Llama Drama

by Rose Impey

  Ginger looked so fierce that Liberty didn’t doubt for a moment that she could handle Bolt and Dolt. She bent down and gently nuzzled her brother. “You’re a hero to me, Lewie,” she whispered in his ear. “You’re the bravest llama in the world. You rest now. You’re safe again.” Then she hurried back to the llama pen where, despite endless questions from Leo, Lamar and Latisha, she lay down and promptly fell fast asleep.

  The sight of Lewie surrounded by his entire flock, all tending to him, even managed to move the hard-hearted Hadrian.

  “How’s the young fellow doing?” he asked Ginger.

  “He’ll live,” she answered rather sharply.

  “No thanks to your friends.”

  Then Ginger busied herself with settling the lambs. They soon dropped off to sleep, falling one by one like a set of dominoes. The last to go was Bertie, who was worrying away at something that seemed to be stuck to his tail. He kept tugging at it with his teeth.

  When Ginger looked closely she saw that it was a piece of frayed red string – and she knew exactly where she’d seen it before. Ginger closed her teeth around it and was about to pull it free, but then she stopped. It would be far better to leave the piece of evidence exactly where it was. When Millie arrived later she would draw the little girl’s attention to it. Let those stupid policemen dare to dismiss this as inconsequential.

  hen Farmer Palmer and Millie arrived at the sheep pen after breakfast on Saturday, the final day of the County Fair, they were astounded to see Lewie and all the lambs safely returned. None of them appeared to be injured. The first conclusion that Farmer Palmer jumped to was that Farmer Hardman had been right and Lewie had suddenly turned into an escape artist too. Perhaps he had taken himself and his lambs off on a walkabout and then simply decided to come back, although that seemed unlikely behaviour from Lewie.

  And on closer inspection the farmer could see that, unlike the lambs, who were just a little dusty, Lewie was in a very poor way. The llama had hurt his leg, and his coat was grubby and matted, suggesting he’d slept somewhere dirty.

  The farmer had briefly thought there might still be a chance that they could take part in the Best Guard Llama event. But it was clear that Lewie wasn’t well enough. The llama needed rest and plenty of it.

  Farmer Palmer contacted the police to tell them that his animals were safe, no thanks to them – although he didn’t actually say that.

  But just as Farmer Palmer had recovered his lambs and Guard Llama, Farmer Nettles discovered the loss of his. Nelson was nowhere to be seen and, once again, there was no evidence to go on. His gate was still securely closed and there were no signs of an attack. It was another mystery.

  As the farmers gathered to discuss the strange goings-on, Farmer Hardman and his men arrived. Farmer Palmer was too busy talking to notice the looks of surprise on the faces of the three men when they saw Lewie and the lambs back in their pen. But Ginger noticed.

  All morning Ginger had tried to get Millie’s attention, fussing around her and bleating. But with so much going on she hadn’t been successful. Now, Ginger turned instead on the two workmen, giving them an icy stare.

  Bolt and Dolt grinned uncomfortably and turned their backs on the sheep. But Ginger wasn’t discouraged. She pushed her head through the fence and managed to bite Bolt. The man let out a shriek, before he recovered himself and tried to laugh it off as a joke.

  “Ooh, scary sheep,” he chuckled, clutching his bottom.

  All the farmers turned to watch; they’d never seen anything like it before. Sheep were generally peaceable animals. But Ginger kept on stretching her neck, trying to reach Dolt this time. The farmers were all laughing.

  “You’ve made an enemy there, sure enough,” Farmer Nettles joked.

  “I shouldn’t mess with Ginger,” Farmer Palmer warned them. “She’s a force to be reckoned with.”

  Bolt and Dolt tried to keep smiling, but their faces showed their embarrassment. They moved further out of her way, but the rest of the sheep were now following Ginger’s lead and stretching their necks to reach the men through the fence. Bolt and Dolt batted them off and hid behind Farmer Hardman’s big, bulky body. This only made the other farmers laugh more.

  But Farmer Hardman wasn’t amused. “Come on, we’d better get ready for this last event – those of us who’ve still got animals fit enough to compete in it,” he said pointedly. With so little competition it looked like it was going to be another easy win for him and his Guard Llama.

