Amber's Moonlight Adventure By Guy Bullock
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Transcript of Amber's Moonlight Adventure By Guy Bullock
Amber‟s Moonlight Adventure
GUY BULLOCK
Copyright © 2015 Guy Bullock
All rights reserved.
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For Tao and Amber Bullock
CHAPTER ONE
Ever since Amber was little she was fascinated by the moon. Even
now that she was eight going on nine she often lay in bed at night when it
was full moon watching it gliding through the clouds like a ghostly
saucer. It was even scary, and she often wondered if perhaps there
were creatures living up there that might come sliding down moonbeams
to the earth at night and wander around looking for children to eat.
Then one night she was dozing off after watching the moon, which always
made her sleepy, when there was a tap on the window pane next to her bed.
She sat up with her heart thumping. Her sister Tao was asleep in bed on
the other side of the room but Amber decided not to wake her. It was
probably just a twig blown by the wind that caused the tapping, she told
herself, and there was no need for alarm. So she settled down and was
beginning to fall asleep when the tapping started again this time louder.
Amber jumped up and went to the window holding a hockey stick, which
she always kept next to her bed to chase away ghosts. She peered through
the window pane. Outside was a silvery light, the leaves on the trees
shining and the grass on the lawn glistening. It was scary, with everything
quiet, and nothing moving. Her face was pressed against the glass so she
could see better. But there was nothing that could have caused the tapping.
So she climbed back into bed, feeling angry at being disturbed when she
had to get up early next morning for school.
She was just comfortable when there it was again, tap, tap, tap. As she got
near the window she saw something really weird looking at her through the
glass pane.
CHAPTER TWO
Amber was so surprised she didn‟t feel scared. It was the strangest
creature you could imagine even in a dream. It had a round face like a
sunflower but instead of yellow petals round its face it had dozens of
little ears that it flapped to and fro in a comical way. It was quite big
with a golden skin, a small mouth, beady black eyes which blinked and
winked, but no nose at all. Its face was joined to a green stalk with a long
slender arm sticking out from its stalk and three hands growing out
along its arm. It had three fingers on each hand and the fingers
squirmed rather like an octopus, with little suckers on them. It had no legs,
only the long stalk with lots of short roots growing out the end with little
feet on them.
Amber didn‟t know what to do next. It seemed to be quite harmless and
she thought it would be cruel to open the window and hit the poor thing on
the head with her hockey stick. It would probably break into little pieces.
Then the creature spoke in a reedy voice that Amber could only just hear
through the closed window. “Hello.” it said, “don‟t be scared. I won‟t eat
you. For a start my mouth is too small, and anyway I‟m sure a human
would taste horrible.”
Amber was not sure whether she should carry on a conversation with
something that looked almost like a plant.
But the creature looked at her in such a provoking way, with its beady
eyes blinking at her slyly, that she couldn‟t help saying “Course I‟m not
scared of you. I‟m much bigger and stronger than you anyway so why
should I be afraid?” Then she felt ashamed at talking to a plant.
“Ah ha” replied the cheeky creature. “I‟m stronger than I look you know,
even though I haven‟t big muscles. But let‟s be friends. I‟ve got
something to show you that you shouldn‟t miss for worlds. Why don‟t you
put on your dressing gown and come out here. Or are you a little fraidy
cat?”
“Of course I‟m not!” said Amber angrily.
“Well then come on out and show me you‟re not a fraidy cat,” scoffed the
round faced creature. “I bet you are a fraidy cat.”
This made Amber furious, so she got her gown out the cupboard, put it on
and slipped quietly out the bedroom without waking her sister. She crept
past her mother‟s room, through the sitting room, unlocked the front door
and went out into the frosty, silvery night, though now that her anger was
wearing off she did begin to feel nervous. What if there were other bigger,
stronger and more terrifying creatures in the shadows?
But she carried on, though keeping a good lookout for ghosts or monsters
hiding behind trees or walls. Luckily there weren‟t any and she finally
reached the cheeky creature. It was scratching the top of its head with one
of its long wavy fingers, which Amber thought was not good manners.
“Ah, small girl,” it said when it saw her. “So you‟re not a scared kitten
after all. Well, well that‟s a surprise.”
“I‟ve got my hockey stick with me, so don‟t try any tricks,” said Amber,
waving her stick threateningly.
“Oh dear me, there‟s no need for that; we are friends after all,” the
creature said reassuringly. “So good of you to come out.”
Now that she could see it more clearly Amber was even more astonished
at how weird it looked close up. It was quite tall, almost as tall as she was,
and its round, flat head seemed much too big for its skinny stalk. She felt
like laughing, it looked so silly standing there with its ears flapping and
head nodding. But not wanting to hurt its feelings she said, “So Mr
Sunflower, now I‟m here what‟s this all about. What do you want to show
me that can‟t be missed for worlds?”
“Mr Sunflower?” it answered. “Well, I‟ve never been called that before.
My name is actually Geewizz, but never mind you can call me Sunflower if
you want to, even though I‟m nothing like a sunflower. In fact I am not
fond of the sun at all. I‟m more of a moon person myself.” It gave a little
shudder and added, “The sun could be the death of me. I have to keep out
of the sun at all costs.”
“Well I think you look like a strange sort of sunflower. So that‟s what
I‟m going to call you like it or not. In any case I could never remember
your other silly name,” said Amber. “But you still haven‟t told me what
you want to show me.”
“Ah, now, don‟t be impatient. All in good time. Are you fond of dancing
Small Miss?”
“Don‟t call me Small Miss,” said Amber. “My name‟s Amber, which
means orange. And in any case I‟m not so small. I‟m bigger than you are.
And yes I like dancing though I don‟t see what that‟s got to do with you.”
“Ho ho,” Sunflower said mysteriously, blinking its beady eyes.
“Dancing has got lots to do with it. You‟ll see. But first you‟ve got to
come along with me. I can‟t show you here. It‟s not very far.”
“Well I don‟t know about that,” said Amber. “I‟m not allowed to go off
with strangers. Besides how can you walk when you‟ve got no legs?”
“No legs but I‟ve got feet,” it said. “Bet I can walk even faster than you
can. Just have a look." It whirled round on its short roots with tiny feet at
the end of them and whizzed along with the little feet spinning like small
wheels churning up dust. It came back and remarked breathlessly, “See
that! Not bad hey, even though I say so myself.”
“Yes, not bad for something with no legs,” Amber admitted. “Though of
course I can do much better. But I still don‟t think I should go off with you.
It could be dangerous.”
“Fraidy cat, fraidy cat. I knew it. You‟re a scared little kitten. Meew
meew!” chanted Sunflower.
Amber was so angry. she felt like hitting the cheeky creature with her
hockey stick. “All right I‟ll show you who‟s a fraidy cat. I‟m not scared. I
bet I‟m braver than you. Come on let‟s go and see!”
