Christmas Quest Page 3

  Eduardo struggled but he couldn’t get free.

  ‘Got a message for them?’ asked the condor. ‘Apart from HELP!’

  6

  mountain mission

  ‘What’s this?’

  Fuzzy and Coco were back in the cabin playing on Mummy’s phone with the Agoutis when a message came through on Micespace.

  The guinea pigs crowded round.

  Buenos tardes, amigos! It is I, Eduardo.

  ‘That’s odd,’ Fuzzy frowned. ‘I didn’t know Eduardo had a mobile phone.’

  ‘He doesn’t,’ Coco said. She tried to sit down beside Fuzzy but slipped over because her fur was so silky from the mud bath. ‘Only ski poles.’

  ‘And he doesn’t know how to get on to Micespace without me.’ Fuzzy scratched his crest. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say this was Renard up to his old tricks.’

  ‘Renard?’ Coco said. ‘But he’s in the copse, back in England.’

  ‘Hmm,’ Fuzzy said. ‘Maybe he’s tipped off a pal. We’d better be careful.’

  Where are you? he typed.

  Hanging out at the top of the mountain with a friend, came the reply.

  Bernardo snorted. ‘It’s definitely not Eduardo,’ he said unkindly. ‘He doesn’t have any friends.’

  Coco glared at him. ‘Yes, he does,’ she snapped. ‘He’s got me and Fuzzy.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Fuzzy agreed. Sounds fun, he typed. He winked at Coco. What’s your friend’s name?

  There was a pause.

  Dronco.

  ‘Dronco?’ Coco exclaimed. ‘That’s a funny name for a guinea pig.’

  ‘It’s a funny name for anyone,’ Fuzzy said thoughtfully. He grabbed a bit of paper and a pencil. Quickly he scribbled down the letters that made up the name Dronco:

  O … D … C … N … O … R.

  ‘Why have you muddled them up?’ Coco asked, puzzled.

  ‘So that I can see if they make another word,’ Fuzzy explained. ‘It’s called an anagram. They use them in crosswords. I want to find out who it is we’re really talking to. I’ve got a bad feeling it isn’t Eduardo.’

  Coco stared at the letters. It was true. When you mixed them up you could make different words out of them.

  ‘Codron?’ she suggested.

  ‘Nodroc?’ Bernardo tried to help.

  Fuzzy shook his head. He looked grim. He circled each letter one by one with the pencil:

  C … O … N … D … O … R.

  ‘The condor!’ Bernardo whispered.

  ‘Oh no!’ Coco gulped. ‘The condor’s got Eduardo.’

  All the guinea pigs started squeaking. They knew what the word condor meant. It was the same in Spanish and English.

  ‘We’ll pretend we don’t know it’s really him,’ Fuzzy said. ‘See what he wants.’ Dronco sounds cool! he typed.

  Yeah, he’s great! He’s going to help me get the cocoa bean. And he’s organizing a Christmas feast at the top of the mountain. He wants you all to come.

  Coco and Fuzzy glanced at one another. ‘I bet he does!’ Coco muttered.

  Sure! Fuzzy typed back. We’ll be there. He switched off the phone.

  ‘Are you crazy?’ Bernardo said. ‘The only thing on the menu at the condor’s Christmas feast will be guinea pig.’

  ‘I know,’ Fuzzy said. ‘But we have to help Eduardo.’

  ‘Of course we do!’ Coco agreed. ‘He’s rescued me twice from the fox. Now it’s our turn to rescue him from the condor.’

  ‘Count me out!’ Bernardo said. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

  ‘But he’s your cousin!’ Coco insisted. ‘And it’s Christmas! You can’t just do nothing. And anyway, we don’t know the way. You’ve got to help us!’

  ‘There’s only one guinea pig who knows the way to the condor’s nest, since Indiana Pig disappeared,’ Bernardo sighed.

  ‘Who is it?’ Coco asked.

  ‘Sherpa Shorty,’ Bernardo said. ‘He was Indiana Pig’s guide.’

  ‘You mean he’s still alive?’ Coco demanded.

  ‘That depends on what mood he’s in,’ Bernardo said. ‘Come, I will take you to him.’

  ‘If only he could find the plane!’ Fuzzy muttered. ‘Then we could fly up there and rescue Eduardo.’

  *

  Sherpa Shorty lived beside a stream in a little house made of twigs.

  KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

  Coco and Fuzzy hammered at the door with Bernardo.

  ‘Go away,’ a sleepy voice squeaked. ‘I’m hibernating.’

