gnomes away. ‘Let’s go,’ he says as he picks up Dopey.
But Dopey never makes it to the bag. Dopey gets halfway when he is launched from a Hamish boot to the buttock.
‘Oops, sorry,’ says Hamish. ‘Must’ve tripped.’
Dopey hits the tent pole. His body slides against the stand but his head goes west.
Zac looks like he’s about to cry. Hamish looks like he’s about to laugh. And Luke? He looks like he wants to smash something. He lunges at Hamish who steps out of the way. Luke swings around to face him.
‘Hey, fellas,’ interrupts the gallery man. ‘Take your business elsewhere.’ He makes cluck, clucking sounds with his tongue and quickly shuts the flaps of the shooting gallery.
Hamish snatches Dopey’s head and hurls it at Luke who ducks and collides with a popcorn machine. The popcorn machine starts spewing. The popcorn lady races to stop the machine but trips and knocks over the fairyfloss stand. Fairyfloss flies through the air. Zac grabs a handful of popcorn and chucks it at Hamish who promptly chucks some back.
Not again!
It’s hard to tell who is who and what is what. Popcorn and gnomes and boys covered in fairy floss tussle in a heap when suddenly a hose is turned on them.
Luke is the first to get away. He stands to the side laughing as Hamish tries to escape the cold blast. It takes Luke a while to register who isholding the hose. She looks strange without a pigeon in her hair. Luke feels a sting on his cheek. He swipes and inspects the imaginary insect. He is surprised to find his hand covered in blood. Luke looks around. He sees Hamish — Hamish who managed to escape the blast is now smashing gnomes, deliberately stomping them into the ground. A shard of flying plaster has cut him.
Zac is yelling and Mrs Sully is yelling.
Hamish opens his mouth to yell, too. He starts his war cry, the thumping, stomping, bumping war cry of the Warriors. He throws back his head and opens his mouth — wide …
Then, all of a sudden the most wonderful thing happens. The most marvellous thing that Luke could wish for.
The war cry dies.
Why’s Hamish stopped? wonders Luke.
The air rumbles, the sky darkens and he looks up. Racing pigeons are coming in to land.
Luke notices that Hamish has started up again, but this time the war cry is different. Hamish is yelling and prancing about, making gargling noises and swiping at his mouth. Luke peers closer. What’s happening? He looks at Hamish’s face. It is smeared with brown and white!
‘Aaaagh!’ says Hamish, wiping at his face — swipe, swipe, swipe.
Is this a new version of the Warrior War Cry? wonders Luke. He decides that maybe it is. In theold one Hamish never did back flips! Or windmill arms. And he never spat.
Luke looks at Mrs Sully. There’s something different about her. She is doubled up with laughter. He looks back at Hamish. Hamish is on his hands and knees, now. He is dry retching on the ground, moaning and shaking and putting on such a show that people passing by start to throw money.
What’s going on? Luke can’t work it out. He looks at Hamish going ballistic. He looks at Mrs Sully, holding her sides she’s laughing so much.
Then he looks … into the yellow eyes of Pretty
Boy!
Pretty Boy — The Racing Pigeon Who Brought One Home. Who dropped his load …
Right in Hamish’s mouth!
Chapter One
Mr Epeler is speaking. He’s our teacher.
‘By the end of this term we’ll all have worked like such busy little bees on our spelling … ’
Spelling! That word. It’s a hot-needles-under-your-fingernails sort of word.
‘… that we’ll all be able to spell Amorphophallus … ’ Amor, what? I think we did amour in Italian in Grade 3. Or was amour in French in Grade 4? Whatever.
‘Amorphophallus titanum!’ Mr Epeler beams around the room like a wayward asteroid. ‘It’s a flower, by the way.’
Oh, a flower, I think to myself. Of course! ‘Amorphophallus titanum. I want you to learn that word.’
Amor … A
But Dopey never makes it to the bag. Dopey gets halfway when he is launched from a Hamish boot to the buttock.
‘Oops, sorry,’ says Hamish. ‘Must’ve tripped.’
Dopey hits the tent pole. His body slides against the stand but his head goes west.
Zac looks like he’s about to cry. Hamish looks like he’s about to laugh. And Luke? He looks like he wants to smash something. He lunges at Hamish who steps out of the way. Luke swings around to face him.
‘Hey, fellas,’ interrupts the gallery man. ‘Take your business elsewhere.’ He makes cluck, clucking sounds with his tongue and quickly shuts the flaps of the shooting gallery.
Hamish snatches Dopey’s head and hurls it at Luke who ducks and collides with a popcorn machine. The popcorn machine starts spewing. The popcorn lady races to stop the machine but trips and knocks over the fairyfloss stand. Fairyfloss flies through the air. Zac grabs a handful of popcorn and chucks it at Hamish who promptly chucks some back.
Not again!
It’s hard to tell who is who and what is what. Popcorn and gnomes and boys covered in fairy floss tussle in a heap when suddenly a hose is turned on them.
Luke is the first to get away. He stands to the side laughing as Hamish tries to escape the cold blast. It takes Luke a while to register who isholding the hose. She looks strange without a pigeon in her hair. Luke feels a sting on his cheek. He swipes and inspects the imaginary insect. He is surprised to find his hand covered in blood. Luke looks around. He sees Hamish — Hamish who managed to escape the blast is now smashing gnomes, deliberately stomping them into the ground. A shard of flying plaster has cut him.
Zac is yelling and Mrs Sully is yelling.
Hamish opens his mouth to yell, too. He starts his war cry, the thumping, stomping, bumping war cry of the Warriors. He throws back his head and opens his mouth — wide …
Then, all of a sudden the most wonderful thing happens. The most marvellous thing that Luke could wish for.
The war cry dies.
Why’s Hamish stopped? wonders Luke.
The air rumbles, the sky darkens and he looks up. Racing pigeons are coming in to land.
Luke notices that Hamish has started up again, but this time the war cry is different. Hamish is yelling and prancing about, making gargling noises and swiping at his mouth. Luke peers closer. What’s happening? He looks at Hamish’s face. It is smeared with brown and white!
‘Aaaagh!’ says Hamish, wiping at his face — swipe, swipe, swipe.
Is this a new version of the Warrior War Cry? wonders Luke. He decides that maybe it is. In theold one Hamish never did back flips! Or windmill arms. And he never spat.
Luke looks at Mrs Sully. There’s something different about her. She is doubled up with laughter. He looks back at Hamish. Hamish is on his hands and knees, now. He is dry retching on the ground, moaning and shaking and putting on such a show that people passing by start to throw money.
What’s going on? Luke can’t work it out. He looks at Hamish going ballistic. He looks at Mrs Sully, holding her sides she’s laughing so much.
Then he looks … into the yellow eyes of Pretty
Boy!
Pretty Boy — The Racing Pigeon Who Brought One Home. Who dropped his load …
Right in Hamish’s mouth!
Chapter One
Mr Epeler is speaking. He’s our teacher.
‘By the end of this term we’ll all have worked like such busy little bees on our spelling … ’
Spelling! That word. It’s a hot-needles-under-your-fingernails sort of word.
‘… that we’ll all be able to spell Amorphophallus … ’ Amor, what? I think we did amour in Italian in Grade 3. Or was amour in French in Grade 4? Whatever.
‘Amorphophallus titanum!’ Mr Epeler beams around the room like a wayward asteroid. ‘It’s a flower, by the way.’
Oh, a flower, I think to myself. Of course! ‘Amorphophallus titanum. I want you to learn that word.’
Amor … A
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