An Exciting Holiday. Chapter 13

One morning Don asked Boy and Lady if he could go to the furthest corner of the swamp, where Woolly Mammoth had told him that there were some very rare butterflies to be found. Sophie, Suzy and Terror wanted to go too. Boy and Lady thought that as they were all growing up into sensible children, they could go and camp there for three nights.

Far away, on the historic side of the swamp, Miss Harris was packing a large rucksack for her holiday. She put in plenty of food, and her survival kit, as she was going for a long trek through the Fitzgerald River National Park. She also packed a small bag of plaster of paris, so that she could make casts of any footprints of rare birds or animals that she found, to show her class when term began, because Miss Harris was a teacher.

On the first morning of her holiday she woke to find a thick mist lying over the land. After having breakfast she got out her compass and set off through the mist. She walked all day, stopping now and then to look at flowers and listen to the birds singing. The mist grew thicker, and Miss Harris thought that this was most unusual, perhaps something to do with pollution in the atmosphere. Also her compass didn't seem to be working properly, may be the electric storms that they had had recently had messed it up. On she walked and she was glad she had brought plenty of food, as she began to realise that she was lost. After a week, there was not much food left, and she was feeling hungry and tired, when she heard voices, and smelt appetising smells of cooking. As she walked towards the voices, the mist lifted at last and Miss Harris saw four Pteranadons sitting round a barbecue. One, who had kind orange eyes, was writing in a note book, another with jolly red eyes was attending to food on the barbecue, while the smaller two were busy squashing oranges into a large jug.

“Good evening.” they said politely.

“Good evening.” replied Miss Harris.

“You look very tired, come and share our barbecue.” Sophie said. So Miss Harris sat down, and hungrily devoured four frogburgers, which she thought were the most delicious food she had ever tasted. Then she drank plenty of orange juice and as she rested, she told Don, Terror, Suzy and Sophie of her strange adventure.

“What a pity your holiday was spoilt,” Terror said, “Would you like to come and spend some time on the prehistoric side of the swamp? You can stay with us in our home on the cliffs, and you will have the holiday of a life time.” Miss Harris was thrilled, and the next morning the four Pteranadons set off for home, with Miss Harris sitting comfortably belted onto Terror's shoulders. When they arrived, Boy and Lady were surprised and pleased to see Miss Harris, and welcomed her with a cup of tea, and crunchy beetle and banana balls, which she ate plenty of. She thought that the beetles were probably chopped nuts.

“You must stay with us every night, and every day you can go sightseeing.” they said.

Next day, they took Miss Harris to Hideaway Island, where she had lunch and went for a swim with Crocobilly and Crocadilly. On the following day, she went to see Rex and Queenie who took her out riding on Desert Orchid. Sophie went riding with them, on Red Rum, and they all had a picnic at the Blue Pool. Uncle Bron and Clara showed Miss Harris round the Hurly Burly ground, and pointed out the quicksand, where Toothy Ted and his gang had met their fate, and the magnificent statue of Julius Brontus they had just erected. As they walked around they were joined by lots of members of the brigade, who came to chat and look at their unusual visitor. Miss Harris noticed all their different foot prints in the mud.

“What a wonderful chance to get some plaster casts.” she thought.

“Would you mind,” she asked Uncle Bron, “if I took some plaster casts of your footprints to take home to show the children?”

“What a good idea.” he replied, “And we would like you to leave one of yours with us, Miss Harris, to remind us of your visit.”

The members of the brigade brought lots of cement, as Miss Harris did not have enough plaster of paris, and they all had great fun stamping their prints into the wooden frames she had prepared. They each signed their name on their footprints, and Miss Harris did the same with hers, which was put in the place where she had stood admiring the statue of Julius Brontus.

“However am I going to get them home?” she said, as she looked at them all. “There are so many of them and some of them are so big.”

“I think I can arrange that for you,” said the Woolly Mammoth.

All too soon the holiday came to and end, and Miss Harris had to say good-bye to her friends, who all gathered to wave her off. Woolly Mammoth was loaded with casts and ready to go, when Sophie said,

“May I come to? I would love to see Miss Harris's school, and I will be company for Pringle on the way home.” Boy and Lady said that she could, and the three of them set out.

After a long journey across the swamp they arrived at Miss Harris's school in the dead of night, and quietly unloaded all the casts in the play ground. Miss Harris took them to look round the school in the moonlight. Unfortunately they were too big to go inside, but they looked through the windows, and Miss Harris told them all the things that the children did. Then it was time for them to go.

“Good-bye,” said Miss Harris, “and thank you, I really have had the holiday of a lifetime.”