by Lyn McNicol
Nippy moaned as the Wim-Wim approached to land. “You again, Badger?”
“Afraid so, Nippy. Now, about this password malarkey, do we really still need to go through all that? Or can you just let me pass? I’m in a dreadful rush.”
“Oh come on, Badger. Where would the fun be if I did that? Give me your best shot, go on,” said Nippy, daring him to guess the password correctly.
Badger scratched the white tuft on the top of his head and said: “How about Send in the clowns?”
“Nice try, but er … wrong! Try again!” commanded Nippy.
“Okay, let’s try Tears of a clown?” said Badger, a little impatiently.
“Close, but er … no. One last try.”
“Right, this has got to be it because it’s exactly how I feel. Stuck in the middle with you.”
“Yes, you did it! Make your way down the usual way,” ordered Nippy.
Badger opened the trapdoor and looked down. “Come on, Minty,” he beckoned. But the minotaur was struggling to get out of the Wim-Wim, and was wedged snugly inside.
“I think the spell has completely worn off now, Badger. I seem to be full size again,” said the minotaur, who had blushed as crimson as its cape.
“Okay, hang on! I think I can get you out. Deep breaths,” said Badger hopefully.
Badger prised and squeezed, and pinched and squashed, until Minty’s cumbersome body popped out of the Wim-Wim.
“Phew!” panted Badger. “That was jam-packed.”
But as Minty stepped further onto Nippy Nimbus, the cloud groaned and fell a good bit lower.
“Oh no!” Nippy grimaced. “Look what you’ve made me do! I’m now officially low cloud, which means I’ll have to rain. I wasn’t due to rain for days yet. Now, I’ll have to write a report for the Drizzle Doctors …”
“Quick, let’s get out of here,” said Badger as they both flung themselves through the trapdoor, to land with a heavy thud in the Enchanted Forest. Luckily, the now full-size minotaur landed first, with Badger falling on top, narrowly missing Minty’s horns.
“Okay, where now?” asked Minty, shaking his massive head and dusting down his cape.
“Now, we wait for our friend Baby Unicorn,” said Badger quietly.
“What’s that over there?” asked Minty, spying a rustling bush ahead.
“That’s the Hurry Hedge. Why don’t you peek your head through and take a look?” suggested Badger.
Minty moved towards the greenery and poked his head cautiously into the bush. On the other side, everything was speeded up. Bees buzzed at 100 miles an hour, birds zipped through the air with a whoosh, and plants grew visibly bigger in front of the minotaur’s eyes.
“Whoah!” said Minty, pulling his head out to face Badger again “That’s making my head spin. What’s it all about?”
“That, my friend, is Sprummer,” said Badger wisely.
“Sprummer?” asked Minty “I’ve never heard of it.”
“That’s because it’s the fifth season, and only exists here in the Enchanted Forest. Back in the lane, we have Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Here, Sprummer is between Spring and Summer, and it’s where everything moves as fast as we sometimes wish it would. It’s a lesson for us and the Big Folk below, to take our time to enjoy the present.”
“I don’t understand,” said Minty, scrunching his eyes.
“Well, you’re really keen to get back home, but are you absolutely sure that’s what you really want? It’s all happened pretty quickly since we met. There’s no going back from this, once the Exchange is complete. That’s it, it cannot be reversed. Sometimes, we move so fast, we don’t take time to think about things. So you have to be truly sure that you want to return.”
Minty was very quiet, then said: “Yes, I’m sure. There’s only one place I call home, and that’s my labyrinth, so let’s go! Where’s your pal?”
Just then, Baby Unicorn appeared around the side of the Hurry Hedge.
“Hello, Badger, and you must be Minty,” said the unicorn.
“Wow!” said Minty, a little smitten with the beautiful white creature. “Your one horn is massively more impressive than mine, and I’ve got two of them.”
Baby Unicorn bowed and thanked the minotaur graciously. “I believe I can help you. Follow me.” The unicorn swished its tail and led the way to the Crystal Cave.
