the Flying Save! Read online

  Ian Whybrow

  Illustrated by Pedro Penizzotto

  PUFFIN

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Ian Whybrow is a bestselling author of over a hundred books who is proud to have been listed as one of the top ten most-read writers in UK libraries. Among his most popular characters are the hugely successful Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs, the barking mad Sniff and the much-loved Little Wolf. Ian lives in London and Herefordshire.

  www.harryandthedinosaurs.co.uk

  Look out for more adventures with

  Harry and the Dinosaurs:

  ROAR TO THE RESCUE!

  THE SNOW SMASHERS!

  A MONSTER SURPRISE!

  With grateful thanks to Anna, Thomas, Laura and Sophie Campbell whose sense of fun and combined spirit of adventure (including dam-building down the Batch) inspired the Grand Order of the Great Oak

  Chapter 1

  Harry was in trouble. A collection of special cards on his key-ring gave him command of the world’s mightiest dinosaurs. Yet here he was, face-to-face with an evil little beast and with no back-up!

  His room was a wreck. His most precious things had been scattered everywhere. The model plane he’d spent hours making had been smashed to pieces. Now sharp teeth were sinking into the palm of his hand, and cruel green eyes stared up at him.

  At least the screaming had stopped.

  Harry gulped but tried not to make any sudden moves. He knew that to show fear could be a disaster.

  The door handle turned and Mrs Brattburger came in, pushing the door open with her hip. She was carrying a tray loaded with drinks and cakes.

  ‘Hey, you two! How are you getting along?’ she called. ‘Look what Harry’s mummy has fixed for you!’

  As Harry opened his mouth to say something, the wild-eyed monster unlocked its jaws.

  It was barely a metre high but moved sideways like a darting spider. It hurled itself at Mrs Brattburger and grappled her legs.

  ‘Whoa!’ cried Mrs Brattburger. She put the tray down on the bedside table. ‘Feeding time!’ she added cheerfully.

  There was a gurgle from the pint-sized beast. ‘Mum-mee! I don’t like Harry!’ it whined.

  Harry looked at the tooth-marks on his hand. Mrs Brattburger looked at the general mess and made a sad face. Her little monster looked at both of them and began to sob loudly.

  ‘There, there, Frederick darling!’ she cooed, clasping him to her chest. She gave Harry a knowing look over the boy’s head. ‘Don’t worry, Harry,’ she said in a loud whisper. ‘You wouldn’t believe how sensitive he is. He has a real problem making friends. I guess it’s just his age. But if you could just be patient with him, Mr Brattburger and I would be so-o-o grateful. It’s a terrible problem finding a place to leave him while we’re away on business. But then your mother offered. So kind of her!’

  She cradled Frederick’s red, screwed-up face in her hands and said to him, ‘Harry really likes you, darling. You’ll soon be getting along just fine, you’ll see! When Daddy and I get back, you can tell us all about the heaps of fun you had together. Am I right, Harry?’

  Yeah, right, thought Harry, rubbing his sore hand.

  Chapter 2

  ‘You were too soft on him,’ said Siri. As the only child of two professors, he liked to give his opinions loud and clear. ‘If some little kid wrecked my room I would soon show him who’s the boss!’

  ‘And he actually bit you?’ said Charlie. ‘Wow!’ She turned up the lamp.

  The shadowy faces of the Grand Order of the Great Oak members – the GOGOs for short – grew clearer. Harry had called an emergency meeting and they were squeezed up pretty tight in the belly of their secret oak-tree den. It was more of a squash than usual because Charlie had insisted on cramming her precious skateboard in with her. She’d painted the dragon on it herself and it was her pride and joy.

  ‘If he bit me,’ Siri added, pushing up his glasses, ‘I would have bitten him back!’

  ‘What, even if he was only three and a half years old? Even if his mother was your mother’s boss?’ challenged Harry. ‘His parents own one of the magazines my mother writes for. It’s called Parenting Without Pain.’

  ‘Tuh!’ muttered Charlie. ‘They’re parents and Frederick’s a pain.’

  ‘Everybody says he’s got problems,’ said Harry.

  ‘That’s weird,’ said Jack. He liked action more than words, so he didn’t usually say much. ‘How come?’

