Page 45 - The Black Deer and Charlie Rabbit

The Black Deer and Charlie Rabbit 43
was waiting. Charlie placed a harness on each rabbit before clipping it into place. The old reed ones Willow used to use had long gone. Now he had soft leather straps to secure his passengers. Matty sat behind them grinning with excitement.
Charlie watched them fly into the air and swoop across the meadow. It would only be minutes before they arrived at Dolly’s hotel.
***
Sadie Squirrel looked forward to Saturdays. It was her day off from doing chores. Alfie enjoyed coking and entertaining their youngsters. But not this Saturday; she was going to the mill with Paris and Jessica. Sadie loved talking to the girls and Paris told her about the doll and what to expect when they arrived at the mill.
‘Dad thought it was rubbish to begin with but when Mr Hedgehog told him to imagine that the doll could be the decoy, he changed his mind,’ she’d said.
They climbed the mill steps and heard raised voices coming from inside. Sadie was shown the doll and asked for her opinion. She, like Paris, was sure that Sophia would lend them an old dress or something similar.
‘Where will we find tresses of golden curls like Sophia’s?’ she asked.
Cyril Rat turned and hurried up a wooden staircase. He returned holding a small section of a mattress and yanked handfuls of fine horsehair from inside. ‘Will this do?’
Paris and Jessica handled it and looked at each other. ‘It’s sort of curly, but I’m sure we can do better,’ said Paris.