Copyright
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2000
HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers
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Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
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Text Copyright © Diane Redmond 2000
Illustrations copyright © Strawberrie Donnelly 2000
Cover photograph copyright © Alan Powdrill
Diane Redmond asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
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Source ISBN: 9780006754664
Ebook Edition © DECEMBER 2014 ISBN: 9780007571703
Version: 2014-11-12
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Keep Reading
About the Publisher
Chapter One
Izzy did not want to be a bridesmaid. Well, that isn’t quite true, she did want to be a bridesmaid, in fact she’d always wanted to be a bridesmaid, but NOT on Saturday May 8th. And not at two o’clock in the afternoon. Her sister Clare had chosen to get married on the exact date and time of her riding school’s gymkhana. A day she had ringed on her Pony Club calendar ages ago. How could her sister have forgotten that she was going to ride Crackers in the Chase me Charlie race and dress him up as a unicorn for the fancy dress competition?
Izzy wanted to get excited, she really wanted to, but every time she heard the word ‘wedding’ she’d think ‘gymkhana’ and scowl.
“My sister, Isabella,” said Clare when her best friend, Zoe, came round, “is going to be my bridesmaid – my grumpy bridesmaid,” Clare added with a laugh.
Izzy stuck her tongue out at her big sister who knew she hated being called Isabella.
“Zoe is going to be my ungrumpy bridesmaid,” said Clare.
“Hmph!” snorted Izzy.
Izzy ate her supper in a grump. Clare pretended not to notice – she was too busy talking to Zoe about her plans for the big day.
“I want a silvery wedding dress, with a billowing veil held by a tiara dotted with blue stars.”
“You got that idea from the pantomime!” Izzy interrupted grumpily.
Clare had played the part of the Fairy Queen in the local drama club’s Christmas production of “Cinderella”.
“So what if I did,” said Clare, sailing on like a ship in full flow. “I thought of dressing the bridesmaids in gold, like fairies tripping before their fairy queen!”
“I don’t think I fancy that!” giggled Zoe.
“And an open-topped carriage pulled by silver horses,” Clare finished in a rush.
Mum, who’d been worrying about the cost of the wedding for weeks, choked as some of her food went down the wrong way.
“WHAT?” she spluttered.
“There’s no such thing as a silver horse,” said Izzy. “You can have grey, dark grey or light grey but not silver. “’Course there are palominos,” she added helpfully. “They’re pale blonde with creamy mane and tails…” her voice trailed away.
Nobody was listening to her – not even her mum!
Chapter Two
Izzy broke the bad news to Crackers in the pony paddock.
“Hi, boy!” she called.
At the sound of her voice Crackers neighed loudly and trotted over to greet her. Izzy laughed as he cheekily poked his nose into her jeans’ pockets and snuffled about for a sweet.
“Here you are,” she said, offering him a mint on the flat of her palm. As he noisily crunched the sweet Izzy blurted out, “My big sister’s getting married on May 8th so we can’t do the gymkhana!” The thirteen hands silver grey tossed his long silky mane. “It really isn’t my fault,” Izzy added sadly.
To take her mind off the disappointment Izzy tacked up Crackers and took him into the field for a Chase me Charlie practice but neither of them had their heart in the race.
“There’s no point in practising if we’re not doing the real thing,” Izzy said to her friend Nina.
“Cheer up,” said Nina. “At least you’ll be going to church in a horse-drawn carriage.”
Izzy nodded. “I bet it will rain!” she said glumly.
A few hours later Izzy returned home, hot and dirty after mucking out Crackers’ stable. As she kicked off her riding boots she could hear Clare on the phone in the lounge.
“Hello, is that the pony and carriage hiring company? Good. I’d like to book an open-topped carriage for my wedding with a pair of silver ponies to pull it.”
Izzy grabbed a packet of crisps from the kitchen cupboard, then wandered into the lounge to listen in on her sister’s conversation.
“No silver ponies?” cried Clare, jumping to her feet.
Izzy raised her eyes to the ceiling. “I told you there was no such thing!” she said.
Clare waved her hand and mouthed the words, “Shut up!” then quickly turned her attention back to the person on the other end of the line.
“No, no! I don’t want a dark bay pair. No! I definitely don’t want a golden chestnut pair. I want silver to go with my dress and tiara!” On the point of tears, Clare shoved the phone into Mum’s hand.
“I’m sorry, my daughter’s a bit upset,” Mum said. Another pause as this time she listened. “Oh! So you’ve got one. A thirteen hands silver grey. Thank you, I’ll let my daughter know.” She put the phone down and looked at Clare.
“Well, they’ve got one silver pony,” she said.
“One can’t pull a carriage on its own,” grumbled Clare.
Izzy jumped up, her face pink with excitement.
“If it had a partner it could!” she cried.
