Syaoran from the Clever Clan
Mission write-up #4
One day I woke up in the Abbey, I hadn't gotten much sleep so I was extremely cranky. I got up to go to the Kitchen to talk to Friar Hugo; he was preparing a special breakfast for the abbot. He seemed very concerned and worried like he didn't want to mess up the food. I went up to him and he asked me to sample his food. So I tried it and it was horrible I almost puked, I had to tell him. He said so how was it? I said no offense but it was horrible I almost puked. You what, this is great food you have a horrible taste. I said no I do not have a horrible taste. The Friar said get out of here I don�t want to speak to you. Nobody would if you did that to them (Friar). I said fine I�m leaving. I snuck back to my house to gather my things. I'm so small I barely make a sound so I got back into my house gathered my things and said, "Goodbye, Redwall Abbey." I waited until night and then I snuck out of the door. Luckily the guard didn't see me. I ventured into the woods. It was the scariest night of my life. There were sounds that were horrible, that made you cringe in your sleep. I woke up in the morning I and knew that it would not be possible to stay in the woods, I said I am not old enough I can't survive. So I headed back through the woods only with a piece of bread and very scary memories of the sounds of the woods. I knocked on the door of the Abbey the guard asked who I was and said everybody is looking for you come in fast I�ll tell them you here. I decided if I was going to stay here I had to go apologize to Friar Hugo. So I went to the Kitchen and told him I was sorry and I shouldn't have done that and he accepted my apology. I was happy then to be back in the safe walls of the Redwall Abbey. THE END
The group of Mad Menaces clan-members sat gloomily in a dormitory. They could have been having loads of great fun pillow fighting, but bonking the same people over and over again lost it's excitement after a while.
Burbo suddenly had a wonderful idea "Whoi don�t we gadder oop de uvver groups o' dibbuns an' 'ave a gurt foight!"
Rolo, a young badger " We've thought of dat 'un afore but de uvver groups is busy doin' stuffs."
"Aye mate" mumbled Ben, an otter "they're sick o' pillow fightin'"
"Oi'll go see wut Oi can do to make ee pillow foightin' happen." said Burbo as he left the dormitory.
Burbo walked out of the abbey building to see Flit sitting under an apple tree. Burbo trundled over and plopped down beside the young hare. Flit sighed "Hey there mate, WOT! WOT!"
"Wut be ee prarblum, Flit?"
"It's been so jolly long since the last pillow fight."
"Oi'm on moi way to change dat, Flit. Don�t ee wurry." At that the mole-dibbun trundled away to the kitchens.
On his way he met up with Tangle. He informed her of his plan to have a pillow-fight with a large cake for the prize. Tangle agreed merrily that it would be a lot of fun, she approved of his plan and swore not to tell anyone. At the kitchen Burbo began to make a cake. He was allowed to work in the kitchens because the friar knew he was a very skilled cook for one so young. After working clear through lunch and teatime he had finally completed the task. He left his cake to cool while he ate some scones from tea-time (He was extremely hungry.)
After dinner the dibbuns had been scrubbed and washed till they were sore then they were sent to bed. Tangle and Burbo sent sneaky dibbuns to the other dormitories to tell all the others of the great fight that was to happen that night. The dibbuns snuck out of their windows on ropes made of bed sheets or bought at the DAB store they all carried pillows. When they had assembled into groups (mad menaces, clever clan, etc.) the rules were gone over.
The fight began.
Burbo and the rest of the mad menaces came hurtling into battle.
Thrashing left and right with his pillow, Burbo knocked mice flying, this is because not only was he smart he was also immensely strong and good-looking.
It was not long before the adults were aroused by the general pandemonium, they came outside. The dibbuns didn�t heed them at all but rather kept on smashing away with pillows. After some time many of the dibbuns had had enough, they retired from the battle but still it raged on. There were only about ten dibbuns left Burbo, a badger and several squirrels and moles.
Burbo swung his pillow with pride bowling over a few other dibbuns in each swing. It was not long before the group was reduced to Burbo and the badger. Burbo and the badger were circling each other, like truly experienced warriors. Suddenly the badger leapt and bought his pillow downward, Burbo was too fast for him though, he caught him in the stomach and winded him. The Badger lay on the ground panting. Burbo could have beaten him there but would have been ashamed of hitting a beast who was temporarily incapacitated. When the badger was ready they went at it again.
This time Burbo reacted quicker. He swung and hit the badger in the side, at this the badger gave up.
Burbo had won he shared the cake with his whole team, the Mad Menaces.
