Blog 1 The Sword
Audio
The Sword
I expect you would like to know where I live. I was born and live in a part of England called Northumberland. You should visit. It really is the best place on Earth. The Vikings once lived here you know. They came all the way from Norway. My friend Gooney knows all about them. He once found a real Viking sword on the beach near Lindisfarne, we both did actually. We were playing hide and seek in the sand dunes and Gooney was hiding behind a huge, grey rock. He didn’t think I could see him, but I spotted him out of the corner of my eye. Slowly, I crept up behind him. “Got you!” I shouted. Well, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He fell backwards and that's when he found the sword, or at least that's when the sword found his bottom. Luckily, it wasn't too sharp otherwise it could have been very nasty and he would now be bottomless. Wouldn’t that be strange, not to have a bottom?
Anyway, I was quite jealous. I said we should share the sword, after all, if I hadn’t scared him he wouldn’t have fallen backwards. However, Gooney said he couldn’t possibly break the sword in half, that would be silly, so he had to keep it. He let me have a hold of it though. It was so heavy! As heavy as an elephant – not that I have ever lifted an elephant or even tried. Try as I might I could hardly lift the sword. Gooney said it was because I was a weakling and didn’t have any muscles. Well, he could hardly lift it either so he must be a weakling too. We had to carry it together. He held the handle and I held the blade, very, very carefully. I wondered who it had belonged to? Who had used it? Had it hurt anyone, other than Gooney’s bottom that is. Anyway, we had to think of a place to hide it. It had to be a place no-one would think of looking, somewhere really top secret, but somewhere nearby, I couldn’t carry it much further. We thought for ages and then I had a brilliant idea! I knew exactly where we could put it and no-one would ever know it was there, except us of course…
I expect you would like to know where I live. I was born and live in a part of England called Northumberland. You should visit. It really is the best place on Earth. The Vikings once lived here you know. They came all the way from Norway. My friend Gooney knows all about them. He once found a real Viking sword on the beach near Lindisfarne, we both did actually. We were playing hide and seek in the sand dunes and Gooney was hiding behind a huge, grey rock. He didn’t think I could see him, but I spotted him out of the corner of my eye. Slowly, I crept up behind him. “Got you!” I shouted. Well, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He fell backwards and that's when he found the sword, or at least that's when the sword found his bottom. Luckily, it wasn't too sharp otherwise it could have been very nasty and he would now be bottomless. Wouldn’t that be strange, not to have a bottom?
Anyway, I was quite jealous. I said we should share the sword, after all, if I hadn’t scared him he wouldn’t have fallen backwards. However, Gooney said he couldn’t possibly break the sword in half, that would be silly, so he had to keep it. He let me have a hold of it though. It was so heavy! As heavy as an elephant – not that I have ever lifted an elephant or even tried. Try as I might I could hardly lift the sword. Gooney said it was because I was a weakling and didn’t have any muscles. Well, he could hardly lift it either so he must be a weakling too. We had to carry it together. He held the handle and I held the blade, very, very carefully. I wondered who it had belonged to? Who had used it? Had it hurt anyone, other than Gooney’s bottom that is. Anyway, we had to think of a place to hide it. It had to be a place no-one would think of looking, somewhere really top secret, but somewhere nearby, I couldn’t carry it much further. We thought for ages and then I had a brilliant idea! I knew exactly where we could put it and no-one would ever know it was there, except us of course…
Blog 2 The Hiding Place
Audio
By the time we reached my home, it was almost dark and we were exhausted. My arms were as stiff as tree trunks and I had a huge blister on my thumb although that wasn’t as bad as the cut that Gooney had on his b.. well you know what. We dragged the sword inside and lay it in front of the fire. Gooney thought my secret hiding place was perfect. You see I live inside the trunk of an enormous, old oak tree. It’s absolutely beautiful. Everyone admires it. It was planted hundreds of years ago by one of my ancestors. Gooney said if we cut it down and then counted the rings inside the trunk we would be able to tell how old it was. Gooney is very clever but that is not one of his cleverest ideas. Cut down the place where I live to find out how old it is, is he crazy?
Well, getting back to the hiding place. My tree has some enormous branches that are hollow inside. From inside my sitting room, I can reach right down inside the branches. They are really long, some of them more than 10 meters. It's the perfect place to hide things such as my precious blue cheese for example. That’s why my sitting room is a little bit smelly. I don’t think it is smelly, because I love the smell of blue cheese, it's the best smell in the whole wide world! However, my visitors think it, well … stinks.
At the back of the room about half way up the wall I had just the right hiding place for the sword. A small round hole was the entrance to a long branch. Carefully, we lifted the sword up and gently pushed it through the hole. We tied a piece of string around the handle so that we could pull it out whenever we wanted to. After that, we covered the hole with a picture so no-one would know anything was there. We were very pleased with ourselves and were just about to collapse into bed when I noticed something. A dark shadow passed by the window and slowly, the front door handle began to turn. We were pet-ri-fied …
Well, getting back to the hiding place. My tree has some enormous branches that are hollow inside. From inside my sitting room, I can reach right down inside the branches. They are really long, some of them more than 10 meters. It's the perfect place to hide things such as my precious blue cheese for example. That’s why my sitting room is a little bit smelly. I don’t think it is smelly, because I love the smell of blue cheese, it's the best smell in the whole wide world! However, my visitors think it, well … stinks.
