LITMIR.BIZ

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years of practice – but taking care of two frisky toddlers was a very different kettle of fish. He cleared his throat and beckoned to Rory.

      “I think he wants to talk to you,” said Blue.

      “Me?” muttered Rory.

      “Yes, you!” boomed Paulie.

      Rory skated over to the edge of the pool and hopped out. The boss fixed him with his beady eyes while the twin chicks pulled funny faces and poked out their tiny barbed tongues.

      “Listen, Rory. I have some very urgent business to attend to.”

      “No, he doethn’t!” giggled Oo-Chi.

      Big Paulie took a deep breath and continued.

      “Yes, I do and I’m already late for… my… meeting about… stuff.”

      “Uncky Pooey, you’re telling fibth!” said Ku-Chi, smacking him hard on the bottom. “Mummy paid you two big fat mackerelth to look after uth and you thaid you wathn’t bithy!”

      Paulie threw his flippers in the air.

      “Rory, the fact of the matter is, I have to be elsewhere,” he said. Then his voice broke. “And as your boss, I’m begging you to babysit!”

      “But I’ve never looked after chicks before,” said Rory, dreading the prospect and looking to Blue for backup.

      “He’ll be rubbish at it,” said Blue.

      Big Paulie shrugged.

      “Oh, please. How hard can it be, Rory? I’m not asking for much – simply that you swear on pain of death to keep my beloved nephew and niece safe from harm. I’m putting all my trust in you.”

      Before Rory could answer, Paulie shook the twins off his legs and, leaving them fooling around in the snow, waddled off, calling back over his shoulder.

      “And I mustn’t be disturbed until this evening!”

      Rory sighed. If Big Paulie said something had to be done, it had to be done, but it wasn’t going to be easy looking after the chicks. In fact they seemed determined to make it as hard as possible and kept toddling off in opposite directions.

      “Come back!” he insisted, “I need you in one place to babysit you.”

      “No, Wory!” stamped Oo-Chi. “Uth ith too old for you to thit on!”

      “You will thquash uth!” said Ku-Chi as Rory ran after him. “Chathe me, Wory!”

      Blue smiled to herself. Rory was usually so fast on the ice that he could perform the best stunts, but at the moment he was going cross-eyed trying to get the chicks under control.

      “Help me, Blue!” he pleaded as Oo-Chi sat on him and Ku-Chi rubbed snow in his head feathers.

      “I thought you’d never ask,” she grinned. “Right, you two! Who wants a story?”

      “Oooh, uth wanth a thtory!” they squealed.

      Abandoning Rory, they waddled over to Blue and cuddled up.

      “Are you sitting comfortably?” she asked.

      “No. We want Wory to thit nexth to uth too,” said Oo-Chi. “Group hugth!”

      Blue patted the rock next to her, Rory sat down and they all snuggled up.

      “Kith me, Wory,” said Ku-Chi. “Mummy alwayth kithith uth before a thtory.”

      Rory shifted uncomfortably.

      “You can have a kiss at the end, but only if you’re good,” said Blue.

      Then she began. “Once upon a time, there were two naughty chicks…”

      She had just got their attention when Muriel and her girly gang of fairy penguins arrived. Seeing this cosy scene, Muriel felt it was her solemn duty to embarrass Blue and Rory as much as possible.

      “Oh my cod! Bloop and Rory are playing mummies and daddies.”

      Blue blushed and screwed up her beak.

      “No, we are not! We’re babysitting for Paulie.”

      Muriel preened her chest and snorted.

      “Yeah, right. Hatty and Brenda, don’t you think Bloop and Rory are so like an old married couple?”

      Secretly, Hatty and Brenda were jealous of Blue cuddled up to Rory with the cute chicks, but they didn’t dare admit it in front of their leader.

      “So married,” said Hatty.

      “So old couple,” added Brenda.

      Rory was just going to shout, “So what?” when his best mates Eddie and Clive came roaring by on their new snowboards. Worried that he looked soppy sitting there, he leapt to his feet.

      “Snow’s up, dude!” whooped Clive.

      Rory jumped on to the back of Eddie’s board.

      “I’m on it already. Let’s go!”

      Blue’s beak fell open.

      “Rory! Don’t you dare leave me with the kids—”

      But he was gone. Muriel put her head on one side and blinked at her.

      “Bloop, you are so second-best,” she simpered.

      Normally, Blue would have stood up to Muriel, but she didn’t like to move because the chicks had just dropped off to sleep. The last thing she wanted to do was wake them, so she put her head in the air and looked the other way.

      “What are you doing – looking for a new boyfriend?” persisted Muriel. “Face it, Bloop, Rory doesn’t want to play happy families with you, does he, Hatty and Brenda?”

      Hatty and Brenda were so smitten with the chicks they were hardly paying attention.

      “Happy,” murmured Hatty.

      “Families,” sighed Brenda.

      Muriel flicked their beaks.

      “Don’t go all mumsy on me! Come along, girls. Let’s go and make a Snow-Muriel. I feel like posing… Bloop, you’d better stay there in case Rory comes back… like… never!!”

      But Rory did come back. As soon as he’d gone, he’d had second thoughts about it and managed to persuade his friends to let Blue join in. “Blue’s one of the lads,” he insisted. “We can do better stunts with all four of us.” They’d shaken their heads at first, so he’d come up with another tactic.

      “I’ll give you two squid at feeding time,” said Rory reluctantly.

      “Four squid,” said Clive. “Half for me, half for Eddie.”

      “I’d rather have a whole one,” said Eddie.

      The deal was done and Rory went back to fetch Blue, hoping that she would let him have some of her squid later.

      “You took your time,” she said.

      He held out his flippers apologetically.

      “That’s Eddie and Clive for you. They never take no for an answer.”

      Oo-Chi and Ku-Chi had gone into a deep sleep and were huddled up so tightly that they looked like one big fat chick with four eyes.

      “Come and play while they’re sleeping,” suggested Rory. “We might not get snow as good as this again for years.”

      Blue checked on the chicks, who showed no sign of waking.

      “OK, but not for long – and not too far away.”

      “They’ll be fine,” said Rory.

      Blue

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