BY: Shrug the Small ~ Clever Clan
me wurs standin gaurd when a gwoup o ferrets comes up an says day be needin a 'ome tur stay fur da nite. i talks it ober wiff da h'abbet an he say yes. so's i went tur da gate an letted dem in, BIG mistaker! da ran in an stated tur bash dings an tie up mice. so's i drew me 'ole bow an fired some arrers at da fowl cweatures. da bell stated tur ring an some wedwallers ran out wiff pans an kitchen nifes, otters stated tur fire arrers out da windows, an da likkle ones were safe in da kitchen, hidden fwoom danger. wedwallers an ferrets were fallin dead alike. it was bee'n a mess an was losen. all da wedwallers wan in da h'abbey an loked da doors behind.but da ferrets came prepared, day bwought in a giant wooden ram an started tur bang at da doow. we threw taples an chairs against da doow but didnt 'elp. by dis time da otters were throwin,slingin an shootin out da windows. but mo ferrets poured in ta da h'abbey gwounds. we sent sparrows out tur gets 'elp an tur drop rocks on dim. by dat night da ferrets 'ad all but dur upper parts of dur h'abbey. we longed fur da sparrows an 'elp. we withstood dat nite an kept da upper stairs. next dawn a sparrow flew in da window an brought news of a gwoup of 'ares n a couple badgers on da way tur 'elp us'ns out o dis mess. by dat nite day 'ad arrived. da ferrets wan scweamin an 'i den as dur badgers an 'ares fought. by midnight da fowl cweatures were all slain wiff da accecptions for da ones dat flead in tur da nite. we 'onored da fwieds wiff a gweat feast an a good nites sweep fur dim. da next morn we found empty beds from where da must 'ave gone early ta go 'ome.
Dorm: Unbathable Bunch
Mission #: 14
Leriea sat at the dinner table, hastily scarfing down a masterpiece desert, strawberry pie with meadowcream and a fresh strawberry on top. Taking a drink of strawberry fizz to wash the sticky mess down, she leaned back in her chair with a tiny, self satisfied burp followed by an enthusiastic, "'SCUSE ME!"
Mother Mellus, seated two seats away, gave her a look and reached over another tiny dibbun's face, heavily armed with a spat-upon kerchief. She began wiping the bright red goo studded with meadowcream off of the haremaid's face, scolding.
"Ler, you must learn your tablemanners, you fiend! You've got more food on your whiskers than inside your tummy."
The girl struggled, trying to hide from the rough napkin, which she felt certain was tearing out her beautiful white fur, which she was quite vain about. "Ler likes strawbees! Leave Ler 'lone or she pluck out yer stripes!"
The hare that had earlier in the day fussed over poor dibbun Figgle for scrambling Friar Butty's words chuckled, his face forming what Leriea was certain was a quite evil grin. "I'd watch your back, wot, young chappess there looks like she bally well means it, Mother Mellus!"
Mother Mellus only smiled, and hollered out to all the dibbuns, "Bed time! Everybody up to your dorms!" A collective groan arose from the dibbuns of DAB, with many shouts of "No bed! Bad Mellus, mean ol' badgerbrains!", "Yurr, badger be worse'n ee vermints!" and a rousing chant of the DAB guidelines was risen. "Play today, bedtime away! Play today, bedtime away!"
However, all of the grown-up abbeybeasts were against them, and they turned out to be greatly outnumbered. They were herded up the stairs, defenseless against these cruel creatures.
Once all the dibbuns were tucked in their beds, Mother Mellus sat in her great overstuffed chair, where she always sat and watched protectively until the dibbuns were sound asleep. Tonight, she asked, feigning ignorance, "Where do you dibbuns think strawberries come from?"
The dibbuns were struck dumb. Everybody knew this. All the dibbuns had raided the strawberry patch hundreds of times. Finally a straightforward, serious young mole ventured helpfully, "Ho aye, badgeymum, ev'rbeastie knows, sturbees be a'comin from ee sturbee patch."
Mellus grinned knowingly, and gave a broad wink to all of the dibbuns. "Oh really now? Have you not heard of strawberry trees?" This caused quite a ruckus. "Strawbee twees? Whole twees full'o strawbees?" "Burr! Sturbees on yon branchers!?" "Lots and lots?" Leriea piped up in her shockingly loud voice, "There ain't nothing like strawbee twees, I woulda knowed! Twees is big things, we woulda see'd 'em!" This set up a cheer of agreement.
The badgermum only kept on grinning. "Ah, but you dibbuns eat so much of the strawberries in the strawberry patch, we have none left there! All the strawberries we get come from the strawberry trees!" A little brown squirrelmaid in the corner asked in a tiny voice, "But muvver Mellus, where're the twees now?"
"Why," Mellus replied as if it were a known fact, "They leave at dawn, of course. The trees know that day's the time when bad little strawberry-eating dibbuns are up and about, and since they don't want their strawberries picked by grubby little fingers, they pull up roots and run as soon as the sun comes up. We pick our strawberries during the night."
The dibbuns were awestruck. Leriea's little head danced with pictures of trees picking up their roots like a lady holding up her long dress and running off into the receding night. She wanted one! She could eat strawberries all day long with a tree like that, and never run out!
