would be pleading with people to find him. In Selby’s mind, there were tears streaming down their faces. Then tears formed in his own eyes.
‘It’s all very nice being a god-king,’ he sniffed, ‘but the poor Trifles must be worried sick about me. And I miss them too. I’ve got to explain to these nice people who I really am and see if they’ll take me back to the airport.’
‘Excuse me, girls,’ Selby said. ‘Could I say something?’
‘Say?’ Etuc said.
‘I am not a god or a king,’ Selby said.
‘No god?’ Ecin said.
‘No, I mean yes. I mean no I’m not a god. I’m Selby. Can you say Selby?’
‘Selby?’ the puzzled girl said.
Selby took a stick and spelled his name out in the dirt.
‘Ybles!’ she cried.
‘No,
Selby,’
Selby said.
‘Ybles!’
‘You’re reading it backwards!’ Selby said.
Then something in Selby’s brain snapped.
‘Hey, hang on,’ he said, climbing off of the throne and looking at the tag on his cage.
‘God. Dog,’ he said to Ecin pointing to the letters. ‘You’ve been reading everything backwards!’
‘Back … wards?’ Ecin asked.
‘Yes, back-to-front. Look, you’ve even read Australian backwards. Nail-Art-Sua is
Australian
spelled backwards! It’s beginning to make sense now.’
‘Nail-Art-Sua. Nail-Art-Sua,’ everyone chanted again.
‘How am I going to convince you people that I’m not a god?’ Selby said as he popped another piece of delicious fruit in his mouth.
Maybe he’d eaten too much. Or maybe he was nervous but there was a sudden rush of air from his stomach and out came a big burp.
‘Oooops, pardon me,’ he said. ‘Now where was I?’
Ecin and Etuc looked on in shock — as did the other villagers.
‘What?’ Ecin asked.
‘Nothing,’ Selby said. ‘I just burped, that’s all.’
‘Burp?’ Etuc asked.
‘Yes, you know. Air. It came out of my mouth. Sorry, I won’t do it again.’
The big man grabbed the crown of flowers from Selby’s head.
‘You no god,’ Ecin said.
‘Hey, hang on,’ Selby protested. ‘Everybody burps, don’t they? That doesn’t mean I’m not a god. What am I saying? No, I’m not a god. It was just a normal burp. It wasn’t a bottom burp or anything. Would you mind terribly if I just went back to where you found me? To the airport?’
‘You good dog,’ Ecin said, patting him.
‘Very good dog,’ Etuc said, kissing him on the head.
And so it was that Selby said a sad goodbye to the people who had been so kind to him. They had lost their god-king but they still seemed to like him. Ecin and Etuc guided him to the airport. There he was discovered by the airport staff and flown to Sunseasia.
‘Selby! Here you are at last!’ Mrs Trifle said, taking him out of his cage and giving him a bighug. ‘It certainly looks like you’ve been well fed and well looked after. They said you’d be well taken care of.’
‘Yes, we had a good holiday too,’ Dr Trifle said. ‘But it’s time to go back to Bogusville now so back in your cage. See you when we get there.’
‘Hey, hang on,’ Selby thought as they put him back in the cage. ‘Don’t I get to see Sunseasia, too? No,
(sigh)
I guess not.’
Selby headed off down the long conveyor belt. Two baggage handlers picked him up.
‘Here’s one for Bogusville,’ one of them said.
‘Never heard of Bogusville,’ the other one said. ‘They must mean
Bougainville.
Put it on that trolley over there.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Sure I’m sure.’
‘Oh no,’ Selby moaned as he headed off on the wrong trolley to the wrong aeroplane to the wrong country. ‘Here we go again.’
SELBY (SUDDENLY) SNAPS!
A STORY OF WORMHOLES AND WISHES
‘Travel through time?!’ Dr Trifle exclaimed to his old astronomer friend Percy Peach.’Is that possible?’
‘Absolutely!’ Percy exclaimed back. ‘I do believe that there are wormholes in the universe.’
