by J. M. Harris
Chapter 5
The next day, as they prepared to set off for home, Katie couldn’t help but notice how sad Ma was looking. Glad as Ma was that her house was now free of weevils, it was also now free of friends. Katie turned to look at Mew and the other tadpoles as they circled around the back of the boat in preparation to follow it back up the river and home again and she realised what she must do. Quietly taking Mew to one side, she whispered in his ear. The tadpole seemed to understand what she had said and started to look sad but then Katie, this time cupping his head tenderly in her hands, whispered some more to him. He brightened as she whispered and the longer his head was cupped, the more his tail wagged, until soon the two of them seemed to have resolved their differences. She gave him a big hug, told him that she loved him very much and watched as he quietly slipped away into the water with Itsy and Bitsy close behind. She ran back into the boat’s cabin, told Noosum Foosum she was ready and as Ma waved them a tearful goodbye, the boat gently pulled away from the jetty.
‘What did you say to Mew?’ asked Danny.
To which Katie replied, ‘you’ll see!’
And sure enough, as they watched Ma trailing sadly back to her cottage and into her front door, it was not long at all before she came running back out and down the length of the jetty shouting, ‘Thank you! Oh thank you! They are gorgeous and I will spoil them oh so much, the little dears. Bless you my dears, bless you!’
For, as soon as she had returned to the cottage, she’d heard a splashing from the mill room and had run in to discover Itsy, Bitsy and Mew all leaping and frolicking in the mill race again! She had run down the stone steps to the race and Mew had flopped onto the mill room floor next to her and nuzzled her stockinged legs, as she petted and patted him. Mew had purred and Ma had laughed and the two knew that they would be companions for life and Ma knew she would never be alone again.
For Katie had asked Mew to stay with Ma and, out of the kindness of his heart, he had. For, although he longed to be with Katie, he knew that he couldn’t be with her the whole time. He knew that he would be happy with Ma and that he would be able to see Katie and Danny too when they came to visit.
Chapter 6
That night, having been magicked safely home again, Katie and Danny lay in bed and reflected on the amazing adventure they had had. The boat, Choosum’s frictionless spray, discovering Ma and her cottage, Mew’s amazing weevil-clearing journey and his and Itsy and Bitsy’s new home in the mill room. Their parents came in as usual to tuck them in and as they shared their amazing tale with them, once again their parents nodded and patted their arms and told them what a fun story it sounded.
But this time, just before turning out the lights, their mother let out a little shriek and stared down at her feet because, there before her, quickly scurrying into a darkened corner of the room, went a weevil!
Afterward
Now there are probably all sorts of questions you might have about these stories, like where all the other doors and corridors in Noosum Foosum’s house might lead. You might be wondering what else lies down the course of the stream, other than the funfair, the estuary and Noosum Foosum’s house. And what about the dragon – what does he get up to when he’s not magicking people small? Can he fly anywhere he wants and just where else does he go? And what about Katie’s tadpole friends snug in their new home with Ma – it would be such a shame if we didn’t hear any more about them! Well, I hope that one day soon you will be able to hear the answer to all these questions and, just maybe … one or two others!
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