CHAPTER THREE
The moon shone brightly and it was easy to see where they were going,
but it was chilly and damp and Amber was glad she had her warm gown
and a strong pair of slippers. Sunflower led the way, its small feet
churning, but even so not able to move very fast. It was easy for Amber to
keep up with the creature, as it went along a path down to the river and
across a grassy field and finally into the woods at the end of the field.
Amber was not happy going into the forest which was dark with huge
trees blocking the moonlight. “Hey Sunflower it‟s not nice in here,” she
called. “Why are you taking me in here?”
“Don‟t worry, nearly there,” Sunflower answered.
The forest thinned and they came to a cleared space where there was
bright moonlight. It was almost as big as the sports ground at school.
There were a few logs lying around but otherwise it was level and cleared
with short grass that seemed as though it had been recently mowed. But
the space was surrounded by high trees, and who could tell what monsters
were crouching in the dark waiting to pounce on anyone walking in the
moonlight. She had a creepy feeling that there were eyes in the dark forest
watching her.
Sunflower led her to the centre and she sat on one of the logs. Sunflower
was not able to sit because of the way it was built, just a straight stick with
no legs. So it had to stand.
“So at last we are here. But,” Amber added, “I‟ll be angry if you have
brought me all this way just to sit on this log.”
“Just be patient Small Human,” Sunflower said soothingly. “My friends
will be here in a moment.”
As they were talking Amber noticed with alarm a rustling in the bushes at
the edge of the clearing. Out came the weirdest creatures anyone could
imagine, most of them even weirder than Sunflower.
“Ah,” said Sunflower, “here come my friends. I‟ll introduce them to you
one by one. You needn‟t shake hands with any of them because most of
them don‟t have hands anyway.”
The strange creatures clustered eagerly around Amber and Sunflower
jostling to be first to be introduced.
“Here, here friends,” Sunflower said loudly. “This will never do. You
must all move back and form a line, then you can meet the Small Human
one by one in a nice polite way with no pushing and shoving. And please,
no fighting to get first in the line. We will do it in alphabetical order
starting with Z and going back to A. Anyone whose name begins with Z
can go first, then next in line, anyone whose name begins with Y, and so
on.
The first to be introduced said its name was Zapatha and close up it was
so ugly that Amber stepped back several paces and rubbed her eyes. It had
a round body like a balloon, with tightly stretched bluish skin that looked
as if it would pop if you pricked it with a pin. It had no legs and no arms.
In the middle, at the top, a long thin neck stuck out with a small ball at the
end of it. Two stalks with eyeballs growing on them waved about
something like a snail, to allow the creature to look in all directions. Its
mouth was a round hole in the ball with a forked tongue that flicked in and
out like a snake. There was a base at the bottom of the balloon so it could
stay upright without toppling over. And at the back was a thick hollow tube
which it talked through.
“Very pleased to meet you,” it said in a windy voice. Rather disgusting,
Amber thought, to speak through your bottom. To be polite she answered
“It‟s nice to meet you too Mr Balloon.” She was about to ask the creature
how it managed to get around without legs or feet when Sunflower
interrupted loudly, “Next please. We haven‟t all night for chit chat.”
And so one by one the strange creatures were introduced. Each was
different from any of the others. Each looked like no animal Amber had
ever seen. Some were as big as a cow or horse, though looking nothing like
them, and others were as small as a rabbit. A few of them were oozy and
slimy and smelly with hardly any shape. But all of them could speak, even
without a mouth. Their names were so ridiculous Amber found them
impossible to say out loud, let alone remember, so she gave them names
she made up on her own, like smelly-poo or four-heads or six-eyes or long-
tail or Kite (for one that had shiny wings like a butterfly).
Her favourite was a small furry creature with sharp teeth. It had only
three legs, two in the front and one at the back and big ears. In spite of its
dangerous looking teeth it was timid and spoke in a soft shy voice. She
called it Fuzzy.
A couple of the Moonies (which Amber called them for want of a better
name) had long round hollow bodies and hands with short fingers stuck to
hammer-like palms. They liked banging their hands on the sides of their
chests in time to their sing-song way of talking. This made a booming
sound like a bass drum. Others had long snouts through which they could
play tunes and which sounded like flutes or clarinets. A couple had spindly
legs and folded wings that they could unfold and stroke with one of their
skinny legs, which made a sound like a violin. Then there were those with
thick necks with large mouths in the middle, instead of on their faces as
you would expect. Their voices were extraordinarily loud, and occasionally
they burst into song in time to the booming drummers.
Many had thick legs growing in various parts of their bodies, even
sprouting from their shoulders, so that they walked upside down with their
head between their legs (most uncomfortable thought Amber). But she
noticed they were amazing dancers and could do fantastic tricks like
leaping and spinning in the air.
Sunflower, who seemed to be the boss Moonie, in spite of its nerdy figure
and reedy voice, made a loud hooting sound and said, “Friends, friends, the
time has come to show our Small Human what we can do. She has to be
home in bed before sunrise so nobody notices she is not there. So we have
no time to waste.”
There was cheering all round, which made Amber feel quite important, so
she smiled and waved rather like the queen waving to her subjects. She
found a comfortable log and sat down, wondering what would happen next.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Moonies seemed to know exactly what to do, as though they had
often done it before. There was a slightly raised square in the middle of the
field, the sides made of logs, and the enclosed space filled with sand, with
grass growing on top.
Some of the Moonies made their way to the square and took up their
positions looking self-conscious and puffed up with importance as though
they were superior to the others, even though they were really only
members of the Moonies dance band. All the rest grouped round the
square, as excited as it was possible to look, especially if your body was
just a big blob of goo. Some of them stood in pairs, waiting for the band to
start playing. “Well, this should be interesting,” thought Amber. “How can
any of them dance? Lots of them don‟t even have legs.”
The music started and she was surprised to see that even without legs they
glided around the field skillfully, shimmering and floating in the
moonlight, those with legs doing the most astonishing dance tricks and
laughing and whooping with joy. They all seemed to have glowing
coloured lights around them so the scene was a mass of swirling glittering
lamps, like a Christmas tree decorated with flashing electric candles.
Amber clapped in excitement, enthralled by the music and the gliding
dancers, and it didn‟t seem to matter that they were so weird.
She saw Sunflower scooting about with its small feet churning, in the
midst of the crowd. Presently it sidled up to Amber.
“Well Small Human,” it said. “What do you think of that? I told you it
was something you wouldn‟t miss for worlds. Quite a sight isn‟t it.”
“Well I s‟pose so. But of course humans can dance better than that.”
“Well, come on then, and show us,” said Sunflower. “The band can play
something special for you to dance to. Something nice and fast so you can
show us.”
