He's Gynormous!!

You could have knocked me down with a sprig of heather when I met Uncle Big Wee Jock! I never thought that a haggis could be bigger than me! He was completely round and so furry that it was very difficult to tell which end was which. In fact, I was talking to him for at least 10 minutes before I realised that he was lying on his back. he said he was"taking a rest after a wee dram" whatever that might mean. Actually I'm pretty sure that he just wanted his tummy tickling - haggises are just like puppies in that respect.

After this, I'm not sure I can take too much more highland excitement. Also it's getting pretty drafty in a kilt now we're getting towards autumn. Next time you see me, I think I'll have trusty trousers and boots back on!

A haggis a last!

...but not quite what I expected! After much unfruitful searching, we finally took some advice from a local expert. Instead of endlessly tramping about in the hills (or braes as they call them around here) we decided to set a trap. We balanced a cardboard box on a stick and under it we placed two items that we were assured were irresistible to any haggis; a Tunnock's teacake (unwrapped of course) and a small glass of finest Malt Scotch. Then we tied a long piece of cotton to the stick and retired to a place of concealment. After about an hour of uncomfortable waiting (heather is very scratchy in the wrong places, I can assure you) we heard some some snuffling and squeaking from the box. Although we couldn't see anything, we guessed it must be a haggis and pulled the string. The box plopped down, and we ran over to it so see what we had captured.

As we picked the box up, we heard a small voice singing an old highland song*, and we were certain then that we had got our first haggis.

Imagine our surprise then, when we lifted up the box and were faced not with a small white furry creature, but a bright purple one.

"You're not a haggis - you're purple!" I exclaimed in amazement.

"Am ah no? Then what de ye ken ah am then, ye wee sassenach pup?", came the reply. "Do ye think we're all tartan jobs frae the souvenir shop?"

Well that clinched it. We were clearly mistaken and he definitely was the genuine article. We apologised and, when he had calmed down he explained that his name was Tiny Wee Jock McHaggis of Glenmore. He also told us how, quite against popular belief, haggises come in all colours and sizes, and they're not all white at all - and none of them are tartan.

We soon became good friends, and I was able to ask him a question that had been bothering me ever since he told us his name. "If you're Tiny Wee Jock, does that mean there are much bigger haggises?".

"Oh aye", he replied. "If you like, I'll take ye to meet mah great Uncle Big Wee Jock". Well that sounded great, and what could there be to worry about - I mean, how big could a haggis be?

* The song turned out to be called "Plankton's Lament, or Whale Meet Again". Or something like that.

Give me a clue!

After my unfortunate case of mistaken identity involving Rabbie the Scottish sheep, I realised that I needed to do some more research. I mean, I knew that haggises are round and furry, but so are lot of creatures. So how do you distinguish a haggis from all the other highland creatures? I asked James for some advice and he said that they have a very distinctive squeak, made when alarmed, angry, sleepy, relaxed or alert.

Armed with this useful information, I set off for an extended Haggis hunt. I couldn't believe my luck when after only a few minutes I gained my first contact! I rushed around the corner, eager to meet my first ever haggis in person - and who should I meet but a very small hamster, taking some exercise in his wheel.

I have to admit to being a bit disappointed at first, but once I got chatting to young Hamish (that was the hamster's name) I realised that making a new friend is just as exciting as discovering a new species. And anyway, Hamish says that he's going to help me and Jack on our search!

Oops - my mistake!

Well, it might have big, round, white and furry, but it definitely wasn't a haggis! As soon as I tugged on a handful of fur, I realised my mistake. There was a very loud, cross sounding baaing noise, and I came face to face with the largest sheep I've ever seen. For a moment I thought James and I were in real trouble, as the ram glowered down at us with his fearsome horns and wild eyes. But then Jack, thinking quickly, said "Good morning to ye, good sir, will ye no take a wee drop of tea with us?". The ram was taken aback by the politeness of the young pig, and, although I didn't realise this, Scottish sheep are apparently very fond of tea - special sheep tea if possible. Anyway, he came back to Jack's house with us, and on the way, we became quite friendly. He explained that is his name is Rabbie, of the clan MacBleat, and he is a highland ram by birth. We told Rabbie all about our quest to find the legendary haggis, and he agreed to be our guide. So everything turned out really well in the end.