‘There are some in the backyard, too,’ Mrs Trifle said, looking up from the
‘It’s all very nice being a god-king,’ he sniffed, ‘but the poor Trifles must be worried sick about me. And I miss them too. I’ve got to explain to these nice people who I really am and see if they’ll take me back to the airport.’
‘Excuse me, girls,’ Selby said. ‘Could I say something?’
‘Say?’ Etuc said.
‘I am not a god or a king,’ Selby said.
‘No god?’ Ecin said.
‘No, I mean yes. I mean no I’m not a god. I’m Selby. Can you say Selby?’
‘Selby?’ the puzzled girl said.
Selby took a stick and spelled his name out in the dirt.
‘Ybles!’ she cried.
‘No,
Selby,’
Selby said.
‘Ybles!’
‘You’re reading it backwards!’ Selby said.
Then something in Selby’s brain snapped.
‘Hey, hang on,’ he said, climbing off of the throne and looking at the tag on his cage.
‘God. Dog,’ he said to Ecin pointing to the letters. ‘You’ve been reading everything backwards!’
‘Back … wards?’ Ecin asked.
‘Yes, back-to-front. Look, you’ve even read Australian backwards. Nail-Art-Sua is
Australian
spelled backwards! It’s beginning to make sense now.’
‘Nail-Art-Sua. Nail-Art-Sua,’ everyone chanted again.
‘How am I going to convince you people that I’m not a god?’ Selby said as he popped another piece of delicious fruit in his mouth.
Maybe he’d eaten too much. Or maybe he was nervous but there was a sudden rush of air from his stomach and out came a big burp.
‘Oooops, pardon me,’ he said. ‘Now where was I?’
Ecin and Etuc looked on in shock — as did the other villagers.
‘What?’ Ecin asked.
‘Nothing,’ Selby said. ‘I just burped, that’s all.’
‘Burp?’ Etuc asked.
‘Yes, you know. Air. It came out of my mouth. Sorry, I won’t do it again.’
The big man grabbed the crown of flowers from Selby’s head.
‘You no god,’ Ecin said.
‘Hey, hang on,’ Selby protested. ‘Everybody burps, don’t they? That doesn’t mean I’m not a god. What am I saying? No, I’m not a god. It was just a normal burp. It wasn’t a bottom burp or anything. Would you mind terribly if I just went back to where you found me? To the airport?’
‘You good dog,’ Ecin said, patting him.
‘Very good dog,’ Etuc said, kissing him on the head.
And so it was that Selby said a sad goodbye to the people who had been so kind to him. They had lost their god-king but they still seemed to like him. Ecin and Etuc guided him to the airport. There he was discovered by the airport staff and flown to Sunseasia.
‘Selby! Here you are at last!’ Mrs Trifle said, taking him out of his cage and giving him a bighug. ‘It certainly looks like you’ve been well fed and well looked after. They said you’d be well taken care of.’
‘Yes, we had a good holiday too,’ Dr Trifle said. ‘But it’s time to go back to Bogusville now so back in your cage. See you when we get there.’
‘Hey, hang on,’ Selby thought as they put him back in the cage. ‘Don’t I get to see Sunseasia, too? No,
(sigh)
I guess not.’
Selby headed off down the long conveyor belt. Two baggage handlers picked him up.
‘Here’s one for Bogusville,’ one of them said.
‘Never heard of Bogusville,’ the other one said. ‘They must mean
Bougainville.
Put it on that trolley over there.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Sure I’m sure.’
‘Oh no,’ Selby moaned as he headed off on the wrong trolley to the wrong aeroplane to the wrong country. ‘Here we go again.’
SELBY (SUDDENLY) SNAPS!
A STORY OF WORMHOLES AND WISHES
‘Travel through time?!’ Dr Trifle exclaimed to his old astronomer friend Percy Peach.’Is that possible?’
‘Absolutely!’ Percy exclaimed back. ‘I do believe that there are wormholes in the universe.’
‘There are some in the backyard, too,’ Mrs Trifle said, looking up from the
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