The Tree that Sat Down by Beverley Nichols

Author:Beverley Nichols [Beverley Nichols]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2016-04-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

A TORTOISE TO THE RESCUE

NEXT DAY THE dreadful news about Miss Squirrel’s tail was all over the wood.

Miss Squirrel’s mother had been the first to tell the story. She had arrived at The Shop in the Ford in a terrible commotion – (‘Never,’ she exclaimed, ‘shall I set foot in The Shop Under the Willow Tree again!’) – announcing that her poor daughter’s tail was as bald as a rat’s, and that she was in a state of complete nervous collapse, all because of some poisonous mixture that Miss Judy had insisted on selling her.

‘It is wicked!’ she cried. ‘Downright wicked, selling people things like that! There should be a law against it!’

The other animals could hardly believe their ears. They had known Judy and her grannie for so long, they had bought so many things at their shop; never before had there been any complaints, though, of course, they were a little old-fashioned. However, surely they were as honest as the day? Was not Mrs Squirrel making some mistake?

‘Mistake?’ squeaked Mrs Squirrel. ‘Mistake? You should see my daughter’s tail, that’s a mistake all right. Eleven inches of mistake!’

‘Perhaps Mr Sam might be able to sell you something to put it right?’

‘That’s what I’m hoping!’

She began to examine all sorts of worthless ointments that Sam was eager to sell her. As she did so, Sam pretended to be very upset about the news, and kept on saying how careful one had to be these days, and how important it was to be quite certain about the quality of everything one sold.

‘I don’t think any of our customers will ever have to complain about such mistakes in this establishment,’ he said, loud enough for all the animals to hear him.

Meanwhile, the poison that the toads had spat into all the other things in the shop was beginning to do its work, and strange rumours ran through the wood. There really must be something wrong at The Shop Under the Willow Tree. Consider the case of Mrs Badger. Her first bottle of scent had made her smell so beautiful that she had gone round to buy another. But as soon as she had put it on she smelt far, far worse than she had ever smelt before – so overpowering that when she passed by the lake, Mr Peacock, who was as usual admiring his reflection, fell fainting into the water and was nearly drowned. In fact, if PC Monkey had not possessed a gas-mask, Mr Peacock probably would have been drowned, for all the other animals were too breathless to go near him.

Then there was Mrs Hare … up all night with a violent stomach-ache after eating a few beech nuts which Judy had sold her.

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