“Well I don‟t know. This isn‟t a dance floor and I don‟t want to spoil my
slippers. The grass is wet.”
“Ah, so you were just boasting about how good you are at dancing,
weren‟t you. I thought so!” gloated Sunflower.
This angered Amber, and she joined in the dancing followed by
Sunflower on his tiny feet.
CHAPTER FIVE
In fact Amber was not a very good dancer. She had never taken lessons
and had only danced with her sister now and then to music on the hi fi at
home. So she was surprised when all of a sudden her feet seemed to take on
a life of their own, and she skimmed across the grass with fantastic ease,
floating along with the music and leaving Sunflower far behind, battling on
its tiny feet. It felt like magic. Nobody would ever believe her when she
told them how well she could dance.
The music went on and on and she did the most amazing dance steps as
though it was the easiest thing in the world, complicated steps she had seen
done only by champion dancers on TV. It was almost like a dream. She
slipped past the other dancers as though they weren‟t there, leaving them
amazed at the superb way she danced. One by one they stood in a big circle
with her the only dancer, and they cheered and whistled and clapped. It was
a marvelous feeling to have all these creatures admiring her dancing, even
though they were a strange audience. At last the music stopped, the band
exhausted with trying to keep up with how fast she danced. She walked
back to the log where she had left her things, amid the applause.
She was putting on her warm gown when she noticed that suddenly there
was silence. The buzz of the creatures talking and laughing stopped and
they stood still, listening. Then she heard the sound too. It was a deep
rumbling, something like thunder, but even deeper, echoing through the
forest. Amber felt the hair on her head prickling with fright. It was a
terrifying sound. In a flash the creatures disappeared into the darkness of
the forest. Only Sunflower stayed behind.
“Quickly, there‟s not a moment to lose,” it cried out. “Follow me as fast
as you can. It‟s the Wortoron. Our worst enemy. And it‟s not even scared
of humans. Keep as close to me as you can and don‟t even look back.”
Sunflower sped across the field surprisingly fast, much faster than it had
moved before, in fact so fast that Amber found it difficult to keep up. In no
time they reached the overhanging trees at the edge of the forest, and only
then did Sunflower slow a little allowing Amber to catch up.
Although scared Amber was furious because she had been assured there
was no danger, yet now it turned out there was terrible danger from some
sort of monster that was getting closer, the hollow thunderous noise getting
louder and louder.
But there was little time to talk as they sped through the forest. “This
way!” shouted Sunflower in its reedy voice. “I know a short cut that will
get us to our safe cave home quickly, though you‟ll have to be careful
because there are thorny bushes all over the place. Follow close behind
me.”
It set off in a different direction with Amber following nervously, hardly
able to see where they were going in the gloom. The thundery noise
stopped and instead there was a rumbling, snorting. It seemed to Amber
that the monster had been flying and had now landed in the forest clearing
and was snuffing round trying to catch the scent of the Moonies so it could
find where they were hiding. She couldn‟t imagine what it must look like,
but it must be enormous, judging by the terrifying sound it had made as it
flapped over the forest.
Soon there was a ripping, tearing noise as the beast followed into the
woods, crashing through the trees as though they were paper. Realising that
the monster was getting closer Sunflower tried to go faster, which was a
mistake. Suddenly it stopped and cried out, “My feet! They must be
hooked onto something.”
Amber peered through the tangled bush and saw the roots and small feet
that Sunflower used to walk with were caught on thorns. “Hurry, pull me
loose,” cried the creature. “I don‟t want to be eaten alive by that Wortoron.
It could eat you too if you don‟t hurry!”
“It‟s your own fault for not having proper legs,” said Amber, angrily
slashing the thorny bushes that were hooking Sunflower‟s feet with her
hockey stick. “Ow oow ouch!” cried the squirming creature. “You have
hit one of my toes. Ouch, you have done it again!”
“Serves you right, for getting me into danger, when you said it was safe,”
said Amber severely.” She gave the bushes an extra hard bash with her
hockey stick. That seemed to do the trick and Sunflower was able to
wriggle its foot free.
The monster was close behind them now, ripping trees that got in its way
with giant teeth, and snorting. Every now and then it would give a
tremendous roar, smashing everything in its path in a frenzy, hoping to
chase them out from where it thought they were hiding.
“Hurry, we are nearly there,” panted Sunflower. They reached a bank
with rocks round the bottom. “There it is, the front door of our safe home
caves,” cried Sunflower leading the way.
“Where, I can‟t see it,” shouted Amber. The monster, furious that its
dinner seemed to be getting away, was so close now that she could feel the
ground shaking from the weight of its huge feet.
“There, near the bottom of those big rocks. We have made it hard to see
on purpose to hide it from our enemies. It‟s a small door made of thick
logs. Come, quickly. The Wortoron is right behind us.”
They dashed to the door, and Sunflower tugged a rope made of twisted
vines that was hanging in front, and the log door creaked open allowing
them to rush in and slam it shut. The monster was only a few metres
behind. Roaring in fury it struck out with a huge talon with claws like
sharp daggers, at the rocks next to the door. The boulders shook as it threw
itself against them, trying to rip them aside to get at its prey. But they were
too big and heavy to move even for the monster. The two stood huffing and
puffing just inside the door, and a crowd of frightened Moonies gathered
round.
Through chinks in the door they could see the monster roaming up and
down, snuffing and clawing at the boulders, furious at not being able to
catch its dinner. And close up what a terrifying creature it was. It had a
bright green body shaped like a humped sausage with long spikes sticking
out on top. Big wings were folded along its sides. It had three thick legs
on each side.
For a long time it carried on huffing and snorting looking in vain for the
Moonies like a dog searching for a rabbit hiding in a hole. At last it gave
up and they heard it stomping away with the ground shaking every time it
took a step, back though the forest to the clearing where it could take off
again without bumping into the trees.
CHAPTER SIX
The Moonies all clapped (those with hands) and whistled (those
with mouths) or stamped (those with feet) , overjoyed to see the last of
such a frightful enemy and hoping it would never come back to terrify
them again and wishing its wings would fall off and it would plummet to
the ground and be killed. Then they went to the dining cave where a long
table was set up with refreshments served in small acorn cups to those
that had mouths.
Those that could sat on stools while those without bottoms just stood
around sadly.
“Well thank goodness I managed to save you from being eaten, Small
Human,” Sunflower said. “Now I want to show you round our homes. You
will be amazed,” it boasted. “Our beautiful homes may give you poor
humans some ideas how you can improve your own ugly homes.”
Just as Amber was about to say what nonsense that was, there was a cry
from a cave farther along and one of the Moonies, one that had four heads
with a long tail growing out of each of them, came rushing in.
