Shhh! Scribbler at Work

Off the Shelf

(prompt: 'new' 7/9/2018)

"But I can't see why we're here." Wilfred's brow was wrinkled like a walnut despite his otherwise youthful appearance.

"Well it's no wonder, fluffybum. What would you expect to see, peering through those great specs?" Farmer Dan's voice was gruff. It got that way when he hadn't spoken for a while.

Crow Bear wasn't going to miss a chance to get in on the act. Adopting his most virtuous tone he said, "Should have listened to your mother when she told you to eat up your carrots. Over and over, she told me the other day."

Hmm...!" Wilfred twitched his whiskers and wriggled his nose impatiently. "Yes, yes... I know. But you haven't answered me. Why are we here and not with the other kids?"

Captain Chas cleared his throat and the others quietened immediately, readying themselves for him to take charge, as usual. Occasionally they grumbled about this but inevitably his commanding manner and considerable experience answered most problems.

"I'll say this slowly, bigears. We are sitting here on a bookshelf because—" and Captain Chas stopped to clear his throat again. He'd found it a great attention-grabber and he 'milked' it for all it was worth on every possible occasion.

"Because..." he continued importantly, "when Dad built that shelf for Mum — YES, he DID!" And Captain Chas rolled his eyes dramatically before saying, "he didn't put ends on it. And Mum would have had to put yet another overflow of books from her BIG bookshelf into great tall piles on this new 'you beaut' shelf. And she hates piles of books."

"Why's that, Cap?" Crow Bear was a bit cheeky with everyone these days. Fancied himself a bit of a rough diamond because of his football gear - beanie and scarf in his cheerful Adelaide Crows' colours.

"Makes her giddy, turning her head so far sideways," the Captain said, nodding his head in complete agreement with himself. "PLUS! Those treasures could well fall down on her head." And he nodded his own head sadly. "It's her dicky shoulder, you see. Old war injuries and all that." And he sniffed loudly. "Although hers wasn't actually in the war - more like a tumble she took on holidays once upon a very long time ago. Broke her shoulder, she did. It healed in a sort of 'off beam' position and she can only lift her arm shoulder high ever since." He sniffed again, but it was a little more cheerful-sounding one this time. "She gets on good mostly. But high up things like this here bookshelf - OUR bookshelf - presents too much of a challenge to handle books."

Commonwealth Bank money tin had to say something of worth. "I might look insignificant to you lot, but I'm the oldest and been with Mum the longest - since she was just a whippersnapper, saving her pennies. I KNOW that she likes us up here, firstly so we're always in full view and she loves that, and secondly because it's easy to pick us up with one hand to give us cuddles and rearrange us for photo shoots."

And as much as the slit in the top of a Commonwealth Bank money tin can smile, he DID.