In Search of the Wild Haggis!

The most exciting adventure of my Scottish holiday started on the day that I met James. James the Hog, comes from Southern Uplands of Scotland where he helps his daddy on their sheep farm. I became firm friends with James, who was very good a telling tales about Scotland and the legends of the Scottish folk. The story that really interested me was about the wild haggis. This is a creature who lives in the high glens and, though very shy, can be lured out, if you know how. James told me that, if we were to see a haggis in his natural environment, then it was very important that I should blend in with the scenery. The best way to do this, he told me, was to wear traditional Scottish clothing. We arranged to meet the following day at James's father's farm, and I took myself straight off to a Kiltmaker's shop. The next morning, feeling very proud of finery, I met up with James, only to be told that what he had meant was a nice tweed jacket or something, and some stout shoes. I felt a bit silly, but James said that he was sure it would be fine, and so we started our search immediately.

The first thing I had to do was find out what a haggis actually looks like. James said they are thought to be round and covered in white fur, so when I saw a what looked like a big shaggy rug on legs I leaped for it and grabbed hold of it.

Do you think I had captured the legendary haggis? You'll have to wait until next time to find out!

Yes, I'm Back!

Hello again everybody! I'm sorry I haven't written anything for such a long time. I have been away on holiday in Scotland with some of my friends. We had a lovely time exploring old castles, walking in the highlands and making lots of new friends. I'll tell you about some of my adventures in the next couple of weeks - you wouldn't believe what strange animals we met. There was one who didn't seem to have any paws at all, but was very furry and had a loud squeak. Apparently he's a sort of animal you don't meet anywhere else in the world, and, to be honest I'm not surprised.

Anyway, here's a nice picture of Rebecca, Mole and I having a little rest after looking around a lovely castle. Doesn't it look peaceful and tranquil? Well, it was, for about 90 seconds after this picture was taken. That was when Mole spotted a nearby bowling green and decided to have a burrow. He thought he had made an attractive pattern of molehills to add to the challenge of the game of bowls - a bit like a crazy golf course, but no windmill. Unfortunately, the bowling club didn't agree, and we all had to leave quite rapidly!

Smugglers Ahoy!

We had our brainwave just at the crucial moment. The net was closing in on our little friend when Rebecca spotted a friend's mummy, Mrs Panda, who was having trouble her baby. The baby didn't want to be in its pram, and carrying the baby and pushing her pram at the same time was a real trial for the mummy. So Rebecca generously offered to push around the empty pram. "We'll meet you outside the museum" said Rebecca, and Mrs Panda gratefully agreed, little suspecting that we had an ulterior motive!
We tucked our new chum in the pram and pulled the frilly canopy up around to hide him as much as possible. Well, we had a few close shaves, as it turns out that dinosaurs are not over blessed with common sense, but they do have a lot of curiosity. He would keep sitting up to have a look around at all the wrong moments. But finally we managed to smuggle him out of the museum to freedom!

Now all we have to do is find somewhere for him to live. I hope he's not a meat-eating dinosaur!

Look out behind you!!

After the excitement of the volcano exhibition, and all the Museum staff running around looking for a missing dinosaur, we decided to go somewhere for a little bit of peace. We went into the Earth gallery, and I was showing Mole where Labrador is on a giant globe, when suddenly, Rebecca Rabbit tapped me on the shoulder. "Bobby!" she squeaked. "Not now, Rebecca, we can go to the shop in a minute", I replied. "BOBBY!!", she shouted in a very cross voice, "will you please look at this!"
I turned round to see a small, friendly looking stranger standing smiling up at Rebecca. We realised this must be the missing dinosaur and took him by the paw to fetch the Museum staff. But the little dino piped up,"Please can I come with you? I'm bored with sitting in that display case pretending to hatch out every 15 minutes. It's not what I call performance art". So we decided to take him home with us. But how were we to smuggle him out past the staff? We needed our thinking caps on for this one...

