Patchwork Picnic (9781743583524) Read online

  CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  COPYRIGHT PAGE

  ‘Lola! Nick! Come downstairs,’ called Mum. ‘I’m having a clear out.’

  Lola raced downstairs after her brother. Mum was standing at the door of the garden shed.

  ‘Most of this is rubbish,’ she said, ‘but if there’s anything you’d like to keep, say so now.’

  Lola couldn’t believe her ears. She was never allowed in the shed. It was too messy and dangerous! Also, there were spiders in there.

  Nick pushed past her.

  ‘I’m having those jam jars. And those broomsticks,’ he said. ‘And those bike wheels. And –’

  ‘That’s enough!’ laughed Mum. ‘Lola, how about you?’

  The shed looked magical inside.

  Old furniture was jumbled together, making strange shapes and shadows on the walls. Shelves and cupboards overflowed with tins and jars, cans and empty pots.

  ‘What’s that?’ asked Lola. She pointed to a shape under a sheet.

  ‘Ah,’ sighed Mum. ‘Take a look.’

  ‘It’s mine!’ shouted Nick. ‘I want it!’

  ‘No, Nick,’ said Mum firmly. ‘It’s Lola’s turn to choose something.’

  Lola stepped up and pulled the sheet away.

  A million specks of dust danced in the sunlight.

  And there it was.

  A beautiful, somewhat tatty, large wooden box.

  ‘That’s not fair,’ Nick groaned.

  ‘It’s perfect!’ said Lola.

  The box looked very, very old. It must have been in the shed for years.

  Lola grabbed a cloth from the kitchen and cleaned the dust off the wood.

  As she was cleaning, Lola saw some writing inside the lid:

  Is that a place? Lola wondered. Perhaps Timberfields is where the box was made.

  The toy box looked much better once it was clean.

  Lola and her mum carried the box up to her room.

  Her mum went back out to the shed, and Lola picked up Buddy. He was her favourite toy.

  Buddy was a learn-to-dress clown. He was covered in buttons and poppers, zippers and buckles. Lola loved him.

  ‘What do you think of my new toy box?’ she asked Buddy. ‘Does it look like a good home for you and the others?’

  Lola often had chats like this with Buddy. He was an excellent listener!

  Just then, she heard Nick stomping up the stairs. ‘Oi, Lola!’ he said loudly. ‘I’m coming in to talk about that box.’

  Lola sighed. Not another Nick attack!

  ‘Go away,’ she called back. ‘Mum gave the box to me.’

  ‘But I want it,’ Nick moaned. ‘It’s not fair! I’ll swap you something. You can have the bike wheels. Come on, Lola!’

  ‘No,’ said Lola. ‘The box is mine, and I’m keeping it.’

  Nick was always wanting her stuff. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?

  ‘I’m counting to five,’ Nick called through the door. ‘Then I’m coming in!’

  Sometimes I wish he’d just disappear, Lola thought grumpily.

  ‘One!’ called Nick.

  Or maybe I could disappear?

  ‘Two!’

  I should hide, thought Lola.

  ‘Three!’

  She looked at the open toy box. Of course!

  ‘Four!’

  Lola grabbed Buddy and hopped into the toy box. She shut the lid and crouched inside.

  And then everything changed.

  The box filled with light and began to shake.

  What on earth? thought Lola, alarmed.

  It was so bright that she had to shut her eyes. She held Buddy tight.

  It felt like someone had picked up the toy box and was rattling it around like a money tin! Buddy flew out of her hands and landed in the corner of the box.

  Suddenly, the shaking stopped.

  Lola waited a second. Then she opened her eyes. Phew!

  Leaving Buddy behind, she lifted the lid of the toy box and jumped out.

  She felt very cross.

  ‘Nick, what is your problem?’ she started to say.

  But then she looked around, and – oh gosh!

  Lola had climbed into her new toy box. But she had climbed out of …

  She had climbed out of a large wooden picnic hamper!

  And Lola wasn’t in her bedroom anymore. She was on the side of a beautiful hill.