Back at the circus, the site was deserted but for Pogo Paws and Pickle. Everyone else was off on a Pickle-hunt. The two dogs lifted the canvas and peeked out from under the candy striped Big Top tent. The sun was getting higher in the sky; the eclipse could not be far away now.
Pogo Paws changed out of his Tumble Twin clown outfit and took his position in the centre of the circus ring. He sniffed the air around him; it smelled of sawdust and greasepaint.
He smiled. All he had to do now was wait.
As instructed by Pogo Paws, Pickle stood on the platform above, where the lighting rigs hung, ready to shine the spotlight onto her beloved pal, when the all-important moment arrived.
Badger had never been this far into the Crystal Cave before. He and Minty followed Baby Unicorn as they ventured deeper and deeper in. The minotaur was wide-eyed as they walked along paths of pure crystal, past walls of glitter.
Finally, when it looked like they could go no further, Baby Unicorn’s horn began to glow brightly. He touched the tip of his horn on a pulsating stalagmite, and suddenly, an opening appeared in the cave wall. The unicorn nodded for them to go through. On the other side of the rock, was a small circle of ancient standing stones. At the very centre was a tiny shaft of daylight. Badger looked upwards and saw an opening to the sky.
“Okay,” said Baby Unicorn “This is it. Here we are. Now, Minty, step into the circle and stand perfectly still in that patch of light … and wait.”
“Wait? Wait for what?” asked Minty timidly.
“For the total solar eclipse,” said Badger.
“Goodness, this is really happening. You did mean it. I can actually go home this time, after all,” said Minty smiling.
“Yes, if I can get the spell right, Minty. I hope I don’t let you down.” Badger turned to Baby Unicorn and asked: “So, even here in the Enchanted Forest, do the planets move the same as in the lane?”
“As above, as below,” said the unicorn wisely. “It may seem like time stands still when you visit me here, Badger, but we’re all still under the same sky.”
“But not through the Hurry Hedge?” asked Badger.
“Now, that’s a trick of the light,” said Baby Unicorn.
Badger scratched his chin and practised the spell over and over in his head. The patch of light was continuing to get smaller.
In the circus ring, the Big Top’s apex was getting darker. Pickle’s paws trembled, poised to switch on the powerful spotlight.
“This has got to be precise,” shouted Pogo Paws. “Not a moment too soon, or a moment too late.”
“I’m ready, Pogo Paws,” yelled Pickle, hoping she could synchronise the Exchange perfectly for her friend, although there was also a little bit of her, hoping that it wouldn’t work.
In the Crystal Cave, they were almost in darkness.
Seconds later, in the circus tent, it was a complete black-out.
“Now!” cried Pogo Paws to Pickle as she hit the switch.
At exactly the same moment, in the Crystal Cave, Badger uttered the sacred words of the spell; the most powerful magic, he had ever done:
“With pebbles from Pluto
And red dust from Mars,
Let the Enchanting Exchange
Begin with the stars…
With a solar eclipse
And a charmed bewitch,
Shine the light forth
On this magical switch …”
A beam of beautiful golden light shot down from the very top of the Crystal Cave to the spot where Minty stood in the stone circle, dazzling both Badger and Baby Unicorn.
In the circus tent, the brilliant spotlight s
hone down so brightly that Pickle shielded her eyes and had to look away.
Then all was very, very quiet.
Pickle looked down. The spotlight had gone … and so had her friend.
All that remained was an empty, dusty circus ring.
In the Crystal Cave, the tiny patch of sunlight had returned, but Minty had disappeared.
Baby Unicorn and Badger were alone in the cave.
“A badgical-magical job well done?” whispered Badger nervously.
“Indeed!” said the unicorn. “You should be very proud of yourself, Badger. Not everyone can command a spell as powerful as that. Now, come with me. I’d like to show you something that will set your mind at ease.”
Badger followed Baby Unicorn to the usual spot in the cave, which lit up into a screen. The unicorn pointed his horn at the wall, and Badger saw Minty bumbling about his labyrinth, as if he was watching it all on TV. Hanging over the entrance to the maze, was a sign with the words Home Sweet Home.
