Bonnie and SophieAbridged.

Chapter 2 Pyth Python

'Oooo!  Aaaarh!' Bonnie yawns, double stretching, nose in ground and bottom stuck high, rocking as a seesaw.  Bonnie and Sophie wave bye bye to the truck driver who has given them such a long lift.  The last colours of the day reflect the late hour while they quickly shuffle those canvas rucksacks about their backs.  So now they have to find Pyth Python, who lives above that wild and windy mountain with the name of Kinder Scout.  And sitting in the deep green sky, a large round moon may help them, or so they hope.

Suddenly  they reach five stepping stones, a possible crossing place over the dangerous and fast flowing waters of this mountain brook.  Bonnie crosses.  But halfway over Sophie is wobbling.  Wobble!  Wobble!  Arhh!  She slips into the icy wet.  Hang on!  Wait!  She's clinging onto a dark mouldy stone.  Gushing water fills her bag and it swims away from her, out of reach, then Bonnie rushes back and pulls her best friend out from that racing stream.

In the dusky light, a beautiful meadow opens out, just visible.  While as they amble along, they cheer up, they have less to carry and they laugh.  Bonnie passes the bag and begins to sing ... 'paths untrod and joys unknown, paths untrod and joys unknown.'  Then that grassy view narrows into a rock ravine, cliffs and things!  Twice Bonnie has to leapfrog off Sophie's back to reach a higher ledge.  Rock climbing is new to the pals but they have a go; Bonnie catches hold of one end of a sisal rope with her sharp white teeth and walking backwards, pulls up her partner.

On the left our two Old English dogs pass foxholes, whilst on the right a slow and cold night turns in upon their damp woolly coats.  A mound stands out in the decayed light of that black moonscape.  Now Sophie is exhausted, mud and peat drag her aching bones, but she hangs close to Bonnie, even though a wretched smell suffocates her tired panting black button nose.  Suddenly Sophie falls asleep, falls down and Bonnie falls over her too.  Eventually a small green tent flutters over their tired bodies, soon however, this too falls down and only the visiting sheep in the middle of that night remain standing.  Bah!  Bah!  Bah!

Stirring from their warm sleep as dawn is breaking, they are shocked to find a green sky has fallen upon them.  But then they scramble out of the flattened tent feeling the same breeze which trembles those little eastern clouds coloured dapple grey.  Both dogs yawn, arrrgh!  On their way, they pass Mermaids Pool and Snake path, it's a hard trail, but with a wide wind behind them they howl into song.  Soon the yelling becomes so loud, one narrow fellow asleep in the grass, an enormous python snake named Pyth, wakes and dividing grass blades like a comb hisses loudly "ss z.zz.z.z.z.st, who woke me up.'  'I'm very sorry,' Bonnie stammers, while Soph is so shocked she hands Pyth their last bottle of pup pop, which he sips quickly through a straight mouth into his long slack body then swallows the bottle.  They stare upward at Pyth and gulp!

Hundreds of numbers in different colours are painted all over Pyth's lemon skin; some in sequence, others back to front, some upside down.  He looks very strange.  'Why do you have numbers over your body?' Bonnie asks.  'Because I like numbers, all things in the world are numbers,' Pyth hisses, 'ss z.z.z.z.z.st, 5.3.0...5.3.0...5.3.0...' his red ruled tongue shooting in and out.  Pyth Python adjusts his soft belly, 'books, dice and cards have numbers, clothes measure into numbers, everything is made from small grains which can be counted, time too.  I love numbers.'

Sophie, annoyed because Mr. Pyth has swallowed her bottle, barks, 'What do numbers mean?'  Rearranging his lemon slackness Pyth sighs, 'only one set of teaching can be right so number one is the real thing.'  His black eyes peer down, 'number two equals argument, you need two for that.  And the most perfect number is number three, for everything has a beginning, middle and end.'  A rustle behind causes Soph to think other coily snakes are about.  'Four stands for justice, it's the first set of two equals and five means marriage, for even numbers are female and odd numbers are male and we know what happens when male and female get together, don't we.'  Pyth's numbered shaft rises higher and higher, any more and they won't hear him, so quickly without waiting they thank him then rush off to find Herac Hare.