Clare glared at her little sister. “Isabella, there’s only ONE pony!” she snapped. “They haven’t got TWO.”
“But I’ve got the other one,” said Izzy. “Crackers is a thirteen hands silver grey pony!”
Clare clapped her hands.
“YES! YES!” she yelled.
“Don’t get too excited,” warned Mum. “Crackers has never pulled a carriage in his life!”
Chapter Three
The following day Izzy and Clare took the bridegroom, Chris, to meet Crackers. Izzy had spent all morning grooming him down until his coat shone like liquid silver.
“He’s a bit fat!” said Chris.
“Don’t be rude,” cried Izzy. “He’s not fat. Anyway, most ponies get a bit tubby in the springtime,” she added in her pony’s defence.
“He’s very handsome,” said Clare as she stroked Cracker’s flowing silver mane. “Just the right colour to go with my dress.”
“Yes, but will he pull an open-topped carriage
with us in it?” asked Chris.
“That’s something we’ll have to find out,” said Clare nervously.
On Saturday afternoon Dad drove Crackers over to meet his partner at the carriage hiring centre.
“You’ve got to be a good boy,” Izzy told him as she led him up the ramp into the horse box. “No showing off – and absolutely no kicking or pushing!”
Crackers nudged her arm, as if to say, would I do a thing like that!
“I hope this works,” said Clare as she and Izzy climbed into the car.
“Me too,” said Dad and started up the engine.
Jim, the man who ran the business, was waiting for them in his stable yard. His own pony neighed loudly as Crackers trotted eagerly towards her.
“This is Princess,” said Jim.
Princess was a real beauty, exactly the same height as Crackers and the same shimmering silvery-grey colour.
“She’s gorgeous,” sighed Izzy.
“But will she pull a carriage with a pony she’s never been out with before?” asked Dad. “That’s the million–dollar question.”
“Princess has been doing this kind of work for years. She’s as steady as a rock, aren’t you, girl?” said Jim as he patted the mare’s silky neck.
“I’m not sure how calm Crackers will be,” said Izzy. “He’s usually good in traffic but big, noisy buses can spook him.”
“Well, I’ll be driving the carriage and you’ll be sitting behind me so if there is a problem I’m sure we can sort it out between us,” said Jim.
“Excuse me,” said Clare huffily. “Izzy won’t be behind you all the time. She’ll have to leave the carriage to come into church while I get married!”
Jim laughed. “Of course. But if Crackers knows she’s there he’s bound to be fine. He’ll probably enjoy the day out.”
As if to prove how right Jim was, the two ponies pressed their soft pink noses together and snorted loudly.
Izzy grinned. “It looks like Clare’s wedding’s going to be even better than the gymkhana!” she said excitedly.
Chapter Four
Mum was in a fluster. “Can we please organise ourselves,” she said as she flapped about with her long list of ‘things to do’.
“We are organised,” Clare said. “We’ve got the ponies and the carriage. We’ve booked the caterers and the wedding marquee!”
“I hope it will be a nice day,” interrupted Izzy. “I don’t want Crackers to get soaked on the way to the church.”
“Never mind him,” laughed Clare. “What about me – and you too. We could get drenched in an open-topped carriage.”
“We could take umbrellas,” Izzy suggested.
“That’s an excellent idea,” said Clare. “Silver umbrellas with ribbons!”
“No umbrellas!” squeaked Mum. “This wedding is already costing us thousands of pounds.” She glanced at her list. “Flowers,” she said.
“We ordered them last week,” Clare reminded her. “White lilies with lots of fern for me, posies of gold roses for the bridesmaids.”
“But I haven’t even got a dress yet,” said Izzy.
“Well, that’s your fault for being so grumpy about the wedding to start with,” said Clare.
“I’m not grumpy now that Crackers is coming to the wedding too,” Izzy pointed out.
“All right, we’ll go into town on Saturday,” Clare said. “They’re doing a nice line in bridal wear at Beautiful Brides.”
“Is Zoe getting her dress from Beautiful Brides?” Izzy asked suspiciously.
“No, she’s having hers made.”
Izzy couldn’t believe she’d heard right.
“Why have I not had one made especially for me?” she squeaked.
“Because you’re little and you’ll look cute in anything,” Clare replied.
They went to Beautiful Brides on a busy Saturday afternoon. Izzy stood in her knickers in front of the long mirror in the changing room and wriggled into about twenty frilly bridesmaid’s frocks. She got grumpier and hotter with each dress she tried on.
“I hate pink!”
“It’s too tight.”
“I look like Bo-Peep!”
“I can’t breathe!”
“Will you stop complaining and stop wriggling!” snapped Clare. “Just stand still for five minutes so that we can look at you.”
Slowly Izzy stopped fidgeting and began to admire her reflection in the mirror.
“I feel like a fairy!” laughed Izzy, thrilled with a white and silver net dress dotted with stars.
