regrouping relentlessly and the lawnmower could not hold it back. The murky Mists of Time were closing in and the only light came from the fascinating dance of glow-bees disturbed from their nest.
“It’s The Knick-Knack Tree!” whispered Willey. Its trunk was clearly visible and its bark was beginning to move.
“He’s still alive!” Willey whispered. His instincts were telling him to be cautious and they were right. The deadly, venomous thorns were alive to every sound and movement and even as Willey watched, the thorns tightened their grip around the Knick-Knack Tree’s trunk and outstretched branches.
And then, just at the moment when it appeared they might be safe, the thorns turned on them.
“The Sizing Stone, Willey – quick!”
The Talking Teapot’s quick reactions were just in time. The thorns were closing in – they were all around them.
Willey could see the Knick-Knack Tree’s dark, despairing eyes looking down at him, but there was nothing he could do, except try to escape and return to help another day.
Scrambling to their feet, the two intrepid runaways leapt on to a flat and well worn surface, just outside a hole in the Knick-Knack Tree’s trunk. This was a magical Sizing Stone, the one the Fuddles had used when they first arrived here in Trickletown Valleys’ Crater, and the moment their feet touched the top of it, they shrank to the size of the hole and dived straight in.
The tunnel inside the Knick-Knack Tree’s roots was steep and winding and they didn’t stop tumbling until they landed on a set of stone steps in front of a small wooden door.
“YIPP-EEEEE!” shouted the Talking Teapot, jumping joyfully to his feet, despite the alarming events of the past few minutes.
“HIGH FIVE, LOW FIVE, LAWN MOWER DRIVE – WE’RE STILL ALIVE!” shouted the Talking Teapot, dancing and jumping about in the dim and dusty hollow.
“Well you two took your time! I was expecting you here at least an hour ago.”
The door to the Knick-Knack Tree’s den had been opened.
“KNICKY-KNACKY!” shouted the Talking Teapot, leading the three of them off around the den, in a dance of cuddling delight. It was as if they had not seen one other since the disappearance of the Million Wiggle Fish Pond, which of course they had not.
Knicky-Knacky, the Knick-Knack Tree’s closest and most cherished companion, lived in a den among the Knick-Knack Tree’s roots and was exceptionally well suited for a life among the trees of the Emerald Forest.
“SHUSH!” interrupted Knicky-Knacky. In the stillness, the buzzing of the glow-bees could be heard as they delivered honey to the lamps and wax to the candles – there was also a faint noise coming from somewhere outside of the den!
“What’s that noise?” whispered Teabags. High in the Knick-Knack Tree’s trunk they could hear the sound of scratching on the den’s front door. In a flickety-tick, Knicky-Knacky was gone!
“Ta’wit-ta’whoo!” he shouted, disappearing up a set of spiralling steps, into the hollow of the trunk.
“It’s Ta’wit-ta’whoo! It must be!”
He returned in no time at all, followed closely by a brown-feathered owl. To Willey it looked a little scary, as of course, thanks to the Sizing Stone, he was now a little smaller than the owl.
“Ta’wit-ta’whoo,” said the owl, discarding the chewed remains of a sprig of thorns onto the open fire.
The thorns just hissed and spat as they crawled up the chimney.
“I bring you important information,” hooted the owl, “but I cannot stop for long, as the thorns will soon be after me.”
Ta’wit-ta’whoo lifted her wing and to Willey’s complete surprise, there was the Orange Envelope hidden beneath it!
The envelope read out its letter. It knew exactly what was in it so didn’t even bother to open it.
“It’s the Knick-Knack Tree!” whispered Willey. Its trunk was clearly visible and its bark was beginning to move.
And then, just at the moment when it appeared they might be safe, the thorns turned on them.
“The Sizing Stone, Willey – quick!” shouted the Talking Teapot.
“I bring you important information,” hooted the owl. Ta’wit-ta’whoo lifted her wing and to Willey’s complete surprise, there was the Orange Envelope hidden beneath it!
“Willey
CONGRATULATIONS, you have reached the Knick-Knack Tree’s den, but the path that lies ahead will not be easy.
The Hour-Glass Key has been stolen. It locks the Million Wiggle Fish Pond beneath The Gambit. And as you know, the seven Rainbow Fish are missing too; they are no longer hovering around the edge of the pool, controlling its waters. If the Hour Glass Key and the Rainbow Fish are not returned with the Emerald Ring, Trickletown’s rivers will run dry and all the Million Wiggle Fish will perish.
You must find them and bring them back, before the end of the Trickletown Valleys’ Games.
If you fail, the Mists of Time will take over Trickletown and the place where adventures begin and dreams come true may be lost for ever.
You must visit Old Man Moon and his Sack of Secrets. Here you will learn what has happened to the Rainbow Fish and who is using the Hour Glass Key and where to find it.”
