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    Tales from Wriggly Bottom
    Tales from Wriggly Bottom
    Tales from Wriggly Bottom
    Ebook130 pages2 hours

    Tales from Wriggly Bottom

    By Stephen Markham

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    About this ebook

    Down in the hollows, deep in the woods, far far away from the noisy outside world, lay the sleepy little hamlet of Wriggly Bottom. How “Wriggly Bottom” ever got its name no one seems to know. Perhaps lots and lots of wriggly worms lived there once upon a time, or maybe mole families churned wriggly paths through the earth? Your guess is as good as mine, but nowadays this peaceful community was home to a whole host of busy countryside animals. Let’s take a closer look...”
    So begins my series of entertaining and often humorous adventures of the “Wrigglyites”, a community of loveable characters who spring to life from the pages of this colourful collection of stories. Sir Fortescue Fox, Lord of the Manor at “Wriggly Heights”; Oliver Owl, the Primary School Headmaster; Harriet Hare, the Herbal Chemist, and her husband, Henry, the Village Doctor; Millicent Mouse, postmistress, clothes maker and food store manageress of “Millie’s Corner Shop”; Olwyn Otter, the incumbent Mayoress; and Bertie Badger, Wriggly Bottom’s local bobby – just some of the host of endearing characters appearing in ten very different tales.
    We follow the remarkable flight of Maddie Mouse, high above the treetops and over pastures below, resulting in her surprise appearance in the farmer’s frying pan, before being rescued by Bertie Badger.(Madeleine Mouse Takes To The Skies) Then it’s the turn of Harry Hare to propose a fun filled variety event showcasing, amongst others, “The Mice Girls”, “The Mighty Herbert Hamster Troupe” of acrobats, Freddie Fox, the incompetent ventriloquist, and the grace and beauty of Olivia Otter, ballerina. (Wriggly’s Got Talent) Sally Stoat’s Christmas hits the highs and lows as her dazzling yuletide present is stolen by a mischievous magpie, calling for a clever rescue plan to be carried out by Robbie Robin. (Sally Stoat’s Best Ever Christmas) Then it’s drama all the way as Molly Mole, out sunbathing on a pontoon, suddenly finds herself floating down river and heading for disaster till Olivia Otter pops up to save the day. (Olivia Otter To The Rescue) The School Treasure Hunt turns into a game of “cops and robbers” for Sebastian Squirrel, (Sebastian Squirrel And The Treasure Hunt) whilst fun at the seaside awaits the hamster family in Burrow-On-Sea, particularly for young Huey Hamster, who bites off more than he can chew when tempted into the funfair. (Off To The Seaside) Disaster next for the village, and specifically for the Reverend Humphrey Hedgehog, as “The Great Storm” demolishes the Parish Church, though salvation does spring up from unexpected quarters. (The Great Storm) Next on to the annual May Fair and the election of “Miss Wriggly Bottom”, a title the cunning Fenella Fox has set her eyes on, though despite her best mischievous efforts, aided by her lazy brother, Freddie, she has to play second fiddle to lovely Rachel Rabbit. (Fenella Fox Eats Humble Pie) The pantomime season sees the youngsters taking on the roles of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, though the performance is interrupted by the unexpected and unwanted arrival in the village of “The Frog Gang”, but Bertie Badger and the dwarfs prove more than a match for these rogues. (They’re Behind You...Oh No They’re Not... Oh Yes They Are..!) And finally Maisy Mouse, on a foggy day out in the woods with her family, meets and makes friends with a young runaway circus elephant, much to the terror and amazement of both sets of parents, feelings shared by all at Wriggly Bottom when the three large creatures pay the village a visit. (Maisy Mouse Makes A New Jumbo Friend)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStephen Markham
    Release dateFeb 25, 2016
    ISBN9781910100752
    Tales from Wriggly Bottom

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      Book preview

      Tales from Wriggly Bottom - Stephen Markham

      Madeleine Mouse Takes To The Skies

      Autumn had arrived in Wriggly Bottom. Crimson, plum purple and golden leaves covered the pathways in all directions, making going to school a pretty tiring and troublesome journey for young Madeleine Mouse…but she wasn’t at all concerned, for there was a very very good reason why Madeleine just couldn’t wait to get to Wriggly Primary that day. Oliver Owl, the Headmaster, had announced in class the day before that he would spend some time talking about creatures that fly, meaning, of course, birds.