At the back of the room about half way up the wall I had just the right hiding place for the sword. A small round hole was the entrance to a long branch. Carefully, we lifted the sword up and gently pushed it through the hole. We tied a piece of string around the handle so that we could pull it out whenever we wanted to. After that, we covered the hole with a picture so no-one would know anything was there. We were very pleased with ourselves and were just about to collapse into bed when I noticed something. A dark shadow passed by the window and slowly, the front door handle began to turn. We were pet-ri-fied …
Blog 3 Cobbles
Audio
Cobbles
I knew who it was. Cobbles! Cobbles the cat. Fortunately, I had locked the door behind us. He’s not just any cat. He’s the meanest, ugliest cat you’ll ever see, and he’s fat. He’s so fat that his tummy scrapes along the ground especially after he’s eaten. He’s always stealing everyone’s food, especially mine. He loves my blue cheese, but he’s particularly fond of mice, as all cats are, and as I’m a mouse I have to be very careful. Of course, I’m faster than he is, because he’s so heavy and slow. However, he has the sharpest claws I have ever seen. They can pin you to the ground in a flash and then with one enormous swipe he will take your head off. Just like that. I know, because sadly that’s what happened to one of my brothers when he was playing near the river. Cobbles just appeared out of nowhere and attacked my brother from behind. My brother didn’t stand a chance. He was killed instantly.
So now, the whole family is very nervous and we won’t rest until we see the end of him. I plan to build a trap one day to catch him. I’ve got a few ideas but need to find the materials. He’d better watch out.
Well, getting back to the door and the handle turning. Once I was over the shock of him being there I grabbed a bin lid and started banging on it with a metal spoon and shouted, “Go away you big, fat cat or I’ll beat you up ‘til your nose goes splat!”
I sounded brave but I wasn’t. I was shaking like a leaf. Silence. There was silence at the door and then, very slowly, his long, dark shadow disappeared into the night. He was gone, but he’d be back, I just knew it.
I knew who it was. Cobbles! Cobbles the cat. Fortunately, I had locked the door behind us. He’s not just any cat. He’s the meanest, ugliest cat you’ll ever see, and he’s fat. He’s so fat that his tummy scrapes along the ground especially after he’s eaten. He’s always stealing everyone’s food, especially mine. He loves my blue cheese, but he’s particularly fond of mice, as all cats are, and as I’m a mouse I have to be very careful. Of course, I’m faster than he is, because he’s so heavy and slow. However, he has the sharpest claws I have ever seen. They can pin you to the ground in a flash and then with one enormous swipe he will take your head off. Just like that. I know, because sadly that’s what happened to one of my brothers when he was playing near the river. Cobbles just appeared out of nowhere and attacked my brother from behind. My brother didn’t stand a chance. He was killed instantly.
So now, the whole family is very nervous and we won’t rest until we see the end of him. I plan to build a trap one day to catch him. I’ve got a few ideas but need to find the materials. He’d better watch out.
Well, getting back to the door and the handle turning. Once I was over the shock of him being there I grabbed a bin lid and started banging on it with a metal spoon and shouted, “Go away you big, fat cat or I’ll beat you up ‘til your nose goes splat!”
I sounded brave but I wasn’t. I was shaking like a leaf. Silence. There was silence at the door and then, very slowly, his long, dark shadow disappeared into the night. He was gone, but he’d be back, I just knew it.
Blog 4 The Letter
Audio
The postman usually arrives about 9 o’clock in the morning. I am often awake by then, but because of our adventures the day before and the late night we had, I was still fast asleep when the pink letter dropped onto the mat. Gooney spotted it first after breakfast as he opened the door to go back to his own house. My heart missed a beat when I saw it. I knew who’d sent it. Daisy of course! she always sends me letters in a pink envelope. I suppose you could call her my girlfriend. We’ll marry some day when we get older. She’s the prettiest mouse you’ve ever seen and so kind, gentle and clever. She lives nearby but she had been spending the Summer holidays visiting her aunt in Thropton. She had kept to her promise and written to me nearly every day. I couldn’t wait to tell her about the sword. I ripped open the letter and began to read. It said that she was arriving by train that afternoon and she asked if I could meet her from the station. Oh I was so excited. I hadn’t seen her for four whole weeks. I decided to make blue cheese muffins for tea. They’re Daisy’s favourite and mine too. Mmm… my mouth is watering just thinking about them.
Before long, it was 3 o’clock. Cautiously, I crept out the door, making sure of course that there was no sign of Cobbles. Off I skipped along the country path, picking flowers as I went to give to dear Daisy. I was careful not to step into any puddles as I had made a very special effort and washed my smelly foot.
