We Were Only Strawberry Picking (3 page)

‘Ho … ho … ho, you’re funny, Poppy – you know I’ve never eaten worms before. I just meant you probably would be tasteless to me and, no offence, I hardly think you would be very filling.’

‘Saved by my tastelessness …’ chuckled Poppy.

‘You do make me laugh so much, Poppy,’ giggled Enoch.

‘I think we’ve heard enough from you two, so can we now get back to talking seriously, as our happy habitat is in danger of being invaded and ruined by these unknown visitors,’ stated Nora.

Poppy had noticed that Escargot the snail was fast asleep once more, as she announced, ‘Before we start, could someone please wake up Escargot, he has fallen asleep again.’

‘Escargot wake up,’ yelled Alfonso, as Nancy tapped on his shell until slowly he recoiled out of his home – out popped his antennae and then the rest of his neck.

‘Oh, terribly sorry, did I miss something?’

‘Attack, attack, attack,’ repeated Alfonso as a frightened Escargot retracted back into his shell.

‘Why did you have to go and say “attack” – now you’ve scared the living daylights out of Escargot,’ said Cooper.

‘Oh, for goodness sake, come back out Escargot, I wasn’t talking about attacking you, I meant we need to attack the intruders and not give them a chance to seize our home – who knows what danger we could be in if we befriend them?’ suggested Alfonso.

‘But they could be our hope of a way out of this dismal place,’ deemed Enoch, as Cooper gave him a piercing look.
(Due to Enoch’s deteriorating memory, he had forgotten that he could get out of the mine at anytime and that’s why Cooper was staring at him.)

‘I don’t think attack is the solution, I think slow and measured steps are required; I think we should capture them,’ declared Cooper.

‘Okay, capture is even better, then we can interrogate them and maybe I could scare them a little with my rattle to make sure they know we mean business,’ Alfonso smirked excitedly.

‘Oh, Alfonso, shut up please! You lost your rattle only recently and you are no way ready to shed your skin, so how can you rattle without a rattle?’ noted Nora.

‘Well, I forgot about that – what good is a rattlesnake without its rattle I say!’ as all of the other animals began to laugh hysterically at what Alfonso had just expressed, even Nora smiled amusingly.

‘The plan is tomorrow I will take first watch, with my echolocation it shouldn’t take me too long to determine roughly where their point of entry will be. It’s going to take them a while to get their bearings, meanwhile I will signal Enoch so he can come back and round up everyone else. From the amount of dust that came down following the disturbance above, it sounded like only two creatures, so I think we can handle them between us. For now, we need to conserve our strength and get some rest, as we have a big day ahead of us. Alfonso and Enoch, I suggest you go along the tunnels and turn out the lights to limit their visibility towards the centre of the mine and to give us some time to change our plan if need be. If you can do this first thing tomorrow that should suffice. Unless, there was anything else you all wished to discuss, I’m going back to continue my meditation and would prefer it if I was not disturbed at all. I need to clear my mind completely.’

‘And I need to get some sleep,’ moaned Cooper. ‘So could you all vacate my room, now, and could someone please wake up Escargot again. Does he do anything else apart from sleep? Perhaps we should feed him to the visitors, as he is no use to us.’ Out popped Escargot on that note, ‘I heard that Cooper!’

‘Oh, so you weren’t sleeping after all? Are you really as lethargic as you make out or is it just that you’re the laziest animal in Meerville? Sorry, I better rephrase that, more like the laziest on the planet!’

‘Now, you two, this is not the time for petty squabbles, we need to remain united and show these intruders that we are able to live in harmony, despite our backgrounds. Also we have to for survival, so apologise to one another, if not move on. I’m leaving you all now, so stop squabbling and start preparing for tomorrow,’ and off Nora went.

* * *

The next day, Jack and Oscar met Henratty and Lyndi Lou by the entrance of Meerville Strawberry Fields, as planned. They paid the attendant accordingly, at which point both Henratty and Lyndi Lou had noticed that fortunately it was a different attendant from yesterday, so they knew there was no chance they would be recognised, as they glanced at each other with a smug smile. The sweet aroma of the strawberries had already entered Jack’s nasal cavity way before they had even reached the fields, and with his acute sense of smell that was not difficult.