Learning about the power of our planet

Our next outing was to a Geological museum. At first, we weren't too sure about this, as it sounded like it might be a bit dull and "educational". After all, who wants to look at a load of old rocks, when it's sunny outside? But how wrong we were! It turns out that geology is full of exciting things like volcanoes and dinosaurs. One display combined the two things together - it was a demonstration of how volcanoes erupt and as the volcano threw out loads of smoke and stuff, the volcano itself gradually disappeared. When it had finally all gone, there was a small dinosaur. Mole said it was a parasaurolophus - but what do moles know?

Anyway, it didn't look like much else was going to happen, so we went off to look at some more exhibits. Mole saw a sign saying "plate tectonics", and he thought that sounded like food might be involved, so we headed in that direction. Actually it turned out that there was nothing edible at all, so after a while, we set off for the museum cafe, to see if we could meet up with Rebecca Rabbit. On the way, we had to pass the volcano display again, and to our amazement, the case was empty! The museum staff seemed quite bothered about this, so we offered to help find the model dinosaur for them. "Model?" they said, "It's not a model!". Ooer, I think we've got a problem on our paws again!

Maybe it's a boy thing?

I thought today's school trip was even better than last week's trip to the aquarium! We went to an aeroplane museum - it was absolutely stuffed with brilliant planes - some of them you could even sit in the cockpit and pretend to fly! I have to say that this trip wasn't so popular with everyone, though. At the start of the visit, Mrs Ewe said that, as it's a very big museum, we should go around in pairs. I joined up with Rebecca Rabbit, and everything was fine for about ten minutes. After that, the novelty seemed to wear off for Rebecca. "Oh look", she said with heavy sarcasm "another aeroplane. And another. And, oh goodie, another one". I tried not to be put off and took her to see a really old plane, with propellers. At this, she became quite agitated, saying "If those big fan things start whirring round, it will ruin my fur-do". I tried explaining how propellers work, but her eyes just glazed over. Maybe planes area boy thing? Anyway, Rebecca perked up soon after when we spotted the snack bar and the shop. And do you know what? She bought a model of the plane with propellers to take home! Sometimes I just don't understand girls!

School Trip Excitement!

When I arrived at school yesterday, there was really exciting news. Mrs Ewe announced that, as we've all worked hard this year, we can go on some school trips! Some of the smaller pupils got a bit overexcited about this, and some of the expectations are a bit unrealistic - I mean how many classes do you hear about who go to visit the pyramids for the afternoon? Anyway, we all turned up this morning with our packed lunches, and climbed on the big bus for the first mystery trip. We drove for about an hour and arrived at a seaside town. The bus parked up outside the Aquarium and we all trooped in. It was all very interesting - everybody loved seeing the fierce sharks and the petting pool where you could actually touch some of the fish was great. But my favourite was seeing Nemo, in pride of place in his own splendid tank. I always wondered what happened after the film - he stayed on in show business anyway. Everybody had a great time and the trip was a success, although it has to be said that the younger otters were just a bit too enthusiastic at the petting pool -you're not supposed to actually dive in and catch the fish apparently. No harm was done , though, and we all arrived home tired but happy. I can't wait to see where we go on Monday.