  ‘He’s spoilt rotten,’ said Charlie.

  ‘So,’ said Siri, ‘these Brattburger people are very important. And this is why you all have to be nice to their son. Am I right?’

  ‘Exactly,’ said Harry. ‘And he’s staying for another two nights –’

  Jack finished his sentence for him. ‘– while his mum and dad go to Scotland on business. Hmmm.’

  ‘Sam won’t have anything to do with him,’ Harry complained. ‘She says I’m the boy of the family so it’s up to me to keep him happy.’

  ‘Don’t worry about your sister!’ cried Siri. ‘We GOGOs stick together! I say that we all help Harry by trying to make friends with this kid. All those in favour?’

  Harry looked around hopefully. Never in the history of the GOGOs had hands gone up so slowly.

  Chapter 3

  It’s really good of you to give Nan and me a break,’ said Mum as the GOGOs gathered in the kitchen at Harry’s house. You could see from the look on her face that she knew it wouldn’t be easy for them to keep Frederick happy. ‘I’ve got to finish some work before lunchtime and Nan has to bake cakes for her gardening club. We’ve already had to change his clothes twice this morning, so do try to keep him clean as well as happy.’ She leaned down and set Frederick’s sunhat straight. ‘You’re a lucky boy having all these big children to play with,’ she said in an extra-cheery voice. ‘So you be good and hold their hands.’

  ‘Bum-bum!’ said Frederick and threw down the hat.

  Harry would have been marched up to his room if he’d behaved like that. And he could tell Nan was definitely thinking about it. She flumped a spoonful of butter into her bowl so hard that a cloud of flour flew into the air.

  ‘Who wants a go on my skateboard?’ asked Charlie, stepping forward quickly. ‘It’s a special one called Dragon.’

  Mum and Nan looked at each other and crossed their fingers as the GOGOs fixed smiles on their faces and led Frederick out of the back door.

  Charlie put the board down on the grass and hopped on. Frederick ran at her and tried to push her off it. ‘Hey! Steady, Freddie!’ she said. ‘Wait till I show you how to stand on it.’

  ‘NOT Freddie! My name is Fred-er-RICK. Call me Frederick J. Brattburger!’ he shouted, still pushing at Charlie. Without pausing for breath, he gritted his teeth and added, ‘I know how to do skateboards. Get off!’

  Charlie thought about telling him that her name was Charlotte Squirt-Squeezer but changed her mind. She stepped off her pride and joy and watched while Frederick began to kick it and stamp on it. ‘You do it like this!’ he declared. ‘You make it jump up.’ He knocked Dragon sideways and scraped his shoe over it a couple of times.

  ‘Yes, well … how about scooting on it first, just to get your balance?’ suggested Charlie, trying to show him how. She was getting worried about the paintwork.

  ‘NO! NOT LIKE THAT!’ yelled Frederick, shoving her away. He carried on kicking at it. When the board didn’t do what he wanted, he picked it up
and held it to his chest.

  ‘So much for skateboarding,’ muttered Harry. He raised his voice, put on a big smile and said, ‘OK, who’s for a bounce on the trampoline?’

  ‘Wait!’ said Siri. ‘It’s a warm day. Let’s teach Frederick water-bombing.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bunch of mini balloons. ‘Here we go, everybody. Help yourselves.’ All the GOGOs grabbed a handful.

  Frederick clung grimly to the skateboard and staggered after them, watching carefully in silence as they filled a balloon each at the garden tap and tied off the necks.

  ‘Garage door! Nearest to the handle wins!’ cried Siri. The GOGOs lined up and took it in turns to throw a balloon from where they were standing. Charlie was last to throw.

  SPLAT! Bang on target!

  ‘Great shot!’ everyone yelled.

  ‘Your turn now. I filled this for you,’ said Siri, holding out a bulging red water-bomb to Frederick. ‘Take one of these and see if you can hit the garage door with it. You can go closer if you like.’

  Frederick was in such a hurry to get hold of the balloon that he forgot he was holding the skateboard and smacked Siri round the ear with it.

  ‘OUCH!’ wailed Siri, falling on his back and then, ‘SPLAGHHH!’ as Frederick whacked the water-bomb in his face.