‘So, come on then, show us where you got those strawberries from, it’s clearly not here as the last two strawberries I tried tasted awful, and you did say you had found them in a special place and it was a secret.’

‘Jack, please try not to get too excited and anyway, if the strawberries are that bad, then how come you are still eating them relentlessly?’ remarked Henratty.

‘I guess I’m still hungry.’

‘But surely you had lunch, as I told you to. I’m warning you, any strawberries that we pick when we get to that special field are strictly not for your consumption. Promise me, Jack! – I really want Mama Katie to make that strawberry tart and she needs the best strawberries!’

‘All right then, I’ll pick and eat my own strawberries and promise not to touch any of the ones in the baskets,’ Jack agreed reluctantly.

‘Now follow me and please be quiet, we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves and make the attendant suspicious of our whereabouts or what we were really up to,’ reminded Henratty, and so in single file, they quietly followed Henratty.

‘It’s over there in that field,’ as she pointed beyond the fence. Oscar had now spotted the red notice, just as Lyndi Lou had done the previous day.

‘But that sign says:
Danger – prohibited land and trespassers will be prosecuted!’

‘Just like I pointed out yesterday!’ declared Lyndi Lou.

‘Honestly, do you two have to do everything by the book? If there was any danger, would we honestly be here? There is nothing dangerous in that field unless you’re scared of strawberries and anyway you tried them, Jack, and you’re still here.’ It suddenly dawned on him that they had not even tried the strawberries from this forbidden area and he was Henratty’s “guinea pig”!

‘How do you know it has not done me any harm, I ate loads yesterday and you guys had none?’ protested Jack.

‘Not strictly true, as we had one each and well, Jack, you’re still here, breathing, talking and eating relentlessly, so I would say that’s more than enough proof and from where I’m standing nothing has changed about you, not even the size of your stomach!’ argued Henratty.

Jack had to admit that what Henratty had just mentioned was in fact true as he said, ‘Okay, okay, I guess you’re right.’

‘So are we ready then?’ There was a long pause, as Lyndi Lou’s eyes shifted in Oscar’s direction (she was certainly not comfortable with the idea of trespassing for the second time). He could see her awkwardness and he was not feeling that comfortable either, as they simultaneously looked at Jack, almost subliminally wanting him to make the decision for them. They did not want to get blamed for any potential mishaps especially when they were supposedly with their older and responsible siblings.

‘Well, I’m all for it,’ uttered Jack. ‘I just want to get hold of those big, juicy strawberries and try them once more before I start picking them for Mama Katie’s tart.’

‘Right that’s settled then, we’re going in. Lyndi Lou, when the coast is clear, you can give us the signal and we can squeeze through the gap in the fence, as we did last time. However, Jack, you will have to climb over, so please don’t get stuck, because that attendant will see you and game over, not to mention what our parents will do to us if we get caught – I’m sure you don’t want that on your conscience … do you?’ questioned Henratty, as she glared at Jack.

‘Look, are you implying that I am too big to get through that gap in the fence, as I’ve had enough of your snide remarks for one day?’ snapped Jack.

‘Of course not, what I’m saying is the gap is too small, that’s all!’ replied Henratty, as she glanced sideways, a definite sign that she was not exactly telling the truth. Jack scratched his head for a moment as he tried to fathom out if Henratty was being sincere, it confused him, but the pungent smell of the irresistible strawberries had overpowered him once more as he concentrated on getting over the fence.

‘Right then, I’ll be as light as a feather, you’ll see.’ retaliated Jack. The rest of the meerkats stared at him for a few seconds trying to comprehend what he had said as, if anything, one would not describe Jack “as being light as a feather” but quite the opposite!

‘Now what are you all staring at?’ asked Jack with a bemused expression, as all the other meerkats suppressed their laughter by covering their mouths with both hands, desperately wanting to laugh but knowing the attendant would hear them. They could not risk making any sort of sound that would alert him to their exact whereabouts.

‘Right, that’s enough. Lyndi Lou, are we clear?’ asked Henratty.