Just as I was about to climb over the last fence before the hill sloped down to the train station, I noticed a most peculiar thing. There was writing in the sand, which spelled HELP! Little arrows, pointed away from the word towards the woods - in a different direction to where I was going. I hesitated. If I followed the sign I would miss Daisy getting off the train and she would think that I had not bothered to meet her. However, if I ignored the writing, maybe someone was in serious trouble. What was I to do? I decided to follow the arrows. It might be a life or death situation.
The arrows took me along the stream, over a bridge and through the woods. I didn't know anyone who lived in these woods. They were very dark and it wasn’t easy to see where I was going. After about twenty minutes, suddenly, my foot gave way and I fell into a huge, deep hole. Before I could shout “blue cheese more please!” I was up to my waist in slimy mud and when I looked up, what should I see but two dark, red eyes staring down at me with the meanest look ever. Cobbles! I felt sick. “Oh no, I’m dead, this is it.”
Before long, it was 3 o’clock. Cautiously, I crept out the door, making sure of course that there was no sign of Cobbles. Off I skipped along the country path, picking flowers as I went to give to dear Daisy. I was careful not to step into any puddles as I had made a very special effort and washed my smelly foot.
Just as I was about to climb over the last fence before the hill sloped down to the train station, I noticed a most peculiar thing. There was writing in the sand, which spelled HELP! Little arrows, pointed away from the word towards the woods - in a different direction to where I was going. I hesitated. If I followed the sign I would miss Daisy getting off the train and she would think that I had not bothered to meet her. However, if I ignored the writing, maybe someone was in serious trouble. What was I to do? I decided to follow the arrows. It might be a life or death situation.
The arrows took me along the stream, over a bridge and through the woods. I didn't know anyone who lived in these woods. They were very dark and it wasn’t easy to see where I was going. After about twenty minutes, suddenly, my foot gave way and I fell into a huge, deep hole. Before I could shout “blue cheese more please!” I was up to my waist in slimy mud and when I looked up, what should I see but two dark, red eyes staring down at me with the meanest look ever. Cobbles! I felt sick. “Oh no, I’m dead, this is it.”
Blog 5 Trapped
Audio
Just as quickly as he had appeared, Cobbles disappeared. I stood there, shivering in the mud waiting for his claw to reach down and tear me into one hundred million tiny bits. Never would I see Gooney or Daisy again and never would they see me. What a sad, sad thought.
As everything had gone very quiet up above, I decided to try and climb up the sides. Carefully, I dug my paws into the sides of the hole and pull myself up. However, the walls of the hole were so slimey and slippery I slid straight back down. I tried over and over again, but it was useless. The water was freezing cold and my toes were now numb. As I looked up, I could see clouds floating past in the sky. Then, to my absolute shock, whose head should suddenly appear over the edge but Gooney’s!
“Lendel! What on earth are you doing down there?” he asked.
“ Well, I am not having swimming lessons, that’s for sure!” I replied, rather unkindly.
Then thump! and before I could warn him, Cobbles had shoved him into the hole. He landed right on top of my head with his foot squashed up against my nose. Not nice. Not nice at all.
“Get your big toe out of my nostril please. Well! Now we are really done for,” I exclaimed. Cobbles just glared down at us and gave a nasty laugh before he disappeared into the night.
Gooney explained that he also had seen the HELP sign written in the sand and had decided to follow it. Well, now we know, it was obviously a sick trick set up by Cobbles. He was probably going to leave us here until he felt a bit hungry and then have us for a feast. What fools we were! But how did we know? We were only trying to be kind. The worst thing about it all was that no one knew where we were. We had disappeared into thin air! Daisy would be worried sick wondering where I was. Before long, we tried to get some sleep, not easy next to Gooney with his big tummy and big feet, and he snores. Eventually, we nodded off, leaning against each other standing up.
As everything had gone very quiet up above, I decided to try and climb up the sides. Carefully, I dug my paws into the sides of the hole and pull myself up. However, the walls of the hole were so slimey and slippery I slid straight back down. I tried over and over again, but it was useless. The water was freezing cold and my toes were now numb. As I looked up, I could see clouds floating past in the sky. Then, to my absolute shock, whose head should suddenly appear over the edge but Gooney’s!
“Lendel! What on earth are you doing down there?” he asked.
“ Well, I am not having swimming lessons, that’s for sure!” I replied, rather unkindly.
Then thump! and before I could warn him, Cobbles had shoved him into the hole. He landed right on top of my head with his foot squashed up against my nose. Not nice. Not nice at all.
“Get your big toe out of my nostril please. Well! Now we are really done for,” I exclaimed. Cobbles just glared down at us and gave a nasty laugh before he disappeared into the night.
Gooney explained that he also had seen the HELP sign written in the sand and had decided to follow it. Well, now we know, it was obviously a sick trick set up by Cobbles. He was probably going to leave us here until he felt a bit hungry and then have us for a feast. What fools we were! But how did we know? We were only trying to be kind. The worst thing about it all was that no one knew where we were. We had disappeared into thin air! Daisy would be worried sick wondering where I was. Before long, we tried to get some sleep, not easy next to Gooney with his big tummy and big feet, and he snores. Eventually, we nodded off, leaning against each other standing up.
