The Daisy Garden

Part 1 - The Willow Garden

In Barny's Dream

Everybody was sitting ordinarily in class getting on with the work which was set. Barny glanced over at Daisy and flahsed her a friendly smile and mouthed the words 'this is boring.' Suddenly Daisy's head dropped to the side and her pencil fell out of her hand, and rolled across the classroom flor. "Daisy?" Barny got out of his seat. Daisy's leg was twitching now as if in a sort of spasm. She turned her head around to face him and let out a long moan "DAISY!"

Part 1 - The Willow Garden

A bright light came on from the other side of the tent "What?!" Daisy's shadow became crisp and clear as she unzipped the 'wall' that divided her from Barny. "Did you catch something?" Barny took a sigh of relief "not yet no." Daisy smiled and crawled into his section of the tent, "you're useless you!" She stood up and walked out into the empty space of the tent which seemed like a gigantic ibis. "I am a brave monster hunter and my name is Daisy Wight! What about you?" She stood with her hands on her hips "Daisy not now I'm tired!" Daisy grabbed Barny's arm dragging him up onto his feet 

"yes come on! All the monsters come out at night!" Barny got up, flipping his hair into shape, walking to where Daisy was standing, and, adopting the same position he said "My name is Barnaby Down, master of operation and conduct." They both peered out through the 'window' they'd fashioned in the tent. "Look there, it's a, it's a, a Rare and Speckled, a Rare and Speckled, um, er... Scrimdumpler!" Said Daisy enthusiastically "well... what are you waiting for, let's go and catch this Scrumdimpler!!" Daisy stopped and looked at Barny confused. "What?!"  

"Scrimdumpler you silly!" Barny froze, then smiled, Daisy laughed "what?" 

"Nothing" They both ran out into the night "Look! It's coming towards us!" Barny shined a light in the monsters face, it turned around and just to disappoint Daisy and Barny a little human face was peering out of a fluffy all-in-one "urgh, it's just Bobbie." Barny grumbled "I'll take her back inside.... Bobbie why d'you have to ruin everything!?" Barny walked over to Bobbie and picked her up "eh?" Bobbie smiled "I sorry." Barny couldn't stay cross at her, he swung her up into the air. "Daisy, I'll just walk her back up to bed, you wait here." Daisy nodded and smiled. Barny ran with his sister all the way back through the garden to the house and up to Bobbie's bedroom, he plopped her in her cot. He then turned and ran back outside, roaring like a monster as he went, when he got outside a very excited Daisy greeted him "guess what I found!" Barny imagined this finding to be nothing more than a fragment of Daisy's imagination. "What, what did you find?" He said sarcastically. "I found a gate that leads to somewhere!" Barny laughed at Daisy grabbed him by the arm "well, that figures, all gates lead to - woahh!" Before them stood a huge rusting gate with ivy growing all over and around it "how come I didn't see this before?" Daisy shrugged 

"Maybe it wasn't there?" Daisy reached out to touch it 

"So... What are we gonna do?" Daisy bit her lip 

"We might have to open it...." Barny took a deep breath in 

"Okay... On three we both push, 1.......... 2................ 3!" The gate swung open, kicking up a whole load of ivy that had managed to grow underneath the gate. , Daisy walked through it, she took a few steps then tripped on a tree root "Aah!" The floor seemed as though it were covered with leaves but underneath were puddles of wet mud "ew, this place is a death trap!" Daisy suddenly got up in realisation "Trap... There could be some real monsters in here!" In front of them was a big arch made of metal with the words 'The Willow Garden' welded onto it "The wilow garden... Let's explore!!" Barny checked his watch and shone his torch into the distance "I dunno, like you said, it looks kinda dangerous... A death trap to be excact" 

