THE CHOIR OUTING Chapter 5

Sophie  was going on the annual choir outing. She got up early, preened herself and had breakfast, then she flew down to the swamp with her bucket and spade to join the rest of the choir. Uncle Bron had arranged for the Sea Serpent Taxi Service to take them all to the sea side, at nine o'clock promptly. The sea serpents were already waiting nicely decorated with ribbons. Sophie  took herplace on a small five seater sea serpent with Sonya, Sibilla, Bruce and Rupert, who were the two Stegosaurus who stood behind them in the choir. As soon as everybody was ready they set off through the swamp, at a good speed with Uncle Bron and Clara leading the way. Soon they were in the river which led down to the sea. Every one was in holiday mood, laughing and joking and guessing who would be the first to see the sea. At last they rounded a bend in the river, and there before them was Brontaugusta on sea. 

There were brightly painted shops and stalls along the beach, and a long pier stretched into the sparkling blue sea. Uncle Bron and his friends set out to the pier with their fishing rods for a restful days fishing. Clara strolled along the beach with Sir Edward Eel Gar discussing the choral symphony that he was composing for the choir, and at the same time keeping her eye on the younger members of the choir, who had made tracks for the beach with their buckets and spades. Sophie  and herfriends had decided to make a sea serpent taxi in the sand. They dug out the long lumpy body and made nice comfy seats. Then they stuck in shells for eyes and nostrils and decorated it with strands of seaweed. After playing on it for a while, they decided to go for a walk along the sea front. They had a go on the dodgems, then they went into a shop and bought some little flags for sticking in their sand castles. Sophie also bought a camera and a pot of honey to take home for a present for Mum and Dad. They walked on past the gambling machines that a few young crocodiles were putting their money in. The crocodiles had pasty faces through being indoors too much. They were drinking from cans of lager, and stared rudely at Sophie and her friends as they walked past, one stuck out his tongue. Sophie  paid no attention. A lovely smell wafted from across the street. They went and bought fish with oven fresh home made chips, and giant jam doughnuts. Then they went back to the beach for a paddle in the sea.

Suddenly they heard a loud commotion coming from the direction of the pier.

“I bet it's those crocodiles making trouble.” Bruce said, It was. They had fed all their money into the machines and now they were bored. They were running along the beach pushing over the smaller animals and snatching their buckets and spades. Clara came running to pick them up and comfort them, but she could not catch the crocodiles who were running into the sea. The leader was making straight for the end of the pier where Uncle Bron and his friends were fishing.

“Look at those old fools fishing, let’s grab their lines and pull them into the sea.” he yelled. Each crocodile grabbed a line and started rushing out to sea with it. They did not get far, Uncle Bron and his friends were far too big and strong to be pulled into the sea. Instead they began to wind in their lines. The crocodiles had got the hooks and lines stuck between their teeth and began to panic, but the more they dashed about the more entangled with the line they became, and by the time they were reeled into the pier they were all trussed up like turkeys. Sophie  got some fantastic photos.

“You hooligans need some lessons in manners.” Uncle Bron said. 

“You will not be untied until you promise to apologise to all the animals you pushed over, and find their buckets and spades for them.” The crocodiles promised, and did as Uncle Bron had ordered them. The one that had stuck his tongue out at Sophie came and said.

“I'm sorry I was rude. I'll be careful to drink less lager in future.”

“That's OK.” Sophie  said, and offered him a mint humbug.

“Thank you.” he said, Sophie thought that perhaps he was not quite as awful as shehad thought.

At five O'clock the sea serpents arrived to take them all back to the swamp. On the way back they sang songs, some of the words were rather rude, but Uncle Bron and Clara did not seem to mind.

“Just listen to little Sophie,” Uncle Bron whispered to Clara, “She has a very promising voice."

Boy and lady were waiting at the swamp, and flew back to the cliffs with Sophie. They were delighted with the honey, and the photographs came out very well, so they all had a good laugh at the trussed up crocodiles.

She     gave them huge brontosaursus hugs

Uncle Bron and his wife Clara had been invited to dinner with their friends Rex and Queenie. Bron spruced himself up and put on a bow tie, and Clara put on her beautiful pearl necklace, which had been a wedding present from Bron. Clara was a very glamorous brontosaurus, and famous far and wide for her beautiful singing voice. Queenie had cooked a big fish pie for them and made a strawberry trifle for pudding. After dinner they played Greedy and Boggle, then they played Spoons, and their roars of laughter echoed round the swamp. After drinking a glass or two of wine, they decided to go for a swim in the blue pool before going to bed. There was a full moon and the pool looked particularly inviting surrounded by ferns and tall trees. Clara hung her pearls on a high branch, and splashed in the pool with her friends. Then after thanking Rex and Queenie for their lovely meal, Bron and Clara walked home to bed.

It was several days later that Bron came home to find Clara with enormous tears in her eyes.

“Oh Bron,” she cried “I can't find my pearls anywhere. Do you think I could have lost them in the blue pool the other night? After two glasses of Rex's blackberry wine I can't be sure what happened."

“We'll go and look for them straight away,” Bron said, “Don't cry. Remember you are going to sing at the Hurly Burly on Saturday and crying could upset your voice.” Tears rolled down Clara's cheeks and plopped into the swamp, as she remembered that on Saturday she was to give a special performance of six songs that had been written especially for her by the famous composer Sir Edward Eel Gar, and without her pearls she knew that she wouldn't feel properly dressed for the occasion. Bron and her friends went on searching the blue pool until its clear waters became quite muddy, but the necklace could not be found.

When the news spread, all the animals searched, until not a path or place where Clara had walked had not been searched. But still the pearls were not found.

When Sophie went with Sonya and Sybilla for their weekly singing lesson with Clara, they found her sad and dejected, not like her usual happy self. They decided that on their way home they would fly across the blue pool and look again for the pearls. Back and forth they flew, and their sharp eyes missed nothing in the water or on the verges of the pool. At last they flew up to rest in the branches of the trees. Then Sophie saw the pale gleam of Clara's pearls hanging on a branch. The string of pearls was long and heavy, and she called her friends to help her carry it. Carefully they lifted it in their beaks and carried it back to Clara. Clara cried more than ever when she saw her pearls again, and gave the pteranadons huge brontosaurus hugs, which left them feeling rather squashed. 

When Sophie got home Suzy was waiting on the edge of the cliff with a broad smile on her face.

“Guess what, Sophie?” she said “I was looking for Clara's pearls near to the blue pool and I found this.” She held out the medal that Sophie had won at the carnival. “That creepy little crocodile has lost it, the chain is broken I'm afraid, but Dad can soon mend that for you.” Sophie  was very happy to have her medal back, shethanked Suzy and told her how she had found Clara's pearls in a tree, and they both had a good laugh, because Clara was known to be a scatter brain.

On Saturday Sophie  wore her medal to the Hurly Burly, and Clara wore her pearls, and a wreath of lilies on her head. She stood in front of the choir and sang her six songs, right beside Sophie. She was in fine voice and the audience clapped and shouted for more. So she sang “Gondwana fair,” which is the swamp's national anthem, and all the audience joined in. They threw streamers and popped balloons, then the band struck up the dashing white dinosaur and the dancing began.