A mole's patience is rewarded at last

At first, the mystery just deepened as we followed Mr Duckington's instructions and went to the hardware store. We handed the note to shopkeeper along with the money we'd been given, and in return, we were given a large box. We raced home to see what was in it. You should have seen the mixture of amazement and disappointment on the little mole's face when out came a small shiny bin! As he was staring at this bizarre item, I looked inside the box and saw that there was another smaller container and a little book of instructions. I opened the book and read out aloud "Turn your waste into valuable garden compost with the aid of our easy to use Wormery". At the mention of that last word the mole immediately perked up and got very excited. "Read the rest! Read the rest!" he squeaked. So I carried on and we read all the instructions. All you have to do is put left over lettuce leaves and such stuff in the bin in layers and then add the contents of the other box - some special, very hungry worms! Then sit back and wait and the worms will multiply, eat all the waste and create quality compost for the garden. All this seemed foolproof apart from the word "wait". Needless to say we now have an empty box and a very happy mole. We had to trundle straight back to the shop to buy some more worms, but he's the happiest little mole you've ever seen now, bouncing along singing his favourite Girls Aloud song. Can you guess what it is?

Ducktastic News!

At first, when it started to rain, the molebabe got very excited, assuming that the worms would immediately rush to the surface and surrender in huge numbers. Unfortunately, it seems that worms have more patience than moles. After a couple of minutes the little chap started to snuffle and whimper about getting wet, and how his Mummy had warned him about catching a chill. Things were not looking good at all, when along came Mr and Mrs Duckington. They are a very nice family of ducks who have recently moved into the area. The smaller Duckingtons were playing at a friend's pond, but mum and dad were out for a walk, and they had umbrellas. At least this way the little mole could watch the ground for worms and stay dry.

It was no good in the end, though. I think it rained too hard, as the ground ended up all muddy and we didn't see a single worm. But, just when I thought that we were facing another big disappointment, Mr Duckington said "I know a place where you can find worms - absolutely guaranteed". He wrote an address and some details on a piece of paper and gave the little mole a five pound note! He's a most generous duck - so we said thank you, borrowed an umbrella and rushed off to the address on the note - which turned out to be a hardware shop. Surely they don't sell worms at a hardware shop?

Bring in the experts

Well, we did what the Grunts suggested. We went along to see the chickens and asked for their advice. Apparently, there is a special technique to be used when finding worms. You patter your feet up and down on the earth and the worms think it's raining and come to the surface. That's the theory at any rate, so we sat and waited to see what would happen. You'll never guess - it actually worked! There was only one small flaw in the plan, though - the chickens scoffed all the worms before the poor little mole could get near them. After ten minutes all we had was a 100% worm-free patch of grass, and a completely empty molebabe!

Never mind, I told him, it looks like it's going start raining for real any moment, and I've got some other friends who will help us out, and can be relied upon not to eat the worms. We just need to take some bread...

Never judge a book by its cover

Oh dear, I made a huge mistake, assuming that all pigs like to do is roll around in mud all day, snuffling about and saying hello to a load of worms! When we met the Grunt family, they turned out to be the cleanest, neatest, most fastidious bunch of creatures I've ever laid my eyes on. I don't think they were very impressed with my suggestion that they could help me grub up a few wrigglers for my little black chum. However, they were very nice about it, and put their heads together to try to think of a solution. After a while, Hugh Grunt came back and announced "We've had an idea, but it probably won't work. You see, the creatures that we've most often seen scratching around in the dirt for wriggly things are chickens. But where on earth could you even one chicken around here?". If only they knew!

Playing hard to get

Finding worms is not as easy as you might think! I went out into the garden with a trowel and a bucket, and I thought I'd be able to fill the bucket with tasty (for a mole) worms in no time at all. Well, after about half an hour of hard but entirely worm-free work, my little friend was getting rather restless. He looked at me with his bright little eyes in such a imploring manner that it was almost possible to ignore the loud rumbling noise from his tummy. Then I had a brain wave! There's a new family of pigs called the Grunts who have moved into the village. I haven't actually met them yet, but everyone knows pigs love rooting about in the mud and getting covered in muck generally. I'm sure they must come across plenty of worms in the process that they would be happy to share with a hungry little mole. I gave him a chocolate digestive to keep him going and set of for the Grunts' house.

