loves them. He actually asked me to make extra-specially sure that we would definitely have bags and bags of them, cos he’s got a
Bit of a Craving going on for peanuts just now.’
‘Hmm,’ said Mum, not looking altogether convinced with this explanation. ‘As for the bananas, I didn’t think Madam ate any fruit.’
‘Madam’ was Mum’s name for Flo – not when Flo was around, of course; that would have been rude.
‘Flo
does
like bananas,’ Felix assured her. ‘She actually positively ADORES them. She would eat them all the time if her mum was as kind as you are and actually let
her.’
Mum narrowed her eyes at the totally unexpected and quite unusual compliment her younger son had just paid her. Then she sighed and started clearing away the breakfast things. ‘OK,’
she said. ‘Well, when you’ve opened the presents in the sitting room, you can go and look for some Tupperware boxes and I’ll get the snacks out, bananas, peanuts and everything.
You can help me pack the picnic.’
Felix went into the sitting room where there were three presents waiting for him. He sat down slowly and made himself focus on the shiny wrapping paper and the bows and ribbons. He was nine now
and it was really important to be Mature about this. He knew that he should not do what he normally did. But his fingers were wriggling, a big bubble was working its way up inside him . . .
‘Aieee!’ he cried, throwing himself at the presents like a dog leaping on to a big fat juicy bone. He ripped the paper off all three presents in the space of five seconds, scooped up
the contents and went tearing down the hall shouting, ‘I’ve got a bat box and a wormery and a real live woodlouse house! Cool!’ He had been wanting a wormery since forever so that
he could make his own compost, and the bat box would be wicked for hanging in the trees and watching bats zoom in and out on a summer’s evening and as for the woodlouse house – who
wouldn’t want one of those?
‘You like the presents then?’ Dad said, ruffling his son’s hair as he whizzed past.
‘I LOVE THEM!’ Felix yelled. This was surely going to be the best birthday ever.
He threw himself into the sandwich-making with gusto, smearing mayonnaise on top of slices of ham, slapping the ham between slices of bread and poking gherkins and bits of that plasticky cheese
with the holes into everything in sight. Mum complained the kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it, but Felix thought this was a slight exaggeration, as bombs would make craters in everything and
would most likely reduce the walls of the house to rubble too. But he was very determined to be good and helpful, so he grabbed a cloth and scrubbed at the table to show willing. Then he scrambled
upstairs to do a last-minute check on his own bit of organization for the day.
He shut his bedroom door and tiptoed over to where he had stashed his rucksack. Mum had given him the peanuts as he had insisted that he wanted to be helpful and carry them, but she had Drawn
the Line at giving him the bananas. ‘They will go all squishy,’ she had told him. ‘Especially if you’ve stuffed your bag full of all the normal nonsense you insist on taking
with you on car journeys.’ She was probably right, Felix thought. He would just have to make sure that Zed was allowed to look after the bananas so that he had Easy Access to them in the back
of the car.
Felix carefully shut the bag and slung it over one shoulder. Then taking a last look around his room he smiled to himself. His plan was going to work like clockwork.
14
WE’RE GOING TO
THE ZOO, ZOO, ZOO!
DRIIIING!
‘At last!’ Felix yelled, zooming downstairs on his bottom to get to the door as fast as possible.
‘Hey!’ Zed cried, flinging his arms in the air. He was holding an interesting-looking parcel in one hand, Felix noticed. ‘Happy birthday, man!’ Zed started singing,
‘We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo, and you can come too, too, too . . .
Bit of a Craving going on for peanuts just now.’
‘Hmm,’ said Mum, not looking altogether convinced with this explanation. ‘As for the bananas, I didn’t think Madam ate any fruit.’
‘Madam’ was Mum’s name for Flo – not when Flo was around, of course; that would have been rude.
‘Flo
does
like bananas,’ Felix assured her. ‘She actually positively ADORES them. She would eat them all the time if her mum was as kind as you are and actually let
her.’
Mum narrowed her eyes at the totally unexpected and quite unusual compliment her younger son had just paid her. Then she sighed and started clearing away the breakfast things. ‘OK,’
she said. ‘Well, when you’ve opened the presents in the sitting room, you can go and look for some Tupperware boxes and I’ll get the snacks out, bananas, peanuts and everything.
You can help me pack the picnic.’
Felix went into the sitting room where there were three presents waiting for him. He sat down slowly and made himself focus on the shiny wrapping paper and the bows and ribbons. He was nine now
and it was really important to be Mature about this. He knew that he should not do what he normally did. But his fingers were wriggling, a big bubble was working its way up inside him . . .
‘Aieee!’ he cried, throwing himself at the presents like a dog leaping on to a big fat juicy bone. He ripped the paper off all three presents in the space of five seconds, scooped up
the contents and went tearing down the hall shouting, ‘I’ve got a bat box and a wormery and a real live woodlouse house! Cool!’ He had been wanting a wormery since forever so that
he could make his own compost, and the bat box would be wicked for hanging in the trees and watching bats zoom in and out on a summer’s evening and as for the woodlouse house – who
wouldn’t want one of those?
‘You like the presents then?’ Dad said, ruffling his son’s hair as he whizzed past.
‘I LOVE THEM!’ Felix yelled. This was surely going to be the best birthday ever.
He threw himself into the sandwich-making with gusto, smearing mayonnaise on top of slices of ham, slapping the ham between slices of bread and poking gherkins and bits of that plasticky cheese
with the holes into everything in sight. Mum complained the kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it, but Felix thought this was a slight exaggeration, as bombs would make craters in everything and
would most likely reduce the walls of the house to rubble too. But he was very determined to be good and helpful, so he grabbed a cloth and scrubbed at the table to show willing. Then he scrambled
upstairs to do a last-minute check on his own bit of organization for the day.
He shut his bedroom door and tiptoed over to where he had stashed his rucksack. Mum had given him the peanuts as he had insisted that he wanted to be helpful and carry them, but she had Drawn
the Line at giving him the bananas. ‘They will go all squishy,’ she had told him. ‘Especially if you’ve stuffed your bag full of all the normal nonsense you insist on taking
with you on car journeys.’ She was probably right, Felix thought. He would just have to make sure that Zed was allowed to look after the bananas so that he had Easy Access to them in the back
of the car.
Felix carefully shut the bag and slung it over one shoulder. Then taking a last look around his room he smiled to himself. His plan was going to work like clockwork.
14
WE’RE GOING TO
THE ZOO, ZOO, ZOO!
DRIIIING!
‘At last!’ Felix yelled, zooming downstairs on his bottom to get to the door as fast as possible.
‘Hey!’ Zed cried, flinging his arms in the air. He was holding an interesting-looking parcel in one hand, Felix noticed. ‘Happy birthday, man!’ Zed started singing,
‘We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo, and you can come too, too, too . . .
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