“Spickspokkle is missing,” it shouted with each of its four mouths. “We
have searched everywhere,” sobbed mouth number one, “but she is,” said
mouth number two, “nowhere to be,” said mouth number three, “found,”
said voice number four. There were loud gasps and they all started running
around in panic. Sunflower rapped on the table with each of its three hands.
“Calm down everyone,” it shouted in its reedy voice. “It‟s no use getting
upset until we have made a proper search for Spikspokkle. She may have
fallen asleep in a cupboard or under a bed or behind a door. Spread out
everyone and search carefully. I‟m sure she will be found.”
Everyone searched their heads off (if they had heads, that is) except for
Amber who didn‟t have any idea of where to search or even who
Spickspokkle was. Soon after the search began a great flapping noise was
heard from not far away. “It‟s the monster again,” shouted Amber. She
rushed outside, and just above the trees she saw the huge outstretched
wings of the Wortoron flapping slowly up and down making a booming
sound and she could see that there was a small creature clutched in one of
its claws. As it passed overhead a shrill voice screamed, “Help me, please
help me; the monster has caught me. Help, help,” and the cries grew fainter
as the great beast flew farther and farther away. It was Spickspokkle,
which, she realized, was her favourite creature, the small furry one that she
called Fuzzy.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Stop the search, stop,” shouted Amber, running back into the cave.
“It‟s no use. The monster has caught Fuzzy and has flown off with her.
I‟ve just seen it and heard Fuzzy screaming for help.” The horrified
Moonies all began talking at once, rushing around in confusion.
Sunflower shouted above the uproar, “Quiet, quiet everyone. Let‟s
hear what the Small Human has to say.”
They gathered around Amber with wide eyes (those that could open them
wide) frantic to hear what had happened to their friend. “It‟s true, it‟s true,”
exclaimed Amber. “I saw it flying off with Fuzzy in its claws. We‟ve got
to do something to save her.”
“It‟s all very well to say that,” interrupted Sunflower, “but the problem is,
what can we do? The Wortoron could be far away by now.”
“I don‟t care. We must follow it and rescue our friend.”
There was a buzz of talking as they discussed what was to be done. Of
course they couldn‟t follow the monster on the ground. They wouldn‟t
have any idea of where to search and it would take too long. What should
they do? Even if they found the monster how could they fight such a
strong and scary beast?
“I know what I will do when we find that Wortoron. I‟ll bash it so hard
with my hockey stick it‟ll run away. I‟m not afraid. I‟ll teach it a lesson,”
said Amber furiously.
“Now, now; it‟s no use losing our tempers and getting hurt,” said
Sunflower. “We must think and make a plan. It‟s going to be hard but
we‟ve got to do it.”
One of the smallest and shyest Moonies put up its pink paw and squeaked,
“Pardon me for saying so. But there is only one way to go after the
monster. We have got to fly after it.”
“Fly? We‟re not birds,” jeered another Moonie, a big brown, hairy one
that loved to bully and make fun of the smaller creatures.
“Just a minute, Scallopbum is right. Flying is the only way,” said
Sunflower holding up its arm to quieten the crowd. “That‟s a very good
suggestion Scallopbum.”
Another Moonie, nearly as big as a horse, got up and growled, “Who says
only birds can fly. I can fly. I‟ve got wings although I‟m not a bird,” and
it stretched out a huge pair of pale blue wings and flapped them vigorously,
frightening all the smaller Moonies, which squeaked in fear and huddled in
a corner.
“Of course we all know about your wings Krackernut,” snapped
Sunflower when everyone had settled down. “But you shouldn‟t flap them
in here.” It thought a moment then said, “You can fly beautifully but on
your own there is not very much you can do. You don‟t have many brains,
you know. Do you think you could fly with someone riding on your
back?”
“Well ah hum hum I don‟t er hum know,” the rather stupid creature
answered, looking puzzled. “I sus-sup-suppose I er hum could try.”
“Good, well that‟s settled then,” said Sunflower. “Small Human you can
ride on Krakernut‟s back.”
“What about us,” called out three other Moonies near the back of the
crowd. “We also have wings. Can‟t we come on the search as well?” They
were smaller than the horse-like creature, but looked as though they could
easily carry something lighter than Amber without any trouble; something
like Sunflower and one or two of the others which weighed next to nothing.
“Very well,” said Sunflower. “I‟ll ride on you Snifflesnozzle, and we‟ll
find two other clever people to ride the other two of you. But first let‟s go
outside and practise. We don‟t want to have accidents do we?”
CHAPTER EIGHT
They all crowded into the moonlight eager to watch the flying lessons.
It was still bright moonlight with no wind, though it was quite chilly
and Amber was glad she had her warm gown, and she still carried her
hockey stick for protection.
“I‟ll go first on Horse,” she declared. “Then you can go next on that
goose, Sunflower. I just hope I don‟t fall off. You‟re not to go too high or
too fast, Horse, until I have got used to flying. And no tricks or I‟ll whack
you with my hockey stick.”
The horse grumbled but stood still while Amber gingerly slid onto its
smooth back. Luckily there was a hollow place near its neck and hair that
she could hold onto. “Alright I‟m ready,” she called and gave the horse a
light tap behind with her hockey stick, which made the creature jump and
grumble. Then it ambled to an open place and suddenly leaped upwards
unfolding its huge wings and flapping them fast.
Up, up, up they shot into the moonlit sky, and looking down she saw the
crowd of Moonies standing next to the caves waving and cheering. The
Moonies appeared smaller and smaller in the distance as they went higher
and higher, and the wind whistled past as they went faster and faster. It
was the most exciting time of her life and she didn‟t feel scared at all,
though she found herself gripping the creature‟s neck hard in case she fell
off.
They flew in a big circle till they got back to the place where they had
taken off and with a slight bump landed on the ground. Amber slid back on
to her feet and patted the creature. “Very good Horse,” she said
breathlessly. “You flew beautifully.” She saw that Sunflower was already
on the goose-like creature, eagerly waiting its turn though it looked
worried, never having left the ground before. The goose waddled in an
ungainly way as Sunflower held on to a bony ridge on the creature‟s back
with all three of its hands and squirmy fingers. Then with a snort, sounding
nothing like a goose, the creature shot into the sky its huge wings tearing
through the air. Sunflower gave a loud whoop and they flew into the
distance, until they were a speck in the moonlit sky. They also went in a
large circle and soon were back on the ground, and the other two creatures
on their flyers had their turns. All went well and they were ready to begin
the search.
CHAPTER NINE
“We really don‟t know which way the monster went. So I think the
best plan is to take off and circle round. We might see some clues,” said
Amber as they got ready. They agreed that was the best way to
begin. But Sunflower was worried about what sort of weapons they
should carry when they fought the Wortoron. It didn‟t think a hockey
stick would be much use against a large and fearsome creature.