“Happy now?” asked the unicorn gently. “The minotaur is now exactly where he wanted to be. You did well, Badger. And now for something else …”
The unicorn pointed its horn again at the screen like it was switching channels. There, in front of them both was a picture of Pogo Paws meeting his family inside a big circus tent. But it wasn’t the circus from the lane. This was Pogo Paws’ circus from his childhood, and he was smiling from ear to ear.
“He made it too then,” said Badger thoughtfully. “Pickle must have helped him in the end. Maybe she really did care for him after all?”
“When you love somebody, Badger, sometimes the hardest thing is to set them free. But Pickle will be fine. She’s got you and she’s got friends.”
“Hmmm!” Badger wasn’t so sure. “She’s got me anyway. She might have to work on her manners a little to get some pals.”
“Anyway, you must go now, my friend,” said the unicorn. “Haven’t you got a fence to fix?”
Badger looked baffled.
“That minotaur-sized hole?”
“Aha, of course!” said Badger chuckling, “Thank you for all your help. See you next time”
Badger boarded his Wim-Wim and headed for home.
Pickle was already in Badger’s garden, awaiting his arrival home. She was sheltering inside the shed, as another massive thunderstorm rumbled around her. The air crackled and sparked with lightning, and big drops of rain were battering the roof of the shed.
Suddenly, the door of the shed swung open and Pickle looked up to see Badger drenched and shivering.
“Come in, quickly, before you get any wetter,” she said, ushering him inside.
“It doesn’t seem so long ago that we were all sitting in here together, watching the thunderstorm the day the circus came to town,” said Badger.
“Yes, and I know Pogo Paws was a scaredy cat about it, although he pretended he wasn’t,” said Pickle fondly.
“I see you fixed the fence,” said Badger.
“Fence? What do you mean? I haven’t touched it.”
“Oh!” said Badger, wondering if the minotaur-shaped hole in it had melded magically when Minty had gone back home.
“I am sad without him,” said Pickle forlornly. “I miss him so much.”
“I know, Pickle. I miss him too. But we have to believe that he is much happier now. He’s where he wanted to be, and I saw a glimpse of it in the Crystal Cave. He’s having a great time, and he’s with all of his own family now.”
Pickle sighed.
“And for once,” continued the Mystical Mutt, “doesn’t it make you feel good to know that you did the right thing?”
“Perhaps,” said Pickle pitifully.
“Okay enough of this gloomity glumdrum. I’m going to try one of my cheery up spells. Are you sitting comfortably?”
“Oh, Badger, how is that you’re usually rubbish at spells, yet you managed to make the Enchanting Exchange one work?”
“I’m not quite sure myself, Pickle. Maybe because it was meant to be? Now, let’s try this one:
Crunchy munchy chewy chops,
Buddy bites and bones,
Lollipops and candy bars
And ice-cream cones.
Tasty treats and snoozes
Will help through thick and thin,
So cheery up your sorrow
And fix it with a grin.”
Badger sat back feeling quite pleased with himself. “There, now how does that feel?”
“I’m still a bit sad, but thanks for trying,” sighed Pickle, touching her lilac collar.
“Okay. How about some toast? That might help,” said Badger hopefully.
But even the lure of some hot-buttered toast couldn’t seem to lift Pickle’s spirits.
“I’m not very hungry, Badger. I think I’ll go for a walk instead,” she said, as she slipped through the crack in the fence.
Badger stayed in his shed for a while, trying to think of something that would make Pickle feel less sad.
Pickle padded towards the site of the circus.
Everything had gone. The storm had passed but the grass was still muddy.
All she could see were some torn posters flapping in the breeze, wagon tracks and a few broken tent pegs. As she turned to go back to the lane, she caught the whiff of a recent p-mail.
It was from Pogo Paws. He must have sent it earlier in the morning, before the Enchanting Exchange.