“The hem needs taking up a few inches and the waist needs letting out,” Clare said, patting Izzy’s tummy that was tightly wrapped in white satin.
“I think it’s nice just like this,” Izzy protested.
“It’ll be even nicer when you can breathe!” teased Clare.
Chapter Five
When Clare and Zoe went to Susie the dressmaker’s for their dress fittings, Izzy went along to model her fairy dress. Susie examined the dress with a puzzled expression on her face.
“It’s very nice,” she murmured. “But there’s something missing…”
Suddenly she clicked her fingers. “WINGS!” she cried. “Silver wings, just poking out from behind the shoulders would make it perfect. Would you like me to make you a pair, Izzy?”
“Yes, please!”
Clare’s bridal gown, even loosely stitched together, looked sensational. As the bride posed in front of the long mirror Mum burst into tears.
“I can’t believe my little girl’s getting married,” she sobbed.
Clare turned sideways to get a better view of the tight-fitting silver bodice that flowed into a billowing skirt with a long, floating train.
“I can’t believe it’s me…” she murmured.
“This is Zoe’s dress,” said Susie as she carefully lowered a long, gold tube dress over the chief bridesmaid’s head. “Careful, it’s only tacked together,” she warned.
Izzy, who had only ever seen Zoe in jeans and trainers, stared at her in astonishment.
“You look like a model!” she gasped.
“Cool!” said Zoe, smiling at her glamorous reflection in the mirror. “The colour’s great – it matches my nose ring perfectly!”
At the beginning of the Easter holidays the chief bridesmaid and the bride had a huge argument over the bridesmaids’ headdresses. Clare wanted them to have spiky gold tiaras but Zoe refused, saying they looked like frozen fish fingers! Clare was furious. She sulked for a week then agreed to them having delicate gold-leaf headdresses – on one condition. Zoe had to wear strappy gold sandles with four inch heels as thin as a pin.
“It’s a deal,” said Zoe. “But don’t blame me if I fall flat on my face walking down the aisle!”
Izzy had a pair of silver ballet shoes with white pom-poms which matched her fairy dress now fitted with silver gossamer wings.
“Look at me – I’m a fairy!” she giggled and ran about the house flitting her new wings.
“Careful!” cried Mum. “I don’t want your dress ripped before the wedding day.”
As Izzy hung up her dress and placed the ballet shoes back in their box she suddenly had a shattering thought.
“Mum! Crackers will need new shoes too!”
Crackers didn’t like the blacksmith, and the blacksmith wasn’t all that keen on Crackers. No matter how tightly Izzy held the lead rope, the cheeky pony always managed to push his bottom into the blacksmith’s face when he bent down to tap the nails into his hind feet.
“You don’t deserve to have such nice new shoes after being so rude to the blacksmith,” Izzy told Crackers as she lead him across the stable yard with his new shoes ringing out loudly on the cobblestones.
“NEIGH!” went the naughty pony, impatient to get back to his paddock.
“Off you go,” said Izzy when they reached the gate.
The second he was turned loose, Crackers rolled over in a patch of mud and wriggled with pleasure as he covered his ba
ck and neck with thick, brown mud.
“You naughty boy!” cried Izzy who knew she’d have a terrible job cleaning him down the next day.
Chapter Six
It rained cats and dogs all through the first week of May and on the day of the wedding rehearsal there was thunder and lightning too.
“I don’t believe it!” cried Dad as they huddled under their umbrellas and ran up the path to the church door.
As soon as Izzy got into the church she knelt down in one of the old wooden pews and prayed for good weather.
“Please, please let it be fine tomorrow – and don’t let it thunder or Crackers will have a fit!”
The vicar, in jeans and a sweatshirt, came out of the vestry and shook everybody by the hand.
“We’ll run through the service so you’ll all have an idea of where to stand and what to say,” he said in a calm, relaxed voice. “Shall we start with the bride’s entry?”
Clare and Chris nodded and smiled nervously. Alex, the handsome best man who looked like a famous footballer, stayed with Chris at the church rail while Dad, Clare, Zoe and Izzy hurried to the back of the church. When they were all in position the organist struck up “Here comes the Bride” and Dad lead Clare down the aisle, followed by the bridesmaids.
“Stand well back,” Clare whispered bossily. “I don’t want you two standing on my train and yanking the veil off my head!”
“Yes, your majesty!” giggled Zoe behind Clare’s back.
At the altar Chris took Clare’s hand and they both faced the vicar who started the wedding service. When it came to the part where the vicar asked the best man for the wedding rings Alex went pale.
“I forgot them!” he gasped.
“That’s OK,” the vicar replied. “This is only a rehearsal.”
“Just don’t forget them tomorrow,” chuckled Chris as he gave the blushing best man a dig in the ribs!
The Grumpy Bridesmaid Page 1