"Hm... What if it was for me, like a favor....?" Daisy raised her eyebrows and pouted her bottom lip. Barny sighed"fine." Daisy started jumping up and down in celebration "Yay!" She turned off through the arch. There was then the biggest Willow tree you've ever seen standing before them. "Wow." Daisy was quick to part the vines and go inside and Barny wasn't far behind. Suddenly something lept out at them, Daisy fell back and Barny caught her, they stayed like that and Barny gently folded his arms round her and pushed her into an upright position again "I'll go and investigate." He ran off into the Willow, just behind the vines was a big spacious cave, he could hear something "hello?"  He switched on his torch, he could hear a distant whispering "I- I can hear you! I- I know your in there!" His voice echoed in the great space of the cavernous rock "show yorself!" Barny was shouting with panic wringing in his voice. He could hear music now, and smell smoke. His throat hurt in the fumes and there was no hiding it now, he was terrified. "Just come and talk, I won't bite." Barny suddenly heard a deep moany voice "but we might." A huge head peered round from a bend in the tunnel; it was a sort offoxes face with rabbit ears, he had a long tail and big paws. "What are you, you ridiculous creature?" Suddenly Barny didn't feel afraid, the 'thing' smiled and held out a paw. Barny took it and walked with him slowly, and sitting around a campfire were several of them. "We're Rarams." Some of them had special features, like one, nestled between enormous ears had two gnarled, curled horns. "Let us introduce ourselves," The Ram that had just escorted Barny said "I'm Egroig, but most of my friends call me E. These are Eb, Bony, Jilly and Snaps, what about you?" Barny leapt into action, hands on hips standing tall he said "my name is Barnaby Down, master of operation and conduct!" They all gasped, E walked up to barny and whsipereed in his ear "these guys aren't that smart, you might want to keep it to one or two syllables." Barny looked at him understandingly "got it," Barny looked up at the creatures with a big grin "but you can call me Barny!" They all smiled and joined in with a chorus of "hi Barny!" Barny suddenly realised he'd left Daisy outside "Give me one second." He said, still grinning. "I want you to meet someone." He rushed out of the cave and grabbed Daisy by the arm "You've got to come with me! There are actual monsters in there!" He begged 

"Okay I'm coming!" They bustled through the willow and into the cave

"E! E I'm back!!" E made his wa slowly around the corner

"Oh hello Barnaby... Barnaby's companion" Daisy smiled

"It's Daisy."

"Ah, hello Daisy." Daisy nodded in acknowledgment "now, what you two need to do is make your way to the big oak and find my friend Eppy, she's a small fluffy flying reature." Barny and Daisy looked at eachother, confused. "You mean a bird?" E laughed a deep friendly laugh

"I have no idea what one of those is?" Barny  and Dais laiughed too and wandered off to find Eppy. Soon after their departure  it was started to get light as morning was breaking. They were both very tired and so, when they came across the giant tree with Eppy percched on a branch they both thought it was a trick of the mind. "Oi kids, up here." Daisy stared up in a befuddled daze. "Yeah honey, there we go, ain't I easy on the eyes in the morning.... I wish....." Daisy smiled and Eppy brushed herself down with one wing, she looked very much like a small barn owl. She then proceeded to check her talons as a human would check their nails "I wish baby, momma's gotta wash. Anyhow, who's your friend passed out on the floor?" Daisy turned around and saw Barny lying on the floor "What happened!?" Eppy didn't seem to phased, she bobbed along to the edge of the branch and flew off it. "Pesky crows, they're always pecking people out they are!" Daisy was quick to correct her and said "Don't you mean-" Eppy turned around and made a stern face if it was even possible for a bird. She wobbled toward Daisy "now darlin' I never say ANYTHIN' I don't mean." Daisy felt intimidated "Will he be okay?" 

"He will be fine honey, don't you worry." Eppy went and collected some sort of herb or flower, picked out a seed from the middle and wavered it above Barny's nose "Smelling salts... of a kind.... That should do it." Barny slowly started waking up and com ing to. "There, now kids I gotta show you somethin' very special." She waddled up to the tree and waved her wing over a patch on the trunk. The bark slowly faded away and there was a hollow underneath concealing something. "This is the talisman, if it gets stolen, borken or replace, we will all disappear... I think that's every inhabitant here's worst nightmare." Daisy and Barny looked shocked "forever?" Questioned Barny, Eppy nodded sadly. "Forever." The talisman was golden in the shape of an eagle in flight. Eppy stroked it "It's beautiful, don't you think?" Eppy turned around 

"It is... Can nyone make it appear like you did?" Eppy looked up

"Not everyone, only selected people can, they can also pass the power over to other people, but only of their own kind, so for instance, I couldn't pass it over to one of you babies, cause your human." Barny stepped forward "could I have the power?" Eppy had a look of realisation

"Boy, of course you could, let's test you both!" Eppy held his wrist and waved his hand over the trunk nothing happened. Barny stared at his hand "sorry kid, you ain't got it, let's try your friend." She held Daisy's wrist and did the same, it worked. "You got it, baby!" Eppy sounded all choked up.

"Are you okay Eppy?"

"I'm okay, I've just been waiting for this day." Eppy smiled "you're going to make a lot of creatures very happy... You'll make the history books."