The Middle Sheep
Page 3
‘Looking for me, Whiz?’ he cried.
‘What? Where? Why?’ stammered Super Whiz.
‘It’s a crane, obviously,’ said Desmond. ‘And I borrowed it from the building site down the street. I thought we could use it to hoist Mavis out of the tree. Or do you have a better idea?’
The other superheroes silently shook their heads.
‘Okay, then,’ said Desmond. ‘What next?’
‘Well, we’ve already got a rope in place,’ Maud said. ‘We could just take the end of rope that’s tied around the tree and attach it to the crane instead.’
They all looked around for Housecat Woman.
‘There she is!’ cried Ernie, pointing.
Housecat Woman, exhausted from her climb, was stretched along a lower branch of the tree, fast asleep.
‘There’ll be no waking her now,’ said Valiant Vera with a sigh.
‘I’ll go,’ Ernie offered. ‘I’m not as fast as Housecat Woman, but I know I can do it.’
Maud positioned herself beneath the bottom branch and Ernie stepped lightly onto her back. ‘Watch out for the crumbly bark, Ernie,’ she reminded him.
Taking extra care not to slip, Ernie slowly and carefully climbed the tree.
‘Hi there, Mavis,’ he said, when at last he reached the highest branch.
‘Hi, Ernie,’ Mavis said in a small voice. ‘Have you come to save me?’
‘We’ll have you down in two shakes of a lamb’s tail,’ promised Ernie with a smile.
Mavis giggled weakly.
‘I’m going to tie one end of this rope to the crane and fasten the other end around your waist—er, your middle,’ he explained, as Desmond moved the tip of the crane till it was within Ernie’s reach. ‘Amazing Desmond will lower you down to the ground.’
Ernie quickly tied the rope in place and tugged the knots to make sure they were tight.
Then he gave Desmond the thumbs-up, and Mavis began to rise from the branch. Swinging slightly, her tea towel fluttering in the breeze, she was soon clear of the tree’s branches and being lowered slowly to earth.
As Ernie clambered down the tree, he could hear the applause of the relieved crowd.
A few minutes later, Ernie joined Maud, who was awaiting her sister’s arrival on the ground. They could just hear a high-pitched bleat.
‘What’s that she’s saying?’ Ernie asked curiously, straining his ears.
Maud rolled her eyes. ‘She’s saying, “Wheeeeee!”’
When Mavis hit the pavement with a slight bump, Maud rushed over, nimbly undoing the rope with her teeth. ‘Oh, Mavis,’ she said, nuzzling her affectionately. ‘What a silly little lamb you are.’
Mavis wriggled impatiently, then began skipping around in happy circles. ‘It was just like flying, Maud!’ said the little sheep, her eyes shining. ‘And did you see how high I was? I bet no sheep has ever gone so high!’
Maud butted her sharply. ‘You thank everyone for saving you, Mavis,’ she said sternly. After Mavis had delivered a series of breathless thank yous, to which Maud added her own heartfelt thanks, the two sheep trotted off down the street.
While Amazing Desmond returned the crane, Ernie walked with the other superheroes back to 32 High Street and collected his bike. Mavis might be the cutest sheep he had ever seen, he thought as he pedalled slowly through the park, but little sisters were hard work.
EIGHT
When Ernie arrived at the Superheroes Society (Baxter Branch) the following afternoon, he was pleased to find that Maud was standing outside waiting for him, her cape crisp and neat and her face cheerful.
‘How’s Mavis?’ Ernie asked.
Maud gave a sigh. ‘She’s fine. Still talking about how she “flew”. I don’t have the heart to be cross with her, though. Apparently the reason she kept taking my cape for her dress ups was that she was pretending to be a superhero like me.’
‘That would explain the tea towel,’ Ernie said.
‘Doris says I should be flattered.’
‘Well, Mavis must really admire you,’ Ernie said. ‘Anyway, have you decided on a sidekick? I thought that brown duck, Samantha, was pretty good.’
‘No, Ernie,’ said Maud. ‘I’ve decided that I don’t need a sidekick. But the other middle animals and I are planning to have regular get-togethers. You’re invited too …’ she added, as Ernie opened the battered brown door, ‘… as an honorary middle animal.’