  ‘No, you’re not!’ Bernardo said. ‘Guinea pigs don’t hibernate.’

  ‘I’m dead then.’

  ‘If you’re dead, how come you’re talking?’ Fuzzy enquired.

  ‘Oh, all right!’ the voice grumbled. ‘I’m coming.’

  They heard shuffling. Then the door opened.

  ‘Where is he?’ Coco whispered, peering in.

  ‘Down here!’ the voice answered crossly.

  The guinea pigs looked down. A very short guinea pig with tufty grey fur stood in front of them. He wore a red-and-white striped hat pulled down over his ears. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘We need to go to the condor’s nest,’ Coco explained.

  ‘To rescue our friend Eduardo,’ Fuzzy said.

  ‘He’s my cousin. He’s being held captive,’ Bernardo added.

  ‘Can’t help you.’ Sherpa Shorty tried to close the door.

  ‘Please!’ Coco wedged the door open with her paw. ‘He went to rescue the lucky Christmas Cocoa Bean. The condor guinea-pig-napped him. You’ve got to help us! You’re our only hope! He was following in the paw-steps of Indiana Pig!’

  Sherpa Shorty started. ‘Indiana Pig?’ he said. ‘I remember him.’

  ‘Do you know the way?’ Fuzzy asked eagerly.

  ‘Well …’ Sherpa Shorty hesitated. ‘Sort of.’

  ‘That’s good enough.’ Coco grabbed his whiskers and started to drag him out. ‘Come on.’

  ‘Wait!’ Sherpa Shorty pulled free and scuttled back into the twig house. He opened a cupboard and began chucking things out on to the floor. ‘We’ll need some equipment,’ he grunted.

  Fuzzy and Coco watched as one item after another whizzed through the air and on to the pile.

  ‘Elastic bands …’ Sherpa Shorty muttered.

  ‘Rope …

  ‘Toilet paper …

  ‘Soap …

  ‘Toothpaste …

  ‘More rope …’

  ‘Hurry up!’

  Coco grumbled. ‘We haven’t got all day.’

  Sherpa Shorty filled up a guinea-pig-sized backpack and slung it on his back.

  They waved goodbye to Bernardo and set off through the snow.

  ‘Er … shouldn’t we be going uphill?’ Fuzzy asked.

  ‘I knew that,’ Sherpa Shorty said crossly. He turned round and set off the other way. They said goodbye to Bernardo again.

  After a little while Sherpa Shorty stopped. ‘We’ll pitch camp here,’ he announced.

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Coco said. ‘We only left five minutes ago. We’ll never get there at this rate.’

  ‘He’s asleep,’ Fuzzy said.

  Sherpa Shorty lay in the snow under the backpack, snoring loudly.

  ‘You take this,’ Fuzzy said, peeling the backpack off Sherpa Shorty and giving it to Coco. ‘I’ll take him.’ He hoisted Sherpa Shorty on to his back.

  ‘This is hopeless!’ Coco moaned. The backpack kept sliding off her silky fur. And it was very, very heavy.

  ‘I bet the Queen never has to do anything like this. I wish we could bump into Rupert de Vere,’ she sighed. ‘He’d be bound to help us.’

  Just at that moment Coco did bump into something. She stared hard at it. It wasn’t Rupert de Vere, she decided, unless he had very hairy legs. Four of them.

  ‘Husky!’ Fuzzy shouted. ‘Boy, are we pleased to see you!’

  7

  the nestbusters

  ‘What are you g
uys doing out in the snow?’ said Husky.

  ‘We’re going up the mountain to rescue Eduardo,’ Coco told him.

  ‘He went to get the lucky Christmas Cocoa Bean back from the condor,’ Fuzzy said. He started to explain what had happened. When he got to the bit about Indiana Pig and the plane he was interrupted by a snorting noise.

  ‘Your backpack seems to be snoring,’ Husky said.

  ‘It’s not a backpack, it’s our mountain guide.’ Fuzzy let Sherpa Shorty slide gently to the ground.

  Sherpa Shorty opened his eyes, lifted his head and pointed up the mountain.

  ‘You need to go that way,’ he said, and then fell back asleep.

  Husky lowered his head and gently flicked Sherpa Shorty on to his back. ‘We’d better take him with us. We might need some more directions when we get to the top of the mountain.’

  ‘You mean, you’re coming with us?’ said Coco excitedly. ‘But what about the humans? Don’t they need your help to find the gold?’