Bobby to be a burrow surveyor?

I've had to do some funny things since I arrived at Sylvania, but this just about takes the biscuit! It all started when I went over to Rose Cottage, to visit my friends Bruce Koala and Rebecca Rabbit. When I arrived, the whole house was in a uproar. Snuffles, the little molebabe had disappeared! Of course I helped with the search, and after turning the whole place upside down, we finally found him hiding in a big basket. We asked him why he was in there, and he answered "Oi was gurtly hungered, and oi thought oi moight find some wormers in ee big basket". Goodness knows why he though there would be worms in a basket, but what was clear was that he had a very hungry little mole on our paws. Moles, as you might know, are nothing if not single minded, and so we realised that we had better find him some worms quick. So we decided that we'd better get out into the garden and get searching. Who'd have thought that I'd spend my day peering into holes in the ground - but how hard can finding a worm be?

If at first you don't succeed...

....give up! Just look what happened when I tried to reverse the spell that changed the chicks to a different colour. Only another dinosaur! What am I supposed to do with this one? Actually he's quite a friendly little chap. He says his name is Mini Steg, which is quite an odd name. I wonder what the "mini" bit means?

I was so surprised that my magician's hat fell off. When I turned round to pick it up, Steg wandered off, saying something about finding some ferns to eat.

Oh well, I suppose it's all part of learning to be a great entertainer. I wonder if David Blaine ever has problems with extinct reptiles?

Happy Easter everybody!

Always read the small print!

I said that I would practice my magic tricks, and I am a pup who keeps his word. I asked two of the chicks to help me and went outside into the school playground. It was Saturday so there was nobody else around - I think peace and quiet is very important when one has to concentrate. Anyway, I intended to try out a trick from the book I'd got from the library. It was called "Every Boy's Bumper Book of Magic Tricks" and seemed to be very comprehensive - over 1000 tricks ranging from the very easy to sawing your teacher in half. I decided that I should probably start at the easier end of the range, and so I decided on trick No. 85 - Making a friend disappear. The explanation of how to do the trick was very long and boring, so I just skipped to the end bit, where it gave you the magic words to use. I read them out very carefully, there was a big "kerplunk" noise and a puff of smoke, and I looked down to see - not two missing chicks, but one pink chick and one blue one! It was only then that I decided to read the rest of the instructions.

"May lead to unpredictable results if used with non-mammal subjects out of doors" it said. Fine time to tell me that! Anyway, in the "What to do if things get out of hand section at the back of the book, it said "To reverse the effects of tricks just look in our companion volume "Tips and Tricks for Plucky Young Chaps in Trouble". The problem is, the library wasn't open again until Monday, so it was multi-coloured poultry for rest of the weekend!

And the winner is...

The excitement was intense as Policeman Badger stepped forward to announce the results. He started off by saying how excellent he thought all the entries were and how hard it had been for the judges to reach the decision. He then continued by talking about each of the entries in turn. This may have been a mistake, as the chicks started to get severely impatient and started to take matters into their own beaks. One of them was even on the table and approaching the cup, when PC Badger realised the situation and hurriedly got to the point. "And the Winner is the Amazing Bongo!". Everyone cheered, and even though I was a bit disappointed, I had to admit that the best animal had won. Anyway, any feelings of jealousy soon wore off as we had an amazing after-show party with cakes and jellies (bone flavour for me) and a lot of seed on the floor for you-know-who.

I'm going to go back to the drawing board and improve my act. I clearly need something even more spectacular. I wonder who will let me saw them in half?

A talented Monkey

The next competitor to reach the final of the Grand Talent Competition was "Bongo the Monkey and his Beautiful Assistant Amanda". Actually, Bongo's not his real name, but Amanda Lamb did look very nice in her new dress, and there's no denying that he's a very clever monkey indeed. He can do amazing balances and acrobatic moves and he was definitely the crowd's favourite, especially when he claimed that he could do magic tricks as well. I don't think that making bananas disappear by eating them is really magic, but the audience thought it was hysterical.