  She couldn’t believe it.

  Things got even stranger when Buddy climbed out of the hamper and stood next to her.

  Lola stared at her favourite toy. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

  ‘Bless my buttons, Lola,’ Buddy said in a funny voice. ‘You look like a goldfish!’

  Lola gulped. Is that …? Is Buddy talking to me?

  Buddy giggled. Then he copied Lola, opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish. He looked very funny.

  ‘But … you’re a toy!’ said Lola, finally. ‘You’re …’

  ‘I’m Buddy the Clown,’ he said. ‘But hey, you know that. You named me!’

  Lola nodded. And she shook her head. Then she did both at the same time.

  She was smiling. Actually, she was grinning.

  ‘Seeing as you can talk, Buddy,’ she said, ‘could you tell me where we are? This isn’t my bedroom anymore, right?’

  Buddy flung his arms out wide.

  ‘Right!’ he said. ‘Lola, we are in the Kingdom – the most wonderful place ever! I’m so happy I could pop my popper.’

  Lola grinned even wider.

  Pop my popper?

  ‘Do you always talk like that?’ she asked.

  Buddy looked hurt. ‘What’s wrong with how I speak?’

  ‘Nothing,’ she laughed. ‘I love it. I’ve just never heard it before!’

  Buddy was pleased. Then he tried to take a step – but fell over instead!

  Lola gasped, and reached down to help poor Buddy.

  He was chuckling, though.

  ‘Uh-oh. This might take a while,’ Buddy said, standing up again. ‘I haven’t stood on my own two feet for ages.’

  He managed a few wobbly steps. Then he tumbled down again. His long legs and laces were all in a tangle!

  Lola flopped down next to him. She couldn’t stop staring at her favourite toy, who’d somehow come to life.

  ‘Oh Lola, you’ll love it here,’ said Buddy, grinning back at her.

  He took Lola’s hand. She helped him stand up on his wonky legs.

  Then she got to her feet and looked about, her eyes wide with wonder.

  There were beautiful fields all around them. They reminded Lola of the patchwork quilt in her bedroom.

  The grass was soft under her feet. She could see odd-shaped trees on the other side of the hill. They looked like … they looked like toy trees!

  ‘Tell me all about the Kingdom,’ she said, turning back to Buddy.

  ‘Shall we walk as we talk?’ he said happily.

  ‘If you can,’ Lola said, smiling.

  ‘Funny girl!’ Buddy laughed. ‘I’ll be fine in no time. Trust my toggle, I will!’

  Then he fell over. And over!

  Soon they were strolling and stumbling down the soft hillside, carrying the picnic basket between them.

  ‘The Kingdom is where toys come when they are not being played with by their children,’ Buddy explained to Lola.

  Lola couldn’t b
elieve it. She had never thought about what happened to her toys when she wasn’t playing with them.

  ‘There are lots of different lands in the Kingdom,’ said Buddy. He looked at his wrist, but he wasn’t wearing a watch.

  ‘We don’t have time for all that now, though,’ he added.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Lola asked.

  Buddy smiled his big goofy clown grin. ‘I think we’ve arrived,’ he said, ‘just in time for the picnic.’

  ‘The picnic?’ repeated Lola.

  ‘Oh yes,’ said Buddy cheerfully. ‘I have a feeling that today’s the day!’

  They walked through a patch of toy trees, and then Lola stopped. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She could see bears.

  But these weren’t real bears. These were lots and lots of teddy bears.

  There were other toys, too. Rag dolls and monkeys. Fluffy cats and soft rabbits. But mostly teddy bears. They were all sitting on picnic blankets.

  Buddy led Lola to a spare blanket. They dropped their picnic basket and sat down.

  Buddy was excited. ‘By my buttons, I was right! As soon as we climbed out of that picnic hamper, I knew. Today’s the day!’

  ‘What day?’ asked Lola.

  ‘Today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic!’ he said.

  Lola laughed. ‘They really do that? Amazing!’