Yes,
she signalled with the agreed hand motion – that was Henratty and Oscar through the fence safely. She had now signalled Jack to stay still as she could see the attendant coming towards her. She was holding her breath, as he was only a few yards away but by the
grace of the MightyKats
, an argument had broken out between two meerkats picking strawberries on the other side of the field as she saw the attendant make a quick dash in the direction of the commotion. Immediately she signalled Jack to climb the fence and indeed he did so in no time, after all he was reasonably fit, just a bit on the large size that’s all. Seconds after, Lyndi Lou followed via the gap in the fence.

‘Phew, that was pretty close but we made it,’ Lyndi Lou beamed.

‘Follow me,’ Henratty commanded. They walked about thirty yards and there before them was the sight of the largest, bright red strawberries they had ever seen. Jack did not hesitate, he was the first to sprint toward the strawberries followed by the rest of them.

* * *

By this stage, Nora had been awoken by the thunderous sound below in the mineshaft, not to mention the flurry of earth coming down at a very fast pace caused by the unusual activity above.

‘What was that? Enoch, you need to go and tell everyone that we have at the very least four visitors. I think they are going to be in for quite a shock soon if they continue stomping around up there. Go and tell the others to be ready for our little visitors. Well, go on then, stop gawping at me and be quick about it too, Enoch!’

‘Yes, Nora, I’m on my way,’ as he scurried through the pitch black tunnel. Instead of being scared, Enoch felt exhilarated at the thought of making new friends and having more company. He was already bored and needed a bit of stimulation and excitement, so maybe these creatures were just what he needed.

* * *

Back above the mineshaft, Henratty had given everyone
their marching orders
as to where they should pick the strawberries. She had given Jack and Oscar one of the baskets and off they went with very little protest from Jack, surprisingly. For this task, it was pretty obvious who was in charge …

Whilst Henratty and Lyndi Lou were being rather selective, Oscar and Jack were not so picky.

‘Jack, can you concentrate and stop eating all the strawberries, the good ones too, surely you’ve had enough now. Besides, if Henratty sees you she’ll
have your guts for garters!’
Oscar said seriously.

‘I suppose so,’ as Jack shrugged his shoulders and got down to work.

Meanwhile Henratty had noticed that the area where they were picking strawberries was a bit thin on the ground and she could see some even bigger strawberries in a small area about twenty yards away.

‘I’m going to try over there, but you can stay here for the time being,’ Henratty said enthusiastically, as she grabbed one of the containers from the basket and ran over to the area she had spotted when suddenly, she screamed.

As Lyndi Lou turned around, her sister was clearly nowhere to be seen. She instinctively ran over and saw a gaping hole about two feet wide and all that remained of Henratty was her red beret lying on the ground.

Lyndi Lou picked up the beret and thought,
Now, we really are in trouble!
She could hear Henratty saying something but it was not very distinct, so she leaned over to take a closer peek in the hope she could hear more clearly. However, this was Lyndi Lou’s biggest mistake as she suddenly lost her footing and fell, head first, into the hole as she screamed at the top of her voice. This time Jack did look up (he thought he had heard something earlier but typical Jack was too engrossed in the strawberries to even comprehend that it sounded like someone in danger). But, this time he was absolutely sure that someone was in trouble and that could only be Henratty or Lyndi Lou.

‘Oscar, follow me I think that Henratty and Lyndi Lou might be in trouble,’ and off they charged towards where he had heard the sound.

* * *

Henratty had just landed deep underground in the mineshaft and was still shouting for help when suddenly Lyndi Lou landed feet first in a slide position as she dug her heels into the earth to break her fall. Her pink dress was now a dusty pink having been covered in dirt. Unable to make out clearly who it was, as it was so dark in the tunnel, Henratty deduced it must be her sister judging by the high pitched scream she made as she landed.

‘Are you all right, Lyndi Lou?’

‘I think so, apart from the grazes on the back of my legs and elbows, I’ll survive. What about you. What happened?’

‘I’m okay! All I remember was running towards the area I saw the last of the strawberries and now I’m down here. The ground just suddenly gave way.’

‘I guess we certainly now know why the danger sign is there!’ remarked Lyndi Lou.

‘I know, you’re absolutely right, I should have listened to you the first time, mama and papa are going to be out of their minds with worry, not to mention the enormous trouble I have got everyone into! Did you tell Jack and Oscar to get help?’