Bellmaker [Redwall 7] by Brian Jacques; Allan Curless

Author:Brian Jacques; Allan Curless
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780613715737
Publisher: Rebound by Sagebrush
Published: 2011-12-23T00:52:38+00:00

“Wallopin’ clamshells, ’tis me ole ottercordion, I thought it were tost. Wonder if she still works?” Twiddling his paws across the buttons, he expanded the instrument’s ribbed bellows, and it produced a melodic chord. Much to the delight of everybeast Finnbarr threw back his head and began singing a merry sea otter ditty.

Durry, Rufe, and Patch stamped their paws on the deck rhythmically in time to the comic song. It was a happy release for them all after the perils they had endured, and Finnbarr could play as well as he could sing.

“Whoa there was an ole lobster who married a cod,

Boggle me barnacles, sail off t’sea,

And tho* all the cockles an’ clams thought it odd,

Boggle me barnacles, over the brine,

I knows yer a codfish but darlin’ yore mine!

For a weddin’ brekkfist the pair ’ad to feed,

Boggle me barnacles, sail off t’ sea,

On rootybag cake an’ the best of seaweed,

Boggle me barnacles, over the brine,

I knows yer a lobster but I loves yer fine!

They was married offshore by a little fat whale,

Boggle me barnacles, sail off t’sea,

An’ the guests drank barrels of deepwater ale,

Boggle me barnacles over the brine,

Pass me that flagon of green ocean wine!

The party went on ’til an hour before dark,

Boggle me barnacles, sail off t’sea,

An’ they were ate up by an iggerant shark,

Boggle me barnacles over the brine,

A shark don’t ’ave manners when he’s out to dine!’

Amid hoots of laughter and loud applause Finnbarr did an encore, with Rosie and Foremole dancing the parts of lobster and cod. They breakfasted until mid-morning, the weather being calm and the seas mild. Joseph lashed the tiller straight south. Having missed a full night’s sleep, the entire crew lay about on the sun-warmed decks to take a few hours of much-needed rest.

In the heat of mid-noon Rufe woke parched. Bleary-eyed, he drew a dipper of water from the ship’s drinking cask and drank half, pouring the rest over his head to waken himself properly. Blinking water from his eyes, the young squirrel stared out over the gently swelling deep.

Finnbarr was wakened by Rufe shaking him. “Eh, wot time is it, mate? Musta been asleep ’alf o’ the day! Ru-fey

—somethin’ the matter, young un?”

The squirrel tried to keep his voice calm. “Er, this morning, Mr. Finnbarr, you sang a song about cods an* lobsters being eaten up by a shark ...”

The sea otter stretched luxuriously. “Aye, so I did Ru-fey. D’ye want me to teach ye the words?”

“No, sir. I’d just like to know what a shark looks like.” “Bless yer ’eart, matey, you don’t sees much of em, an’

you don’t wants to neither. Mainly all you’ll see is a great dark fin stickin’ up out o’ the water.” Rufe took the sea otter’s tattooed paw and led him to the rail. “Does it look like this one circling our ship, sir?” 21

In the same noontide Tarquin L. Woodsorrel was beginning to get really worried. Since dawn he had headed a major search party in Mossflower Wood. Without stopping to

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.