  Looking around, Lola noticed that she was the only girl among all the toys. She also noticed that none of the toys were eating yet.

  Lola’s tummy rumbled. What were they waiting for?

  Suddenly, everything went silent.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she whispered.

  But Buddy was looking over her shoulder. Lola turned and saw a line of very smart-looking bears coming through the crowd.

  This day keeps getting stranger and stranger, she thought.

  Then she noticed that one of the bears looked familiar.

  Very familiar!

  ‘That’s Felix!’ cried Lola as the bears marched by. ‘That’s my teddy!’

  ‘Felix is the son of the Great High Bear himself,’ Buddy whispered importantly.

  Lola was surprised. She had left Felix at her gran’s house the last time she’d visited. She wondered if more of her toys were here in the Kingdom.

  But what had Buddy said?

  That toys only came to the Kingdom when children weren’t playing with them?

  The bears stopped in the middle of the field. Felix looked around at all the toys.

  ‘Friends!’ he called, in a deep bear voice. ‘As you know, these are troubled times in the Kingdom.’

  Felix sounded very serious. Then he said, ‘But I bring good news!’

  With a flourish, Felix threw open the large picnic box he had been riding on.

  Oh good, thought Lola. Perhaps it’s time to eat.

  ‘I have just returned from Nevercalm!’ Felix boomed.

  All the toys gasped when they heard this.

  Felix lifted up an odd-shaped, plastic wind-up soldier from the basket. ‘And we have captured this enemy toy!’

  There was another gasp, and then the other toys all started whispering to each other.

  Lola stared at the soldier in Felix’s paw. It was nodding slowly and its arms moved up and down. It looked lost. She had seen this toy before. But where?

  ‘The Plastic Prince has been building an army with soldiers just like this one,’ said Felix. ‘And he’s planning to attack!’

  Here? Lola was shocked. In the Kingdom of toys? But everything seemed so soft and cuddly!

  She wondered who the Plastic Prince was, and why he would want to attack.

  Buddy seemed to know what Lola was thinking.

  ‘There is a battle going on between the Great High Bear and the Plastic Prince,’ he whispered. ‘The Great High Bear rules most of the Kingdom. But there is one place, a scary place, called Nevercalm.’

  Buddy shivered. ‘The Plastic Prince rules Nevercalm, and he wants to rule the Kingdom too!’

  Lola bit her lip. That sounded serious indeed.

  When the crowd became quiet, Felix spoke again.

  ‘Do not worry, friends,’ he said, his voice growing louder. ‘Today I will show you that the Plastic Prince cannot build a strong army. We can prove it.

  Watch how easily I can stop this soldier from working!’

  In one quick move, Felix pulled the silver key out of the soldier’s back. He held it high above his furry ears.

  The toys all cheered like crazy.

  ‘And that’s not all!’ Felix yelled.

  Lola was worried. Very worried. Was Felix going to hurt the toy soldier?

  ‘Without its key,’ Felix went on, ‘this soldier will soon wind down. And then I’m going to throw away the key, and destroy this enemy toy forever!’

  Lola jumped to her feet. ‘No, Felix!’ she shouted at the top of her voice. ‘Stop!’

  Every single toy in the crowd turned to look at her. Lola felt the blood rushing to her cheeks.

  Then a tiny voice beside her said, ‘Oh, Lola, I hope you know what you’re doing. By my zipper, I do!’

  Felix walked towards Lola. Buddy shuffled in closer.

  ‘Well, well, well,’ said Felix darkly. ‘If it isn’t my dear Lola. How very nice to see you.’

  Lola wasn’t sure he actually meant that.

  ‘What are you doing in the Kingdom?’ Felix asked. ‘It has been a long, long time since we’ve had a real girl here.’

  Then Buddy spoke up.

  ‘Oh, she’s just here with me, Felix,’ he said, his voice trembling. ‘For fun. For a picnic. And we were just leaving, actually.’

  ‘Hello, Buddy,’ said Felix quietly. ‘It’s been a long time since we’ve seen you here, too.’

