“I feel rotten I can’t make a great big song and dance of this for you all,” continued Churchill. “There must be something! We must have a celebration of some sort! You all like tea parties, don’t you?”

“YES!” exclaimed the boy.

“This afternoon at Buckingham Palace, then!” exclaimed Churchill. “I will telephone the King at once and tell him the whole story!”

“Buckingham Palace!” spluttered Sid.

“My goodness!” added the boy.

“HOO!” hooted Gertrude.

“The monkey can come too!” said Churchill.

Sid and Eric shared a look. Who was going to tell the prime minister that gorillas were not monkeys but apes? No one!

“Is there anyone you three would like to invite?” asked Churchill.

“Well, there is someone I can think of,” said Eric, “who helped us in this adventure.”

“Who?” pressed Sid.

“Bessie!”

A bashful grin spread across Sid’s face. “Yes, of course, we have to invite Bessie.”

“I will ask them to lay a place for this Bessie!”

“And, sir?” asked the boy.

“Yes, young man?”

“Is it all right if we invite some of Gertrude’s animal friends too?”

Churchill smiled at the thought. “I will have to check with the King, but as far as I am concerned the more the merrier! We will celebrate with tea and cake, and probably the odd glass of brandy and a cigar or two this very afternoon! Until then, Merry Christmas!”

“It’s CHRISTMAs?” asked the boy, who had completely lost track of the days.

“Very nearly. It’s Christmas Eve today. I know it’s just a tea party, but I want you to know you are heroes.

Mighty
     great
           heroes.”

This brought a tear to Sid’s eye. Stepping on that mine on his very first day as a soldier all those years ago in the First World War had made him feel like a failure. But here was the prime minister, Winston Churchill himself, calling him a hero!

“Thank you so much, sir,” exclaimed the old man. “And I am going to personally recommend you to the King for the George Cross.”

Eric and Gertrude hugged Sid to share his excitement, but the man was overcome.

“But… but… but…”

“No buts, my good man!” declared Churchill. “You, sir, deserve one of the highest honours in the land. As do all of you. I wish I could give you, Eric and Gertrude, medals too, but they are not awarded to children or indeed gorillas. Apologies.”

“You don’t know how much this means to me, sir!” exclaimed a misty-eyed Sid.

“And we’ll get you fitted for some new legs pronto! And if there is anything I can do for you, boy, anything at all, then name it!”

Eric pondered this for a moment. He didn’t have a single toy or game or book to his name. But the boy didn’t want anything for himself. He wanted something for someone else…

“Well, Mr Churchill, sir,” began Eric, “because we took Gertrude from the zoo we are in deep doo-doo, erm, I mean, trouble.”

“Go on!” prompted the prime minister.

“Well, my Uncle Sid here lost his job at LONDON ZOO, and… well…” spluttered Eric, looking at Sid. “Well, he’s worked there all his life and is the best zookeeper in the whole wide world! I wondered, I just wondered, whether you might have a word with the zoo director, Sir Frederick Frown, and ask for Sidney Pratt to be given his job back!”

Tears shone in Sid’s eyes.

“Consider it done! I will call him at once!”

“Oh, thank you!” exclaimed the boy. “And when you speak to him please can you make sure no one ever tries to harm my beautiful friend Gertrude here.”

“I read in yesterday’s newspapers there was a big hunt on for her. Yes, you have my word. I will tell Frown that no one is ever to harm this magnificent creature. Ever. Certainly not these three fools you told me all about: Frown, Batter and Gnarl!”

Eric and Sid smiled, and hugged Gertrude tightly. She gave them both smackers on their cheeks.

“MWAH! MWAH!”

“Now don’t dilly-dally!” commanded Churchill.

“Put on your Sunday best.
In just a few hours we will be
taking tea with royalty!”