Chapter 23 - The Big Day - The Peski Kids 2, Bear in the Woods

Daffodil Day finally arrives. Dad is forced to dress up in a ridiculous costume. The mayor refuses to believe the truth about the bear, not when there are so many tourists in town.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:37

Hello, and welcome to bedtime stories with me, RA SPRAT. Okay. So we are reading my book, the pesky kids, two bear in the woods, and we're up to chapter 23, the big day out. But I have to warn you. This chapter is incredibly long. I dunno what I was thinking when I wrote it. It's just bizarrely very, very long. And there's no way I can do all this in one episode. So I'm gonna have to split it into at least two episodes, possibly even three. We'll see how we go, but let's get started with part one of chapter 23. Here we go. Ingrid drove dad into town. First thing, the next day, dad had not been alone with Ingrid since they found the secret database in his wife's email inbox. This may seem odd, but dad had learned the hard way that curiosity could be dangerous when he had a problem. It was dad's go-to strategy to try not to think about it and hope it would go away. It sounds childish, but at heart, a surprising number of adults are childish. Dad. Hadn't always been like this, but life had made him regress. I shared the file with professor Maynard said, Ingrid, dad flinched. He still flinched. Every time Ingrid spoke to him in English, he preferred their conversations when he had no idea what she was saying, or their conversations in English were about very grim matters. She's not coming here. Is she worried? Dad? I don't know, said Ingrid. She didn't tell me how she would proceed. She just told me to stay close until further notice. So she's doing something to dad. That's good. Isn't it? It means we don't have to Ingrid shrugged who would want a list of people in Carl won said, dad, he didn't want to know, but he couldn't stop the question from bubbling up in his mind. It wasn't a list of everyone said, Ingrid, just, most people said, dad, Maynard will take care of it said, Ingrid, we should concentrate on our own mission. Not letting the kids get kidnapped by the collective said dad and not getting kidnapped yourself, said Ingrid ominously. When they got to town, dad couldn't find Constable pike anywhere. So he decided to tell the mayor. Instead he was supposed to meet her at 8:00 AM to go over his great green thumb responsibilities. But when he did, she wouldn't listen to his explanations about bear fur and DNA evidence. This is DHA D day. Mr. Pesky, I absolutely refuse to allow my focus to be drawn into any wild goose chases at the mayor. Bear said, dad, who would be a wild bear chase. It could be a wild flying unicorn chase for all iCare said the mayor. I wouldn't blink an eye. My focus is purely on the daffodil festival. It's the third biggest tourist attraction on the Keong events calendar. I refuse to allow tourists to be put off by talk of an imaginary bear, but that's just it. It's not imaginary. It's real. Are you dad? If that were true, it would just be an even better reason to stay quiet about the whole thing said the mayor. Now you need to go and get your robes on. Robes said, dad. Oh, yes. Said the mayor. The great green thumb is a star attraction. You have to wear the official robes so that people know you're in charge, but I'm not in charge for AED dad. I'm not capable of handling responsibility. Of course you're not actually in charge at the mayor. I'll tell you who wins each category. But today you are the symbolic figurehead of daffodil day. So you need to dress and act the part. Meanwhile, on the far side of the gardens, April Finn, Joe and Loretta had just arrived. This is insane. Declared April clutching pumpkin tightly, for fear of losing him in the throne. The daffodil festival was not at all what they had imagined. They had envisioned some hokey quaint local festival halfheartedly supported by a couple of dozen elderly gardening enthusiasts. But that was not the case. Carl Wong was heaving with tourists. Every nursing home in the state seemed to have emptied out its residents into tour buses and sent them to curl Wong. For the weekend. There were coach loads of visitors from Japan, Korea, and China as well. A Babel of foreign languages could be heard as guides showed their tour groups through the banks of daffodils on display. Even the pesky kids had to concede that the flowers was seriously impressive. Teenagers generally don't spend much time considering the beauty of a flower unless they gauge in the exact angle to hit it with a cricket bat in order to knock the bloom off. But the flower beds, planters and pots briming with daffodils of every variety were just so bright and yellow. It was hard not to feel cheerful. Looking at them. Car Wong might be nuts set fin, but they do know how to throw a random weirdly themed festival. The marsh line and organization was military great in its precision. There was a huge marquee in which a large team of elderly ladies overseen by Mrs. Bellamy were doling out tea in honey cakes at a rate that would put McDonald's to shame. Every cake was hand drizzled with locally produced honey and served with a pipe in hot mug of tea to eager tourists, desperate for some good old fashioned high carb food at the other end of the gardens was another marque filled with table after table of competition entries, towns, folk nervously hovered around desperate to see if they'd won and anxious to make sure no one tampered with their