  He rubbed his furry chin. He looked at Lola and then Buddy.

  ‘Lola,’ he said, ‘this soldier works for the Plastic Prince, our enemy. But you don’t think we should destroy it. Why is that?’

  The soldier was still quietly nodding its head, up and down, up and down.

  The toy was getting slower, and making a quiet humming noise.

  Lola took a good look at Felix. He was a very fine bear. He had neat, orange fur and a stern look on his face.

  Lola felt a bit nervous. But she also felt sure that Felix shouldn’t hurt the poor soldier. She took a deep breath.

  ‘I don’t think we should be cruel,’ Lola said. ‘To anything or anyone.’

  Felix nodded and was silent for a long time.

  Finally, in a very strange voice, he said, ‘OK. I won’t throw the key away. You can keep it. On one condition.’

  A funny feeling crept into Lola’s tummy. But it wasn’t a good funny feeling.

  Felix drew himself up to his full height. ‘The condition is that you first pass a test.’

  Buddy sprang forward. ‘Blast my buckle!’ he cried. ‘You can’t be serious, Felix.’

  ‘I am the son of the Great High Bear,’ said Felix, angrily. ‘Lola has challenged my orders. How do we know we can trust her?’

  A whisper ran through the crowd. It sounded like the toys were all saying, ‘Buttons! Buttons! Buttons!’

  ‘Indeed, she will do the button test!’ Felix said loudly. ‘And if she fails, I will destroy this enemy toy – and Lola will never be allowed back in the Kingdom!’

  Then he turned back to Lola. ‘Do you accept?’

  Lola gulped. She knew this test was very important.

  She had loved coming to the Kingdom. It was amazing seeing all these toys come alive.

  She’d never had a real adventure like this before. And she’d be sad if she couldn’t come back.

  But then Lola looked over at the poor toy soldier. What will happen to him if I say no?

  ‘I accept,’ she said firmly.

  A thrill ran through her body as the crowd of toys began cheering.

  ‘Very well,’ Felix said seriously. ‘Let’s get ready.’

  Felix took a golden button from one pocket
and a silver button from the other. Then he turned to Buddy and held out a paw.

  Buddy seemed to know what to do. He handed Felix one of his own buttons. It was a very plain, old wooden button.

  Felix lined up the buttons on the picnic hamper. Then he handed Lola a rolled up piece of paper. It was tied with a ribbon.

  ‘If you pass this test, we will know that you can be trusted,’ Felix told her.

  All the toys were silent.

  Lola could feel the eyes of every bear and rag doll and cat and monkey and rabbit – on her.

  She pulled the ribbon and unrolled the paper. Her hands were shaking.

  Then she began to read aloud, and her voice was shaking too:

  When Lola had finished reading, she looked at the three buttons on top of the picnic hamper. Gold, silver and wood.

  Gold. The gold button looked so beautiful and shiny in the sunlight.

  Lola liked the idea of having lots of money. There were loads of things she’d love to buy. New pens. New toys. A new bike.

  I could have anything I want, thought Lola.

  Silver. The silver button looked smart, like it was from a uniform. Lola liked the idea of being braver and stronger.

  It might help me stand up to Nick, she thought.

  Lastly, wood. Next to the gold and silver buttons, Buddy’s wooden one looked a bit tatty. It wasn’t fancy. But it would last forever. And it came from her favourite toy in the world.

  Lola read the poem again.

  Then she took a deep breath, grabbed a button, and held it up for all to see.

  All the toys stared.

  Then there was the very strange sound of hundreds of soft paws and fabric hands clapping.

  ‘Well done, Lola,’ said Felix. His whole face had changed. He was smiling and nodding. ‘Well done!’

  Lola felt a grin spread across her face. ‘It was easy in the end,’ she said, looking at the wooden button in her hand. ‘I don’t need riches and shiny new stuff.

  And I can be brave and strong all by myself. But this button is special to me, because it came from my friend Buddy.’

  The crowd of toys whooped and clapped.