  The farmer led Hadrian majestically out of his pen, followed obediently by his sheep and lambs. Hadrian walked towards the arena looking like a winner already.

  As the whistles and cheers from the crowds reached Farmer Palmer and Farmer Nettles, they exchanged weary looks and shook their heads. How had Hardman done it again? they wondered.

  A little later, when they heard that Hadrian had had an almost perfect round, Farmer Palmer finally accepted that for him – and Lewie – the contest was over.

  He put aside his disappointment and settled down to give Lewie a little attention. Millie was there too, gently combing through Lewie’s matted coat, while the farmer fondly rubbed the llama’s head.

  Lewie was only now waking up properly. Feeling more rested at last, he tried to get to his feet, but the farmer pressed him back down.

  “Oh no, Lewie, no need for you to move. Your competition’s over for this year. All that matters now is to get you home and properly recovered.”

  Lewie tried to get up again. In fact, he became quite agitated and kept indicating to the farmer that he really wanted to stand.

  “I think he still wants to compete,” Millie told her father.

  The farmer shook his head. “There’ll be other years for Lewie.”

  But Lewie couldn’t wait till next year. He wanted to show those bullies right now that they couldn’t put him out of the race. He forced himself to his feet.

  Lewie brayed to the sheep and lambs to tell them to get moving. The whole flock quickly came to attention and organised themselves into their different groups.

  “I think Lewie’s decided, Papa,” Millie told her father. “And it looks like the flock have too.”

  Farmer Palmer could hardly believe his eyes. Despite his worries, he could see that if he refused them all the chance to compete, he might well have a small revolt on his hands.

  Mille quickly moved through the sheep and lambs, tidying them up as best she could. At last Ginger had the chance to nudge the little girl towards the important piece of evidence. As Millie cleaned up Bertie’s tail she freed the piece of red string. Millie recognised it too. She tried to show it to her father, but there was no time. They had to go now if they were going to compete.

  When Farmer Palmer led Lewie slowly out, quite a commotion followed in the llama pen as Lewie’s brothers and sisters began a chorus of braying and honking.

  “Who’s the greatest? Lewie’s the greatest!” Leo chanted.

  “Bring home the prize!” called Lamar.

  “Knock ’em dead, Lewie!” Latisha told him.

  “Remember, you’re a llama in a million, Lewie!” said Liberty.

  As the sheep and lambs waited to enter the arena, the farmer gave Lewie one final check. The flock was alone for a moment, feeling nervous but determined. They’d been through such a lot since they’d left the farm, but again it had made them stronger and even more of a team. If the sheep could survive losing their lambs, and the lambs could survive being lamb-napped and locked up, then as a flock there was nothing they couldn’t do!

  “We all know what we’ve got to do today,” Ginger reminded them. “Work together. Be a team! We’re doing this for Farmer Palmer, and Millie, and for each other – but most of all, for Lewie.”

  “For Le-e-ewi-i-ie,” bleated the sheep and lambs.

  When the llama rejoined them he still felt and looked a little shaky.

  “I’ll be there, but you hardly need me,” he told them. “You’re all winners already.” Lewi
e had to stop for a moment and swallow hard. The sheep looked teary-eyed too, but the lambs were almost bouncing on the spot with pride. “Remember, we’re in it to win it,” said Lewie. “Now, let’s go out there and show everyone what you can do.”

  By the time Lewie and his flock trotted into the arena, most people had heard about the llama and lambs that had mysteriously disappeared and then returned. They were almost celebrities and the crowd was eager to see them.

  In comparison with the other Guard Llamas, Lewie looked quite small and very young. And when he started to lead and command the sheep it was even more impressive because Lewie seemed to do so little. He wasn’t bossy and domineering like Hadrian and the others. Lewie barely seemed to raise an eyebrow before the sheep moved seamlessly into their places. It looked as if he had some kind of telepathic connection with his flock.