Mellus's gruff voice interrupted her thoughts. "To bed with you, my darling dibbuns! Tomorrow's another big day! Full of baths and chores!" With a collective groan, the dibbuns settled into their beds, and almost immediately a chorus of snores went up among the ranks. But Leriea was wide awake, and a plan was forming in her tiny head, from the tips of her long twitchy ears to the bottom of her stubborn white chin.
After what seemed like forever, Mellus got up and quietly left, leaving the door open so dibbuns wouldn't be afraid of the ark and the imaginary beasties that come with it. Leriea quietly snuck out of her bed and toddled over to the corner, with its box of toys for good little dibbuns. She pulled out a skiprope made of brightly dyed twine and slung it over her shoulder and snuck through the open door, with a purpose.
Padding quietly down the stairs, she rounded a corner, and... ran smack dab into Mother Mellus! With a yelp, she jumped back, only to realize, Mellus was asleep, curled up in an arm chair next to the fire. With a nervous giggle, Lerilea tauntingly wiggled her nose at the sleeping badgermum, and skipped past the tapestry of Martin the warrior, waving at his face, which always seemed to be in a tolerant smile when dibbuns were around. She reached the doors and stared at the handles. They were too far up to reach! She jumped, and almost got one... but her fingers, clean and smooth after being cleaned of sticky strawberry by Mother Mellus, couldn't quite find purchase on the smooth wood.
Staring in perplexity, and almost ready to give up and turn back, the door opened and sent her rolling ears over little scut tail as a mouse and mole walked through, with baskets full of... strawberries!
The kindly faced mole stared at his basket, smiling as he remarked to the mouse, "Burr aye, yon sturburry trees wuz a'full o' sturburrees t'night. We'm could loikely be a'gettin ten more baskee's full off'n 'em!"
"Yes," the mouse replied, "But let's leave them for tonight. Why take more than we need?" They both wandered off, leaving the door to swing itself shut. Not taking time to think, Leriea darted through before it closed, doing a tuck-and-roll dive that would have made any Long Patrol hare proud of her. She was immediately on her feet again, her mind swirling. Ten baskets full of strawberries! All for her!
She saw them. Trees where none were before - all laden with strawberries, so many that the branches drooped from the weight of so much fruit! The same hare who had joined her and Mellus's conversation earlier that night came by, with two baskets overloaded with strawberries. Leriea did another dive, this time under a bush, starting to have fun with her new role as enemy invader, taking over the strawberries of the abbey.
Once the hare was past, she was all alone on the grounds. Doing a complex series of rolls, jumps, dives, twists, turns, paw-chops and kicks, she made her way towards the trees. They were plum against the wall, by the gate, apparently ready to leave in the morning after their night's rest at Redwall Abbey. In keeping with her plan, she wrapped the skiprope she'd had slung over her shoulder around a tree's slender trunk, gazing up at the strawberries above her. Giggling, she tied the other end of the skiprope to a rung in the Abbey wall, which had originally been to lash ladders to, to keep them firmly in place, so creatures could get atop the battlements before the stairs had been built, back in Abbess Germaine's time while the Abbey was still early in construction.
"Hahaw!" She cried to the strawberry tree, which didn't appear to hear her, "I got you now, strawbee twee! You's mine! Not evva gonna leave, nope, youse all tied up!" Climbing up into the boughs, she stuffed her face full of strawberries, before falling asleep snug betwixt two soft branches. A limb reached down and stroked her face, chuckling at the cute little dibbun who had decided to join it.
The limb stroking her face turned into a paw, the soft branches she had fallen asleep between were a mattress and soft blankets. She blinked up at the face of Mother Mellus, who was murmering, "Up, my sleepy little dibbun, time for breakfast!"
With a shrill yelp, Leriea ran to the window in her nightshirt, scrambling up on the sill so she could see the grounds outside. There was no sign of her tree. Running to the corner, the peered into the chest full of toys. Her skiprope was still there. She sat down hard on her fluffy bobtail. Beseechingly, she asked Mother Mellus, "Where be my strawbee twee? I snuck out an' I tied it up wiv my skipwope an' it's mine, I caughted it an' I ate strawbee's an' I fell asleep inna twee an'.. did you take it, Muvva Mellus?" She scowled up suspiciously into the face of the badger.
Laughing, the badgermum scooped up the hare into her arms as all the other dibbuns started to rise, gently awoken by other quiet abbeybeasts. "It's time for breakfast, Ler. We're having strawberries." Winking at the other adults, she strode out the door, Ler in her arms.
The little haremaid would try it again tomorrow. Maybe that time the tree would stay put, and not put her back in her room. She was certain that was what had happened. The tree had lifted her through the window into her bed.
Surely she couldn't have fallen asleep?