Of course, I know who won the Grand Prize, but you're just going to have to wait until Friday, because I've got too much homework to do!

Through to the final!

Well, all that practice paid off! After a slightly nervous start, when I dropped an entire pack of cards while trying to do a trick, everything went pretty well, and I made it through to the final three acts in the Grand Talent Competition.

Frankly, I can't believe one of the acts we're up against. It's (take a deep breath) Kevin the Chicken's All-Poultry Bell Ringing Troupe. Basically, it's Kevin and two of his mates with bells tied round their necks. They jump up and down to make a jingling noise while four of the smaller chicks cheep along to make what they allege is a musical sound. I'm not at all impressed - but the judges seem to think they're cute. I suppose with Easter getting close, fluffy chicks are fashionable. Maybe I should have tried harder to make an Easter Bunny fit in my hat after all.

The third act in the final is really good, though. I'll show you that one next time.

Practice makes Perfect...I hope!

In the end I had to run auditions to find the right animal to "appear" from my hat. To be honest it was a right performance!
Bunny - ears too long to fit in the hat
Otter - far too wriggly to stay hidden
Chicks - too noisy (and too many - they insist in going around in a big group)
Beaver - won't stop chewing the hat
Kitten - Kept scratching my paw when I tried to lift her out
Mouse - kept falling asleep and refusing to come out at all

In the end the only creature who fitted, behaved himself and kept quiet enough was the little baby guinea pig. So we've practiced and practiced together and I hope it'll be alright on the night. I just hope the competition isn't too fierce!

It's time for magic!

I've decided what my act will be for the Grand Talent Show. I'm going to be a magician! Having made up my mind, my next task was to work on a special trick to be the climax of the show. I managed to borrow a top hat as part of my outfit, so the obvious thing was to pull a rabbit out of it. That's when my problems began - a hat that's the right size for a puppy's head is a bit small for most creatures to hide in. First I tried one of the baby bunnies, but he couldn't fit in - or when he did his ears just showed over the top of the hat. Then Bucky had a go - but I'm going to have a look at his diet as he was a very tight fit indeed - and anyway I strongly suspect he would chew his way out of it in no time. The strangest thing was that one of the chicks did appear to fit - but I didn't even put him in there! So my hunt goes on - which animal is going to have the winning combination of cuteness and compact proportions?

Another New Challenge

Bucky spent most of this morning pestering me to take him for a ride, so after lunch we set off with me pulling our go-kart along and him standing with a couple of stray chicks in the kart. I know I'm a dog from Canada, but it's a bit undignified to have two chicks and a beaver shouting "mush, mush" at you as you tow them along. Anyway after a few minutes we ended up in front of the Village Hall, and outside there was a very exciting sign. It said "Grand Talent Contest" and said that there are great prizes to be won. Well surely a pup as versatile and adaptable as me can turn his paw to something entertaining? I just need to decide what my act should be - maybe a song and dance, or some acrobatics? Hmm, I'll have to give this some thought.

Another Fine Mess

Sometimes I really don't know why bother trying to bring innovative and creative thinking to Sylvania! I spent hours fastening the chicks up to their harnesses and attempting to explain their role in our grand experiment. Then when it was time to go, they discovered the bag of seed that Bucky had used to lay the trail. The dozy beaver had left it in the back of the cart! So all that happened was that they climbed on board, ate their fill and sat down for a rest. Just when I thought things could get no worse, the little ones decided to have a game of tag. I don't know if I'll ever manage to get those reins untangled again.
If I wasn't such an indomitable pup, I would just give up. But that's not the Labrador way - I am just going to have to come up with a new idea!