  The less Lewie did, the more the flock seemed to pull out all the stops. They were so perfectly synchronised that they moved as if by magic. Shelley, Shirley and Shula fanned to the right at exactly the same angle and at the exact same pace that Ginger led Sheila and Shona to the left. They criss-crossed several times as if they were all moving by clockwork.

  The spectators felt as if they’d been hypnotised. It was like watching a ballet. The judges simply sat back and shook their heads in wonder. They awarded Lewie and the sheep a perfect score, but even then they thought that seemed inadequate for the incredible display they’d just witnessed.

  No one imagined anything could top that performance until the lambs began their agility routine. The mood of the crowd changed entirely. Suddenly, people were standing up and throwing their hats in the air and stamping their feet. The cheers were deafening. Where other farmers’ lambs had performed simple tasks, like walking up and down seesaws, Lewie’s lambs had an amazing routine including forward rolls, backflips and somersaults. When Bertie and Shoo threw in a couple of spontaneous cartwheels, it almost brought the house down. And when they finished with one Lamb Pyramid after another, dropping to the ground, then reassembling in record time, the standing ovation lasted for what seemed like hours to the lambs. Not once did Bertie or any other lamb wobble or even twitch a muscle. They looked as if they’d been born to it.

  As the lambs stood there, still puffing and panting, listening to the crowd cheering, Bertie turned to ask his mother, “Is this all for us?”

  “Yes, my boy,” said Ginger, her heart bursting with happiness. “It’s all for you.”

  She caught Lewie’s eye. He was still looking a little tired, but the excitement had lifted his spirits so that at last she could see his usual spark of life.

  “Well done, Lewie,” she bleated quietly.

  But all the other sheep heard and echoed her words. “We-e-ell do-o-one, Le-e-ewieee.”

  The judges had to wait for the crowd to calm down before giving their score. And when it was finally announced, the audience erupted again. The judges were in total agreement that what they’d just seen was worth even more than a full score. Lewie and the lambs were awarded 110 points out of 100. In the long history of the County Fair it had never happened before. The voice booming over the loud speaker briefly managed to quieten down the crowd for the last announcement.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to say that as a group of judges with many years of experience, we’ve never seen anything like this before – and probably never will again. And so we are unanimous in our final decision to award the added bonus of Best Llama in Show to … Lewie.”

  This time the noise was unstoppable. Lewie felt too overwhelmed to speak. He beamed at his flock and watched happily as Farmer Palmer and Millie did a celebratory dance. All the other farmers were crowding around to shake the farmer’s hand and congratulate him.

  In fact, the only people not celebrating were Farmer Hardman and the villainous Bolt and Dolt. The farmer was grinding his teeth.

  “You were supposed to have fixed that llama. I told you: whatever it takes!”

  “It wasn’t our fault – we banged ’em up,” whined Bolt.

  “Someone must have let ’em out,” grumbled Dolt.

  Afraid they might be overheard, Farmer Hardman kicked the stupid pair in the shins and then walked swiftly away.

  He rearranged his face into a smarmy smile and patted Farmer Palmer on the back. “Congratulations,” he said as if the words almost choked him. “Who’d have thought that animal would have such … hidden depths.”

  But nothing anyone could say was going to dim Farmer Palmer’s happiness. He grinned from ear to ear as he reminded Farmer Hardman, “I did tell you that Lewie was a llama in a million.”

  he other creatures that weren’t celebrating Lewie’s success were the coyotes. In their shared burrow they were sleeping, not entirely peacefully. Some because they had very empty stomachs, others because they were having troubling dreams of being attacked by llamas, and chased away by humans.

  The County Fair hadn’t been a great success for the coyotes. When they woke they would head off in different directions and try their luck in their home areas. They couldn’t exactly bring themselves to admit that Captain had perhaps been right, that it hadn’t been the best place to mount an attack. But they now had a slightly grudging respect for the old coyote.

  Captain was sleeping too. He would be more than ready to leave that evening and deliver Cupcake safely home. He was blissfully unaware that right now his precious nephew wasn’t by his side, but at that very moment he was in the midst of the County Fair.