“Oh don‟t worry about that,” said Amber.
“We can do something when the time comes. And don‟t think that my
hockey stick isn‟t dangerous. I can hit very hard with it let me tell you.”
The searchers flapped their way into the sky glad that they were on the
way to saving their friend. A crowd of Moonies shouted and cheered
wishing them luck, disappointed that they too were not part of the search
party.
They followed Amber‟s plan to search in a wide circle looking for clues
such as trees that might have been damaged by the wind made by the
creature‟s powerful wings, or grass flattened, or cows huddled in fright
under trees. They flew close to one another in a pattern like a cross. From
the ground they looked like small aeroplanes zooming across the sky. In
front was Amber on the horse creature, then behind were Sunflower on
Sniffsnozzle, which Amber called Goose, flying side by side with
Happydoodle, one of the cleverer Moonies. It looked something like a dog,
except that it had an eye where you would expect its nose to be, and two
noses where you would expect its eyes to be, so Amber called it Dog. It
was mounted on a creature Amber called Bat.
Last, behind these two was Skinsag,. Amber called it Hair because long
hair sprouted all over. It rode on a funny looking Moonie with a long body
and four separate see-through wings and a really impossible sounding
name. She called it Dragonfly.
They flew so fast, with the wind whistling past, that Amber couldn‟t tell
the others which way to go, so she used her hockey stick as a pointer, left
to go left, right to go right, up to go up, and so on. It was easy to give
instructions to Horse by pulling its hair or whacking it sometimes with her
hockey stick, though the creature didn‟t like that at all.
After a long time without finding clues they decided to have a short rest
and landed near a small stream with willow trees next to it. They were
relaxing under one of the trees discussing what to do next, when
Sunflower, which could hear extremely well because it had so many ears,
held up its arm and said, “Quiet everyone, I think I can hear something.”
It was a faint rumbling in the distance. “Yes, I can also hear it now,”
exclaimed Amber.
“I think it‟s the Wortoron, or one of its friends,” said Sunflower
nervously. “Let‟s hide here a while until it gets closer. No use rushing into
danger. Our best plan is to wait till it gets near, then we can follow at a
safe distance and let it lead us to its home.”
They sat silently listening as the sound grew louder until with a roaring
and rushing of wind from its wings the Wortoron passed overhead. It
didn‟t see them but flew straight on. They waited until the creature was
quite far off, then took off flying as fast as they could, only just managing
to keep it in sight. It was heading for a faraway line of high mountains,
where the Wortoron family had their homes.
They followed a long way behind the monster, which luckily didn‟t notice
them but flew higher and higher. Everything below looked tiny and spread
out. When it reached the mountains the Wortoron circled one of them,
which had rocky cliffs round it. There was a flat space at the top with
some ugly looking homes made of rocks and stones and the Wortoron
swooped down. It went into one of the houses. Amber pointed to a space
near the bottom of the mountain, where a few trees and bushes were
growing. They landed and found a spot where they couldn‟t be seen.
“Fuzzy must be in one of the Wortoron homes, locked up until those
monsters are ready to eat her,” exclaimed Amber. “We‟ve got to free her
before it‟s too late.”
CHAPTER TEN
They all looked at Amber with wide eyes. “Now just wait a minute Small
Human,” said Sunflower. “We mustn‟t go rushing into danger and get
ourselves eaten. I think we have to get up to the top of the mountain
without being seen, and then creep around silently and find out where our
friend is; then perhaps we can free her and escape without the Wortorons
knowing.”
The Moonies all nodded in agreement. No one fancied being eaten .
“But,” said Amber, “how can we get up those cliffs?”
“We will have to climb them,” said Sunflower. “We can‟t fly up there
because the Wortorans will hear us.”+++
Bat said, “I‟m good at flying but no good at climbing cliffs. I‟m quite
small and I can fly very silently and because of my dark colour I can‟t
easily be seen. I could fly up there and flit around without being noticed,
and find out where our friend is locked up.”
“That‟s a very good idea Bat,” said Amber. “It will be much easier if we
know just where to look. You could be a sort of spy!”
“But whatever you do don‟t get caught,” warned Sunflower. “We don‟t
want to have to rescue two of you.”
The bat flitted off silently, disappearing into the shadows near the bottom
of the cliffs. It circled the mountain gaining height until it was near the
top, darted across a moonlit area and reached the houses, which looked like
piles of rock stuck together with sand with roofs made of reeds. There
were no trees or bushes to throw shadows, so the bat would have been seen
if any of the Wortorons came out.
Luckily all was quiet and it was able to fly in the shadows cast by the
houses. The bat didn‟t have sharp sight, but did have excellent hearing.
Like real bats it could find its way about even in darkness by squeaking and
hearing the sound bouncing off things. It was also small so it was able to
creep under the eaves of the houses and find out what was inside by poking
its head through small gaps.
It was able to flit from house to house and make sure their friend wasn‟t
there, even though it was dark inside, the monsters sleeping and snorting
and snuffling as they dreamed of catching and gobbling other smaller
creatures.
However their friend wasn‟t in any of the homes. At last Bat noticed a
smaller house some distance from the others. It had a strong locked door.
As Bat got nearer it heard creatures inside whispering to one another and
realized this was where the Wortorons kept creatures they had caught. They
locked them up and fattened them so that when they were ready they could
have a feast.
Bat saw that the door was fastened on the outside with a thick latch, but it
was too heavy for a small creature to lift. So Bat poked its head through a
narrow hole under the eaves and whispered “Spickspokkle, Spickspokkel
(which was Fuzzy‟s real name). Spickspokkle are you in there?” There
was silence inside, and then all the creatures started talking at once.
“Quiet, quiet, everyone be quiet. Spickspockle we have come to rescue
you, but I‟m too small to do it alone. So I‟m going to fly back to the others
to get help. Don‟t worry, we‟ll be back soon.”
Before the Fuzzy creature could answer the others shouted out, “Hey, hey,
what about us? We want to be rescued too!”
“We will do our best to rescue all of you. Just be patient. We‟ll be back
as quickly as we can.”
They were making a noise forgetting the Wortorons might hear them. A
thudding came from the nearest house and one of the Wortorons lumbered
out to investigate. It looked up and down and then walked slowly towards
them, eyes glowing in the moonlight. The Wortoron although huge and
powerful didn‟t have many brains. It went slowly up to the door and
rattled it threateningly.