Ernie was touched.
Inside, they found the superheroes gathered around the table in preparation for another of Super Whiz’s informative lectures. Valiant Vera smiled warmly at Ernie and Maud, and Amazing
Desmond gave the pair a broad wink. Housecat Woman was deep in her usual slumber.
‘Ahem,’ said Super Whiz, clearing his throat. ‘This afternoon I’d like to try out a new lecture I’ve written for the Superheroes Conference.’
‘Aw, come on, Whiz,’ Desmond groaned loudly. ‘Not another one. I thought we’d agreed on Seventeen Strategies for Successful Super-heroing.’
‘Well, Desmond,’ said Super Whiz with a furious glare (he hated being called Whiz), ‘I think I’ve really hit the mark with this new paper. Even you might appreciate it.’
‘All right,’ said Desmond. ‘Go on then.’
‘Although crime is at an all-time low in Baxter, we are never short of action. Far from it …’
As Super Whiz began to speak, Ernie and Maud exchanged small smiles. Even if Super Whiz’s lectures were a bit boring sometimes, Ernie didn’t mind.
‘“But how did the sheep get in the tree?” I heard someone ask. “Colleagues,” I said, “that is of little import in the present crisis. It is imperative that before another step is taken we first secure the sheep to the tree.”’
‘Huh?’ Ernie looked up, startled. Valiant Vera, with a puzzled expression on her face, looked as if she was about to say something, but Super Whiz carried on.
‘“Fellow superheroes,” I said, “it is a crane we seek.”’
Amazing Desmond snorted loudly, but Super Whiz continued as if there had been no interruption.
This wasn’t quite the way Ernie remembered things happening, but as he settled back to listen he had to admit it was a gripping story.
‘And so, the sheep was borne safely to earth. And a very cute sheep she was, too.’
All the superheroes gathered around Super Whiz, clapping and cheering. Although he may have muddled up a few of the details, he had certainly made the rescue of Mavis sound like a very exciting adventure. They all agreed that this was by far Super Whiz’s best lecture ever.
About the author
Fearless Frances Watts is the author of Kisses for Daddy and Parsley Rabbit’s Book about Books. She also works as an editor, and as the servant of a lazy cat. Frances likes travelling, cheese and ducks, and dislikes ferocious dogs and having cold feet. Although her natural superpower has not yet emerged, she did once rescue a horse from a fire.
About the illustrator
Jittery Judy Watson has been a chicken all her life. She has illustrated several books for children, some of them quite terrifying. Her most frightening project so far was drawing the fearsome tiger for the Aussie Nibble Tim & Tig. Drawing the pictures for Extraordinary Ernie & Marvellous Maud sometimes caused her hand to tremble. This may explain many of the wobbles in her illustrations.
By the way, she is very impressed that Fearless Frances has rescued a horse.
Also available
Extraordinary Ernie &
Marvellous Maud
Ernie Eggers is thrilled when he wins a superhero contest and becomes Extraordinary Ernie (after school on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and all day Saturday). But his excitement turns to dismay when he discovers that his sidekick is a sheep. It doesn’t take him long to realise, though, that there has never been another sheep quite like Marvellous Maud.
Coming soon
The Greatest Sheep in History
Extraordinary Ernie and Marvellous Maud a
re back!
Ernie and Maud are thrilled to be attending the National Superheroes Conference with the other superheroes from Baxter. But when the conference is disrupted by Chicken George—the most terrifying and villainous chicken anyone has ever seen—it will take more than just an ordinary superhero to save the day.
Copyright
The ABC ‘Wave’ device is a trademark of the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation and is used
under licence by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia.
First published in Australia in 2008
This edition published in 2011
by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
harpercollins.com.au
Copyright © Frances Watts 2008
Illustrations copyright © Judy Watson 2008
The right of Frances Watts to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Watts, Frances.
The Middle Sheep / author, Frances Watts; illustrator, Judy Watson.
ISBN: 978-0-7333-2305-8 (pbk.)
ISBN: 978-0-7304-9573-4 (ePub)
Series: Watts, Frances. Extraordinary Ernie & Marvellous Maud; I. Other Authors/Contributors: Watson, Judy. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
A823.4