  Lying as quietly as a mouse, Cupcake was hiding beneath the feet of the front row of spectators. He’d watched the whole, unbelievable performance that Lewie, the sheep and the lambs had put on and he was feeling completely blissed out.

  “Oh, boy, that was magic!” Cupcake whispered. “Sooo cool.”

  Not for the first time the young cub considered an idea that would have outraged the other coyotes, especially his uncle, if he’d dared to share it – that it seemed such a waste to eat lambs when you could have this much fun watching them dance instead.

  Back in the livestock yard there was quite a party atmosphere. Farmer Palmer and Millie and lots of the other farmers were standing around still discussing Lewie and the flock and their amazing performance. They began comparing Lewie to other great Guard Llamas from the past.

  “I used to think I’d got a good one with Livingstone,” said Farmer Palmer.

  “Oh yes, Livingstone was one of the greats,” the other farmers agreed.

  But Millie didn’t. “The sheep didn’t like him, and neither did I, Papa,” she piped up. “He was too scary.”

  The farmers laughed as if Millie had made a good joke. Surely Guard Llamas were meant to be scary – it was in their job description. But now Lewie was proving to Farmer Palmer at least that it didn’t have to be that way.

  “Well, if you’ve got any more like Lewie, I’m in need of a new Guard Llama,” Farmer Nettles suddenly announced.

  There had been no sightings of Nelson and although it was still possible the old llama might return too, Farmer Nettles had a feeling it wasn’t going to happen. And anyway, Nelson was ready for retirement. Farmer Nettles wanted one of these young, new-generation llamas.

  The two farmers and Millie walked over to the llama pen, where Farmer Palmer pointed out the various qualities of Leo, Lamar and Latisha.

  Hearing themselves discussed, the three llamas once more began to strike poses, trying to show themselves off to their best advantage. Leo puffed himself up and moved close to the fence. He turned his rosette towards Farmer Nettles, as if to advertise his achievements.

  Lamar, fearing that his brother might outshine him, shook his head from side to side, so fast that he was briefly blinded by his own topknot. He stumbled into Leo, both llamas careering into the fence with an outburst of honking and braying that caused Farmer Nettles to step back hastily. No, these two were not what he was looking for!

  Latisha wasn’t going to make the same mistake. She calmly walk
ed forward and stood patiently, trying to demonstrate her superior intelligence, while the farmer weighed her up. So she was more than a little annoyed to see Farmer Nettles looking straight past her – at her sister, Liberty.

  “That one looks very like Lewie,” Farmer Nettles observed.

  “Oh, that’s Lewie’s twin sister, Liberty,” said Farmer Palmer, “but she’s …”

  He was about to say, not really reliable, but then he stopped and thought of how ultra-reliable Liberty had been earlier in the week, when the coyotes had attacked and she’d protected Lewie’s flock. Perhaps she was changing.

  “I think Liberty would make a great Guard Llama,” Millie whispered in her father’s ear.

  And once again the farmer decided to trust his daughter’s judgement. So he didn’t mention the llama’s little weakness for escaping.

  “I don’t think you’ll be disappointed,” he told Farmer Nettles as the two men shook hands on the deal. Since there was no time like the present, it was agreed that Liberty would move straight from the County Fair to her new home, with her new flock to guard.

  Afterwards, Leo and Lamar had plenty to say on the subject.

  “How come The Runaway gets the big job?” Leo demanded.

  “Are they both blind?” asked Lamar. “Can they not recognise a quality animal when they see one?”

  “It’s not fair!” they both brayed.

  Latisha shook her head, then snapped, “I’ll tell you what’s not fair – that I get left with you two idiots! That’s not fair! Tchhh!”

  For Lewie, having his sister Liberty in the next pen, in Nelson’s place, was like the icing on the cake. It had been such an exciting day and now to see Liberty get her own reward made Lewie even happier. The two flocks of sheep were already firm friends, and Ginger soon let Farmer Nettles’ flock know just how lucky they were to have Liberty as their new Guard Llama.

  In the middle of this happy scene, the policemen returned. Earlier, Millie and her father had shown them the new piece of evidence, not really expecting to be taken seriously, but here they were, ready to make an arrest at last.