Cow Island

'No really,' said Flossie, 'I'm quite happy to wait, I'm sure we all are!' And the flock bleated in unison. 'No! No!' replied Lefty. 'I wouldn't here of it.' 'But it doesn't seem right,' said Flossie, 'not without her.' 'I should have gone after her straight away,' conceded Lefty. 'Perhaps we should all go and look?' said Flossie. 'She won't have gone far, I'm sure of it,' replied Lefty. 'Does she ever use the old... you know?' asked Flossie. 'The frame?' said Lefty. 'Mmm.' 'She didn't take to it,' replied Lefty. 'She hates anything like that. Reminds her that she's getting old I suppose.' 'Honestly, this can wait,' said Flossie. 'We can split up...' Hooky tapped furiously. 'We can stay together,' corrected Flossie, 'and have ten minutes looking for her and then get on with the vicious po...

'And you're sure it was her?' asked Lefty. Hooky tapped once. 'It couldn't be!' bleated Flossie. Hooky tapped four times. 'Well maybe it could be then!' conceded Flossie. 'How tall was she?' asked Lefty. Hooky tapped seven times. 'And how wide was she?' asked Lefty. Hooky tapped seven times. 'She could do with loosing a few pounds,' remarked Lefty. 'It's all the banquets,' said Flossie. 'Now,' asked Lefty, 'how regal was she?' Hooky tapped three hundred and thirty seven times. 'How regal?' exclaimed Flossie. And Hooky tapped three hundred and thirty seven times.....again. 'It must be her!' said Flossie. 'And she won't be alone,' added Lefty. 'Right ! ' said Flossie . ' T here's no time to lose. W e'll have to move quickly.' 'Not sure we can,' replied Lefty. 'Why not?' asked Flossie. And Lefty...

'But Cyril says he's not sure now who he sold it to so there's little chance of Captain Bill getting it back,' said Norma. 'It's only a piece of furniture,' replied Horace, 'it's not as if it were a poem or anything.' 'I thought you might say something like that,' said Norma. 'So...as we're now talking about poetry, how's it going?' 'It's OK,' replied Horace. 'And Queen Phoebe?' 'We argued for a while over finding something to rhyme with dead. She suggested brown bread but it really didn't fit the mood of the work.' 'Hmm,' replied Norma, 'I can see where you're coming from.' 'The problem is she's very used to getting her own way.' 'I suppose when you're a queen it must get like that?' 'In the end we decided that we'd produce two different versions.' 'Well compromise is best if you cam manage it,' replied N...

'And you're quite sure that's what Norman said?' asked Norma. 'Oh yes!' replied Annie. 'I would have brought him here so he could tell you himself but he takes a long time to draw.' 'Anyway,' said Norma. 'Am I,' interrupted Captain Bill, 'am I the only one who finds the whole notion of an undercover elephant a bit difficult to comprehend?' Annie herded very close to Captain Bill. 'He's a master of disguise you know,' she said. 'He's an ever changing kaleidoscope of characters, a complex panoply of voices, gestures and slight of trunk costume changes. Forever on the move, never resting for a even a moment in his self inflicted quest for.........whatever it is we're all looking for.' 'Queen Phoebe's crown,' prompted Norma. 'That as well,' agreed Annie. 'One day Norman the pirate elephant, the next a pirate elephant named Norman. Sometimes in the forefront of h...