Poultry Power

Well, we managed to find a solution to our lack of horsepower - chicken power! Bucky was not at all convinced with my idea of harnessing a large number of our feathered chums to the cart, but I was determined. My idea was that, if we laid a trail of seed leading all the way to top of the hill, the chickens would follow it. Their natural hunger and concentration on the task of pecking at the ground would soon take their mind off the fact that they were attached to a cart by reins. I won't pretend that it was an easy job attaching all the lines to the chicks, and there was a lot of argument amongst the bigger ones about who would be "Leader of the Pack". In the end, the only way to settle it was to attach all the big ones, including Kevin closest to the cart so that it the little ones who were actually leading the way. So with that settled, and all the team raring to go, we were ready for what would surely prove to be a huge success, and, indeed a turning point in the whole history of poultry power...

First test run

Bucky and I finished our car and then we took it for our first test run. I sat at the front so that I could take charge of the rope that controls the steering - it does that waggling the bit of wood that the front wheels are attached to. We went to the top of the hill in the meadows just outside the village and positioned it carefully at a point where there is a long slope ending in a flat area with no trees to hit. Bucky tucked in behind me and we pushed off for our first run. I don't think I've ever been so fast! The grass rushed past us and all we could do was wave to a startled bunny who popped his head out of his burrow just as we hurtled by. As the slope finished we started to slow down, but I'm not sure how far we would have got it was not for the fact that a front wheel lodged in a mole hill. Just as Bucky and I were congratulating each other on a successful test, out popped a highly disgruntled mole. "Bo Urr, it took oi hours to build that gurrt hill" he said " and youm 'ave bashed in down in no toime at all. Oi 'ope as ow you've got insurance", he said with a cash-related gleam in his eye. I think that he was just being an opportunist, as moles don't really live in their hills anyway - it's just soil out of their tunnels - but Bucky decided to placate him with a couple of worms he'd "found" in his pocket. I'd wandered what that little beaver had been up to while I was setting the cart up at the top of the hill! A word of advice - never put your hand in a beaver's pocket without first checking its contents!

After this we had a couple more test runs, but it was very hard work pulling the cart back up the hill. We decided that we needed some other form of propulsion - but where could we find a suitable source of power when we don't know anything about engines?

A car of my own

Well, it was no use asking Mr Bear to teach me to drive. He just insisted that I am too small and will be for a few years yet. I tried to persuade him that, if it is just a matter of height, or shortness of legs, then I could easily tie some blocks of wood to my footpaws. I'm sure I could reach the pedals if I did that. But it was all to no avail, and for a while I was quite downcast. But you know me, I'm not the sort of Pup to take no for an answer, and so I decided to build my own car that's just the right size for me.

Bucky helped by gnawing the wood to the right size, and I "borrowed" some old wheels from an old supermarket trolley that someone had left lying around. By the time we had put the finishing touches by fixing on the last wheel, I don't mind saying that it looked pretty impressive. Now we just have to find a suitable place for a test run. It is powered by gravity, so we will need to find a slope somewhere on the edge of the village, but making sure that it's really safe and there's nothing to bump into. Safety first - I don't want to lose my driving licence before I'm even old enough to have one!

Rescued by a Big Bear!

Just when I thought we we were going to be stranded for the whole night, along came our salvation in a large and very furry form. We were standing at the side of the road on a little patch of grass with the chicks doing what chicks do (scratching around looking for something, probably disgusting, to eat). I had my hands full keeping them from straying onto the road, and keeping Bucky from chewing at the telephone poles (that would have been a disaster!). So I didn't notice a cheery grey van coming along the road with Mr Bear at the wheel. He could obviously tell that I was in difficulties, because he pulled in at the side of the road, and asked if he could help. I explained the situation, and he smiled and said that he would give us all a ride home in his lovely van. We all piled in - chicks in the back and Bucky and I in the front with Mr Bear. I was a bit worried about cart, but Mr Bear said that it would be safe there until the morning, when we could come back with Mr Blackberry to fix it.

