“Billy, Billy, open the map. Look, there’s the river, down there, look, down there!” Daisy bounds ahead of Billy, her hair has dried off and the curls are even more frantic. They snake out around her head as her boots trample over the cobblestones.
Rex starts barking, loud piercing noises, while Rufus covers his ears. Billy pulls out the book and unfolds the map. Their route is drawn moving from the path to the banks of the river – they have to follow the bank to the ferry. Daisy is already way ahead of them when Billy sees the monster on the map, a monster that wasn’t there a moment earlier.
“Daisy! Wait, hey Daiseeee, ah come on, will you listen to me!” Billy folds up the map as he breaks into a run after his headstrong friend. Peter and Rufus look on. They don’t start to run.
Peter mutters to Rufus, “You know, if she wants to get there first, I figure let her. What chance does a monster – no matter what size – have against her?”
Rufus watches Rex.
“He just will not listen to me; and me looking out for him, the whole time,” Rufus sighs.
Rex catches up to Daisy and yaps at her ankle. He grabs the base of her boot, stopping her. Daisy stamps her foot and turns on Rex.
“Rex, I am not the monster, stop biting me, or, or…” Daisy recalls the spy book her dad keeps on quoting. “Or I will be bad for your health.” She folds her arms determinedly. Rex looks up at her, his ears cocked. He mumbles a bark under his breath.
Daisy nods. “That’s right.”
Seeing the entire exchange Rufus says, “Ah, come on, she’s a girl Rex.”
“Daisy Milicent, you are one stubborn mule, look.” Billy shoves the map in front of her, as he does so they hear a distant ominous roar. Billy looks in the direction of the sound but he doesn’t see anything.
“Daisy, if we are doing this we need to do this together.”
“Billy.” Daisy looks down at his feet. “Billy, your lace, you’ll trip up. OK, OK, together, I get it, but it would help if you just… keep up.” Daisy sounds exasperated.
“You know, my mum says, patience is a virtue, Daisy. Together.” Billy’s voice is determined.
Rex is scratching again and by now Rufus and Peter and the bike have reached them. Daisy scrutinises the map and sees the monster. He is pretty grim, and big.
Peter leans in over her shoulder.
Daisy mutters, “Peter, you smell of stew, yeuck.” Peter reddens slightly and pokes at the map.
“Well, if you could read this properly you might be going somewhere.”
Daisy purses her lips and stares at the map.
“Monster, water, and we have to pass by him to get to the ferry, easy-peasy.” She looks smug.
Now it is Peter’s turn.
“Uh huh, easy-peasy, oh yes? And, eh, how do you propose we get past the monster, little miss clever?”
Daisy turns and glares at Peter.
“And your glasses are crooked. Again.”
The map doesn’t really help as it is clear the monster guards the passage over the river very seriously.
“Right, let’s get a move on then.”
This time, all four walk together. Rex is still doing his own thing; he is absorbed with chasing the dangerous rabbits and hedgehogs they happen across – a difficult and arduous task.
Together they see him. The monster is big, and grim. He stands beside the ferry dock with his arms folded. His skin is coloured green with blotches of purple; his nose is huge, flat with wide flared nostrils. Even at a distance Daisy can see his luminous green snot.
“Uuugh, that is disgusting.”
He is wearing a woolly waistcoat, dark brown with sort of matching shorts; both items are in dire need of some patching. His feet are huge with curled horn-like toenails.
Rex has caught up with the four of them. He is walking a fraction behind Daisy. Daisy pulls at the hood on her rain mac and straightens herself up. It’s important to present herself properly. Rex nudges at her calf muscle.
They get to within ten feet of the monster when Daisy whispers, “Now leave this to me, I know how to deal with this sort.”
Peter rolls his eyes and straightens his glasses. Rufus thinks about custard and Rex, while Billy opens his backpack, crouching slightly.
Daisy takes a few brave steps.
“Now look here, monster, we are not frightened you see. You must let us pass, and that’s that.”