“Hey do you want to be eaten?” it rumbled, not noticing Bat hiding in the
eaves just above the door. “No more noise if you know what‟s good for
you.” Then with a snort it went back to its house.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Meanwhile Amber was bored waiting for Bat to return and decided to
do some exploring on her own. Keeping in the shadows at the bottom of
the cliff she walked between the boulders and rocks that had fallen from
the top. She hoped to find a cave where they could hide safely if one of
the Wortorons came swooping down unexpectedly. There were many
holes and crevices but none big enough for them all to hide in. She came
across a place where bushes were growing and when she pushed them
aside she found a gap in the side of the cliff big enough for her to pass
through and a short way inside she found a passage leading into the
mountain. It was light enough at the beginning but as she went farther
along it became darker.
She decided to go back to call the others.
When they saw what Amber had found they were excited to have a place
where they could hide safely, but they did not fancy going too far along
the passage. Who knew what sort of danger there was in the darkness?
Amber didn‟t agree. ”We must see where this tunnel leads to,” she said.
Sunflower said, “Well I don‟t know about that, Small Human. Better to
wait for Bat. He‟ll be able to guide us, because he can see in the dark.”
“No,” exclaimed Amber. “That would take too long. Dragonfly can help
us. She has a bright light on the end of her nose that glows in the dark.
She could lead the way.”
They set out along the dark corridor with Amber in front holding her
hockey stick and Dragonfly lighting the way. Sunflower had said he would
stay behind in case Bat returned and wondered where they had gone.
The corridor curved upwards, with smaller ones branching off, but they
kept to the main passage. Amber and Dragonfly were followed by Hair,
Goose and Dog. “Haven‟t we gone far enough?” Dragonfly asked, after a
while. “I‟m sure there is someone watching us. Maybe it is something
unfriendly.”
“No, we must carry on,” said Amber. “This may be a secret corridor that
leads up to the Wortorons‟ homes, which will make it easier to rescue our
friend.” So they went on along the echoing passage which had water
dripping from its rocky walls and smelled musty like damp dog‟s fur. The
water ran along the floor and disappeared into holes.
They went around a sharp corner and Amber heard water splashing
somewhere below. Before them was a surprising sight. The tunnel ended
in a wide ledge and a huge cavern lay in front of them at the bottom of
which was a lake with water glimmering in the light of hundreds of glow-
worms crawling along the rocky walls. Everything was lit in a greenish
light. And swimming in the lake were several large creatures that looked
like whales except that they had bright blue bodies and in front big pink
snouts like pigs. They grunted and snorted when they saw Amber and the
Moonies standing above them.
The Moonies seemed to know the whales. They shouted greetings, and
the whales swam in excited circles flipping their wide tail fins as though
they were waving. “They‟re our cousins.” exclaimed Dragonfly. “We
heard about them, but never knew where they lived until now.” It flew
down to a rock in the lake and they were overjoyed to be meeting one
another at last.
When the whales were told how the monsters had captured their friend
they agreed to help. “We know of a secret tunnel that leads to the top of
the mountain,” said one of the whales, which seemed to be the grandfather.
“I‟m sure if you could get up there you might be able to rescue your friend.
I‟m afraid though that we can‟t help because we can‟t leave the lake.”
Amber decided they should go back and fetch the others. She hoped Bat
would have returned by then and perhaps could tell them where their friend
was being held captive. They said goodbye to the friendly whales and
started to make their way back to the mouth of the caves.
CHAPTER TWELVE
At the top of the mountain the clumsy Wortoron disappeared into its
house, and Bat flew back to the place where it thought the others were
waiting. But the only one still there was lazy Horse, which was resting
under a tree. It snorted in alarm when Bat swooped down. “Where is
everyone?” Bat demanded. Sunflower, which had stayed behind when
Amber and the others went off, heard the commotion and came running
out. It listened to Bat‟s story. “Well, I don‟t know how we can rescue
so many,” it said. “We can help a few, but we haven‟t room for them all.
Small Human has found a cave and has taken the others to go exploring.”
“I know all about caves,” said Bat. “I think I should go after them.”
“Well, go if you must,” said Sunflower disapprovingly. “But be careful
you don‟t get lost in there. Horse and I will wait here to watch for
Wortorons.”
***
Amber and the other Moonies were about half way back to the mouth of
the cave, in a gloomy part of the tunnel. The air was stuffy and everything
smelled damp, with water dripping from the top of the passage. Each step
they took echoed eerily and if anyone spoke their voice bounced back and
forth sounding like a hundred voices talking at once. There were glinting
spikes hanging down from the ceilings that looked as though they were
made of ice. If she touched one she could reach Amber found it was as
hard as iron with drops of water shining on the sharp points.
Every now and then a deep rumbling echoed along the tunnel. It sounded
as though it came from a long way off, deep under the earth, like some
monster groaning. This was followed by a hissing, something like a
massive engine letting off steam.
“Let‟s hurry. This is a scary place. Perhaps that„s a giant locked up in a
dungeon and trying to get out,” said Amber.
The others were also scared. All at once a powerful gust of wind came
rushing along the tunnel blowing them along like bits of paper. They rolled
and tumbled before the blast. Dragonfly was worst off because it was light
and its wings were caught by the air. It was whisked along the tunnel and
its light went out. When the gale stopped everything was black.
The darkness seemed to press in on Amber like a heavy blanket. It was a
terrifying feeling. She called out, “Hello, hello,” hoping someone would
answer but all was silent. She began feeling around with her hockey stick.
Perhaps the others had been blown far away and she was the only one left.
She tried shouting again, but still there was no answer. Then faintly from
far off she heard one of the Moonies. It sounded like Dog‟s gruff voice.
“Help, help,” it cried. “We have been blown into a side passage and we
can‟t find our way out.”
She started to move towards the voice, using her hockey stick to tap the
ground in front of her in case she fell into a hole or tripped over a rock.
Then one of the others also called out for help. It sounded like Hair,
shouting that he was stuck under a fallen rock and couldn‟t move. Amber
thought the first thing to do was to find the Dragonfly so they could have
light again. She shouted out for Dragonfly to come and help them, but
there was no reply. Being lighter than the others the gale must have blown
it farther than the others.
Amber tried hard to think of a way to get them out of trouble. Then she
heard a squeaky voice and the whirr of wings. The voice said, “Hello, it‟s
me, Bat. I‟ve found you at last. I‟ve been hunting all over the place.” The
Bat had flown in from the entrance to the tunnel. It could see (or hear)
perfectly in the dark because it used its ears to find its way about.
“Well, thank goodness for that,” said Amber. “It‟s very difficult for us
with no light. Do you think you could find Dragonfly? She has been swept
away somewhere.”
The Bat soon found the other Moonies lost in a side corridor, and
Dragonfly, a bit dizzy after being tumbled about in the gale, was able to
switch on its light again. They managed to free the trapped Moonie and
soon they were out of the tunnel, glad to be back in the moonlight.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sunflower met them at the entrance. It was pacing up and
down. “Whatever took you so long,” it exclaimed. “I might have been
caught by a Wortoron at any moment, waiting here in the open.”
