The sun shone down, butterflies fluttered by, the long green grass waved in an almost regal fashion. Norma paused for a moment to drink it all in. A particularly pretty butterfly landed on her nose and then slowly, inch by inch, made its way up her face.
'Hello!' Norma mooed.
The butterfly lazily opened and closed its wings in reply.
Norma and the butterfly were as one. Rabbits hopped by. Flowers stretched out toward the sun. Worms placed out tiny deckchairs so they could take advantage of the warmth. There was for all concerned a brief period of near perfect peace and tranquility.
'You're here then!'
It was Captain Bill's voice that broke the silence.
The butterfly took flight and the tranquility, which knew a thing or two about life, decided to leave with it.
'Yes,' Norma sighed. 'Sorry I'm so late.'
'Never mind,' Captain Bill replied, 'you're still first.'
'I thought I might be,' Norma said.
'You can sit wherever you like but I've reserved a place for you down at the front,' Captain Bill continued.
Norma turned and walked into a enormous marquee. About half a mile away at the other end of it she could just make out a notice board and a collapsible table. It took her some time to get down to them but as she got closer she saw that lying on the grass just in front of the table was a torn scrap of paper. It had 'Reserved' written on it.
'We'll just wait for the others,' Captain Bill called out.
'It gets dark by ten,' Norma replied.
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