      Madeleine though had always dreamt, from a very early age, of being able to soar high into the sky, a notion her parents, Millicent, who ran the Corner Shop, and Maurice tried to downplay. We mice keep our feet and paws firmly on the ground, young lady, her daddy would say, Nature hasn’t given us wings, so on the ground we stay.

      But that hadn’t stopped Madeleine closing her eyes at night and picturing herself one day flying high above the towering beech tree that overshadowed Mouseburrow, her tiny house lined with straw shared by Madeleine, her parents, and her numerous sisters, all of whom sniggered when Madeleine foolishly told them about her lofty ambition, one day to take to the skies. But then the Headmaster had quite clearly said creatures that fly, and Madeleine had awoken that morning convinced that perhaps her teacher knew something that the mice family didn’t.

      Scoffing down her grain porridge just as quickly as she could she wrapped her tweed scarf around her neck – autumn days could be colder now she was told, so remember to wrap up warm –, checked that her smart blue school blazer, with its bright golden Wriggly Bottom Primary School badge was free of straw, and rushed out of the front door, forgetting even to say Goodbye to her parents. Along Beech Boulevard she trundled, turning right at Sycamore Square, past her mummy’s shop (which had all the latest Autumn clothes fashions proudly on display in the front window, along with some tasty looking pies and crumbles) and on into Ash Trail.

      All her school friends were making their own steady way towards Wriggly Bottom Primary, but none were in such a hurry as Madeleine. Whoa, Maddie, (for that was her nickname) what’s the rush? cried Harry Hare. The school bell won’t be rung for at least ten more minutes; plenty of time to play along the way, he shouted, kicking bundles of multi-coloured leaves up into the air with his strong back legs.

      But Madeleine really didn’t hear him, even though, as everyone knows, mice have excellent hearing…no, she wanted to get to school early so she could bag a front seat in the classroom and so not miss a single word of the flying lesson.

      Sammy Stoat and Suzy Squirrel were also taken aback as Madeleine hurried by, paying no attention at all to their friendly Hello Maddie’s. Our little mouse wouldn’t rest until, even before the school bell had started to sound, she was there, sat down, right in the very front row, directly in front of the Headmaster’s table.

      Oh do start soon, Madeleine thought impatiently to herself, I can’t wait to hear just how I’m going to fly.

      Well, not before time, Oliver Owl marched into the classroom, clutching his papers and a baton, which he would use to point at pictures beamed via his laptop on to a blank wall behind him. Madeleine sat transfixed in the darkened room as the Headmaster ran through details about all kinds of birds, including, of course, owls, and how their wings helped them to fly. Stories too about frogs, squirrels (Sebastian Squirrel felt extremely proud) and even monkeys that flew, whereas, in fact, they really glided, but, to Madeleine’s dismay, no mention whatsoever of a Flying Mouse.

      The lights came back on, and Oliver Owl asked if anyone had any questions. Madeleine immediately raised her right paw. Yes, Madeleine, said the intrigued Headmaster, what would you like to know?

      Could a mouse fly? asked Madeleine sheepishly.

      Well, the whole class broke into uproar. Laughing, banging desk lids, never had Wriggly Bottom Primary School known such a noise. Madeleine, who was only very small at the best of times, felt a hundred times smaller.

      Madeleine, said the Headmaster, once the pandemonium had settled down, the great God in the sky never meant for mice to fly, otherwise he would have sown wings on to their paws.

      The classroom hollered with the sound of sniggers and guffaws, and poor Madeleine felt so embarrassed. Just then the school bell rang, time to go home for lunch.

      All the way back along Ash Trail towards Sycamore Square one after another of Madeleine’s classmates ran past her, arms outstretched and making aeroplane noises, shouting at the top of their voices, Watch out, Captain Maddie is ready for take-off, and All aboard the Mouse Jumbo Jet.