The monster – in olden times he’d have been called a troll – looks at Daisy and he belches6 with such gusto Daisy’s hair blows back. He stamps his foot in the mucky riverbank and the mud sploshes up, partly covering Peter’s glasses and coating Rufus. Peter has a bit of a hissy fit.
“Oh yeuck!” He takes off his glasses and wipes them on his T-shirt, the bike keels over. Peter’s eyes blink several times – without the glasses framing them they are huge, like two pools of mercury.
Rufus looks at his clothes. He wipes a bit of the mud off but gives up after the slightest effort; mud is just mud.
Daisy has turned a little bit green herself and taken a step back. She glares at the troll.
“You nasty evil monster!” she yells.
The monster looks at Daisy and his lower lip starts to quiver. Daisy scrunches her eyes and watches the monster suspiciously. He breathes in deeply, a loud unhealthy wheeze trundles through his lungs. He sounds a bit like a dodgy accordion or bagpipe. Daisy’s eyes widen in shock; she tilts her head to one side and stares at him. When the monster wheezes a second time, she says, “Is it you? It can’t be.”
The monster says nothing but continues to wheeze.
Billy steps forward and looks at the monster.
“Excuse me, sir, we would like to use the ferry you see.” Daisy turns and looks at Billy mouthing, ‘What are you doing?’
The monster watches Billy.
“May we? Please?”
“Urr wharr,” the monster replies.
Billy looks down at his feet and thinks for a moment.
“Or what? Well, I suppose or nothing. We just need to get to the other side, you see, to the forest and then beyond…”
“Noffren,” the monster says, shaking his head. He looks at Daisy.
Billy tilts his head, again thinking.
“Well the five of us are friends. We could be your friend too?” Billy reaches into his backpack and pulls out the ball of wool. It still smells of wet sheep and wee.
“Mr Monster?” Billy pauses, mulling over what to say next. “Erm, that hole, there.” Billy gestures towards one of the unravelled bits of the monster’s tunic. “I have some wool; I’d love for you to take it and put it to good use, if you’d have it? It’s a bit old, see, and a bit smelly.” Billy gently reaches forward and holds out the ball of wool.
The monster says, “Loff.” His mouth widens, showing gaping and chipped teeth; he is smiling – oddly, but still smiling. Billy returns the smile and it widens into a grin. The monster takes the wool and smells it. His face takes on a look of ecstasy. “Fankoo.”
Another pause and Billy replies, “You are very very welcome.”
Daisy looks at the monster and then Billy. She shakes her head and sighs. She walks over to the monster and tugs gently at his tunic to get his attention. The monster peers down at Daisy.
Daisy thinks for a moment, then says, “Um, sorry about yelling at you.” She pauses, thinks some more. “Is it you?” she finishes quietly.
The monster narrows his eyes but then his face softens again and he smiles.
“I’m Daisy.”
The monster leans forward gently touching Daisy’s chin and says, “Daze-eee.” Now his face is beaming.
“It is, I know it is, oh Horace7; everyone thought I made you up, that you weren’t real. And then you left. I looked everywhere for you. Mum thought I’d gone cuckoo, why did you leave me?”
Horace shrugs his solid shoulders, breathes and wheezes, “Wazz time, Daze-eee.” He hangs his head.
Daisy grabs his hand in hers, though really she can only manage to hold on to his thumb. His hands are so big, they make Daisy’s look like those of a china doll.
“Kennot liff forever, Daze-eee, kennot.”
“Oh Horace, I miss you. Can’t you come with us?”
Horace shakes his head.
“I mind the liffing ere, Daze-eee.”
Daisy throws her arms around him, oblivious to the mud and muck and Horace hugs her tenderly.
“Boat readeee, Daze-eee, frens.” Horace nods his head deliberately.
Daisy stands straight and says, “I will come back, maybe not today, but I will come back, Horace. I promise.” She pauses. “And when I do, I’ll bring chalk. Can we?”
“Yuss, harpskotches8, yuss.” Horace nods and smiles in response.