The Seven Magic Animals
Kevin Shimmin
USD 32,99
USD 26,99
Format: 13.5 x 21.5 cm
Number of Pages: 200
ISBN: 978-3-99130-232-2
Release Date: 09.05.2023
By day the toy animals are toys, but on certain nights they come to life and magically travel from their home to different countries and times. On each adventure one of the animals takes the lead, using a magic word as the main protagonist of each adventure.
CHAPTER 1
It was 10:30 p.m. and Mr and Mrs Russell were ready to retire to bed. They normally ended their day at around this time, sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later. But normally at 10.30 just after the news had finished on TV. They lived in a little bungalow in a small village in Hertfordshire, England. They had nice neighbours and lived in a nice quiet road. Mr and Mrs Russell were both in their fifties and had a happy outlook on life. Their home was tidy and scattered around it were a few mementos from times gone by.
However, to the best of our knowledge what Mr and Mrs Russell did not know was that as soon as they had retired to bed the seven animals in their house magically came to life and met in the living room to have an adventure. But these were not pets, instead these were cuddly toys the Russell’s had collected or been given by aunts, uncles and grandparents.
So, who or what were the animals?
Well the oldest was Ted. Ted was old as Mr Russell, nearly fifty-five years old and the leader of the group. He was wise and venerable, and all the other animals treated him with respect and courtesy. If ever there was a decision to be made in the group Ted would be the one who would get the final say. Ted was a light brown colour and had black and dark red glass eyes. He was what you might say a bit tatty as Mr Russell had tied him to his bicycle when he was a boy and ridden around the village where he lived at breakneck speed.
Next came Brutus. Brutus was a small pig. Unlike all the other animals who were made of soft cuddly material, Brutus was made of hard plastic. His skin was pink, and he looked like a young piglet rather than an old pig. Brutus was mischievous, always getting into trouble. He normally sat by the TV, never moving, ever watchful.
After Brutus was The Monkey. He was called The Monkey which puzzled him greatly, more of that to come. The Monkey was also brown, but The Monkey was a dark brown and a light brown. He had long arms and legs and a long tail so that he could swing easily through the trees. Not that there were any trees in the Russell’s house. The Monkey, like Brutus was quite mischievous and had a permanent grin on his face.
Kuala was a small black and white cat. Kuala normally lay on the Russell’s bed by day and had the hardest job of all the animals. For when the Russell’s were asleep Kuala had to quietly slip off the bed and make sure that when they woke she was back on the bed by morning. Kuala was Mrs Russell’s favourite animal, in winter Mrs Russell cuddled Kuala to ward off the winter cold.
Another cat in the family was William Hiskers. William was the newest member of the family, Mr Russell saw William sitting in a garden centre and knew William just had to come home and join the family. Unlike Kuala who was soft and floppy, William sat bolt upright, just like a real cat. William had jet black and yellow eyes and sat looking across the living room. He sat right next to Brutus. Little was known about William as he was so new so none of the other animals quite knew what to expect.
The third and last cat in the family was Izzy. She had a jet black and white coat and came from the Isle of Man. Not that Izzy knew she was a Manx cat, it greatly troubled her that Kuala and William had tails and she did not. Izzy was the best behaved cat in the world. Children loved her. All the other animals looked after Izzy and made sure she came to no harm.
Finally, the last animal was Lumpur. Lumpur was a bear who like Kuala had come from a country called Malaysia. Lumpur was the animal who protected all the other animals. No matter where the adventure took the animals or how much danger they got into it was Lumpur who made sure they came to no harm and protected them if danger threatened. One roar from Lumpur and enemies would run.
The animals did not have an adventure every night but they knew when it was the right time to meet in the living room and set off on a journey. And tonight was such a night. As the clock struck 10:30 p.m. the Russell’s turned off the TV, brushed their teeth, put on their pyjamas and retired to bed. Within ten minutes the animals were on the move. Kuala quietly dropped off the bed and made no sound as she padded quietly into the living room. Of course Brutus and William were already there as that was where they stayed every day and night. In no time at all they were joined by Ted, Lumpur, The Monkey and Izzy.
Next something happened that no human being had ever seen. The animals sat in a ring and all put a paw or trotter into the centre of the ring. All six paws and a trotter had to be touching before they could travel into a new adventure. Ted now took charge.
‘Do you willingly travel on this new adventure of your own free will?’ asked Ted.
‘We do,’ replied all the other animals.
‘In that case I ask one of you to say the magic word and let the adventure begin.’
There was total silence. What all the animals knew was that whichever animal spoke the magic word would be the centre of the adventure. The animals also knew that until the magic word was spoken none of them knew who would speak it. The tension was unbearable. All that could be heard was the constant tick-tock of the clock in the living room. More silence. Then out of the darkness a single word was spoken. ‘Noobab.’ All
eye turned to one animal. And that animal was … The Monkey.
Behind the animal’s small white stars appeared and slowly started spinning clockwise around them. The stars got faster and faster until they were spinning so fast that they appeared as a solid band of white light behind the animals. Then slowly the white stars started turning different colours, red, blue, green, yellow, orange, gold, silver, violet, in fact every colour you could imagine. Then in an instant the living room appeared dark and the animals were gone. Darkness and silence once again was in charge in the Russell household. The animals felt as if they were falling into a deep bottomless hole, but they knew that they would eventually reach their destination. After about a minute they felt their fall slowing. Then a gentle touchdown.
They knew this was going to be The Monkeys adventure but the younger animals such as Brutus and Izzy could not resist breaking away from the group to see where they were. And that was in a huge grass clearing next to a dark green jungle. The grass stretched for miles but so did the jungle. The grass seemed to go on forever, and where the wind caught it the grass bent and waved in the gentle breeze.
