ROOSTLINGS · STORY 05
Stuck in the Mud
By Lars & Luc · Ages 3–5
Ivy and Pebble head for the Hill, where a stuck thing calls for a careful ask and a helping team.
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It had rained before breakfast. The Roost dripped. Ivy and Pebble pushed wet leaves off the Slide. Hana dried Kite's wings. Maple shook a branch, and it rained on Obi.
By the roots was a puddle as long as Waffle. "Over," said Dax. Waffle ran at it. Waffle went in it.
"Over," said Dax. "Not in." Waffle shook herself on Dax. "She likes in," said Obi.
Ding-dong-DING! Waffle was over the puddle when it rang. She came down in it anyway. Far off, the Farmer stood in his top field, waving his hat.
"Roostlings! The Bell!" called Fig. "Up and out!" called four kids. Fig pointed the big glass at the Hill. "A dinosaur calf is stuck in the mud down the Hill," said Fig. "Its mother can't reach it."
Waffle got to the Bell first, and wettest. Then everybody came, and everybody sang. "Ivy and Pebble, push and pull!" Hrrmph! "Hana and Kite, see and fetch!" Tik-tik!
"Dax and Waffle, run and find!" Chirrup! "Obi and Maple, reach and lift!" Hmmmm. "Little ones. Big help!"
"A calf in the mud," said Fig. "That's a stuck thing." She put the big glass down. "Who's the one for a stuck thing?"
"Ivy and Pebble!" "Pebble, you'll pull," said Fig. "Maple, you'll reach. Dax, Waffle, you're with me. The puddle needs somebody." "It does," said Dax.
Down the Slide. Wheee! And go!
Pebble took the Hill road at a trot. Ivy ran beside her with the long rope. Behind them came Maple, Obi up on his neck.
The Farmer waited at the bottom of the Hill. The mud was brown and wide. In the middle stood a calf, up to its tummy.
Beside the mud stood the mother, a dinosaur as big as the Ferry. Her eyes were on her calf. She did not move. "She won't let me near," said the Farmer. "She's keeping it safe."
Ivy went straight for the calf. The mother stepped in front. One step. That was all. Ivy stopped. She looked up. And up.
Ivy looked at her boots. "Ask first." She turned round. "Pebble, will you pull?"
Hrrmph! Down came the frill. "That's a yes!" Pebble walked up to the mother. Frill down. Very still.
The mother looked a long time. Then she stepped back. One step. Two. Her big head came down. "That's a yes!"
Ivy reached out from the edge. Too far. Her boot went in, and the mud kept it. Ivy came out. Her boot did not. Obi waited by Maple's leg. "Maple, will you reach?"
Hmmmm. Down came the neck. "That's a yes!" Maple reached first, nose to the calf's nose. The calf leaned on it. He took the rope in his teeth. He reached out over the mud. The loop went round the calf.
Pebble dug her feet in. The rope went tight. Up came the calf, a bit. Then Pebble's feet slid. The mud held on.
At the Roost, Fig saw Pebble slide. "One more. A far thing. Hana and Kite, down you go."
Over the Hill came Kite, then Hana. "Kite, will you see?" Tik-tik! Kite's head bobbed. "That's a yes!" Once round the mud he went. He bobbed at the far side. "Stones," said Hana. "Hard ground."
Round went Pebble, and Ivy on one sock. Maple reached the rope across. Pebble pulled. Ivy pulled. The mud let go. Out came the calf, brown from nose to tail.
The calf shook. Mud went everywhere. The mother came round and put her head down. Nose to nose. The calf leaned on her leg. "Well, now," said the Farmer. "Thank you."
The Farmer had apples in his hat. Everybody had one. The calf had a leaf, from its mother. Maple reached Ivy's boot out, too. Ivy waved it. "Ring the Bell, and we'll come."
Up the Lift. Creak. Clunk. Up came everyone, and most of the mud.
"Big Book, open." Fig found the page with the nests. "Three true things about the Maiasaura."
"One," said Ivy. "Her name means good mother lizard."
"Two," said Hana. "She made her nest in a big group. Nest beside nest beside nest."
"Three," said Obi. "Her babies stayed in the nest a long while. The grown-ups brought them food." Fig shut the book. "Written down. People found the bones, and looked, and looked."
Waffle looked at the mud on everybody. She ran at the puddle. Over she went, both feet dry. "Over!" said Dax. Waffle looked back at all that mud. In she went. So did Dax. "Now we match."
"Ivy and Pebble, home. Hana and Kite, home. Dax and Waffle, home. Obi and Maple, home. And Fig makes nine. All home."
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