  ‘Mummy can track me if she needs me.’

  ‘How can she do that?’ asked Fuzzy.

  ‘With this!’ Husky pointed at his collar with his back paw. ‘It’s got all the latest gadgets. You know what Mummy’s like.’

  The little party set off up the mountain.

  As they neared the summit, the slope became rockier and steeper, until Husky was forced to stop at a sheer cliff-face.

  ‘That’s too steep for me,’ said Husky.

  ‘If only we could find the plane,’ Fuzzy said despairingly.

  Husky stared out at the snow. He lifted his head and wiggled his wet, black nose.

  ‘Hang on,’ he said. ‘I can smell something …’

  He sniffed. ‘It’s engine oil …’

  He took a few steps forward and turned his head to one side.

  ‘It’s this way!’ He trotted off into the snow. ‘Follow me!’ After a minute, he stopped. ‘Here!’ Husky dumped Sherpa Shorty on the snow and started to dig with his front paws.

  ‘The plane!’ Coco gasped.

  The red cockpit of Indiana Pig’s long-lost plane began to emerge from the snow.

  Husky lifted it out gently with his teeth.

  ‘Is it damaged?’ Coco asked.

  ‘There’s only one way to find out!’ Fuzzy cried. He jumped into the pilot’s seat. Coco climbed in behind him.

  ‘Wait for me!’ Sherpa Shorty flung the backpack in after them and leaped in beside Fuzzy.

  Coco glared at him. ‘I thought you were asleep!’ she shouted.

  ‘I only sleep when there’s something I don’t want to do –’ Sherpa Shorty grinned – ‘like carrying a heavy backpack!’

  Fuzzy pressed the starter button. He pushed down on one of the pedals with his foot. They all held their breath as the engine made a strange growling noise.

  ‘That doesn’t sound good!’ said Coco.

  She felt very afraid, but Eduardo was in terrible danger. They had to rescue him! Eduardo had rescued her in the past, and now it was their turn to save him. The plane was their only chance.

  Fuzzy flicked the button again. He pushed his foot down harder on the pedal.

  After a long growl, the engine finally came to life.

  HMMMMMMMMMMMMM! The plane purred.

  ‘Hurray!’ said Coco. ‘It’s working!’

  ‘Fasten your seat belts!’ Fuzzy shouted. ‘Hold tight, ready for take-off.’

  ‘Good luck!’ Husky barked.

  Fuzzy carefully drove the plane across the snow and on to a flat piece of land. He revved the engine again and accelerated. The front of the plane lifted into the air and began to climb. Then, when the ground was far beneath them, he levelled the plane out and gently turned it round.

  ‘Wow!’ cried Coco. ‘We’re up so high!’

  Husky waved from below.

  ‘Husky’s shrinking!’ cried Sherpa Shorty, full of alarm.

  ‘No, he’s not,’ explained Coco. ‘We’re going higher so he looks smaller.’

  ‘But what if he disappears like Indiana Pig?’ said Sherpa.

  ‘Don’t look down,’ suggested Coco.

  Sherpa looked up instead. ‘Now the clouds are getting bigger!’ he yelled.

  ‘Just shut your eyes,’ said Coco crossly.

  Sherpa shut his eyes and immediately fell asleep.

  Fuzzy turned the plane upward and slightly to the left. They were heading towards the mountain peak where the condor lived.

  Coco leaned forward and patted him on the shoulder. ‘Well done, Fuzzy,’ she said.

  Fuzzy smiled proudly. It was nice to be good at something, especially something as exciting as flying a plane. And Coco didn’t often say nice things. So when she did, you knew she meant them.

  ‘There’s the nest!’ said Coco.

  The guinea pigs could see the condor’s vast flapping wings, but there was no sign of Eduardo. Fuzzy gulped. Perhaps they were too late!

  ‘Coming in to land!’ he shouted. ‘Hold on.’

  The plane’s nose tipped down. The engine whirred. There was a roar, then a bump, then a screech of brakes. The plane came to a juddering halt on the packed snow next to the nest.

  ‘Eduardo!’ Coco leaped out. She could see a small pair of silvery black paws sticking out from a laptop – the condor had trapped Eduardo between the keyboard and the lid! Coco rushed towards it.

  ‘QUARK! Bang on time! I’m hungry!’ a voice croaked.

  Coco looked up in horror. A big glassy eye stared back at her.