Teabags will help you on your journey and Knicky-Knacky will give you your final instructions.
So Good Luck
Q-O-F (The Queen of Fuddles)”
BANG! Everyone jumped as the door to the Knick-Knack Tree’s den slammed shut.
“That was Ta’wit-ta’whoo, the Queen’s Messenger,” whispered Knicky-Knacky. The owl had vanished.
“That was the ‘brown-feathered’ bird who took my letter!” said Willey, remembering how one of his letters had been torn from his fingers.
“And the letters from Q-O-F: the Queen of Fuddles ... She was the lady in my dream! The one with the crown of gold and the jars of wiggly goldfish!” A curtain in a corner of the den began to shudder! The Million Wiggle Fish did not like being referred to as simply ‘GOLD FISH’.
Willey was beginning to make sense of things ...
“Yes indeed you are right,” said Knicky-Knacky, “and these are the Queen of Fuddle’s Fish.”
He drew back the curtain to reveal the seven glass jars Willey had talked about. Seven ‘Million Wiggle Fish’ were staring back at him.
“Now, let us see which one would like to come with you, and help you on your journey to find Old Man Moon and his Sack of Secrets.”
Knicky-Knacky handed Willey a jar; the three of them waited ...
It was the tradition for Million Wiggle Fish to choose for themselves: they considered themselves far too important to be chosen by a Fuddle.
The Million Wiggle Fish blew bubbles, and then the Orange Fish jumped. It was followed very closely by the Blue, the Yellow, the Green and then the Red, until finally all the fish were swimming in Willey’s jar.
“A full set of fish,” chuckled Knicky-Knacky. “They must all be very keen to join in your adventure! But don’t let them argue with each other, or you will not get the best out of any of them.”
Knicky-Knacky placed a set of Million Wiggle Fish Instructions in Willey’s hand and gave him important information for the rest of his journey.
He told Willey:
How to look after the Fish.
How to get out of Trickletown Valleys’ Crater.
How to find Old Man Moon and his Sack of Secrets.
And how to avoid any traps set by the Mists of Time!
Willey and the Talking Teapot stood and listened ...
The clock on top of the book case started to chime. It was nine o’clock already and in only one hour’s time, the Trickletown Valleys’ Games were due to begin.
“Quick!” said Knicky-Knacky, opening one of many doors to let them out.
“There is no more time to waste. Follow the passage to the left until you reach the Emerald Lake.”
“Be careful, Willey, and good luck,” were the last words either of them heard, as the door slammed shut behind them.
This was a different tunnel – it was covered in tentacles. Spindly, green, thin ones, and they were wriggling around in the darkness, trying to find out who was in there.
“Follow me,” said Teabags, grabbing hold of the jar of Wiggle Fish and shaking it up a bit. “Million Wiggle Fish glow in the dark, if you make them angry.”
The Talking Teapot was right, but it wasn’t the best thing to do when you needed their help!
It took Teabags all of their time in the tunnel to calm them down again.
They reached a wall of water.
“This is the underground Emerald Lake,” said Teabags. “And I hope you don’t mind getting wet because this is our only way out.”
Willey looked worried, as he wasn’t quite sure how he was going to breathe under water, and there were many fishy faces staring back at him – not all of them friendly.
The journey through the Emerald Lake was certainly not easy. Willey had to turn the Talking Teapot upside down and stretch it over his own head so he could breathe – like the mask of a deep sea diver, but without any windows. The only problem was that he could not see where he was going, so it was up to the Talking Teapot to give directions.
“Three steps forward and a step to the left,” said Teabags. It should have been a step to the right, but it was not that easy to give the correct instructions when you were upside-down! Willey was swept off his feet and if it hadn’t been for the Million Wiggle Fish this might well have been the end of our story.
They guided Willey and the Talking Teapot around whirlpools and rocks. They had a fight with a cuttlefish and a shark. Then finally, after almost being eaten by an eel, they brought Willey and the Talking Teapot back to Trickletown, through the rim of an empty ‘This & That’ pipe.
Willey and the Talking Teapot and the jar of Million Wiggle Fish emerged from the pipe to see a large crowd gathering around Inner Street. The Trickletown Valleys’ Games were soon to begin!
“That was the ‘brown-feathered’ bird who took my letter!” said Willey, remembering how one of his letters had been torn from his fingers.
The water in the jars began to bubble, and then the Orange Fish jumped. It was followed very closely by the Blue, the Yellow, the Green and then the Red, until finally all the Million Wiggle Fish were swimming round in Willey’s jar.
This was a different tunnel – it was covered in tentacles. Spindly, green, thin ones, and they were wriggling around in the darkness,
trying to find out who was in there.
They reached a wall of water.
This is the underground Emerald Lake,” said Teabags. “And I hope you don’t mind getting wet, because this is our only way out.”