      Madeleine felt just as low as low could be as she entered Sycamore Square…which is when something truly remarkable happened. As autumn arrived, so the mighty sycamore tree started to shed its winged seeds, which descended, twirling like mini helicopters, towards the ground below. Madeleine only noticed this when one of the wings landed on her head. Ouch! she cried, and looked up. Above her, floating down in a spiralling motion came wing after wing, wing after wing. Madeleine stopped, right in the centre of the Square, as a brainwave entered her tiny head…if, maybe, perhaps, could it be…she thought to herself…"let’s suppose I could somehow strap some of these wings to me, to little Maddie, and I jumped off, well somewhere, from a great height, then perhaps, maybe, I could fly! And then all of my classmates would stop mocking me and agree that a mouse can actually fly after all."

      Well, Madeleine’s head was spinning, but, she thought, best keep this to myself, just in case it’s not such a good idea after all, doesn’t work, and my friends will make fun of me even more.

      Madeleine mulled over her plan hour upon hour, day after day, but told no one, not even Mummy and Daddy Mouse. Bit by bit her master plan came together, till the day arrived when she thought, It’s now or never. She set off for school, waved her parents Goodbye, and trotted towards Sycamore Square, but today she wasn’t going to attend school, oh no, Madeleine had other ideas.

      When all was quiet, and her classmates had disappeared along Ash Trail, Madeleine set about gathering up the sycamore wings into a pile. One at a time she carried each wing in her little paws and disappeared into a large hole she had spotted in the side of the sycamore tree.

      Now mice can indeed climb, but Madeleine had never had a head for heights and the journey before her, as she clambered upwards inside the hollowed tree, filled her with fear. Backwards and forwards she went with each wing, arriving way up high on a thick branch, on which she stored the wings, one next to the other. Finally, close by to the Square, she found a patch of sticky mud, which she rolled into a ball and carried on her back up to the sycamore branch. Everything she needed for this great adventure was now ready. Carefully she stuck a little piece of mud onto the centre of each wing, and then attached one wing to each paw, one to each leg, one to her tail, and one to her nose. Ready for lift off!

      Now it takes a very very brave little mouse to jump off a tree branch into the air and hope that, like a helicopter, she will fly, but Madeleine had come so far, and the sound of her classmates laughing at her filled her tiny ears…she simply couldn’t stop now, and so, slowly at first, but gathering speed as she rushed along, she ran just as fast as her little legs and paws would carry her to the end of the branch…and beyond, spreading herself out just as wide as she could, which is when, incredibly, something wondrous happened. Just as she started to fall a strong gust of wind blew from below, and Madeleine rose, rose, rose into the blue sky, high above all of the trees. Suddenly she saw the whole of Wriggly Bottom in miniature below her, and could clearly make out her mummy’s Corner Shop, the Parish Church, and, just opposite, her School. Whee, cried Madeleine, I’m flying!

      At times she would spin round as her wings were blown in various directions, but Madeleine was just too preoccupied with the scene below to let this worry her. Indeed she didn’t even notice the arrival of Robbie Robin until a splash of red and white, Robbie’s tummy colours, caught her eye. Maddie, how on earth did you get here? chirped Robbie, amazed to see the world’s first flying mouse – well, at least, Wriggly Bottom’s first rodent aviator – high above the trees.

      I invented wings, came the reply, and all my friends will now see that I was right, and they were wrong to laugh at me.

      But Maddie, said Robbie, really, mice weren’t born to fly, and, in your case, what goes up will surely come down.

      Landing hadn’t crossed Madeleine’s mind until now, and the absence of any plan quickly filled the little mouse’s mind with fear. Oh Robbie, what a silly little mouse I’ve been, said Madeleine. I was so so keen on flying, on soaring high above our village, that I quite forgot to think about actually getting back home. Can you help me…please?

      Robbie smiled, a twinkle in his eye, and said, Don’t worry Maddie, I’ll go and let Olwyn the Lady Mayoress, and Bertie Badger know what’s going on. I’m sure they will quickly come to your rescue, and with that Robbie headed downwards towards Sycamore Square and the Town Hall.

      Olwyn was actually sitting on a bench outside, relaxing in the warm rays of the bright autumn sun, when Robbie landed, startling her. My oh my, Robbie, she sighed, you really woke me up. I think I was dozing. Is something wrong?

      Well Robbie quickly put Olwyn in the picture, and very soon Bertie Badger and indeed the whole of Wriggly Bottom, including Madeleine’s worried mummy and daddy, were gathered in front of the Town Hall staring up towards the blue sky above, looking for our flying Madeleine. Bertie had checked in the Police Station and found an old

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