They told it about their cousins the whales and that they had found a
secret tunnel to get to the top of the mountain. “Well that should make
everything much easier,” said Sunflower. “But we will have to very
careful once we reach the top. Those Wortorons may be prowling about.”
They decided they should make a plan about what to do once they got to
the top through the secret tunnel. Bat had told them there was a lot of open
space with no bushes or trees, and in the moonlight they could easily be
seen running between the Wartorin houses. Flying would make too much
noise and the beasts would be sure to hear the flapping of their wings.
“It‟s going to be very dangerous,” said Sunflower. “Perhaps we should go
back and get our friends to help.”
“No, it may be too late by then,” said Amber. “The monsters could be
hungry and eat all of them before we got back.”
After much talking they decided the best plan was for one of the Moonies
to fly overhead to lure the Wortorons away while the rest of them hid near
the edge. The monsters would probably chase after it and that would give
them a chance to free the captives. After that. they could all take shelter in
the great cavern with their friends the whales.
They agreed it was an excellent plan, but who would be the one to fly
overhead? What if it couldn‟t fly fast enough and got caught. They looked
at one another in dismay.
“Well, it can‟t be me,” said Sunflower, “because I don‟t have wings. So it
must be one of us who does. That leaves either you Horse, or Bat or
Dragonfly or Goose. I don‟t think it should be Goose, because if she is
caught I won‟t have anyone to ride on. Then how will I get back home?”
“What about Horse,” one of them suggested. “Horse is the biggest and
fastest flyer.”
“What, what? Er hum. I, er hum, don‟t know what you mean,” Horse
said, looking puzzled. “I suppose I can, er hum, fly fast. But what must I
do?”
“Dear me,” said Sunflower. “Maybe Horse is not the right one, because
he hasn‟t many brains. He might make mistakes and that would be
dangerous for all of us.”
Bat said, “Well, I have been in most danger. I have done my share.”
Dragonfly said, “I‟m not a very strong flyer because of my thin wings.
Perhaps I would not be able to get away from the monsters fast enough.”
None of them was keen to be chosen.
Amber said, “There is one way to decide. In my hand are four twigs. One
of them is shorter than the others. Each of you must choose and whoever
draws the short twig must lure the monsters.”
They agreed that was a fair way to choose, and it turned out the Goose
got the shortest twig. But she did not seem to mind and they congratulated
her on how brave she was. Then they got ready for the rescue.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
They hurried along the dark tunnel, fearful that at any moment there might
be another gale, but they reached the cavern safely. Goose had earlier been
told to stay at the bottom of the mountain waiting for a signal, which was to
be a rock thrown from the mountain top, to let her know when to start.
The whales told them where they could find the secret tunnel and how to
find their way along it.
The tunnel led up and up and when they reached the top of the mountain
they rested awhile in some bushes on the edge of the clearing. All was
quiet and no Wortorons could be seen. “They are in their houses asleep,”
Bat whispered. “I think they are soon going to eat the creatures they have
caught.”
“Are we all ready?” said Amber. “I‟ll give the signal to Goose to start
flying.” She found a large rock, went to the edge of the cliff and heaved it
as far out as she could. Far below she heard a thud as the rock landed, and
the whirr of wings as Goose took off.
Up she flew, a small speck in the moonlight then when she reached the
top she circled over the clearing and hooted loudly. For a short while
nothing happened, then the Wortorons lumbered out their homes. They
thundered in fury when they saw Goose and one by one rushed into the air.
Goose shot away and got a good head start. Soon the sounds of the chase
faded in the distance.
“Hurry,” Amber shouted at Horse, which was dozing in the shadows. She
whacked it with her hockey stick and jumped up on its back. “Follow Bat
as fast as you can,” she yelled. “Bat will lead us to the house where the
creatures are locked up.” They took off after Bat, followed by Dragonfly.
The others ran after them as fast as they could.
“There it is, the house right at the end,” Bat squeaked. “That one with the
big latch across the door.”
Horse with its powerful wings got there first and Amber jumped down
and rushed to the door. She tried to lift the heavy latch and almost got it
open, but it slipped out of her grasp and thudded down.
She levered it up again with her hockey stick, and this time the door swung
open.
There was a babble of voices inside. The creatures were running about
shouting and pushing. They didn‟t know what was happening. Then when
they saw the door open they streamed out falling over one another in their
haste to get out. The last one was Fuzzy which seemed to be dazed.
By this time Sunshine and the other Moonies had caught up. “Everyone
listen,” Sunflower shouted. “We have come to rescue you. You must all
follow me as quickly as you can, because we know a secret way down the
mountain to a safe cavern where those monsters will not be able to find
you. But we must be quick as there is no telling how soon the Wortorons
will be back.”
Amber grabbed the fuzzy creature and jumped on Horse‟s back and they
flew to the secret passage. The Moonies and the creatures they had rescued
soon joined them. They were about to go into the tunnel when Amber held
up her hand and shouted, “Stop everyone. What about Goose? We can‟t
go off until we know what has happened to her. Horse and I and Bat and
Dog and Hair and Dragonfly must find out if Goose is safe, or if she needs
help.”
Sunflower said, “That would be very dangerous Small Human. I‟m sure
Goose is safe; she is a very fast flyer you know. Those Wortorons would
never be able to catch her. But if you go flying after them they could catch
one of you. Then we would have to start all over again trying to rescue
you.”
“We don‟t know what might have happened to Goose,” said Amber. “She
might need help.”
“Well I suppose if you must you must,” said Sunflower shaking its head.
“But please be careful. You could even be eaten alive, you know.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Sunflower, Fuzzy and the others they had rescued went down the
tunnel, then Amber and Horse, Dog and Bat, and Hair and Dragonfly
took off to find Goose. “I‟ll lead the way and you others follow,” said
Amber. “We don‟t know which way Goose flew, so we have to
guess. I think she probably went towards the safe home caves.” It was
a long trip and they had to keep a careful look out in case they met the
Wortorons which might be returning. They flew over hills and grassy plains
spread out below in the glistening moonlight like a huge quilt. They
could see their own faraway shadows sliding across the ground. Then they
saw in the distance a wooded place like an island in the middle of the plain,
with high trees so you could only see the top branches. Above the wood
a number of black dots were circling as though searching for something.
It was the monsters searching for Goose which was hiding under cover
of the trees. Amber quickly decided to land since they couldn‟t talk to
one another while flying because of the air rushing past. They came
down near some large boulders which cast dark shadows.
“The monsters must have caught up with Goose and she is sheltering in
the forest,” said Amber. “Luckily they are too big to land there. They are
flying around ready to pounce on Goose when she comes out. We‟ve got to
help her get away from them.”
“But how can we?” the others asked. “If we get any closer the monsters
will attack us.”
