Penguin Pandemonium - The Rescue

Blue blushed and screwed up her beak.

“No, we are not! We’re babysitting for Paulie.”

Muriel preened her chest and snorted.

“Yeah, right. Hatty and Brenda, don’t you think Bloop and Rory are so like an old married couple?”

Secretly, Hatty and Brenda were jealous of Blue cuddled up to Rory with the cute chicks, but they didn’t dare admit it in front of their leader.

“So married,” said Hatty.

“So old couple,” added Brenda.

Rory was just going to shout, “So what?” when his best mates Eddie and Clive came roaring by on their new snowboards. Worried that he looked soppy sitting there, he leapt to his feet.

“Snow’s up, dude!” whooped Clive.

Rory jumped on to the back of Eddie’s board.

“I’m on it already. Let’s go!”

Blue’s beak fell open.

“Rory! Don’t you dare leave me with the kids—”

But he was gone. Muriel put her head on one side and blinked at her.

“Bloop, you are so second-best,” she simpered.

Normally, Blue would have stood up to Muriel, but she didn’t like to move because the chicks had just dropped off to sleep. The last thing she wanted to do was wake them, so she put her head in the air and looked the other way.

“What are you doing – looking for a new boyfriend?” persisted Muriel. “Face it, Bloop, Rory doesn’t want to play happy families with you, does he, Hatty and Brenda?”

Hatty and Brenda were so smitten with the chicks they were hardly paying attention.

“Happy,” murmured Hatty.

“Families,” sighed Brenda.

Muriel flicked their beaks.

“Don’t go all mumsy on me! Come along, girls. Let’s go and make a Snow-Muriel. I feel like posing… Bloop, you’d better stay there in case Rory comes back… like… never!!”

But Rory did come back. As soon as he’d gone, he’d had second thoughts about it and managed to persuade his friends to let Blue join in. “Blue’s one of the lads,” he insisted. “We can do better stunts with all four of us.” They’d shaken their heads at first, so he’d come up with another tactic.

“I’ll give you two squid at feeding time,” said Rory reluctantly.

“Four squid,” said Clive. “Half for me, half for Eddie.”

“I’d rather have a whole one,” said Eddie.

The deal was done and Rory went back to fetch Blue, hoping that she would let him have some of her squid later.

“You took your time,” she said.

He held out his flippers apologetically.

“That’s Eddie and Clive for you. They never take no for an answer.”

Oo-Chi and Ku-Chi had gone into a deep sleep and were huddled up so tightly that they looked like one big fat chick with four eyes.

“Come and play while they’re sleeping,” suggested Rory. “We might not get snow as good as this again for years.”

Blue checked on the chicks, who showed no sign of waking.

“OK, but not for long – and not too far away.”

“They’ll be fine,” said Rory.

Blue believed him and they hurried off together to join the boys, filled with excitement at the thought of snowboarding down the black ice.

Blue wasn’t disappointed. The speed she reached as she raced down the slide almost took her breath away. Even Clive and Eddie were impressed.

“World speed record or what, Blue!” cheered Rory. “Right, let’s see if I can beat you.”

“Hadn’t we better get back to the chicks?” she asked.

But this was the best snow ever; it would be a crime to waste it.

“Just one more turn,” said Rory.

But he had two more turns. Then three.

Blue didn’t stop him – she didn’t want him to think she was a spoilsport.

By the time they got back, however, the chicks had gone.

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Rory and Blue stared at the spot where they had left Oo-Chi and Ku-Chi sleeping, but all that remained of them was a shallow dip where the warmth of their bodies had melted the ice. If the chicks had left any footprints, they had already been wiped out by the fresh snowfall.

“We should never have left them!” wailed Blue. “Big Paulie is going to kill you.”

“And you,” Rory pointed out.

Blue wagged her flipper at him.

“No, just you. Paulie left you in charge, remember? He put all his trust in you.”