bloom. Oh look, there's Matilda said Loretta pointing to a bench just outside the competition. Marquee. Why is Constable pie handcuffing her to the bench asked Joe, oh, well last year she snuck in a bag of snails and let them loose on the best bloom section said, Loretta, she's been barred from entering the competition tent for 30 years, 30 years. That's a bit harsh said Finn, but she was unlucky with what plants. The snails ate first said, Loretta, they ruined all of Constable Pike's entries. So he threw the book at her. Hey, this dad said, Joe, oh my gosh said Finn. Dad's where in a dress exclaimed, April quick, someone take a photo. We need to have photographic evidence of this so we can mock him for decades to come said Finn dad was being led up onto the rostrum at the center of the garden. He was wearing what looked like a long academic gown, except that it was bright, almost iridescent green, but the gown was tame compared to what was on his head. What is that asked April? Is it a hat? I think it's a head dress at Joe. It's the great green thumb ceremonial crown said Loretta, he's wearing a giant daffodil on his headset. Fin. Yes. Agreed Loretta happily. This is why Keong is the greatest place to live on earth. There's so much to enjoy. He looks like a deal said, April said Ingrid, glad for school. What did she say? Ask Joe. She thinks you're being rude. Explain Loretta. She turned and spoke to Ingrid in Swedish. Ingrid responded by Grunin scornfully. What was that asked Finn? I just explained that it's traditional in your culture to show no respect for elderly relatives, settle. Loretta dad tapped on the microphone and it whistled feedback, making everyone in the crowd. Wince. Many of those with hearing aids turned them off all together. One of the great benefits of need in a hearing aid, it's pretending that the batteries run out when you're forced to sit through something boring. Oh my goodness. Settled excitedly look, Agnes Dow. Rumple is here. The pesky kids crane, their next toy over the crowd at the very front was an extremely old little lady. She was wearing a long woo coat despite the warmth of the day. And a very odd felt. Hat that looked more like something a street urchin would wear and a Dickens novel. She doesn't look too fierce, said Finn old people shrink on the outside, said April, but they get grumpy on the inside. I know it isn't September 19th yet, but I do hope she pops the mayor on the head again, said Loretta began dad clearing his throat. Um, uh, he looked shiftly about, he looks like he's thinking of making a run for it said Finn dad spotted his children in the crowd and suddenly looked less scared. Oh, there you are. Hello kids. He waved happily at Joe Finn in April, Ugh, grown April for 10 years. We didn't see him once. Then the day he dresses up as a gladi old eye, he waves and points us out in a crowd. Daffodil, not a gladi old eye said Finn, same, same said April. They don't look anything alike said Finn, they're both flowers. Aren't they said April. So they must look alike. Sh Matilda shushed them from her spot on the bench. He's about to award the prizes. We all wanna hear this. Shut it. Snail Wrangler set April. Thank you all for coming here to the 76 annual daffodil day celebrations said dad reading off a piece of paper handed to him by the mayor being the great green thumb is the greatest honor of my life. He looked up and turned to the mayor, but that's not true. I was awarded my PhD by Jane Goodall. That was the greatest honor of my life. What about having kids heckled April? Wasn't that your greatest honor? Well, I'm not sure it was an honor. It was certainly great. Agreed dad, but so much blood and fluids. Definitely the greatest nerve wracking experience of my life. It's just a speech. He's the mayor. Everyone could hear over the overly sensitive microphone. Just read it. Typical politician called April thinking. It doesn't matter that you're forcing our man to lie. Not just any man said, Loretta, she's forcing the great green thumb to lie. There were murmurs of unease in the crowd. The mayor poked dad in the back, making him turn to face the microphone, get on with it. She urged. He should be using this opportunity to tell everyone about the bear mud at April. It's my great pleasure to announce the winners. Red dad. He looked up again. Well, that's a fib too. He turned to explain to the crowd. I find talking to large groups, utterly terrifying. I enjoy growing daffodils, but talking about daffodils to 5,000 people scares the daylights out of me. It's all I can do. Not to pee my pants right now. There was applause from the crowd. The people of Kaung appreciated his honesty and his dedication to daffodils. No one wants to know about your pants. Pleaded the mayor. I do call Loretta, are you wearing the nice blue ones with the red spots I bought you? Yes. As a matter of fact said, dad, he explained for the crowd that's Loretta. This one, often she doesn't usually buy my underwear, but she said the great green thumbs. Shouldn't just wear wide fronts from the supermarket. This is my chance at April everyone's listening. She started shoving her away through the crowd. What are you doing? Asked Finn and April don't cause a scene called Joe. Hurry in after her, but it was much bigger and he couldn't get through the crowd. It was too late. The next second, April pushed away past Agnes Dalrimple and popped up on the side of the rostrum. Neither the mayor nor dad noticed. And we'll leave it there. That's a for now until next time. Goodbye.