  ‘Gimme another one!’ shouted Frederick, squealing with delight.

  The rest of the GOGOs decided to play safe and hastily tucked their unfilled balloons into their pockets.

  Frederick was furious. He snatched back Charlie’s dragon-board. ‘I hate you all!’ he announced. ‘I’m going to tell Harry’s mummy.’ He started to head for the back door.

  ‘Oh no!’ muttered Harry, and then he called, ‘Who wants to go on the trampoline?’

  ‘Me!’ chorused the GOGOs. ‘Come on, Frederick!’ They dashed over to the other side of the garden. ‘Let’s have some FUN.’

  Nimbly, Jack clambered up the ladder on to the trampoline. He did a few warm-up bounces, then a back-flip.

  ‘Look at that!’ said Siri. His voice was full of admiration as he wiped his glasses clear with one hand and rubbed his sore ear with the other. ‘Jack’s in the school team. He can teach you some excellent moves, Frederick.’

  Jack lay flat and looked over the edge of the trampoline. ‘Come up and try it, Frederick,’ he said, reaching down. ‘Give him a leg-up, Siri.’

  ‘NO! ME DO IT!’ screamed Frederick. He threw himself at the ladder and quickly discovered that he couldn’t climb up and hang on to the dragon-board at the same time.

  He tried again. He fell off. He dropped the skateboard with a clatter on to his foot. The corners of his mouth turned down. He opened his mouth and started to howl. ‘YOU MADE ME HURT MYSELF! WAAAAAAH!’

  Chapter 4

  After Nan had looked at Frederick’s foot and stopped him crying for the third time in as many hours, she suggested a walk. ‘You need to wear him out,’ she said to the GOGOs. ‘Use up some of his energy – then maybe he’ll have a little nap this afternoon.’

  ‘Some hopes,’ said Harry.

  ‘Best not to get him over-excited,’ she said quietly into Harry’s ear. ‘There’s plenty of hazelnuts about. Take him down the Batch to pick some. That’ll do it.’ Then she spoke loud enough for Frederick to hear. ‘Let Freddie carry the bag to collect the nuts in. You’ll like that, won’t you, Freddie?’

  ‘I want a bucket, not a bag,’ announced Frederick.

  ‘Oh dear, you are a fusspot,’ said Nan. ‘Ask Harry nicely and maybe he can find you one.’

  ‘And a spade,’ said Frederick. ‘I only like a bucket with a spade.’ Nan gave him one of her special looks. ‘Please,’ he added quickly.

  Well, please is a start, Harry thought. Nan watched him unhook the attic trapdoor while the GOGOs kept an eye on Freddie.

  The aluminium ladder clicked as it dropped down, and Harry climbed up through the hatch.

  ‘Hold on tight, Harry,’ called Nan. ‘Be careful.’

  Harry crawled into the attic and felt for the light switch. Then he walked carefully over the thick boards that were lying across the beams.

  The attic was crammed with lots of boxes filled with things like old toys and Christmas decorations. In the corner was the box Harry was looking for. He tipped it upside down. The sound that the plastic dinosaurs made as they rattled softly on to the dusty planks gave him a start.

  Even though it had been years since he’d played with his bucketful of dinosaurs, it felt like it was only yesterday. There was something about the way the little triceratops’ legs slid between his fingers and the familiar prickle of its horns against the tip of his thumb that made him smile. He put the triceratops down carefully and picked up the winged lizard. ‘You should be a pteranodon, not a pterodactyl,’ he muttered to himself. ‘And you’re not even a dinosaur, really.’

  Suddenly he felt silly. He was way too old for games with toy dinosaurs and here he was talking to them again! But he couldn’t stop himself tidying them up, as if it were mean to let them just lie in a tangled heap. He took the bucket out, found the spade that went with it and then put all the dinosaurs carefully back into the empty box.

  He felt into his pocket for his key-ring and pulled it out. A collection of cards in the shape of dinosaurs was attached, and Harry thought back to how he’d got them. Years after he had put his bucketful of dinosaurs away for good, he had been lying in bed when – WHAM! – a full-size spinosaurus had turned up. What a moment! Wow! Even now he could hardly believe it.