‘The Monkey, where do we go from here?’ asked Ted.
It was 10:30 p.m. and Mr and Mrs Russell were ready to retire to bed. They normally ended their day at around this time, sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later. But normally at 10.30 just after the news had finished on TV. They lived in a little bungalow in a small village in Hertfordshire, England. They had nice neighbours and lived in a nice quiet road. Mr and Mrs Russell were both in their fifties and had a happy outlook on life. Their home was tidy and scattered around it were a few mementos from times gone by.
However, to the best of our knowledge what Mr and Mrs Russell did not know was that as soon as they had retired to bed the seven animals in their house magically came to life and met in the living room to have an adventure. But these were not pets, instead these were cuddly toys the Russell’s had collected or been given by aunts, uncles and grandparents.
So, who or what were the animals?
Well the oldest was Ted. Ted was old as Mr Russell, nearly fifty-five years old and the leader of the group. He was wise and venerable, and all the other animals treated him with respect and courtesy. If ever there was a decision to be made in the group Ted would be the one who would get the final say. Ted was a light brown colour and had black and dark red glass eyes. He was what you might say a bit tatty as Mr Russell had tied him to his bicycle when he was a boy and ridden around the village where he lived at breakneck speed.
Next came Brutus. Brutus was a small pig. Unlike all the other animals who were made of soft cuddly material, Brutus was made of hard plastic. His skin was pink, and he looked like a young piglet rather than an old pig. Brutus was mischievous, always getting into trouble. He normally sat by the TV, never moving, ever watchful.
After Brutus was The Monkey. He was called The Monkey which puzzled him greatly, more of that to come. The Monkey was also brown, but The Monkey was a dark brown and a light brown. He had long arms and legs and a long tail so that he could swing easily through the trees. Not that there were any trees in the Russell’s house. The Monkey, like Brutus was quite mischievous and had a permanent grin on his face.
Kuala was a small black and white cat. Kuala normally lay on the Russell’s bed by day and had the hardest job of all the animals. For when the Russell’s were asleep Kuala had to quietly slip off the bed and make sure that when they woke she was back on the bed by morning. Kuala was Mrs Russell’s favourite animal, in winter Mrs Russell cuddled Kuala to ward off the winter cold.
Another cat in the family was William Hiskers. William was the newest member of the family, Mr Russell saw William sitting in a garden centre and knew William just had to come home and join the family. Unlike Kuala who was soft and floppy, William sat bolt upright, just like a real cat. William had jet black and yellow eyes and sat looking across the living room. He sat right next to Brutus. Little was known about William as he was so new so none of the other animals quite knew what to expect.
The third and last cat in the family was Izzy. She had a jet black and white coat and came from the Isle of Man. Not that Izzy knew she was a Manx cat, it greatly troubled her that Kuala and William had tails and she did not. Izzy was the best behaved cat in the world. Children loved her. All the other animals looked after Izzy and made sure she came to no harm.
Finally, the last animal was Lumpur. Lumpur was a bear who like Kuala had come from a country called Malaysia. Lumpur was the animal who protected all the other animals. No matter where the adventure took the animals or how much danger they got into it was Lumpur who made sure they came to no harm and protected them if danger threatened. One roar from Lumpur and enemies would run.
The animals did not have an adventure every night but they knew when it was the right time to meet in the living room and set off on a journey. And tonight was such a night. As the clock struck 10:30 p.m. the Russell’s turned off the TV, brushed their teeth, put on their pyjamas and retired to bed. Within ten minutes the animals were on the move. Kuala quietly dropped off the bed and made no sound as she padded quietly into the living room. Of course Brutus and William were already there as that was where they stayed every day and night. In no time at all they were joined by Ted, Lumpur, The Monkey and Izzy.
Next something happened that no human being had ever seen. The animals sat in a ring and all put a paw or trotter into the centre of the ring. All six paws and a trotter had to be touching before they could travel into a new adventure. Ted now took charge.
‘Do you willingly travel on this new adventure of your own free will?’ asked Ted.
‘We do,’ replied all the other animals.
‘In that case I ask one of you to say the magic word and let the adventure begin.’
There was total silence. What all the animals knew was that whichever animal spoke the magic word would be the centre of the adventure. The animals also knew that until the magic word was spoken none of them knew who would speak it. The tension was unbearable. All that could be heard was the constant tick-tock of the clock in the living room. More silence. Then out of the darkness a single word was spoken. ‘Noobab.’ All
eye turned to one animal. And that animal was … The Monkey.
Behind the animal’s small white stars appeared and slowly started spinning clockwise around them. The stars got faster and faster until they were spinning so fast that they appeared as a solid band of white light behind the animals. Then slowly the white stars started turning different colours, red, blue, green, yellow, orange, gold, silver, violet, in fact every colour you could imagine. Then in an instant the living room appeared dark and the animals were gone. Darkness and silence once again was in charge in the Russell household. The animals felt as if they were falling into a deep bottomless hole, but they knew that they would eventually reach their destination. After about a minute they felt their fall slowing. Then a gentle touchdown.
They knew this was going to be The Monkeys adventure but the younger animals such as Brutus and Izzy could not resist breaking away from the group to see where they were. And that was in a huge grass clearing next to a dark green jungle. The grass stretched for miles but so did the jungle. The grass seemed to go on forever, and where the wind caught it the grass bent and waved in the gentle breeze.
‘The Monkey, where do we go from here?’ asked Ted.
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