She smiled as she read his words:
Dearest Pickle,
I’ve only gone next door. Speak to me as Pogo Paws and nag me like you always did. Think of good times on the lane, and the fun we had. These memories will always remain in our hearts. I’m just around the corner, and all is well. I hope you don’t mind me sending you a p-mail from time to time.
Your friend
Pogo Paws
As Pickle made her way home, she wagged her tail for the first time that day.
As a brand new day dawned, Pickle was now on her own, mooching down the lane, idly kicking tin cans and bin lids. She sniffed the fresh breeze. The storm had finally passed. As she reached the crack in the fence of Badger’s garden, she heard a huge commotion coming from his shed.
Goodness, she thought. What on earth is the Mystical Mutt up to now?
She scrambled into the garden and rapped sharply on the shed door.
“Er … Badger? Hello? Is everything okay?” she asked.
The door burst open. Hundreds of wellie boots and multi-coloured balls flew out, whizzing and whirling around the garden, knocking Pickle to the ground.
“Sorry about that,” said Badger apologetically. “I was practising my latest wellie boots and balls trick. Only it didn’t quite work.”
Pickle looked at Badger bewilderedly. Badger looked at Pickle sheepishly.
They both burst out laughing.
“Well, at least I’ve made you laugh,” giggled Badger.
“Pogo Paws would have loved that;” said Pickle brushing herself down, “all that bouncing around. I really miss him, Badger.”
“I know,” said Badger gently.
“I got what I always wanted. I’m now sole leader of the gang, except I haven’t got a gang anymore. Everyone’s left, and I don’t fancy bossing myself about much,” she said forlornly. “In fact, I haven’t got anyone now. Pogo Paws was my best and only friend.”
Badger gave her a cuddle.
“Although,” she added, sniffing, “I picked up a p-mail from him yesterday. He must have sent it before he left. And it was like I could hear his voice again.”
“Our loved ones never truly leave us, Pickle,” said Badger kindly. “And I’m sure you’ll get more p-mails from him.”
Then he rubbed his white tuft on the top of his head and thought for a moment.
“Maybe you can use your position as gang leader for good, for a change?” suggested Badger.
“Good? I don’t think I’ve ever been good. The mirror in the circus showed me that,” said Pickle.
&nb
sp; “Being leader isn’t about being bossy and horrible. You could make a difference to lots of cats and dogs on the lane, if you used your position as leader to give a helping hand now and again,” said Badger.
“Oh, I don’t really know” said Pickle frowning. “That’s not the way I usually do things.”
“Yes, but everything has changed, Pickle. Nothing is usual anymore. How about I help you to round up some of the old gang, and set up a new bunch; a good crew?” offered Badger.
“I don’t think any of them will talk to me ever again. I was so nasty,” said Pickle.
“I wouldn’t be so sure. I got a p-mail from Dodgy Dave and Cheryl recently. They’re due back from their tour of Blackpool soon. Hamish and Top Dog are still here, up the lane, and Snif and Timmy are doing a fine job at PLOPP, the drop-in centre round the corner. Even my cousin, The Earl of Doodlepoppington, is flying in from Persia to pay me a visit shortly. It’ll be just like old times.”
“I’ll still be the one that no one wants to talk to,” said Pickle glumly.
“Not if you show them you’ve changed your ways. Believe me, we dogs and cats don’t hold grudges for long.” Badger scratched his chin and added, “Well, actually, maybe cats do …”
“Timmy isn’t like a normal cat though,” laughed Pickle.
“Too true, too true,” Badger chuckled. “So, it’s up to you, Pickle, but you know I’ll help however I can.”
“As far as getting the old gang back together … it won’t be the same without Pogo Paws, will it?” said Pickle.
“It won’t be quite the same, no. But a different kind of same perhaps?” suggested Badger wisely.
“Okay,” said Pickle, a little befuddled. “Thank you. I’ll think about it.”
“Marvellous! Now, would you like some toast? It’s been quite an exhausting badgical-magical time recently,” said Badger sighing.