  Spinosaurus had given him the key-ring and explained that it gave Harry the power, if ever he had a real emergency, to call up any dinosaur to help him. Because he had taken such good care of his toy dinosaurs when he was younger, this was their way of paying him back. They were his B.U.Ds – Back-Up Dinosaurs – and when a card was warm, it meant the dinosaur pictured on it was ready to help. But the B.U.Ds could be a lot scarier when they were life-sized, so they were invisible to everyone except Harry.

  Right now the cards were all cool to the touch. ‘I know this is not exactly an emergency,’ Harry whispered, ‘but I could really use some help with this kid. He’s such a pain! Couldn’t one of you just turn up and maybe … you know … scare him a bit or something?’

  Nan’s voice snapped him out of his daydream. ‘Harry! Have you found that bucket and spade yet?’

  ‘I’ve got them,’ he answered, slipping the key-ring back into his pocket. ‘I’m coming down.’

  Chapter 5

  ‘I hate rubber boots,’ said Frederick.

  ‘We all do,’ Siri told him as he and Jack steered him down the lane towards the footpath that dropped down a bank into the woods everyone called the Batch. ‘But it can get pretty muddy down here.’

  ‘Gimme my spade!’ ordered Frederick.

  ‘No. You’ve got to hold hands with Jack and Siri in case a car comes down the lane,’ explained Charlie as she tried her best to hide the dragon-board behind her back.

  Fortunately, at the point where the path divided, Mr Oakley appeared with his big bouncy dog, Morgan. Mr Oakley owned the nearest farm up the lane from Harry’s house and had been a friend of the family for as long as Harry could remember. Morgan didn’t normally walk on a lead, and Mr Oakley had to give him a tug as he tried to race up to greet the children. Whimpering and yelping for joy, the dog huffed and wagged his tail about.

  The GOGOs gave him a thunderous patting and a good scratch behind the ears. Strangely, Frederick stood still and was quiet.

  ‘What’s he on the lead for?’ Harry asked after everyone had said hello.

  ‘Big alert on,’ said Mr Oakley, reaching over to make Morgan sit down. ‘I just had a word with Johnny Booker from the Spansford estate. He told me all the workers just got orders to shoot any stray dogs they see wandering about. There’s been another lot of sheep-worrying.’

  ‘Do you mean the sheep were injured?’ asked Charlie.

  ‘Not bitten or nothing, no, but Johnny had to res
cue a couple that got chased off estate land. They ran into that thorn hedge just up there, where I keep my young rams,’ said Mr Oakley, pointing across the stream. ‘They got panicked, see, and when that happens, they can struggle something terrible and lose their strength. And if you don’t find ’em in time, they can drop dead of fright. I’ve lost sheep that way myself.’

  ‘Morgan wouldn’t chase sheep, though,’ said Jack, squeezing the dear old dog’s head under his arm.

  ‘Wouldn’t hurt a fly,’ said Mr Oakley. ‘But Colonel and Lady Spansford have given the order to destroy any loose dogs, and I don’t want to take no chances. Especially since Her Ladyship has fallen out with me just at the moment. Which is a pity, because my young cows need a nice bit of fresh grass and I was hoping to rent one of her spare fields.’

  ‘What happened?’ asked Siri politely. The GOGOs couldn’t imagine Mr Oakley falling out with anyone.

  ‘Well, as you know,’ explained the farmer, scratching his white beard, ‘Colonel and Lady Spansford are quite soppy about their little terrier, Spike. He’s a nice little dog, but they will let him go chasing off after the animals when they take him across the fields for a walk. They think it’s funny. “Oh, he won’t hurt them!” they say. “He’s only a tiny creature!” But what they don’t understand is that he upsets ’em, see? He makes ’em run. And that’s no good for a sheep with a lamb inside her. I told her Ladyship that she should keep him on the lead, so she’s not too pleased with me.’

  ‘Will any sort of dog attack a sheep?’ asked Jack.

  ‘Well, I tell you what,’ said Mr Oakley. ‘It only takes one dog to run a bit wild and he’ll go round gathering others. And then they all get caught up in the excitement, and they start what they call “packing” – that means they gather in a pack like wolves. That’s when you’ve got to watch out, because they’re not nice tame pets any more when they get like that.’