“We will have to get into the forest without being seen,” said Amber.
“Then once we have found Goose we can make a plan.”
But how were they to enter the forest without being attacked? They
couldn‟t fly any closer without being seen, so they would have to creep
along the ground, and even then the sharp-eyed Wortorons would be sure
to notice them.
“I think we will have to use something to cover us,” said Amber. “Those
creatures don‟t have many brains and it will be quite easy to fool them. We
can use bushes to hold over ourselves like umbrellas as we creep along and
they will think we are some sort of plant creatures not worth eating.”
The others thought that was a good idea, and luckily not far off were
bushes with large leaves. They broke off branches and set off slowly along
the ground under cover of the branches. The plan worked well. After
crossing the dusty plain they reached the forest without being seen.
Once under the trees they began the search for Goose. It was not easy
because in the dark they kept bumping into tree trunks and rocks. They
shouted Goose‟s name as they stumbled along pushing their way through
prickly plants and wading through muddy ponds. But there was no sign of
Goose. It was a big place to search and they were almost giving up hope
when in a small space under a boulder they saw her crouching.
“Thank goodness we‟ve found you,” said Amber. “We thought perhaps
you had been hurt by the monsters and couldn‟t answer when we called.”
Goose told them that when the Wortorons took after her she flew as fast
as she could with the monsters roaring behind. She managed to keep ahead
for a long while then she tired and they started to catch up to her. They got
closer and closer making a fearful thundering and roaring sound. She saw
the forest below and dived down among the trees. The monsters couldn‟t
follow so they flew in circles above knowing sooner or later she would
have to come out.
But now they were all trapped. Overhead the Wortorons were still
circling. What if the beasts decided to land in the open space outside and
smash their way into the forest to catch them?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Amber was angry. She was tired of being chased by the Wortorons. It
was time the beasts were taught a lesson. They needed to be shown that
some small creatures could fight back.
“We must stop being scared of those beasts,” she said. “We must show
them they aren‟t so frightful.”
“But,” complained the others, “those monsters are so much bigger than
we are and have teeth and claws like sharp daggers. How can we fight
them?”
“We must think of a plan,” said Amber. “I‟m sure there must be a way to
beat them. Don‟t forget I‟ve still got my hockey stick.”
To fight the monsters would be difficult because of their size and strength,
she said, but perhaps they could find the beasts‟ weak spots. “If we could
tear holes in their wings they would crash down and get killed.”
They agreed, but how could they damage their wings? “Well,” said
Amber, “that may not be as difficult as you think. Remember the
monsters‟ wings are thin and could easily tear if something sharp rips
through them. Although my hockey stick isn‟t sharp I bet it could smash
through their wings if I hit really hard.”
The others thought that might be so, but how could they get close enough
without being torn to pieces by the monsters‟ razor claws and gashed by
their teeth. “Ha!” said Amber, “those creatures may be huge but when they
are flying they can‟t turn quickly and shoot up and down and dodge and
swerve in and out like we smaller people can. It‟s true we haven‟t all got
weapons so we must make our own. We can use long sticks with sharp
points like spears and use them to rip the monsters‟ wings.”
They searched and soon found plenty of strong sticks. Goose complained
that she wouldn‟t be able to fly and use a spear at the same time, so they
strapped a long, dangerous lance along her neck .
They practised for a while slashing at bushes until they all became expert.
“When we attack the monsters two of us can swoop from above and two
can fly upwards from below,” said Amber. “They will never suspect that
Moonies would dare attack them. What a surprise they will get!” She told
them they must use their small size to dodge in and out and swerve out of
harm‟s way, something like boxers in a boxing ring. At last they finished
practising and were ready for the battle.
CHAPTER 17
The seven fighters took off from the far side of the forest and flew
upwards so they were higher than the circling Wortorons. The beasts saw
them and rushed to attack them with their talons and teeth. What a surprise
they got when the smaller creatures instead of fleeing flew straight at them.
Amber and Horse and Goose swooped from above while Hair and Bat
attacked with their spears from below. As Amber shot past the biggest
monster she leaned out and slashed sideways at one of the creature‟s wings.
Her hockey stick went through leaving a large gash, which tore further.
Then Horse turned up again steeply after the monster which was roaring
with anger and shock. Horse chased after the Wortoron which was
wobbling along battling to fly because of its damaged wing. They zoomed
past the creature‟s other wing and again Amber slashed with her hockey
stick tearing a large hole. With a screaming roar the Wortoron started to
fall, shrieking as it went down and then it hit the ground raising a cloud of
dust. Meanwhile Goose attacked another beast. She flew at the surprised
monster and aimed her lance at the middle of one of the huge wings. She
was flying so fast she went through the hole made by her lance. The
monster started spinning then it went into a nose dive and crashed into the
earth.
Soon the air was full of swooping and dodging flyers. The smaller
creatures with their spears ripped and tore the monsters‟ wings. They tried
to get away but the Moonies flew after them attacking all the time. One by
one the monsters crashed, until there were none left flying. They lay
smashed on the hard plain. A few were still moving but they were soon
still.
Tired from the battle Amber and the Moonies landed next to the forest
and rested under the trees. “Well I‟m sorry we had to kill all those
monsters,” said Amber. “But it serves them right for eating so many other
creatures smaller than themselves. I hope there are not any other nests.
But even if there are, we don‟t have to be scared anymore.”
The others cheered and congratulated Amber. They danced and sang on
the sand, overjoyed that their enemies would never worry them again.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The moon was setting when they got back to the mountain top and landed
next to the Wortoron houses. They rolled back the boulder hiding the
entrance to the secret passage. Bat flew down the tunnel to call Sunflower
with the good news that they had beaten the Wortorons.
“Well, well, Small Human,” Sunflower said, “we will have a big party in
your honour. At last we don‟t have to fear those monsters.”
They flew back to the home caves, where a crowd was waiting to
welcome them. There was cheering and dancing and great merriment,
followed by feasting and more music and dancing. The story of the battle
had to be told again and again, each time followed by more cheering and
clapping.
Then Amber looked outside and noticed that the moon had almost set and
there were streaks of pink on the horizon warning that sunrise was not far
off. “Sunflower I must hurry,” she cried. “I must be back in bed before
everyone wakes up and finds I‟m not there.”
They called the lazy Horse, which was dozing in a corner and Sunflower
and Amber climbed on its back and were whisked to Amber‟s front door.
“Well, goodbye Small Human, perhaps I will visit again one moonlit night
and we can have more adventures,” said Sunflower. Amber gave the Horse
a last friendly whack with her hockey stick and crept into the house and
back to bed. Her head touched the pillow and the next thing she heard was
her sister saying, “Hey, Amber wake up. You will be late for school.”
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Guy Bullock lives in Durban, South Africa with his wife Mary.
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