We set off back to the village, and it was the most exciting ride I've ever had! You might think this is funny, but I've never been in a car before. Back in Labrador we mostly used canoes to get about on the lakes, and here in Sylvania there isn't much call for cars. But I thought it was wonderful. Mr Bear said that his van isn't a very new one - he called it Austin, but I don't know if that's the make or his pet name for it. Anyway I think it's great and now I want drive one! Mr Bear said that I am too small, and it's true that my paws don't quite reach the pedals. But once we'd got the chicks back safe and sound in their hen house, I started trying to think about how I can learn to drive.

Roadside Emergency!

Just as I was settling into a pleasant drive in the country, I suddenly started to hear an ominous squeaking noise from somewhere behind us. Bucky said it might just be a friendly mouse trying to hitch a ride, but it got louder and louder until the mouse responsible would have had to be the size of a donkey! We stopped and got out to look around the cart. I soon saw the source of the problem - one of the cart wheels was leaning at a very strange angle. Kevin came to have a look as well. He claims to know a lot about mechanical things, but I'm not terribly convinced. Anyway. he said it had "seized up" whatever that might mean. What was for sure was that it wouldn't turn properly any more. There we were, stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing to eat and about 20 hungry beaks to fill! Whatever next??

A ride in the country

Well, the situation with the chicks was getting ridiculous! Poor Farmer Blackberry was trying to tidy away his table and all his fruit baskets, but as soon as he picked up a basket and tried to stack it, he was met with an indignant "cheep!" from within. It was obvious that doing the job with a couple of dozen bored chicks trying to "help" was going to take hours. So Mr Blackberry had an idea. He said that he would teach me how to drive the cart, and so he did just that. In return, it was my job to keep the chicks entertained by giving them a nice ride in the country.

We set off with me at the reins and Bucky ion the seat beside me, and an excited feathery mass in the cart behind. All seemed to go well at first and we got quite a long way out into the countryside. I was just starting to relax and enjoy my drive. Of course, that was my mistake...as you'll find out next time.

Farmer's Market

Hello Everybody! This weekend I was asked by the local farmer, who is a very nice rabbit called Mr Blackberry, to help him out at the Farmer's Market. I thought it was a bit strange to have a place where you could buy and sell farmers, but it turns out I was a bit mixed up about that. Actually, a Farmer's Market is a place where people can go to buy fruit and vegetables direct from the growers, so they can be sure of getting it super fresh, and also at a bargain price. Of course, most of the farmers bring their produce in a van, or a trailer behind a tractor, but Farmer Blackberry has a proper old-fashioned horse and cart. He was immediately the centre of attention, and we sold out in no time. Mr Blackberry said that I'd been so much help that, since we had some spare time, he would teach me how to drive the cart. Of course, I was very keen about that. But I didn't know then what would happen later - the only clue was the fact that some of those pesky chicks had started appearing. Apparently they get very bored between Christmas and Easter. Fair enough, it is a bit dull when you can't play out in the bad weather - but why do they have to follow me around? And why in such huge numbers??

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas. We all had a wonderful time - in fact I've been so busy that I haven't had time to update my blog at all. Here is a picture of this year's Nativity play. As you can probably see, I was one of the three Kings this year - that meant that I could keep a close eye on Colin the Camel. In fact the only time when I wasn't holding firmly onto his bridle, was the moment when this picture was taken. I had to come forward with my two fellow Kings to give our presents to the baby Jesus. It was at this point that I really needed to pairs of eyes - one to keep watch on Colin, and the other for the baby mole next to me. I didn't know this, but apparently moles are very fond of shiny things, and as quick as the rest of us laid down our parcels in front of the crib, the mole picked them up and trundled off, saying things like "Bo urr, that be moine". Eventually, we managed to placate him with a bit of tinsel off the tree, and the play was able to proceed. Unfortunately by this time, Colin had wandered off and was helping himself to bites out of the scenery. Never mind, everyone seemed to think this was all highly comic and part of the show. You know what they say in show business - "Never work with animals and children". But that is a bit difficult in Sylvania!