  ‘Coco! Watch out!’ Fuzzy tore open the backpack and looked inside. There must be something in there he could use against the condor. He searched frantically. There was nothing but toothpaste and – TOOTHPASTE! Fuzzy remembered how Ben squeezed the tube and the paste squeezed on to his toothbrush. Maybe he could do the same.

  ‘Sherpa Shorty!’ he squeaked. ‘Help me!’

  Sherpa Shorty woke up with a start. He got out of the plane and scurried over to help.

  ‘Squeeze the end!’ Fuzzy yelled.

  Sherpa Shorty pressed on the tube with all his might, while Fuzzy held it up towards the condor.

  SPLAT!

  ‘Take that, loser!’ Fuzzy shouted.

  A huge blob of toothpaste landed in the condor’s eye. He yelped in alarm.

  Another big splodge landed in his other eye. He couldn’t see! The bird staggered backwards, trying to wipe the toothpaste away with its wing.

  SPLAT! SQUISH! SPLAT!

  Sherpa Shorty jumped up and down on the tube.

  Coco flung herself at the laptop lid and managed to force it open. Eduardo rolled off the keyboard.

  ‘About time!’ he complained, straightening his whiskers.

  ‘Any minute now the toothpaste will run out!’ Fuzzy shouted. He chucked the backpack towards his friends.

  Coco and Eduardo scampered over to it and scrabbled inside for another weapon.

  ‘Hey, beak-face, your wing-pits smell. Why don’t you take a bath!’ Eduardo flung the soap under the condor’s feet.

  The enormous bird slipped on it and stumbled. ‘QUARK!’ it squawked angrily.

  ‘Time to play!’ Eduardo grabbed some of the rope from the backpack. He crept behind the condor and lassoed its leg.

  ‘Pull!’

  He and Coco heaved on the other end of the rope.

  The condor finally fell over. Eduardo laughed. ‘Not so tough now!’ he said as he tied the condor’s feet together.

  Fuzzy raced over. He scooped up the toilet roll and wound it round and round the condor’s beak. ‘That should hold him for a while!’

  ‘We need to take the cocoa bean down the mountain,’ Eduardo shouted.

  ‘You’ve found it!’ Coco cried. She felt like hugging him but it didn’t seem the right time.

  ‘Si, señorita. It was hidden in the nest. Come on!’ Eduardo grabbed the cocoa bean, threw it in his satchel and ran towards the plane.

  The guinea pigs scurried after him. They all hopped into the plane. T
here was just enough room for all of them. Fuzzy revved the engine and took off into the sky.

  8

  flight

  ‘Wow! You can fly a plane, amigo!’ Eduardo clapped Fuzzy on the back with his paw.

  ‘It’s thanks to all those adventure films I watch with Ben,’ Fuzzy explained.

  ‘That is not only clever but also amazing!’ Eduardo yelled.

  Just then the plane started to jolt.

  ‘The condor!’ shouted Fuzzy. ‘He’s escaped!’

  ‘I told you he had a beak like a pair of skissors!’ Eduardo yelled. ‘He must have used it to cut through the rope!’

  ‘And the toilet roll!’ Fuzzy cried.

  ‘You betcha!’ The condor lunged at them with his giant wings.

  Fuzzy tried to keep the plane level, but when the condor gave it one last shove it tipped down towards the ground. Fuzzy clung on to the stick.

  ‘We’re going to crash!’ squeaked Coco, alarmed.

  ‘Mayday! Mayday!’ shouted Fuzzy. ‘The plane’s out of control!’

  ‘Well, get it in control!’ Coco shrieked. ‘Surely those films taught you how to do that.’

  ‘In the films the planes didn’t get shoved by a condor!’ Fuzzy yelled back.

  Coco looked shocked. ‘Help!’ she squealed. The ground loomed towards them.

  ‘The soft Peruvian snow will help us!’ cried Eduardo.

  ‘Hold on!’ Fuzzy yelled.

  The guinea pigs braced themselves BOOMPH!

  There was a crash. The guinea pigs were thrown forwards and then backwards.

  The plane juddered to a halt.

  ‘Is everyone OK?’ Fuzzy glanced round.

  The others nodded. They were too shaken to say anything. Silently they wriggled out. Eduardo pulled Sherpa Shorty clear.

  ‘That’s that, then.’ Fuzzy looked at the plane sadly. The wings had broken off. It would never fly again.

  ‘What do we do now?’ Coco whispered.

  ‘Quick!’ Eduardo shouted. The condor was still circling above them. ‘Get your skis.’

  ‘What skis?’ Coco yelped.