Willow lunged and managed to grab the little crocodile who squirmed furiously in her grasp.
Lovely cheered at the sight. ‘Well done, Willow! Come on, Grouchy, let’s go and look for the Hoozle-making bag,’ she said, trotting into the cave.
Croc looked crosser than ever. ‘You’ll never find it,’ he shouted, snapping his teeth together. ‘I’ve hidden it somewhere really good.’
Willow stared at him. ‘Why are you so mean all the time, Croc?’ she asked as he wriggled in her arms.
Croc stuck his nose in the air. ‘I like being mean,’ he muttered. ‘And I never want another child to have a Hoozle again. It would be better for everyone if new Hoozles weren’t made at all, rather than have a child abandon them.’
He spoke so bitterly that Willow couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. ‘Is that what happened to you?’ she asked.
Croc clamped his mouth shut and didn’t answer.
‘I won’t put you down until you tell me,’ Willow said.
Croc’s body seemed to droop, as if he’d lost some stuffing. ‘My child gave me away,’ he muttered. ‘To his horrible little brother who broke all his toys.’
‘Well, I’m sorry to hear that,’ Willow said. ‘But you shouldn’t go around being horrid yourself.’
Lovely and Grouchy emerged from the cave. ‘We can’t find the bag of Hoozle tools,’ Grouchy grumbled. ‘It’s not in there.’
Willow’s shoulders slumped in disappointment – and Croc took the opportunity to leap out of her arms and run away, disappearing among the rocks within seconds.
Willow was just about to chase after him when she heard an excited cry from Toby. ‘There it is! I can see the bag!’
She looked up to see where he was pointing. Yes! There was the special bag … dangling out over the water from a high wooden beam under the pier. She swallowed. How were they going to get that down?
Toby seemed to read her mind. ‘You stay there, Willow; it’s too high for you. Us Hoozles can climb up and get it.’
Grouchy didn’t look very happy about climbing up the beams. ‘Oh, all right,’ he muttered, following the others.
Willow watched the three Hoozles clamber up the wooden beams. Up … up … and up they went, inching nearer the bag. Grouchy quivered with discomfort. ‘It’s too high up here,’ he moaned, shielding his eyes with a wing. ‘I don’t like it!’ Willow held her breath while Toby pulled himself even further up the beam.
Toby grabbed the handles. ‘We’ll drop it down to you, Willow, all right?’
Willow nodded. ‘Sure,’ she called up. She kicked off her sandals and waded into the sea until she was underneath the bag. The water was lovely and cool and came midway up her calves.
‘One, two, three … Go!’ cried Lovely.
The Hoozles pushed the bag off its nail and Willow held up her arms to catch it. Yes!
‘Well done, guys,’ she said, sploshing out of the sea and stepping into her sandals. ‘Now we have to get back to Auntie Suzy’s shop. Come on!’
* * *
Auntie Suzy’s toy shop was right on the sea front, so it only took Willow a few minutes to get back. Ricky waved from the storeroom at the back of the store, and Willow had just put the Hoozle-making bag on the shop counter when Suzy and Freddie came in.
‘How annoying!’ Auntie Suzy said, taking off her enormous sunglasses. ‘We looked for ages for the right piece of material for an elephant Hoozle, but they didn’t have anything quite special enough, only this grey corduroy, which I think is a bit dull.’
Willow grinned. ‘Is this any good?’ she asked, holding up the purple and lilac blanket she’d got from the animal shelter. ‘And I’ve found some lovely buttons for eyes, too.’
Auntie Suzy’s face lit up. ‘Perfect!’ she cried, stroking the blanket. ‘Oh, good work, Willow. Where did you get these?’
Willow hesitated. ‘Well…’ She suddenly became aware of Lovely and Grouchy, who were in her backpack, and noticed that the model of Summertown was still in a muddle.
Auntie Suzy raised an eyebrow. ‘Well?’ she asked. ‘What’s been going on?’