ROOSTLINGS · STORY 04
The Nibblers Took the Clapper
By Lars & Luc · Ages 3–5
The Bell’s clapper has gone missing at the Roost. Obi and Maple join a rescue built around helping without hurting.
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Morning at the Roost. Ivy sat at the top of the Slide, boots on. "Ready," she said. The Bell had not rung. Pebble waited.
Obi sat in the sun with the brush box. The lid was tin, and it shone. Maple looked down at it.
Dax and Waffle raced Hana to the ladder. Waffle won. Kite sat on the Lookout rail. Skitter-skitter. Kite looked. Only leaves.
Fig took hold of the rope and pulled. The Bell swung out, and swung back. The Bell said nothing. She pulled again. Nothing.
"Roostlings! The Bell!" called Fig. "Up and out!" called four kids. "It didn't ring," said Ivy. "No," said Fig. "No clapper. The bit inside that goes ding." In the dust, tiny toes, all the way to the rail.
Up the ladder went four kids, and up the trunk-path came the rest. The Bell hung there with nothing inside. They sang all the same. "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!"
"The Nibblers took the clapper," said Fig. "Nine little dinosaurs, light as hens. They keep shiny things in the big branch. That's a tall thing." She looked round. "Who's the one for a tall thing?"
"Obi and Maple!" "Maple, you'll reach," said Fig. "Waffle, you'll find the hollow. Hana and Kite, wait. Ivy, you're with me." "I'll wait on the Slide," said Ivy. "I know," said Fig.
Ivy moved her boots over. Down the Slide. Wheee! And go! Maple came down the trunk-path, one big foot at a time. Waffle was already at the bottom, running round the tree. Dax ran after.
The big branch stuck out from the trunk, high up. Higher than Dax on tiptoe. As high as Maple's head. Fig watched from the platform.
Waffle put her nose down and went. Under the big branch she found a spoon. And a button. And a very small fork. No clapper.
Waffle stopped, nose up. Chirrup! High in the big branch was a round hole. In the hole, something shone.
"The hollow!" said Dax. He jumped. Obi did not jump. He stood in front of Maple, and looked up, and waited.
"Maple, will you reach?"
Hmmmm. Maple's neck came down. "That's a yes!" Up it went, to the hole. Inside, nine Nibblers. On the clapper, like hens.
Maple's nose was at the hole. Nine heads came up. Maple did not push. Three Nibblers picked up the clapper. Skitter-skitter. Along the branch, and gone.
"Waffle! Run and get them!" said Dax. "Help, don't hurt," said Obi. "They're small." Waffle looked at Dax. Waffle looked at Obi. Waffle sat down. "Okay," said Dax. "No chasing."
Maple's neck came down, empty. Up on the platform, Fig saw. "One more. A seeing thing. Hana and Kite, down you go."
"Kite, will you see?" Tik-tik! Kite bobbed his head. "That's a yes!" Up he went, and out along the big branch. Tik-tik! "There," said Hana. "All nine."
Too far out for Maple's neck. Too heavy for Kite. Obi still had the brush box. He took off the shiny lid. "Maple, will you lift?"
Hmmmm. Maple's neck came down. "That's a yes!" Maple put Obi on his neck, and up they went. Obi held the lid out along the branch. And he waited.
A long time. Skitter-skitter. One Nibbler came. Then three. Then all nine. They put the clapper down beside the lid. "Nibblers, will you swap?"
Skitter-skitter. Nine Nibblers took the lid. "That's a yes!" Obi took the clapper. Away went the lid, shining. Obi watched it go, and grinned. He called after them. "Ring the Bell, and we'll come."
Maple's neck came down, and Obi slid off, clapper and all. Up the Lift. Creak. Clunk.
Fig hung the clapper back in the Bell. "Thank you, both." Out came the toast. She pulled the rope. Ding-dong-DING!
Ivy went down the Slide. Wheee! "Is it a rescue?" she called up. "No," said Fig. "It works." Creak. Clunk. Pebble hauled her up.
"Big Book, open." Fig found the page with the tiny toes. "Three true things about the Compsognathus."
"One," said Obi. "One of the smallest dinosaurs ever. As long as a broom, and as heavy as a chicken."
"Two," said Hana. "It ran fast on long back legs."
"Three," said Dax. "Its bones were found in smooth stone. You can see every tiny toe." Fig shut the book. "Written down. People found the bones, and looked, and looked."
"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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