Buch lesen: «The Riverbank Otter»

Tiger Days loved tigers. She lived in a busy town and spent a lot of time indoors where she liked to draw pictures of tigers. But ever since Tiger had been visiting her grandmother, May Days, at Willowgate House in the countryside, she was beginning to be more adventurous outdoors. May Days used to live on a wildlife reserve in Africa, and even now she sometimes looked after animals that were in need of helping hands.

Tiger was on her way to Willowgate with her dad. She never knew what might happen during her stays and was often nervous about new things. But she was looking forward to sharing the summer weeks with Holly the cat and her friend Tom, who stayed with his grandfather next door during the holidays too.

While driving along the country road, all of a sudden Mr Days slammed on the brakes.

“What happened?!” said Tiger, frowning. Her tummy was now turning in a worried twirl even before they had arrived.

Mr Days asked Tiger to stay put while he got out of the car and walked cautiously around to the front. “No need to panic, Tiger,” he said. “Come and look.”

Toddling across the road in front of the car was a duck with an emerald green head and orange beak and feet. It could have been unfortunate for the duck crossing the road at that moment.

“You are a very lucky duck,” Tiger said and sighed with relief.

“Animals have no road sense,” said Mr Days, hurrying the flapping, quacking duck to the verge on the other side. “Nobody teaches them to cross the road.”

“They need to go to duck school,” Tiger said, and laughed thinking about lessons for ducks: Feather Fluffing, How to Waddle Nicely, and How to Land on a Pond Without Doing an Embarrassing Roly-poly.

“Hopefully you won’t have any more unexpected surprises at Willowgate,” her dad said as they set off again.

Tiger wondered about this and felt annoyed at herself for always feeling wobbly when something unexpected happened. Tiger decided that this visit would be different. She would stop feeling worried and instead be prepared for anything. Tiger made a plan …

“This time I am going to surprise May Days,” she told her dad.

“How will you do that?” asked Mr Days.

“I’ll think of something,” said Tiger. She would have to wait for a good opportunity, but she was very determined she would surprise her grandmother for a change.

Willowgate House looked as raggedly grand as ever, with its tall chimney pots and the conservatory on the side that leaned slightly to the left. Tiger asked her dad to park the car at the end of the drive, so they could go quietly up to the house.

The grass was even longer than the last time they visited and they had to lift their legs up high to get through.

“I am going to surprise May Days straight away,” Tiger said.

Tiger crept around to the back of the house. May Days was in the kitchen putting biscuits on a plate. Holly the cat was sitting on a chair staring at the open back door, her eyes wide like green glass marbles, as if she already knew her favourite friend was about to arrive.

May Days saw Holly prick her ears, and turned round. “There’s a tiger in the house!” she said, before Tiger could creep up on her.

Her first attempt at a surprise had not worked, but Tiger quickly decided she’d think of something bigger and better.

“You need a lawnmower, Mum,” said Mr Days as he came in.

Tiger knew that her dad and May Days would spend the next few hours catching up over gallons of tea at the kitchen table before Mr Days drove home, so she quickly asked a few important questions first.

“Is the house still skewwhiff?” she said, hugging her grandmother while her dad waited for his turn. Willowgate House was very old and needed lots of repairs. They used the kitchen, but apart from that the house was not ready to live in.

“It is,” said May Days.

“Will we still be sleeping in the tent in the garden?”

“Yes, we will.”

“Are there any new animals to look after?”

“Not this time,” May Days said. “And, before you ask, Tom’s already here with Grumps next door and, yes, the foxes have gone.”

Earlier in the year, Tiger and Tom had loved seeing the fox cubs who had made their home under the garden shed. Now the cubs were grown, they had left their den to find new homes.

Tiger put biscuits in her pocket, kissed her dad and said she’d see him in a couple of weeks.

“Well, this is a surprise,” said Mr Days, who was used to Tiger clinging to him before he left. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

Tiger grinned. It was easy to surprise her dad. “Tom and I have been waiting and waiting to make our own den in the shed,” she said. “Come on, Holly.” The cat jumped down from the chair and followed Tiger into the garden.

Tiger ran to the gap under the hedge between Willowgate and Tom’s grandfather’s house. Summer growth had made the hedge thicker than ever and Tiger had to scrabble through on her elbows and tummy, although the tunnel was about the right size for Holly.

Tiger could hear Tom and Grumps in the kitchen and she gently pushed Holly ahead through the open door.

“Hey, it’s Holly!” said Tom.

Tiger jumped out from behind the door. “And me!” she said, pleased that she had made Tom jump when she sprang out.

“How is our little wildlife expert?” said Grumps. “Any animals at Willowgate to keep you busy this holiday?”

“Not today,” said Tiger and she told them the news that the foxes had gone from under the shed.

“At last we can make our den!” said Tom.

They wanted to start right away and together they scrambled back under the hedge and raced across Willowgate’s wild garden, fighting their way through the tangled grass, with Holly leaping closely behind.

The shed was partly hidden by bushes and trees, and the windows were covered in dusty boards. Tiger and Tom had only been in the shed briefly once before, so they were excited to explore it properly.

They smiled at each other and pushed on the large door that creaked as it swung open. Sunlight peeped through gaps between the planks of the walls.

An enormous green mound, as big as a car, loomed in the middle of the floor. When they had first seen it, they’d convinced themselves it was a monster, but now they knew it had to be something else …

“Maybe it’s a big pile of logs like in Grumps’s shed,” said Tom, “or a car.” He crouched to look underneath, but there was no sign of any wheels.

“It would be good if it was a giant lawnmower,” said Tiger, thinking she could run back up to the house and tell her dad he could mow the long grass for May Days. Tiger hoped it wouldn’t be a nasty surprise and was determined not to be worried, whatever it was. It was about time they found out.

Holding the corners of the green tarpaulin, Tiger and Tom tugged it away, blowing up a cloud of dust. They coughed and blinked, and their mouths fell open at what was underneath. There, left upside down many years before, was a wooden boat. Tiger bent over to read the upside-down name painted on the side.

Spinaway